Respect Orders, injunctions and legal aid explained

If you read the official notice and felt it was written for billing teams rather than ordinary readers, you were not imagining it. In a GOV.UK update, the government says the old anti-social behaviour injunctions under Part 1 have now been replaced by three newer routes: Respect Orders, youth injunctions and housing injunctions. For you as a reader, the important starting point is not the billing code. It is that the legal system has renamed and reshaped how some anti-social behaviour cases are handled, while also trying to keep legal aid in place so people can still get advice and representation.

Here is the plain-English version. Respect Orders are meant to be the tougher option in the new system. Youth injunctions still deal with anti-social behaviour involving children, and housing injunctions still deal with housing-related cases. So the labels have changed, but the courts are still dealing with many of the same kinds of complaints. **What this means:** the sharpest change is with Respect Orders. The GOV.UK update says that breaching one is a criminal offence. That makes a Respect Order more than a renamed injunction, because breaking it can now move a person into criminal proceedings.

The other big issue is legal aid. In simple terms, civil legal aid helps with making the order in the first place, while criminal legal aid helps when someone is accused of breaching it. That split matters because one part pays for the order to be sought or challenged, and the other pays for defence or representation when a breach becomes a criminal matter. According to the updated guidance, civil legal aid will be available for making Respect Orders, youth injunctions and housing injunctions. Criminal legal aid will also be available for breaches of them. So although the legal names have changed, funded legal help is still meant to follow the case.

A large part of the announcement is really for providers who have to submit claims properly. GOV.UK says they should keep using the existing Part 1 injunction codes for civil legal aid. For legal help, that means matter type 1 code XASB and fee code MISCASBI for work under the civil contract, or stage reached code ASAS with fee code ASAS where the work is claimed as associated civil work under the crime contract. For legal representation, the same update says providers should use proceeding codes NU027 and NU028 if they are civil providers, and CR034 and CR035 if they are crime providers carrying out the work as associated civil work. You do not need to memorise those codes unless this is your day job, but they matter because the wrong code can mean the wrong payment or a rejected claim.

Payment is where the timetable gets slightly awkward. The plan is for civil legal aid for Respect Orders, youth injunctions and housing injunctions to be paid on the same basis as the old Part 1 injunctions. For legal help, that is a fixed fee of £157. For legal representation, the rate comes from Table 10(a) of Schedule 1 to the Civil Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013. Housing injunctions and youth injunctions move onto those rates automatically. Respect Orders do not yet, because the payment change still needs parliamentary approval. The government says it intends that legislation bringing those rates into force for Respect Orders will start on 17 December 2026.

That creates a short gap you have to read carefully. The new Respect Order system began on 26 October 2026, and the updated rates are intended to apply to all Respect Orders started from that date. But providers are being told to submit any claims or bills for Respect Orders after 17 December 2026, using the existing codes, so they are paid the correct amount. **Why this matters:** legal reform does not only happen in court. It also happens in admin systems, guidance notes and payment rules. If those details are missed, people can end up doing the right legal work under the wrong billing process.

The criminal legal aid rules also split depending on which order is involved. Providers should continue using the relevant PROV fee code for breaches of youth injunctions, housing injunctions and older Part 1 injunctions made before 26 October 2026. Respect Orders are different. Because breaching a Respect Order is a criminal offence, the guidance says providers should use the relevant standard fee code for designated or undesignated areas instead of a PROV code. Breach claims for Respect Orders can be submitted from 26 October 2026. If you are learning this topic for the first time, that is the main lesson to hold on to. A change in legal language often signals a change in legal consequences. The updated GOV.UK guidance, including Submit a Bulk Claim, CCMS, the Standard Crime Contract 2025 and the Criminal Legal Aid Manual, is there to help providers claim under the right rules. For everyone else, the simpler takeaway is that Respect Orders are tougher, youth and housing injunctions continue, and legal aid is still meant to follow the case.