Community legal service funding—Legal Services Commission—Provision of civil legal aid

Queen’s Bench Division, Administrative Court (Leeds), McCombe J, 25 May 2011

The Legal Service Commission’s system of awarding contracts for the provision of publicly funded legal services in the areas of immigration and asylum law was not unlawful.

Tasaddat Hussain (instructed by Parker Rhodes Hickmotts Solicitors) for the claimant. Fiona Scolding (instructed by Legal Services Commission) for the defendant.

The defendant was responsible for awarding contracts for the provision of publicly funded legal services in the areas of immigration and asylum law. The defendant’s allocation of work was achieved by allocating what it called “New Matter Starts” (NMS) proportionality among successful bidders. In November 2009, it began the tender process for the period October 2010 to October 2013. The rules of tender were governed by a document entitled “Information for Applicants” (IFA). Clause 7.16 of the IFA required applicants to be able to commence provision of the relevant services on 1 October