Policy
Consultation response
The LSC and the Ministry of Justice have published a joint consultation response on their respective consultation papers on the future of Very High Cost (Crime) Cases (VHCCs) and Advocates Graduated Fees (AGFS).
Advocates
The Government has decided not to take the option of a one-off cut of 17.9% to Advocates Graduated Fees. Instead the reforms include the alternative option consulted on, of a staged reduction over three years of 4.5% each year (a total reduction of 13.5%) in Advocates Graduated Fees, coupled with extending AGFS to cases due to last up to 60 days.
Litigators
As the Litigators Graduated Fees Scheme was introduced relatively recently, and is subject to review, the Government has decided not to extend it to cover cases with trial estimates of 60 days at this stage. The LSC will continue to collect further data on recently concluded VHCCs to help inform the current post-implementation review of the Litigators Scheme.
Please visit our e-consultation page for a copy of the VHCC 2010 Consultation Paper and the Consultation Response.
For a copy of the 'Legal Aid: reforming advocates graduated fees' consultation paper please visit the Ministry of Justice website: http://www.justice.gov.uk/
Consultation on Individual Case Contracts
We recently conducted an informal consultation with VHCC Panel Members and Representative Bodies about the replacement scheme for litigators on VHCCs. The consultation letter setting out the proposal can be found under Documents.
That consultation closed on 18 May. A total of eleven responses to the consultation including two responses from representative bodies were received.
We have taken into account the points made in the responses received and have considered these alongside the views and comments expressed in the responses to the full consultation. We too agree that individual case contracts offer the best long-term solution for litigators working on VHCCs. We have therefore decided that we will not be continuing with a Panel scheme when the current Panel expires on 13 July 2010.
From 14 July 2010, litigators instructed on cases classified as VHCCs with representation orders dated on or after that date will operate under an individual case contracting arrangement. These contracts will apply the 2008 Panel rates (£145 per hour for a Level A litigator on a category 1 VHCC).
Our consultation response letter setting out our decision can be found under Documents.
Individual case contracting arrangements will still be subject to eligibility criteria. These criteria will form part of a separate contract consultation with the consultative bodies in early June 2010 where we will seek views on the terms and conditions of the individual case contract.
Last updated: 21 May 2010