Legal Aid Newsletter | October 2026
Welcome to your October 2026 edition of the Legal Aid newsletter from Resolution.
We will continue to put any issues you’d like us to raise to the LAA. If you have any feedback from this newsletter, or would like our team to look into any problems you face, please email us.
Changes to Special Guardianship Order proceedings
From 22 September 2026, new SGO case categories and validation checks were introduced in CCMS and Civil Apply.
The LAA hopes these changes to Special Guardianship Order case categories in CCMS and Civil Apply will help providers identify the correct application route and ensure applications are assessed under the appropriate funding criteria.
New proceedings codes are available for:
- Public Law Special Guardianship Order cases
- Applications to vary or discharge a Special Guardianship Order
Resolution working for you – how are you finding delegated functions?
The operation of the Child Focused Courts model requires use of delegated functions in order to ensure you have legal aid to cover short notice hearings. As we reported last month, the LAA has provided some hints and tips to enable you to use delegated functions successfully and ensure you have legal aid cover.
This applies where a decision to grant legal representation has already been made up to Family Help (Higher). There is no fixed end date for this interim measure.
Please send feedback to us on any issues with using delegated functions to cover hearings. We will raise issues anonymously with the LAA.
Contact Resolution’s Legal Aid Committee
Changes to Submit a Bulk Claim – claim amendments
The Legal Aid Agency can now process requested claim amendments, including both administrative changes and amendments that affect claim values. They are beginning to process the existing backlog of amendment requests. To help them reduce the backlog as quickly as possible, they ask providers not to submit chaser enquiries during October, unless there are exceptional circumstances.
Amendment requests will be processed in date order, with the oldest requests being addressed first. This will ensure requests are handled fairly and efficiently. You should continue to submit amendment requests through the existing channels.
Please note that the LAA cannot amend claims submitted through Contracted Work and Administration (CWA). They will provide a further update on this in due course. For technical queries, contact the Online Support Team. For all other questions, contact your Contract Manager.
Changes to Submit a Bulk Claim – nil submissions
The LAA has introduced a new nil submission feature in Submit a Bulk Claim (SaBC) to make reporting easier. The LAA has issued updated guidance which includes the new process.
If you have no claims for payment and no new matter starts to report during a submission period, you can now submit a nil return directly through the service. Up to this change, providers were required to create and upload a blank submission file, even when there was no claim activity to report.
Sign in to Legal Aid Services (SiLAS) – new process to reactivate user accounts
Administrators should now request account reactivation directly through the “Manage Your Users” section in SiLAS. When submitting a request, you will need to explain:
- Why the account was inactive for more than 90 days.
- Why the account is now needed and will continue to be used.
However, if the account requiring reactivation belongs to the only Provider Administrator in a firm, or a Multi-Firm user, you must continue to contact the LAA User Registration team. Your email must explain why the Account was unused for the extended period of 90 days and what has changed such that the account is now required to be reactivated.
If a user account is no longer needed, for example because of extended leave or at the firm’s discretion, a Provider Administrator can still deactivate it. They will continue to be able to reactivate the account later if required.
SMS and Voice only MFA support will end January 2027
From 31 January 2027, Sign in to Legal Aid Services (SiLAS) will no longer support Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) by text message (SMS) or phone call. Instead, you will need to use an authentication app, such as Microsoft Authenticator.
If you need to reset your MFA, email [email protected] from the email address linked to your SiLAS account. For security purposes, ensure your email signature includes your firm’s details.
Once your request has been processed, you’ll receive instructions by email. Microsoft Authenticator will be offered as the default option, but you can choose a different authentication app if you prefer by selecting the ‘I want to set up a different authenticator’ and follow the instructions when prompted to use the Microsoft app.
Launch of new guidance on short notice applications in public law family cases
The President of the Family Division will be hosting a webinar on 4 November at 16:45 for the launch of new guidance and supporting materials designed to improve the management of short notice applications in public law family proceedings. The President will be joined by four experts who contributed to development of the guidance:
- Professor Karen Broadhurst, Lancaster University
- Kaat De Backer, Midwife Research Fellow, and specialist perinatal mental health midwife.
- Laura Scale, Cafcass Cymru
- Stacey Coe, Senior strategic officer legal services (legal safeguarding and people) at Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council (NPTCBC)
Family applications statement checklist
Many certificate application rejects are due to issues raised by the LAA in relation to statements of case.
The LAA’s Family applications checklist sets out what you should provide to allow them to make a decision without requesting further information. It covers injunctions, private law children, finance and public law cases, wardship and inherent jurisdiction and delegated functions.
Resolution working for you – you can claim time for using ‘fixer’ services
At the most recent meeting of the Civil Contracts Consultative Group, the LAA confirmed that if you have to use a ‘fixer’ service to get an LAA mistake corrected, you can claim the time it takes to deal with them.
Unfortunately, this will not be included specifically in the Costs Assessment Guidance but a senior manager from the LAA’s Billing Team confirmed that such claims will be allowed.
New online contact form for the Online Support Team (OST)
The LAA’s Online Support Team (OST) has introduced a new contact form which captures key information upfront to help speed up resolution times.
The service covers issues with:
- Sign into Legal Aid Services (SiLAS)
- Apply For Civil Legal Aid
- Apply For Criminal Legal Aid
- Submit a Crime Form
- Submit a Bulk Claim (SaBC)
- Manage Your Users
- Request a Copy of a Historical eForm
- MFA Reset
The LAA says the form is live. In due course they will expect all OST escalations to be submitted via the contact form, rather than emailing. They will keep us updated when this takes place. For now you can continue to use the existing phone line or Webchat services.
LAA Technical Fault Reporting Form
More support for victim-survivors
The Centre for Women’s Justice (CWJ) will lead the delivery of a new free Independent Legal Advice service for adult victim-survivors of rape and sexual assault in England and Wales. They will work with Rape Crisis England and Wales and Victim Support.
The service will provide specialist, independent legal advice to victim-survivors about their rights within the criminal justice process. It will support them in relation to issues such as excessive personal data requests, Victim’s Right to Review and police investigations that fall below expected standards.
The scheme is designed to help those who decide to report to the police understand their options, make informed decisions, and access clear, wholly independent legal advice at key stages of the process. Whilst the Independent Legal Advice service will not represent victims at court, it is intended to help address some of the problems that victim-survivors experience through the criminal justice process. The service is planned to launch in early 2027.
It is expected that the overwhelming majority of service users will be women. However, the service will also be available to male survivors. More details will be made available in due course.
Dates for your diary
Resolution’s National Conference will take place on Thursday 20 and Friday 21 May 2027 at The Midland, 16 Peter Street, Manchester M60 2DS.
The Dispute Resolution Conference will take place on Friday 19 March 2027 at One America Square, 17 Crosswall, London EC3N 2LB.
Resolution is inviting members to submit workshop proposals for both of these conference. We’re looking for engaging, practical workshops reflecting the diversity of our community, across professions, backgrounds and areas of practice. The deadline for proposals is Wednesday 11 November.