- Home
Criminal Defence Service (CDS)- Quality and performance
- Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates
- How the scheme came about
How the scheme came about
Background
The QAA project was initiated as a response to a recommendation in the report Legal Aid: a market based approach to reform.
Recommendation 5.3 is: “A proportionate system of quality monitoring based on the principles of peer review and a rounded appraisal system should be developed for all advocates working in the criminal, civil and family courts.”
“This system should be developed through a process chaired by a member of the judiciary in partnership with the Bar Council, Law Society, Legal Services Commission and Ministry of Justice to ensure it covers all advocates with relevant rights of audience in these courts.”
“The new quality monitoring system should be developed in the first instance for publicly funded criminal advocates, then for publicly funded family and civil advocates, and ultimately for all advocates.”
Initial Consultation
In June 2007 a joint LSC/ MoJ consultation paper Creating a Quality Assurance Scheme for Publicly Funded Criminal Defence Advocates was published. The analysis of responses to the consultation was published December 2007. Following this publication, a Reference Group, comprising the bodies represented on the Working Group, was established to replace the previous Working Group. This group worked together to develop a quality assurance scheme.
Background reading on the QAA scheme including the consultation paper and initial impact assessment can be found at http://www.legalservices.gov.uk/ > About us > Consultations > Closed.
Change in Ownership
Following discussions led by the Legal Services Board (LSB), involving the Approved Regulators, their regulatory arms, the LSC and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the LSB has now taken an oversight role in relation to the implementation of a QAA scheme which they propose is led by the regulators. From this point on, the LSB will hold the regulatory bodies accountable for delivery of a scheme for criminal advocacy by 2011.
back to the top
Last updated: 15 February 2010