Time Recording for Legal Aid — UK Criminal Defence Glossary
Time recording for legal aid is the systematic recording of time spent on publicly funded legal work, used to support claims for payment from the Legal Aid Agency. In England and Wales, accurate time recording is essential for police station attendance claims — whether under the fixed fee scheme or when claiming an escape fee based on hourly rates.
Detailed explanation
Time recording in the legal aid context is the practice of documenting how long each activity takes during a publicly funded attendance. For police station work, this means recording the time spent on each stage: travel, waiting, receiving disclosure, consulting with the client, attending the interview, providing post-interview advice, and completing administrative tasks.
Under the fixed fee scheme, most police station claims are paid at a standard rate regardless of the time spent. However, time recording remains important for two reasons. First, if the total time spent exceeds three times the fixed fee value, the provider may claim an escape fee at hourly rates — but only if there is a detailed time breakdown to support the claim. Second, the LAA may audit files at any time, and a claim without time records is vulnerable to challenge even under the fixed fee.
The Standard Crime Contract requires providers to maintain adequate records of the work done. While it does not prescribe a specific time recording format, the expectation is clear: the provider must be able to demonstrate what work was done, when it was done, and how long it took. The attendance note is the natural place to capture this information.
When practitioners encounter time recording requirements
Time recording is relevant at every police station attendance. The representative should record times as they go: the time of the call-out, departure, arrival, first consultation, interview start and end, and departure. This real-time recording is far more accurate than retrospective estimation and produces a time breakdown that can be directly transferred to the CRM form.
Escape fee claims are where time recording becomes critical. The provider must demonstrate that the total time spent justifies billing at hourly rates. A vague note stating “attended for approximately four hours” is unlikely to survive an LAA assessment. A structured time breakdown showing travel (45 minutes), waiting (30 minutes), disclosure and consultation (1 hour), interview (1 hour 15 minutes), and post-interview advice (30 minutes) tells a credible story that an assessor can verify.
How time recording relates to attendance notes
The attendance note and the time record should be integrated. When the time breakdown is embedded in the attendance note, there is one source of truth for both the case record and the billing claim. When time is recorded separately — in a diary, a spreadsheet, or a different system — discrepancies between the attendance note and the time record become a risk. An assessor reviewing the file will compare the narrative in the attendance note with the times on the CRM, and any inconsistency invites a query.
Digital attendance note tools that include built-in time recording eliminate this risk by capturing times as part of the attendance workflow. The time data flows directly from the note to the billing record, reducing duplication and transcription errors.
Key points to record
- Time of call-out or notification
- Departure time (for travel claims)
- Arrival time at the police station
- Start and end time of each activity (disclosure, consultation, interview)
- Waiting time — time spent at the station before substantive work began
- Post-interview advice start and end time
- Departure time from the station
- Total time by category: travel, waiting, attendance
- Whether the total exceeds the escape fee threshold
Related terms
- Legal aid attendance note — the note that supports the billing claim
- Attendance note — the broader record of the attendance
- Duty solicitor — duty work requires the same time recording
- Police station representative — representatives must also record time accurately
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to record time if I am claiming a fixed fee?
Yes. Even under the fixed fee scheme, the LAA expects providers to maintain records of the work done and the time spent. Time records serve three purposes under the fixed fee: they demonstrate the work was done, they identify cases that may qualify for an escape fee, and they support the firm's position in any audit. A firm that routinely fails to record time will find it difficult to identify escape fee opportunities and to defend fixed fee claims against audit queries.
What is the escape fee threshold?
The escape fee threshold is three times the value of the relevant fixed fee. If the total cost of the work — calculated at the applicable hourly rates — exceeds this threshold, the provider may claim at hourly rates for the entire attendance rather than the fixed fee. The attendance note must contain a detailed time breakdown and a narrative explaining the complexity to support an escape fee claim. Without contemporaneous time records, it is very difficult to demonstrate that the threshold was exceeded.
How granular should time recording be?
Time should be recorded by activity: travel, waiting, disclosure, consultation, interview, post-interview advice, and administration. Within each activity, start and end times should be noted. Six-minute units are standard in legal practice, but for police station work the priority is capturing actual start and end times for each stage. The attendance note should show when each activity began and ended, not just a rounded total. This level of detail is expected for escape fee claims and is good practice for all attendances.
Record time as you work — not afterwards.
CustodyNote includes built-in time recording that captures each stage of the attendance, calculates fees, and identifies escape fee opportunities automatically. Free for 30 days.
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