Practitioner groups have condemned the government’s ‘reckless’ and ‘cavalier’ decision to go ahead with the introduction of best value tendering (BVT) for criminal legal aid work.

The Legal Services Commission last week announced that the scheme, under which firms bid for work at police stations, will be piloted in Greater Manchester, and Avon and Somerset from July 2010.

Law Society legal aid manager Richard Miller described the speed of change as ‘reckless’. It would drive ‘significant numbers’ of firms into insolvency.