More delays to legal aid reforms

Changes to the criminal legal aid contract—due to be introduced in October—are to be further delayed until January 2008, the Legal Services Commission (LSC) says.

The news comes as the LSC confirms plans to appeal the judgment in the judicial review brought against the unified contract by the Law Society, R (on the application of the Law Society) v Legal Services Commission.
The LSC is disputing Mr Justice Beatson’s ruling that the LSC’s power to amend the “technical specifications” of the contract, such as peer review requirements and key performance indicators, breached EU law. 
Law Society president Andrew Holroyd says the LSC should now reconsider introducing civil contracts in October.

He says: “There is a significant threat that ploughing ahead with these changes will drive out good quality and well organised firms. There will be no legal aid lawyers to represent those that need it most. We call on the government to delay all the current changes, and to sit down with us to discuss whether there is a better way forward. It is not too late to sort this out to create a sustainable future for legal aid.”

The LSC admits confusion arising from the ruling was part of the reason for the delay to the criminal contract changes, but has pledged to introduce fixed fees for civil work in October 2007.

It says that, unlike the civil unified contract, the general criminal contract (GCC) was entered into some time before the legal aid reform programme was announced, therefore providers would not have been aware of the proposed reforms at the time they signed. Because of this and “the uncertainty arising from the unified contract judgment, the LSC will not now issue a notice of amendment”.

The LSC plans to terminate the existing GCC from 13 January 2008; award new contracts to operate for six months from 14 January 2008; and re-allocate duty solicitor work and issue rotas on that basis for the six months of the new contract.

Legal aid reforms for criminal work that were to be implemented between 15 October 2007 and 1 January 2008 will now be incorporated into the criminal contract to be introduced on 14 January 2008.

These include: the new police station fixed fees; expansion of the duty solicitor call centre and Criminal Defence Service Direct; and introduction of the very high cost case contracting panel.

The litigator graduated fee scheme is pencilled in for introduction at the same time, subject to the outcome of a consultation, and the unified contract for criminal legal aid services is planned for July 2008.