Grayling abandons attempt to remove choice of solicitor

The justice secretary Chris Grayling has announced this afternoon that he will abandon plans to remove choice of solicitor from criminal legal aid clients.

In a statement, he said: "Removing the choice of solicitor for clients receiving criminal legal aid was only proposed in order to guarantee lawyers had enough business to make contracts viable.

"It is clear the profession regards client choice as important and so I expect to make changes that allow a choice of solicitor in the future."

The MoJ current plans for price competitive tendering (PCT) have been criticised from all sides, including the Society of Conservative Lawyers, particularly over the issue of client choice.

Attorney General Dominic Grieve and deputy prime minister Nick Clegg have both attempted to distance themselves from some of the changes.

More than 100,000 people signed solicitor advocate Rachel Bentley's 'save UK justice' e-petition protesting against the changes.

"I have always been clear this is a genuine consultation and I will continue to listen to views," Grayling said.

"Any future scheme for criminal legal aid must guarantee that quality legal advice and representation is available, but we still need to make significant savings.

"I am therefore pleased the Law Society has acknowledged the government's requirement for savings. We agree that a managed market consolidation is the best way to meet the challenges of the future. We are discussing their proposal about how to achieve this."

The justice secretary announced his rethink in a letter to the chairman of the justice select committee, Sir Alan Beith, who will hear evidence from Grayling later this week.

Lucy Scott-Moncrieff, president of the Law Society, commented: "Our meeting with the Lord Chancellor last week demonstrated the benefits of constructive, though robust, engagement.

"By listening to us on client choice, the government has shown it is serious about constructive engagement, which I welcome. Client choice of solicitor is a fundamental component of a fair justice system and a driver of quality in provision of legal advice."

The Law Society published its alternative proposals to transform criminal legal aid today.

Chancery Lane said they were based loosely on General Medical Service contracts for GP surgeries, where they are periodically renewed subject to meeting statutory and mandatory obligations.

Mandatory obligations of the legal aid contract would take the form of a 'Quality and Capacity Framework', specifying a number of criteria a firm must achieve in order to retain its contract.

"I won't pretend that our alternative, if adopted, will result in flags waving in every solicitor firm - it is in many respects the least worse solution," Scott-Moncrieff said.

"We have consulted with the main practitioner groups and where possible, addressed their major concerns.

"On the evidence of today's welcome move, I am hopeful that we can work with the Lord Chancellor and his colleagues to secure a sustainable future for criminal legal aid."