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Annual Review of Financial Eligibility Limits of Legal Aid Applicants
The government's policy is to review the limits annually to take account of movements in the Consumer Price Index (C) [CPI(C)], so as to maintain the real value of the limits.
Having consulted Council and the Panel on Administration of Justice and Legal Services (the AJLS Panel) in December 2004, the Administration decided to reserve the small increase of 0.4% in CPI(C) recorded during the reference period of the 2004 annual review, covering July 2003 to July 2004. In deciding to reserve the 0.4% increase, the Administration undertook to consider the increase together with the outcome of the 2005 annual review, covering the period from July 2004 to July 2005.
The increase in the CPI(C) from July 2004 to July 2005 was 1.3%. The accumulated change during July 2003 to July 2005 was 1.6%.
In this regard, the Administration was prepared to make a Legislative Council Resolution to effect the upward adjustment to the limits by 1.6%. Accordingly, the limits would be increased, in dollar terms, by $2,500 to $158,300 for the OLAS, and by $6,900 to $439,800 for the SLAS. The Administration consulted Council and the AJLS Panel on the proposal, and would introduce the necessary legislative amendments to effect the increase.
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