Accreditation

On this page:

The accreditation contribution scheme
What contribution is available?
How to apply
The future
For more information

The accreditation contribution scheme

In many categories of law we require supervisors or caseworkers to hold an independent accreditation to prove their competence.

To qualify for a contract in Clinical Negligenc, Crime, Family or Mental Health law, a provider must have in place a supervisor who is a member of a relevant accreditation panel.

To support independent quality assurance we have a scheme where legal aid providers can claim a contribution towards the cost of accreditation.

A full list of the accreditation schemes where we may provide a contribution is given in Annex A, under the Documents heading of this page.

In 2009 we consulted on changes to the contribution scheme that had existed since 2002. Details of the changes and information about how the contribution scheme works in certain categories of law can be found on our Civil and Immigration page.

What contribution is available?

The contribution for each scheme is shown in Annex B in the Documents section. We don't plan to increase the cash contribution if accrediting bodies put up their prices, but may decrease it if accreditation costs are reduced.

Where there is only one route to accreditation, we will pay 50% of the cost. Where there are several acceptable routes we will pay the lowest value of the following:

100% of the cost of the cheapest route or
50% of the cost of any more expensive route

Reimbursements are paid from a fixed annual budget, which should meet demand. However if funds run out before the end of a financial year, claims will be put on hold and processed at the start of the following financial year if new funds are made available.

How to apply

Applications for contributions must be made by an LSC provider, not an individual. The provider must:

Complete and submit one of the following forms:
- Civil 1 – Version 6 (Civil excluding Immigration);
- IAAS 1 – Version 4 (Immigration and Asylum).
Send a copy of the individual's accreditation certificate.
Send a copy of the individual's panel membership letter.
Submit the claim and supporting documents to the LSC at the following address:

Stephanie Curran
Central Commissioning Team
Legal Services Commission
4th Floor, Abbey Orchard Street
London
SW1P 2BS
(DX 328 London)

Please note that both claim forms are available in the Documents section of this page.

We can only accept applications for a contribution towards the cost of accreditation if:

the provider holds a current LSC contract in the relevant category of law
the accredited individual undertakes legal aid work in the relevant category for the provider at the time of application
it is submitted within six months of the date of accreditation
it is for a successful accreditation
no LSC contribution has been made towards the accredited individual’s current membership of a different accreditation panel

Payments will be made to the provider via the BACS system and not directly to the individual.

The future

We plan to review the accreditation contribution scheme for future LSC contracts.

For more information

Read the FAQs on the right of this page or, if you have further queries on the accreditation schemes contributions, please send an e-mail to: accreditation@legalservices.gsi.gov.uk .

Last updated: 16 December 2011