A breakthrough in the dispute threatening to disrupt trials of very high cost criminal cases (VHCCs) could be in sight following the publication of new funding proposals.

The Legal Services Commission is proposing to set up separate payment schemes for litigators and advocates, moving away from the current hourly rates. Initial reaction from both branches of the profession was favourable.

The LSC introduced the much-criticised VHCC scheme in January 2008, but the majority of barristers boycotted it, claiming the set fees were too low. The current VHCC contracts expire in July.

Under proposals for a replacement scheme published for consultation last month, advocates will be paid a combination of graduated fees for core advocacy tasks and negotiated rates for case-specific tasks. They will not have to be on the approved VHCC panel and will agree contracts for individual cases.

Solicitors working as litigators on cases will still have to be on the VHCC panel, but be able to negotiate the work they carry out on a contract. Litigator teams will be paid according to the tasks they do, in unit measures based on their seniority and time worked. The LSC said it had developed the new scheme after extensive cooperation with representative bodies.

Law Society legal aid manager Richard Miller said the proposed scheme goes much of the way to addressing the Society’s concerns. Peter Lodder QC, chairman of the Criminal Bar Association, welcomed the move towards more graduated fees.

Bar Council chairman Tim Dutton QC said: ‘The scheme should provide a fair payment mechanism, which reflects the complexity of the cases in question, and the concomitant expertise required of those advocates who conduct them.’ The consultation ends on 18 February.