New payment arrangements for publicly funded judicial review cases came into force this Tuesday.

The new rules mean that the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) will only pay for work preparing and issuing a claim if permission to apply for judicial review is granted, or where the LAA exercises its discretion. The LAA has updated its judicial review pro-forma completion guidance to explain the changes.

The regulations were approved by Parliament on 14 March, and prompted Labour leader Ed Milliband to table an early day motion calling for the amendment to be rescinded. That has now been signed by 45, mostly Labour, MPs. The amendment will be debated in Parliament at an unspecified point in the future, and will be debated in the Lords on 7 May after Lord Pannick brought a motion of regret on the issue.

JUSTICE has produced a briefing paper  on the new funding regulations, and the Joint Committee on Human Rights will release a report on judicial review changes next Wednesday 30 April.

The Criminal Justice and Courts Bill, Part 4 of which also has significant implications for judicial review, has passed the committee stage of progress through Parliament. A date has yet to be set for report stage. You can view the Public Law Projects briefing papers on the bill here, and view Martha Spurrier’s evidence to the Public Bill Committee here.