The President of the Law Society, Andrew Caplen, has raised concerns about the uncertainty that continues to surround the reforms to legal aid and the effect it is having on the legal sector.
In particular he has criticised the delay in the changeover to the new two-tier contract system and has said many important questions remained unanswered.
The two-tier arrangement sees firms having to tender for separate contracts, one for own-client work, open to all qualifying firms; and a second for duty contracts, open only to a very limited number of firms.
Mr Caplen said: “The Ministry of Justice issued its final response to its Transforming Legal Aid Consultation on 27 February, along with the release of the KPMG report on the ministry’s proposed two-tier contract structure. Yet most of our concerns remain to be addressed.”
To compound the Society’s concerns, the tender process for own-client ended in May and was originally meant to be followed by the tender process for duty work, but at the end of July the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) announced that the start date for the tender for duty provider contracts would now be moved to October.
Since then the MoJ has not provided the tender information it promised to help bidder preparations, leaving firms unsure what to do with just weeks left before the process begins.
Caplen said that he believes it may be time for the MoJ to admit that the scheme, as presently conceived, is unviable.
Caplen told the Law Gazette: “The plight of criminal law practitioners and the threat to the working of a criminal justice system worries me deeply. I stand ready to do whatever I can to assist in seeking urgent solutions.”