The Ministry of Justice's Legal Aid Services says its policy where separate grants/charges are sentenced at the same hearing is that only one claim can be made for the sentencing activity and hearing time.

"In the same way, it has been Legal Aid Service’s expectation that multiple fees for the same activity may not be claimed on separate grants of aid. For example, where a customer has more than one grant of legal aid for multiple criminal charges and a bail application is prepared that applies to the charges on both grants, one bail application fee may be claimed."

Legal Aid Services says after recent inquiries it has updated the Grants Handbook at page 98 to confirm that multiple fees for the same activity may not be claimed on separate grants of aid.