i applied for legal aid 2 years, ago which i still have legal aid for my case, however my lawyer as asked for an extension and the legal aid board have refused and its going too an adudicator to see if the will extend the funding further, i noted on the letter, that it says about my income when i applied for legal aid my solicitor asked if i had a bank account which i tad him i had £1800 in this account but as i can't remember because of my LD disability i have a savings account which as £8020 i didn't know that i had to disclose this too them I'm scared no as i have read on the internet if you have 8000 you can't get legal aid will i get fined or sent to prison now if they find out what do i do ;( 1. do i call the legal aid board and apologise 2. will i have to pay all my legal costs now and back dated from 2 years ago i didn't know that you have to pay a contribution if you have over 3000 i have a LD and mental health issues and very worried now ;(

Hello, Could someone please point me in the direction of relevant documents/websites that provide information on the financial criteria that have to be met to be eligible for Legal Aid? The gov.uk - checker only allows for assessing whether the issue falls into one of the remaining categories which are still eligible for Legal Aid, not about the criteria regarding the means assessment..? Thanks

I have been involved in a Constructive Dismissal case at a Scottish Employment Tribunal for almost a year. I have already expressed elsewhere how frustrating it is for an employee to make a successful claim and how it is no surprise that fewer than 5% of claims are successful, briefly: They get to present their case after hearing yours and there is no way of contradicting anything they say. Witnesses who still work there are reluctant to testify against the employer. They outnumber you grossly and if they get their story straight they appear more credible. Giving evidence last it is fresher in the minds of the adjudicators. My case is quite complicated but it involves not being employed as per the job I was offered after moving home (250 miles), not being properly supported, ignoring grievances and stress to an unimaginable degree. I had claimed for loss of earnings plus to be re-employed in the position I had been originally offered. But today I had a bit of a bombshell. After four days of hearings, the Tribunal was adjourned in December until 15th March (two days time) and having been made a number of risible offers to settle the case over the past few months, I finally decided that I had had enough, as much as I felt that my former employers should be held to account I could not face two more days of hearings, listening to my former manager lie and the possibility that the Tribunal might fall for it. They made a final offer which was not great but I thought that it would give me the resources to move on. I had until 5.00pm today (13th March) to decide whether to accept it and yesterday, after some consideration, I contacted my solicitor instructing him to do so. I had my first decent sleep for almost a year. But then first thing this morning, I had a call from my solicitor's office telling me that I would forfeit most, if not all, of the money I had been offered to pay my fees as the Legal Aid conditions changed a year ago allowing fees to be 'clawed back'. My solicitor is in court with other cases all day so I can't discuss it with him. I phoned the Legal Aid Helpline to asked for urgent advice - given that I have until 5.00pm to make a decision. They said that my solicitor should have informed me about this but I am sure that he did not - and given that he was persuasive of me accepting an earlier, obviously lower, offer, I would have been in the same situation - only today did I receive advice from his office that I would probably receive little if any of the award. There is a mechanism for appealing agains clawback but given the timescale, I cannot appeal until after I respond to the offer and it may well be that even if I accept their offer, all the stress and anguish of the last year has been for absolutely nothing. To say that I felt devastated at this revelation is an understatement. I am of the feeling that I have no alternative but to press on with the Tribunal even with the odds stacked against me. Whilst I post this as a caution, or at least information, to others, if anybody has any constructive advice before today's deadline, I'd be grateful.