Law Society seeks clarity on legal aid contract procurement process

The Law Society has sought clarification from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) that the two-tier criminal duty tender process has not been scrapped by the government.

Speculation surfaced last weekend that court action would cease this week. While the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) has confirmed there is no change in government policy, the MoJ has yet to respond.

In a letter to the justice minister Shailesh Vara MP, the president of the Law Society, Jonathan Smithers, asked whether the policy on the 'sensitive matter' is being reviewed.

'As you will be aware, the lack of certainty on the future of legal aid duty service is affecting the ability of solicitors and firms to plan for the future,' he wrote.

'We are concerned that it will also impact clients who benefit from legal aid services, including some of the poorest and most vulnerable in society.

'In light of this, I urge you to clarify as a matter of urgency the government's plans and issue a public statement to provide certainty for all those involved in the contract procurement process.'

Last November the LAA announced that services under the new contracts would start on 1 April 2016, which the Law Society argued is 'clearly not achievable'.

Chancery Lane believes the delay is 'undermining' access to justice for the most vulnerable in society as 'firms continue to provide services at reduced rates, without the consolidation which the MoJ claimed, wrongly in our view, would make the cuts survivable'.

Amid concerns the evaluation process used by the LAA was flawed, the Law Society urged the Justice Select Committee and the Public Accounts Committee to investigate the government's procurement process for the new legal aid contracts.

Labour's commission

The situation will be closely watched by the new Labour commission which will explore making access to justice a core public entitlement.

Led by shadow justice minister Lord Willy Bach and hosted by the Fabian Society, the commission's first goal is to establish that access to justice is an 'essential public service, equal to healthcare or education'.

Members of the commission include Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson DBE, BL; Hillsborough inquest lawyer Raju Bhatt; director of the Law Centres Federation, Julie Bishop; former president of the Law Society, Lucy Scott-Moncrief CBE; and the former Lord Justice of Appeal, Sir Henry Brooke CMG.

Lord Bach said he looked forward to working towards 'building a legal aid system worthy of our country and traditions'.

The shadow justice secretary Lord Falconer added: 'Access to justice needs to become - once again - a key public entitlement and I look forward to reading the commission's report.'