Domestic Abuse

(asked on 8th January 2015) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on what date the Legal Aid Agency introduced a prescribed time period of 24 months for evidence relating to domestic violence cases.


Answered by
Shailesh Vara Portrait
Shailesh Vara
This question was answered on 13th January 2015

The 24 month time period was set out in the Civil Legal Aid (Procedure) Regulations 2013 which came into force on 1 April 2013.

This Government is absolutely clear that victims of domestic violence should receive legal aid where it is needed to help break free from abusive relationships. Since the reforms were introduced last year thousands of people have successfully applied for legal aid where domestic violence is involved.

The 24 month time limit for evidence does not exclude victims where the abuse occurred over two years ago. The time limit relates to the date the evidence was obtained, not the date of the abuse itself. Some forms of evidence can be obtained several months or even years after the abuse has been experienced.

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