The latest announcement by the Legal Services Commission delaying the tendering process for the new criminal contracts for at least two months probably comes as a relief to many practitioners, particularly those in the best value tendering pilot areas.But it also speaks volumes about what is going on at the Ministry of Justice and the LSC, and the deteriorating relationship between the two bodies.
It is also indicative of the fact that neither the LSC nor the MoJ seem to have any real grasp of the practicalities of running a law firm.
Despite the almost unanimous hostility to BVT expressed by the profession in the repeated consultations on the subject, the MoJ seemed determined to press ahead with its hasty timetable. We then had the surprise announcement that the national rollout would be delayed for three years, though the pilot would go ahead as planned.
Tendering for the new crime contracts was due to begin in October, but in its infinite wisdom the MoJ published a three-month consultation on fee cuts for criminal work in August.
This put practitioners in the ludicrous position of having to tender for contracts without knowing the fee they would be paid for the work if they secured a contract. It took the Law Society and other practitioner groups to point out the unworkability of this situation.
Now, three weeks after the MoJ’s announcement, the LSC acts to delay the tendering process.
As yet there is no timetable for the proposed way ahead, doubt over the proposed fee levels and insufficient details on the BVT process. The only thing that does abound is uncertainty. And that cannot be good for criminal legal aid firms struggling to plan their businesses in the face of huge changes, at the same time as trying to provide a quality service to some of the most vulnerable people in society.
Isn’t it time serious questions were asked about the LSC’s fitness for purpose and the strategy (or lack of it) within the MoJ?
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