General Criminal Contracts

On this page:

About this application
About the process
List of documents
For more information

About this application

The LSC has published application packs for the new General Criminal Contract (January 2008) that will apply to legal aid firms across England and Wales from 14 January 2008.

Detailed information, guidance and application forms is under Documents.

The application process opened on Monday 1 October 2007 and closed at 4pm on Wednesday 31 October 2007.

About the process

The process is straightforward and we have made applications as simple as possible. Applications may be returned to us by email (CDS.Contracts@legalservices.gov.uk) or by post to any LSC Office.

Any providers who want to commence new publicly funded criminal defence cases from 14 January 2008 must apply for the new General Criminal Contract (January 2008).

This includes current GCC contract holders, and those who wish to conduct Crown Court work only. To comply with procurement law, we are also inviting applications from new entrants to the market.

We are confident that the majority of our current providers will apply. We believe most firms will see it as in their interest. We also believe it is in the best interests of clients.

What’s changed in the General Criminal Contract (January 2008)?

There are no surprises in the new Contract. We’ve consulted on all the amendments other than those necessary to take account of legal developments.

The revised amendment clauses reflect our understanding of the law as it stands, following the Beatson judgment on the Unified Contract earlier this summer.

A full version of the General Criminal Contract (January 08) is under Documents section, along with a summary of changes from the current GCC.

There are no changes to the Duty Solicitor Arrangements 2001 and slots to commence from January 08 will be allocated according to the existing rules.

What happens if I don’t apply?

Current providers who don’t apply will not be able to take on new publicly paid work from 14 January 2008.

List of documents

See the documents section for

Invitation To New Applicants to Apply for a Contract
Termination Letter: for current GCC holders
Information for Applicants
Application Form A: for holders of the current GCC
Application Form B: for new applicants
General Criminal Contract: January 2008
summary of changes to the GCC
Duty Solicitor Arrangements
Duty Solicitor Guidance
Frequently Asked Questions (updated regularly).

For Specialist Quality Mark application forms and checklists, please visit the Forms>Specialist Quality Mark application forms page.

For more information

speak to one of our regional crime managers
come to a meeting at your regional office from 8 October
email us with your questions: CDS.Contracts@legalservices.gov.uk
read our press release.

Law Society Concerns About The General Criminal Contract (January 2008)

The Law Society recently wrote to the LSC raising a number of concerns regarding the General Criminal Contract (January 2008). The issues related both to the Contract Standard Terms (our ability to amend the Contract), and to details of the Contract Specification.

The LSC has now replied to Richard Miller setting out our responses to the individual concerns. Both the letter and the accompanying schedule of responses can be found on the CDS News and Updates page.

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Last updated: 06 December 2007