Many firms representing patients detained under the Mental Health Act are under threat of closure or drastic cutbacks as the Legal Services Commission (LSC) has offered them reduced contracts in the current bid round.
According to the LSC, firms were invited to bid for a slightly increased number of cases overall, provided they met criteria such as having sufficient qualified staff to undertake the work. The amount of cases allocated, or new matter starts as they are known, is largely determined by the number of firms bidding in an area. This is where the problems seem to have arisen. According to Richard Charlton of the Mental Health Lawyers Association: 'The offers are terrible. Some members have less than a third of what they have now, many have less than a half of what they bid for. Many members are facing redundancies or closure. The established firms that have bid for their existing level of matter starts have been worst hit.'
Figures released by the LSC show that there has been an increase in the number of firms bidding for the work. This has meant that much of the work has been carved-up into smaller contracts. London is the worse affected area as 67 firms have been provisionally successful in bidding for contracts and 34 of these firms are new entrants to the market. LAG is unsure why there have been so many new bidders. They could be firms that have recruited mental health specialists as they saw this as a potential 'recession proof' growth area, as well as solicitors splitting off from existing firms to form new ones.
The LSC says that all the successful firms in each geographical area got a minimum of 30 cases topped up with pro-rata allocation between firms of the remaining cases. The LSC believes that its decisions on case allocation cannot be challenged, though once the contracts are signed firms can apply for permission to start more cases. What might happen is that those firms that can afford to will sit tight and see which firms are unable to take-up the contracts in the hope they can get extra work.
Mental health tribunals undertake a difficult job. They have to balance the freedom of an individual, his/her interests as a patient and the protection of the public in making their decisions. Specialist representation for patients is vital as their liberty and health are at stake. LAG fears the present allocation of cases could lead to many good firms being lost. To a large extent the problems have been caused by the open nature of the tendering process. Without a reliable measure of experience and quality to differentiate between firms the LSC had no other option than to spread the available work in this way, penalising the established firms. The public would have been better served and tax payers’ money saved if this tender system had not been introduced.
Showing posts with label best value tendering. Show all posts
Showing posts with label best value tendering. Show all posts
Wednesday, 23 June 2010
Thursday, 17 December 2009
Criminal BVT pilots abandoned
It looks like the final nail in the coffin of best value tendering (BVT) has now been hammered in - for now at least. The government has announced that it is abandoning plans for the pilots. The tendering process had been due to start in the New Year for Avon and Somerset, and Greater Manchester. This climb down will come as a considerable relief to the practitioners in these areas.
It seems to LAG that the government was swayed by the argument that it was unfair to expect firms to tender for the work when the consultations on Crown Court and Very High Cost Cases fees were still pending. Firms need to know what fees they can expect across the board in criminal work before they tender for police station work.
The government and the Legal Services Commission (LSC) say that they are going to work up alternative plans. The legal aid minister Lord Bach told LAG this afternoon that he expects 'by March next year to have some outline improved proposals'. Any implementation will be down to the next government. Both the LSC and government still seem convinced that some form of competitive tendering can provide the magic bullet to control legal aid costs. We at LAG remain sceptical.
It seems to LAG that the government was swayed by the argument that it was unfair to expect firms to tender for the work when the consultations on Crown Court and Very High Cost Cases fees were still pending. Firms need to know what fees they can expect across the board in criminal work before they tender for police station work.
The government and the Legal Services Commission (LSC) say that they are going to work up alternative plans. The legal aid minister Lord Bach told LAG this afternoon that he expects 'by March next year to have some outline improved proposals'. Any implementation will be down to the next government. Both the LSC and government still seem convinced that some form of competitive tendering can provide the magic bullet to control legal aid costs. We at LAG remain sceptical.
Monday, 20 July 2009
Criminal BVT U-turn
In the face of overwhelming opposition from LAG and others, including practitioners, the government has announced today that it will not be going ahead with its plans to roll out criminal best value tendering (BVT). LAG believes it would have been a disaster if it had stuck to its original plan of introducing BVT for work in police stations and magistrates’ courts across the country by January 2011. Instead, it has decided to evaluate the two pilots in Greater Manchester and Avon & Somerset due to commence in July next year before making a final decision. At the earliest any roll out would begin in 2013.
The Legal Services Commission (LSC) has also decided that practitioners will be able to undertake own-client work outside the police station areas they are contracted for. A tolerance of ten per cent of their total work will be introduced to cover this. This represents an important concession as practitioners had argued that not to allow own-client work outside the police station areas they are contracted for would hit practices hard and lead to an inefficient service. The LSC has also announced its intention to be more flexible on the number of providers it will contract with in an area.
Apart from the two pilot areas of Greater Manchester and Avon & Somerset, practitioners will be asked to apply for new contracts in July next year. The LSC will be using an online system for providers to apply for the new contracts. Practitioners in the pilot areas will be asked to bid using an online bidding process. The fear is that practitioners will put in suicide bids to secure the work and this could lead to the collapse of some firms.
In LAG’s view, the government's mistake was in believing that BVT was a magic bullet that could be introduced relatively painlessly to cut costs. LAG believes that the government pushed hard for the quick introduction of BVT, but had to cave in when it realised that it could result in the meltdown of the supplier base. LAG recognises that there are few alternatives to controlling costs in legal aid work apart from price-setting through fixed and graduated fees or price competition. The government and LSC need to set fair, sustainable prices for legal aid work; the alternative of cutting back what legal aid will pay for is unacceptable as it chokes off access to justice for the public.
The Legal Services Commission (LSC) has also decided that practitioners will be able to undertake own-client work outside the police station areas they are contracted for. A tolerance of ten per cent of their total work will be introduced to cover this. This represents an important concession as practitioners had argued that not to allow own-client work outside the police station areas they are contracted for would hit practices hard and lead to an inefficient service. The LSC has also announced its intention to be more flexible on the number of providers it will contract with in an area.
Apart from the two pilot areas of Greater Manchester and Avon & Somerset, practitioners will be asked to apply for new contracts in July next year. The LSC will be using an online system for providers to apply for the new contracts. Practitioners in the pilot areas will be asked to bid using an online bidding process. The fear is that practitioners will put in suicide bids to secure the work and this could lead to the collapse of some firms.
In LAG’s view, the government's mistake was in believing that BVT was a magic bullet that could be introduced relatively painlessly to cut costs. LAG believes that the government pushed hard for the quick introduction of BVT, but had to cave in when it realised that it could result in the meltdown of the supplier base. LAG recognises that there are few alternatives to controlling costs in legal aid work apart from price-setting through fixed and graduated fees or price competition. The government and LSC need to set fair, sustainable prices for legal aid work; the alternative of cutting back what legal aid will pay for is unacceptable as it chokes off access to justice for the public.
Friday, 17 July 2009
Criminal BVT despair
On 15 July, the All Party Parliamentary Group on Legal Aid heard evidence from legal aid practitioners near despair at the government’s plans for best value tendering (BVT) for police station and magistrates' court work. The committee, which is chaired by London MP Karen Buck, plans to push for an adjournment debate in the autumn, but this will probably be too late for Greater Manchester and Avon and Somerset which have been selected as pilot areas due to start in April next year.
Tony Edwards (TV Edwards LLP, London) won the outstanding achievement award at the Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year awards in December 2008 in recognition of his distinguished career in criminal legal aid. He also sat on the Legal Services Commission board for seven years and drove the quality agenda on criminal legal aid. His criticism of the potential impact of BVT on quality is therefore particularly compelling. In his view BVT as it is proposed is 'all about price competition and this will drive down quality'. Edwards pointed out that in his firm he has a supervisors to junior staff ratio of 2:1 whereas the proposal under BVT would allow up to 1:4. 'To compete on these terms my firm would have to change this by a factor of eight.' He went on to describe how most practitioners build their businesses on own client work which in itself is a method of quality control as clients return to or recommend a solicitor only if s/he does a good job. As the BVT proposals are currently drafted clients would be only able to choose a solicitor in the police station area in which they are arrested.
Another heavyweight of the criminal practitioner’s world, Rodney Warren, also gave evidence. Warren talked about 'the different world' of undertaking criminal legal aid work in the early 1980s before the introduction of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1984. He fears that for firms to compete in a BVT system they will have to cut corners leading to miscarriages of justice. Edwards said: ' … it troubles me the amount of police officers younger than I and the even younger Ministry of Justice civil servants who try to argue that times have changed from the pre-PACE days'. He went on to tell the group about a recent experience when he attended a police station. 'A detective sergeant was attempting to bully a 16 year old into confessing to a robbery he was not guilty of. This had to be challenged and I doubt if it was not for my age and experience the sergeant would have backed down.'
Some informed opinion believes that the general roll-out of BVT will not happen as it straddles the general election and any incoming government will want to take stock before proceeding. Edwards believes a market mechanism might control the price of the work but what is proposed could 'destroy the very best firms'. A re-evaluation of BVT then would seem to be the best way forward.
Tony Edwards (TV Edwards LLP, London) won the outstanding achievement award at the Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year awards in December 2008 in recognition of his distinguished career in criminal legal aid. He also sat on the Legal Services Commission board for seven years and drove the quality agenda on criminal legal aid. His criticism of the potential impact of BVT on quality is therefore particularly compelling. In his view BVT as it is proposed is 'all about price competition and this will drive down quality'. Edwards pointed out that in his firm he has a supervisors to junior staff ratio of 2:1 whereas the proposal under BVT would allow up to 1:4. 'To compete on these terms my firm would have to change this by a factor of eight.' He went on to describe how most practitioners build their businesses on own client work which in itself is a method of quality control as clients return to or recommend a solicitor only if s/he does a good job. As the BVT proposals are currently drafted clients would be only able to choose a solicitor in the police station area in which they are arrested.
Another heavyweight of the criminal practitioner’s world, Rodney Warren, also gave evidence. Warren talked about 'the different world' of undertaking criminal legal aid work in the early 1980s before the introduction of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1984. He fears that for firms to compete in a BVT system they will have to cut corners leading to miscarriages of justice. Edwards said: ' … it troubles me the amount of police officers younger than I and the even younger Ministry of Justice civil servants who try to argue that times have changed from the pre-PACE days'. He went on to tell the group about a recent experience when he attended a police station. 'A detective sergeant was attempting to bully a 16 year old into confessing to a robbery he was not guilty of. This had to be challenged and I doubt if it was not for my age and experience the sergeant would have backed down.'
Some informed opinion believes that the general roll-out of BVT will not happen as it straddles the general election and any incoming government will want to take stock before proceeding. Edwards believes a market mechanism might control the price of the work but what is proposed could 'destroy the very best firms'. A re-evaluation of BVT then would seem to be the best way forward.
Wednesday, 1 July 2009
LSC a bit more civil?
On 30 June 2009, the Legal Services Commission (LSC) announced its plans for civil law contracts. In contrast to criminal legal aid which is facing best value tendering (BVT) for police station and magistrates' court work, the plans for the next round of civil contracts due to start in April 2010 are less controversial. Crucial details though are missing from the consultation paper (Civil bid rounds for 2010 contracts: A consultation response) making the announcement and some firms and not-for-profit (NFP) organisations are still likely to lose out. Also, the threat of BVT for civil work still looms.
Civil bid rounds for 2010 contracts deals with the vexed question of providing services in all five areas of social welfare law. In a welcome move the LSC has backed off from insisting that it contracts only with single legal entities, but will allow solicitors and NFP agencies to form consortia with linked contracts to bid for work. Stand-alone contracts in housing will not be allowed and this will hit some specialist firms and NFPs. They can link, though, with another organisation undertaking welfare benefits and debt work. Housing firms also have the option of providing family work as well so that they can contract with the LSC.
The LSC is splitting the country into 134 procurement areas which will be designated as 'A' and 'B' areas. LAG understands that 'A' areas will tend to be relatively well-served, urban areas in which the LSC will expect contracting organisations to have integrated services. In a move that will cause problems for some firms, those undertaking family work in 'A' areas will have to provide both public law children and other family law services to qualify for a contract.
The LSC was also vague on how it would select between organisations if there were too many bids for a bundle of matter starts. Organisations’ financial status and capacity to undertake the work if they are granted the case starts seem certain to figure. Vacant case-worker posts at the time of bidding are likely to be frowned upon. Fuller details of the selection criteria will be given in September when the details of the bids are published.
Another unresolved issue is whether or not the LSC will seek to pilot BVT for civil work in the near future. It has left itself the option of announcing two or three pilot areas this September. Suppliers in these areas would only get a short-term contract prior to the process of allocating legal help work being open to BVT. The LSC seems cool on piloting civil BVT - perhaps it has too much on its plate with criminal BVT? LAG believes that the decision to go ahead or not rests ultimately with the government.
Civil bid rounds for 2010 contracts deals with the vexed question of providing services in all five areas of social welfare law. In a welcome move the LSC has backed off from insisting that it contracts only with single legal entities, but will allow solicitors and NFP agencies to form consortia with linked contracts to bid for work. Stand-alone contracts in housing will not be allowed and this will hit some specialist firms and NFPs. They can link, though, with another organisation undertaking welfare benefits and debt work. Housing firms also have the option of providing family work as well so that they can contract with the LSC.
The LSC is splitting the country into 134 procurement areas which will be designated as 'A' and 'B' areas. LAG understands that 'A' areas will tend to be relatively well-served, urban areas in which the LSC will expect contracting organisations to have integrated services. In a move that will cause problems for some firms, those undertaking family work in 'A' areas will have to provide both public law children and other family law services to qualify for a contract.
The LSC was also vague on how it would select between organisations if there were too many bids for a bundle of matter starts. Organisations’ financial status and capacity to undertake the work if they are granted the case starts seem certain to figure. Vacant case-worker posts at the time of bidding are likely to be frowned upon. Fuller details of the selection criteria will be given in September when the details of the bids are published.
Another unresolved issue is whether or not the LSC will seek to pilot BVT for civil work in the near future. It has left itself the option of announcing two or three pilot areas this September. Suppliers in these areas would only get a short-term contract prior to the process of allocating legal help work being open to BVT. The LSC seems cool on piloting civil BVT - perhaps it has too much on its plate with criminal BVT? LAG believes that the decision to go ahead or not rests ultimately with the government.
Friday, 5 June 2009
Proper evaluation of BVT 'vital' says Tory shadow
An All Party Parliamentary Group on Legal Aid was launched at a meeting in the House of Commons last Tuesday (2nd June). A packed meeting was chaired by Karen Buck MP who will also chair the group which aims 'to promote parliamentary and public understanding of the importance of the role of publicly-funded legal services as a pillar of the welfare state and in reducing inequalities in society'.
Legal aid minister Lord Bach spoke at the meeting. Welcoming the establishment of the group, he said it would 'promote understanding of legal aid within parliament' but he warned that 'the legal aid system has got to be sustainable and help as many people as possible. This involves tough choices if we are to keep legal aid within budget'. This comment seemed to be aimed more at his shadow minister, Henry Bellingham MP who was sitting by him, than at the audience which was composed mainly of legal aid lawyers angry at government cut backs. Bach also reiterated his message about 'rebalancing money towards social welfare law as the legal aid system should be there for the people at the bottom of the pile. I don’t think it is practical to ask to double the budget'.
Roy Morgan, chairperson of the Legal Aid Practitioners Group (LAPG), argued that the move to reduce face to face advice in police stations would lead to miscarriages of justice. Morgan echoed the concerns of many in the room about best value tendering (BVT) for police station and magistrates' court work when he said: 'Why is this reform necessary now? Why not, as promised, have a pilot followed by an evaluation? Instead of just evaluating the tender process?' Interestingly, Morgan seemed conciliatory in tone towards Lord Bach, saying he believed he was listening to practitioners' concerns but the Legal Services Commission (LSC) was not.
Bellingham had said in his speech: 'It is vital that BVT has a proper evaluation.' Clearly then, the pressure is on the government from all sides to think again on BVT or at least carry out a proper evaluation before rolling it out. LAG’s conference next Thursday (11th June) will give an opportunity to question Lord Bach again and to hear from Shadow Justice Secretary Dominic Grieve about the Conservative party’s plans for legal aid (see:LAG's website for more information on the conference).
There were many good contributions from the floor at the meeting from practitioners including Kat Craig from Young Legal Aid Lawyers (YLAL) who complained about there being 'so little to show for answering every consultation from the LSC'. In her view 'the current system does not allow for quality work'. Many speakers also paid tribute to the work of LAPG and YLAL in establishing the group.
LAG believes the group will act as an important conduit for informing MPs about developments in the legal aid world. LAPG and YLAL deserve much praise for getting the initiative off the ground as does Karen Buck MP, who is a great campaigner on access to justice issues in parliament. We’d warn, though, that the group will lose any influence if it is perceived to be dominated by practitioners and their worries about the impact of legal aid changes on their incomes, instead of focusing on the concerns of clients.
Legal aid minister Lord Bach spoke at the meeting. Welcoming the establishment of the group, he said it would 'promote understanding of legal aid within parliament' but he warned that 'the legal aid system has got to be sustainable and help as many people as possible. This involves tough choices if we are to keep legal aid within budget'. This comment seemed to be aimed more at his shadow minister, Henry Bellingham MP who was sitting by him, than at the audience which was composed mainly of legal aid lawyers angry at government cut backs. Bach also reiterated his message about 'rebalancing money towards social welfare law as the legal aid system should be there for the people at the bottom of the pile. I don’t think it is practical to ask to double the budget'.
Roy Morgan, chairperson of the Legal Aid Practitioners Group (LAPG), argued that the move to reduce face to face advice in police stations would lead to miscarriages of justice. Morgan echoed the concerns of many in the room about best value tendering (BVT) for police station and magistrates' court work when he said: 'Why is this reform necessary now? Why not, as promised, have a pilot followed by an evaluation? Instead of just evaluating the tender process?' Interestingly, Morgan seemed conciliatory in tone towards Lord Bach, saying he believed he was listening to practitioners' concerns but the Legal Services Commission (LSC) was not.
Bellingham had said in his speech: 'It is vital that BVT has a proper evaluation.' Clearly then, the pressure is on the government from all sides to think again on BVT or at least carry out a proper evaluation before rolling it out. LAG’s conference next Thursday (11th June) will give an opportunity to question Lord Bach again and to hear from Shadow Justice Secretary Dominic Grieve about the Conservative party’s plans for legal aid (see:LAG's website for more information on the conference).
There were many good contributions from the floor at the meeting from practitioners including Kat Craig from Young Legal Aid Lawyers (YLAL) who complained about there being 'so little to show for answering every consultation from the LSC'. In her view 'the current system does not allow for quality work'. Many speakers also paid tribute to the work of LAPG and YLAL in establishing the group.
LAG believes the group will act as an important conduit for informing MPs about developments in the legal aid world. LAPG and YLAL deserve much praise for getting the initiative off the ground as does Karen Buck MP, who is a great campaigner on access to justice issues in parliament. We’d warn, though, that the group will lose any influence if it is perceived to be dominated by practitioners and their worries about the impact of legal aid changes on their incomes, instead of focusing on the concerns of clients.
Thursday, 21 May 2009
Criminal commotion
Criminal legal aid solicitors met in London last week to discuss the impending introduction of best value tendering (BVT) by the Legal Services Commission (LSC). In her opening speech, Joy Merriam, chair of the Criminal Law Solicitors Association, painted a grim picture warning that up to 80 per cent of firms might face closure.
Merriam talked about her own experience of closing her firm saying, 'It felt like a divorce'. With redundancy payments, run off insurance and other costs, she said the bill for winding up her practice came to £100,000. She feared that due to tighter LSC rules on payments many firms would be without cash to close properly. She pledged they would, 'Fight the introduction of best value tendering and we have the heart and belly to take on that fight'.
Legal aid minister Lord Bach addressed the conference after Merriam. Bach’s speech started with some pleasantries linked to the 60th anniversary of legal aid, but he moved on to say that, 'No other field of government expenditure has grown as much as legal aid. We have to face the fact total expenditure is not going up. Don’t believe any promises from the opposition'. This drew the first of many heckles from the hostile audience, 'We don’t believe them and we don’t believe you'. Bach argued that they had to identify the priorities for expenditure on legal aid and said, '… in a recession I want to protect social welfare law expenditure'.
The conference also heard speeches from LSC chair, Sir Bill Callaghan, defending BVT and Des Hudson, chief executive of the Law Society, who was critical of the proposals. Hudson believed the government and LSC had reneged on a promise made by the former chair of the LSC, Sir Michael Bichard, to evaluate the BVT pilots fully prior to any general roll out. In a question and answer session Callaghan answered this point. Citing the recession he said, 'Times have changed since Sir Michael made his comments'.
While a few months ago the public position among all practitioners was hostile to BVT, off the record some would say they were relaxed about the proposals believing their firm would win. Since the publication of the document setting out the LSC’s proposals for implementing the scheme the view of practitioners in public and private has shifted decisively against BVT. Many cannot get to grips with the complex bidding process proposed. There is also bitter resentment that the Bar got a deal on very high cost cases by using a boycott, while in contrast many solicitors now face a Hobson’s choice of risking a 'suicide bid' to keep police station and magistrates' court work or pull out at a time when the recession is making it difficult to switch into other areas of law.
LAG fears a chaotic scramble to make bids followed by recriminations and litigation, which will impact on services leading to miscarriages of justice. A pause to properly evaluate the pilot schemes before rushing to implement BVT across the country would seem to be the only sensible option.
Merriam talked about her own experience of closing her firm saying, 'It felt like a divorce'. With redundancy payments, run off insurance and other costs, she said the bill for winding up her practice came to £100,000. She feared that due to tighter LSC rules on payments many firms would be without cash to close properly. She pledged they would, 'Fight the introduction of best value tendering and we have the heart and belly to take on that fight'.
Legal aid minister Lord Bach addressed the conference after Merriam. Bach’s speech started with some pleasantries linked to the 60th anniversary of legal aid, but he moved on to say that, 'No other field of government expenditure has grown as much as legal aid. We have to face the fact total expenditure is not going up. Don’t believe any promises from the opposition'. This drew the first of many heckles from the hostile audience, 'We don’t believe them and we don’t believe you'. Bach argued that they had to identify the priorities for expenditure on legal aid and said, '… in a recession I want to protect social welfare law expenditure'.
The conference also heard speeches from LSC chair, Sir Bill Callaghan, defending BVT and Des Hudson, chief executive of the Law Society, who was critical of the proposals. Hudson believed the government and LSC had reneged on a promise made by the former chair of the LSC, Sir Michael Bichard, to evaluate the BVT pilots fully prior to any general roll out. In a question and answer session Callaghan answered this point. Citing the recession he said, 'Times have changed since Sir Michael made his comments'.
While a few months ago the public position among all practitioners was hostile to BVT, off the record some would say they were relaxed about the proposals believing their firm would win. Since the publication of the document setting out the LSC’s proposals for implementing the scheme the view of practitioners in public and private has shifted decisively against BVT. Many cannot get to grips with the complex bidding process proposed. There is also bitter resentment that the Bar got a deal on very high cost cases by using a boycott, while in contrast many solicitors now face a Hobson’s choice of risking a 'suicide bid' to keep police station and magistrates' court work or pull out at a time when the recession is making it difficult to switch into other areas of law.
LAG fears a chaotic scramble to make bids followed by recriminations and litigation, which will impact on services leading to miscarriages of justice. A pause to properly evaluate the pilot schemes before rushing to implement BVT across the country would seem to be the only sensible option.
Monday, 3 March 2008
Thumbs down for BVT plan
Criminal defence lawyers have given a resounding vote of no confidence to government plans for the proposed ‘best value tendering’ regime under which they would be expected to bid for work. An online survey of 361 legal aid lawyers found that almost two thirds (67%) of solicitors described themselves as ‘strongly against’ the proposals. The LSC is currently consulting on the BVT scheme and that consultation closed this week (March 3rd).
The survey ‘not only highlights that there is a lack of support for BVT across the profession’ but it also ‘reveals some of the fears solicitors have about the LSC's current proposals’, reckons Richard Miller, the Law Society’s legal aid manager. He goes on to say that ‘the fact that 85% said they would not bid for the contracts again when they come up for renewal if they failed first time around starkly demonstrates one of the major problems with the proposals’. ‘We have still seen no answer to the question how there can be adequate competition in any second round of bidding,’ he adds.
Chancery Lane points to ‘broader implications’ of BVT insofar as over half of the respondent firms (56%) undertake civil legal aid work and almost three-quarters (74%) of those firms reckon there would be ‘an adverse impact on their civil legal aid work if they were unsuccessful with their criminal bids’.
The Criminal Law Solicitors Association also published its response rejecting the proposed introduction of Best Value Tendering (BVT). It argues that the proposals ‘fail on every test that the LSC set themselves namely “to create a sustainable legal aid system, with quality, access and value for money at its heart”’. It says that the plan is ‘fundamentally flawed’.
ends
The survey ‘not only highlights that there is a lack of support for BVT across the profession’ but it also ‘reveals some of the fears solicitors have about the LSC's current proposals’, reckons Richard Miller, the Law Society’s legal aid manager. He goes on to say that ‘the fact that 85% said they would not bid for the contracts again when they come up for renewal if they failed first time around starkly demonstrates one of the major problems with the proposals’. ‘We have still seen no answer to the question how there can be adequate competition in any second round of bidding,’ he adds.
Chancery Lane points to ‘broader implications’ of BVT insofar as over half of the respondent firms (56%) undertake civil legal aid work and almost three-quarters (74%) of those firms reckon there would be ‘an adverse impact on their civil legal aid work if they were unsuccessful with their criminal bids’.
The Criminal Law Solicitors Association also published its response rejecting the proposed introduction of Best Value Tendering (BVT). It argues that the proposals ‘fail on every test that the LSC set themselves namely “to create a sustainable legal aid system, with quality, access and value for money at its heart”’. It says that the plan is ‘fundamentally flawed’.
ends
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