Press Releases pre-May 2010

The Legal Services Commission (LSC) has announced today the opportunity for legal service providers to apply for new six-month contracts to provide Criminal Defence Services across England and Wales. The application process will begin on 1 October and run until 4pm on 31 October 2007.

Announcing the application process, Carolyn Regan, Chief Executive of the Legal Services Commission said:

“The LSC would rather not have to issue these short-term contracts, but we believe it is necessary due to the uncertainty created by the recent judgment in the Unified Contract judicial review brought by The Law Society.

“We have done everything we can to make the application process as simple as possible for anyone who wishes to apply for new contracts. In due course we will consult on proposals for Best Value Tendering, which will enable the market to set the price for the work that is being undertaken.

“The Legal Services Commission is committed to achieving legal aid reforms offering improved services for clients, better value for taxpayers and more certainty for legal aid providers.”

The LSC is appealing the judicial review judgment, which it believes misinterprets some aspects of EU and domestic procurement law.

The LSC will now:

• terminate the current General Criminal Contract with effect from midnight on 13 January 2008
• run an open application process open to current and new providers leading to the award of new contracts which will operate for 6 months from 14 January 2008
• re-allocate duty solicitor work and issue rotas on that basis for the six months of the new contract

It had been the LSC’s intention to issue a notice of amendment to the current General Criminal Contract, to come into effect during October, in order to implement a number of reforms to the criminal legal aid scheme including:

• new fixed fees for work undertaken at police stations and changes to the areas where there are clear advantages in altering schemes to better reflect police and court work flows
• expansion of the Defence Solicitor Call Centre and CDS Direct to those elements of ‘own client’ work suitable for telephone advice
• introducing a Very High Cost Case contracting panel to ensure experience is concentrated in fewer firms, in order to improve the quality and value for money of the work done on these more complex cases

These legal aid reforms will now be incorporated into the new criminal contract which will come into effect from 14 January 2008.

The changes are part of wider reforms which aim to ensure the sustainability of legal aid so that we can maximise access to services in the future.

At the close of the application process, providers that apply for slots and qualify for schemes will have slots awarded based on the number of duty solicitors employed.  Where suitable coverage is not achieved through this process, we may look to those firms that have expressed an interest in expanding their service.

The timetable for the application process is set out below:

Media information

Dan Kellingley  Tel: 020 7759 0415

Notes to editors

Full details of the application process, and application forms will be sent to all current General Criminal Contract holders by the end of September 2007. The pack will also include a notice terminating the existing contracts with effect from midnight on 13 January 2008.

The application packs will also be available online at the LSC’s website from 28 September (www.legalservices.gov.uk - select the ‘CDS menu’ and then click on ‘Tenders’) for anyone who is not currently a General Criminal Contract holder but is interested in undertaking criminal defence.

The LSC will be posting updated information including Q&As on its website at www.legalservices.gov.uk. (Select CDS>Tenders>General Criminal Contracts).

Potential applicants and interested parties may contact any LSC Regional Office with any questions, alternatively queries may be emailed to CDS.Contracts@legalservices.gov.uk.  Please note, however, that we are only able to clarify information already published, and any further queries may be collated and the answers published in an updated Q&A document, to ensure equal access to information for all potential applicants.

In addition the LSC will be issuing regular e-mail updates regarding the application process to existing service providers. Any organisations interested in undertaking criminal defence service work can also subscribe to these updates at: http://www.legalservices.gov.uk/help/lsc_update.asp#how_to_subscribe