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Exceptional Cases Funding (ECF) Fact Sheet

What does the Exceptional and Complex Cases Team (ECCT) process? (Back to top)

ECCT determines public funding requests for cases within the Special Cases Work definitions and in specific categories of law below, some of which is limited to certain case types. 

Special Cases Work Reg. 54 Civil Legal Aid (Procedure) Regulations 2012 (Back to top)

  • All non-family, Court of Protection and Mental Health cases where the actual or likely costs of the case exceed £25,000 and require a case plan
  • Multi-party action, potential multi-party action or bringing community actions
  • Appeal or proposed appeal to the Court of Appeal or Supreme Court
  • The case is of significant wider public interest or involves a breach of Convention rights in order to make a funding decision

(Limited) Judicial Review challenges (Back to top)

Judicial Review only where e.g. challenging government policy (e.g., budget cuts, provision of services) or otherwise within the Reg 54 Special Cases categories above; examples below:

  • Housing/Community Care  
  • Education/Discrimination  
  • Welfare Benefits  
  • NHS/healthcare 
  • Terrorism/military 
  • Environment/planning  
  • High Cost over £25,000

All Claims against Public Authorities (Back to top)

  • Actions against the police damages claims against the police 
  • Prisoners’ rights, police & crime related judicial review 
  • Child abuse claims involving local Authority HRA/negligence, any direct abuse
  • Other in scope claims against public authorities 
  • HRA/negligence Article 2 damages  
  • Denial of Liberty HRA damages 
  • Equality Act e.g. education community care  
  • Serious wrongdoing by public authorities 
  • High Cost over £25,000

All Clinical Negligence (Back to top)

  • Neurological damage cases where the injury occurred within the first 8 weeks usually brain damage during birth and erbs palsy 
  • High Cost over £25,000

(Limited) Family, Court of Protection and Mental Health (Back to top)

  • Prior authority for KC or two counsel  
  • All substantive applications and amendments for the Court of Appeal and UK Supreme Court in family cases 
  • Court of Protection/Mental Health – high cost over £25,000

All Immigration and Asylum (Back to top)

Certificated immigration, asylum and associated public law – usually JR challenges of Home Office decisions or lack of a decision where no right of appeal:

  • All immigration or asylum judicial review applications, challenges to delays in decision making or of failure or omission to discharge obligations to applicant  
  • Tribunal Appeals – First Tier to Upper Tribunal and UT to Court of Appeal; relating to the Refugee Convention/Article 3 of the HRA, victims of domestic violence or human trafficking/modern slavery; separated migrant children
  • Appeals before Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) – national security issues
  • Claims for damages for unlawful immigration detention  
  • Claims for damages age assessment dispute – Local Authority is respondent  
  • Any case where applicant has insecure immigration status 
  • High Cost over £25,000

All Exceptional Case Funding (Back to top)

Information of Exceptional case funding can be located here: Legal aid: apply for exceptional case funding.

Important distinctions between ‘in-scope’ and ECF Funding (Back to top)

  • No option to delegate functions to make decisions. 
  • There is no emergency procedure – the ECF Team will though consider representations on urgent applications. Marking the case as ‘urgent’ in the system is however not sufficient. You will need to contact the ECF Team, and we will need to agree that the case is urgent before it is prioritised. 
  • Please be vigilant when submitting new applications or amendments in CCMS. Selecting that a case is ‘exceptional’ does not mean that the case is urgent/important. All this means is that you have told the CCMS system that all or part of the case is out of scope of the LASPO Act and therefore the ECF Team need to deal with the application. Failure to input the case correctly will delay the application as it will either need to be rejected back to you to amend or sent to another part of the business for consideration.

Submitting Applications (Back to top)

  • We cannot accept ‘blended’ applications, i.e. applications for both in and out of scope work. They will need to be submitted separately into the system.

Hints and Tips (Back to top)

  • We cannot consider the application until any documents that have been requested by the system are uploaded. When you upload documents, please ensure you set the status to ‘documents sent’ as failure to do so will delay the consideration of your application. 
  • Please ensure that all supporting documentation that you wish us to consider is provided with the initial application. This may delay your application if we have to request routine documents. 
  • Applications for amendment to existing ECF Certificates can be multiple amendments i.e. you can submit a combined amendment for costs/scope/form of service/prior authority. If you have a number of amendments it is better that they are submitted on the one request. 
  • The provider packs for inquest and non-inquest cases are a useful starting point before making the application, please see: 

Contacting the ECF Team (Back to top)

Please email the team at ContactECC@justice.gov.uk.

Time Standards (Back to top)

Please see the information on ECC timelines and application guidance.