The Act Commentary on Sections Part 6 - Legal aid and other payments for legal services Section 150:  Excluded services: help in connection with business matters
679.Schedule 2 to the Access to Justice Act 1999 lists those legal services which may not be funded as part of the CLS.
680.Paragraph 1(h) of Schedule 2 currently excludes services consisting of the provision of help in relation to matters arising out of the carrying on of a business. Business cases were excluded from the scope of civil funding as they are low priority cases and alternative forms of funding are available. In addition, only individuals may make applications or be funded as part of the CLS.
681.Subsection (2) of section 150 omits paragraph 1(h) and subsection (3) replaces it with a new paragraph 1A. The new paragraph clarifies that as well as cases arising out of the carrying on of a business, which can be any activity carried out by an individual with a view to profit, cases which relate to an individual planning or proposing to set up a business, or cases which relate to the transfer or termination of a business, are also excluded from the CLS. Examples are disputes that arise out of the carrying on of a business that is no longer trading and disputes arising out of the preliminary steps of establishing a business regardless of whether the business exists at the time of the application.