Failings in the way the Legal Aid Agency handled an application for legal aid

What happened

Mr G became involved in Family court proceedings and paid his initial legal fees on a private basis. His circumstances then changed and he applied for legal aid. The Agency assessed Mr G's application and found his disposable income was too high, so it refused to offer him funding. Mr G complained and the Agency realised that it had not properly considered his change of circumstances.

The Agency agreed Mr G could be offered legal aid, but by then the proceedings had ended and Mr G had paid most of the fees. Mr G asked the Agency for compensation. It took the Agency some time to consider Mr G's claim because it was difficult to obtain information from his solicitor. The Agency eventually agreed to pay just over a third of Mr G's legal costs. Mr G was unhappy with the Agency's offer and asked his MP to refer the complaint to us. Mr G told us he should be compensated for all of his legal costs because he was ultimately eligible for public funding.

What we found

The law was clear and we decided that Mr G could not have reasonably expected to receive legal aid for his whole case from the outset. However, the Agency was correct in paying him some costs after he had applied for legal aid. We examined the Agency's calculation of this and found it had overlooked some of Mr G's legal costs. We decided the Agency should have considered these costs and we recommended it pay Mr G an extra £595 in compensation. We also recommended the Agency should apologise to Mr G and pay him £250 for the distress and inconvenience caused by its failings.

Putting it right

The Agency apologised to Mr G. It paid him £845 compensation.