Press Release
Most civil legal aid providers commit to new contracts
30 March 2007
The Legal Services Commission today announced that a large majority of law firms and not-for-profit agencies had signed the new civil legal aid contract and will be continuing to provide civil legal aid services.
The LSC has already received signed Unified Civil Legal Aid Contracts from more than 85% of providers. More are being received and processed today, with hundreds being hand delivered to the LSC’s regional offices.
To protect the interests of clients, the LSC has authorised firms who have chosen not to sign the contract to continue with existing cases. However, they will not be able to accept new legal aid cases.
LSC Chief Executive Carolyn Regan welcomed the response from legal aid providers.
“Change is always challenging and this contract has been controversial because it is part of the wider legal aid reforms. But this is all about offering improved services for clients and better value for taxpayers,” she said.
“The reforms will also offer fair reward for good quality, efficient service providers, and I would personally like to thank the committed legal aid firms and agencies who acknowledged this by returning their contracts early.”
LSC Executive Director of Policy Richard Collins said:
“The level of response we have already had, and the contracts that continue to come in today, means that we have confidence that there will be no interruption to the high quality civil legal aid services offered across England and Wales.
“The new contract does not cut the legal aid budget. The reforms are about ensuring a greater proportion of the current £2.1 billion expenditure is available for civil legal aid.”
Civil legal aid includes advice and representation for people with family law, welfare, debt, housing and domestic violence problems.
The legal aid reforms will move payment for services from a traditional system of hourly rates to one of best value tendering based on quality, capacity and price. To allow providers time to adapt their businesses to a market-based approach, there will be a transition period where they will be paid fixed and graduated fees for different types of work.
It is a natural progression from the legal aid contracts first introduced in 2000. The unified contract is in many respects identical or very similar to the existing terms, with key amendments to pave the way for the reform programme.
The unified contract will bring conditions for not-for-profit advisers into line with solicitors who carry out civil legal aid work, a concept supported by most respondents to the 2006 consultation Legal Aid: a sustainable future.
It will give legal aid clients greater quality assurances, by setting higher entry standards for providers. In return, providers will be rewarded with greater autonomy and less ongoing auditing.
Because the LSC will only be issuing one contract per organisation rather than one per office, as had previously been the case, it will create a more efficient way of working with our high quality service providers. It will enable the LSC to set a minimum number of new cases to be started by an individual office each year as well as a maximum. This will allow the LSC to ensure adequate provision of services to meet the needs of vulnerable clients in a specified area.
The unified contract will also create efficiencies by requiring all providers to work with us via e-business, reducing administration time and costs for them and the LSC. It will introduce new equality and diversity provisions, which are of real benefit to legal aid clients, the LSC and our providers.
The Law Society has raised concerns about the LSC having the ability to amend and terminate the contract. The LSC has had powers of amendment and termination in its contracts since 2000. The new unified contract has kept the same periods of consultation and notice as existing contracts but introduced a new basis for using them, namely in order to reform the legal aid scheme.
Given our statutory duties to establish, maintain and develop the legal aid scheme in England and Wales, to ensure quality of service to clients and value for public funds, the LSC considers these are reasonable and necessary provisions.
Media contact
Gary Spink: 020 7759 0493 or 07843 643052
Last updated: 30 March 2007