Further to our recent post, the LAA has issued an update earlier today which states that although the new legal aid forms will be available on 4 August, it will still be acceptable to use the old forms until the end of the month.
Pre 4 August paper forms received on or before 5pm on 5 September but signed and dated before 1 September 2014 will still be acceptable.
The National Audit Office is currently undertaking a study into whether the government’s civil legal aid reforms can be considered to represent value for money. The report will go to the respected Public Accounts Committee later this year. The NAO says that the views of the providers of legal aid services will form an important part of the study.
It is seeking your views through a short online survey, which will close on Friday 25th July 2014. It should take 15-20 minutes to complete and all responses will remain strictly anonymous. You can find the survey here.
UPDATE: The closing date has been extended to 1st August.
Further to our post yesterday, the MOJ has indicated that it intends to appeal. At 11.56 am on Tuesday July 15 2014, the MOJ tweeted ‘Following today’s judgement on the JR of the civil legal aid residence test, @MOJGovUK intends to appeal’ Link here
Filed under Actions Against the Police, Civil, Community Care, Family, Housing, Immigration, LASPO, Public Law, Social welfare
The MOJ has published new regulations to implement a revised scheme in respect of Court bundle payments. It undertook a short consultation exercise, which showed that the clear preference of respondents was to link the bolt-on to the Advocate’s bundle rather than the Court bundle.
Accordingly, this is the basis of the new scheme, subject to controls concerning documents which are served and ‘necessary to the case’, which the MOJ felt were required. The Civil Legal Aid (Remuneration) (Amendment) (No4) Regulations 2014 can be found on our LASPO Resources page in the list of civil regulations.
It was announced on Thursday afternoon that a deal has been done between the Bar – Bar Council and Criminal Bar Association – Law Society and the Lord Chancellor. The Bar achieved the postponement of cuts to advocacy fees until summer 2015, in return for ending the “no returns” action. The Law Society, rather less successfully, achieved the pull forward by a year of interim payments for litigator fees, but this year’s 8.75% fee cuts will stand, as will next year’s further 8.75% cuts, the reduction of criminal contracts by two thirds and the rest of the proposed cuts. The government achieved the end of the united front between solicitors and the Bar, and the end of action that was having a significant impact on the ability of the criminal courts to function. But the LCCSA have confirmed that action by solicitors and probation workers on Monday and Tuesday will go ahead.
The CBA welcomed the agreement, and on Twitter its Chairman described the government’s “submission” to the action it has taken. But in reality all that has happened is that some cuts (to AGFS but not to VHCCs) that criminal advocates faced have been postponed until after the next election – when a new Lord Chancellor (or even the same one) may well feel less immediate political pressure to avoid criminal cases being delayed in the courts and more able to force cuts through. Meanwhile, it appears unity across the professions has collapsed, meaning that there is even less chance of solicitors resisting cuts to their fees and a cull of their firms. And, in the face of two successive 8.75% fee cuts to all their other work, the prospect of no immediate cuts to advocacy fees provides an even greater incentive for firms that survive to take more and more Crown Court advocacy in house. The CBA’s victory, if victory it is, may well prove to be rather pyrrhic.
Criminal cuts
The Ministry of Justice published its response to the consultation and decisions today.
Key points:
Implementation dates:
Key documents:
Civil Cuts
Meanwhile, the government also responded today to the enquiry report from the Joint Committee of Human Rights into the civil legal aid cuts. While broadly defending its proposals, it offered further concessions in that the residence test will not apply to
There was no movement on prison law, borderline cases (both of which have been implemented now anyway) or exceptional cases.
The MoJ has published the new FAS fees which will apply in the new single Family Court from April. They are in appendix B and can be downloaded from the bottom of the page in the consultation response here.
The diffentiation in fees is based on the level of Judge hearing the case. Apart from that, the fee structure is as before and has been designed to be cost neutral for both practitioners and the Ministry.
Due to indications from the President that Court bundles are likely to be restricted to 350 pages or less, there is a need to review bundle payments and a further consultation will be conducted on that point.
Note – the original post has been updated in the light of helpful comments received.
We have updated our ‘LASPO resources‘ page – which is one of the most used features on this site and is recommended by LAPG.
It now has links to all the updated civil and crime regulations. If you are not sure what has changed, check out the 2013-14 Handbook Updates page.
We have also provided links to the peer review ‘improving your quality’ guides on the old LSC website. Although peer reviews are still being carried out and there is information on the process there are regrettably no support materials to help practitioners on the Legal Aid Agency website.
The Government announced today that Lord McNally is to leave his current post at the Ministry of Justice to take the Chair of the Youth Justice Board. Simon Hughes, Liberal Democrat MP for Bermondsey, has been appointed to the Ministry in his place.
Since first posting this news, it appears that although Simon Hughes has been appointed to the Ministry, and Lord McNally is leaving it, responsibilities are not entirely clear. We will provide an update as soon as we can.
Filed under Crime, Family, Housing, Immigration, Policy, Social welfare
The following are mandatory from today. More information is on the LAA website.
CF1 – civil – to allow Counsel to submit fee notes
CRM3 – Prison law (PL1 is being withdrawn)
AF1 – Crime advocacy
CRM7 – Crime advocacy
Filed under Advocacy, Civil, Costs, Crime, Family, Housing, Immigration, Uncategorized
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