Legal Aid Reform Feature
Legal Aid Reform - The Way Ahead
Department for Constitutional Affairs Press Release
28 November 2006
The DCA and the Legal Services Commission (LSC) have published
'Legal Aid Reform: The Way Ahead'. The paper accepts the
blueprint set out by Lord Carter of Coles in his final report
into legal aid procurement, published in July 2006. It makes
adjustments to the detail and sequencing of Lord Carter's
proposals, and those in the accompanying DCA / LSC consultation
paper, but retains the move to a market-based system for legal
aid procurement, following a transitional phase in which hourly
rates are replaced by fixed and graduated fees.
A partial regulatory impact assessment covering the first stages
of implementation will be published separately on the DCA and LSC
websites in the next few days.
Useful links:
* Command Paper: Legal Aid Reform: The Way Ahead:
http://www.dca.gov.uk/consult/legal-aidsf/legal-aid-reform_the-way-ahead.pdf
* Summary of consultation responses: Legal Aid - a sustainable
future
http://www.dca.gov.uk/consult/legal-aidsf/sustainable-future.htm#resp