CDS News

Details of the new postcode-based boundaries for duty solicitor schemes are now available.

These boundaries will be implemented with the next CDS Contract starting in July 2010.

How this affects your firm is dealt with in the response to our consultation, which is now available on our website: ‘Eligibility Rules for Membership of Duty Solicitor Schemes and Local Scheme Boundaries’.

The purpose of this change in policy is to make the process of determining eligibility for schemes entirely objective and more certain for providers and the LSC.

Maps available online

We have also published post-consultation maps for each LSC region. These show the eligibility boundary of each scheme.

Providers should find the maps useful for checking the schemes for which they will be eligible from July 2010.

Translated

Eligibility for duty solicitor schemes is laid out in the current travel time based arrangements. These have now been translated to a system that follows objective postcode sector boundaries.

For the majority of duty solicitors and firms the changes will not make any practical difference. However, there are a small number of areas for which more extensive amendments have been made.

Eligibility for the January 2010 rotas will be determined based on the current system of travel time. CDS12s for January 2010 rotas need to be submitted by 14 November 2009.

Online postcode look-up tool

A new online look-up tool is also on the way. This will allow providers to input their postcode to confirm all of the schemes for which that postcode is eligible.

This tool is now being tested and we aim to make it available before the start of the contract tenders.

For more information

LSC website: CDS Consultations

LSC website: post-consultation maps

LSC website: Deadline for new duty solicitor applications

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