The Government has today announced that it will scrap the controversial two-tier system for criminal legal aid contracts, in the face of a concerted challenge to the tender procedure for placing 527 duty provider contracts. The tender procedure followed two judicial review claims in 2014-15 which sought to challenge the introduction of two-tier. Following the announcement of the winning bidders in October, 99 Part 7 CPR claims were issued under the Public Contracts Regulations 2006, challenging the outcome of the competition in most parts of the country. In addition, a judicial review challenge was brought, relying upon allegations of poor training and extreme and unrealistic time pressures which had been made by whistle-blowers who had been employed by the Legal Aid Agency to evaluate tenders. The judicial review claim, by the Fair Crime Contract Alliance, was scheduled for hearing in April, with a trial of at least part of the Part 7 claims scheduled for May. The Government’s decision not to go ahead with the two tier system was, according to a statement by the Lord Chancellor, “driven in part by the recognition that the litigation will be time consuming and costly for all parties, whatever the outcome. I do not want my department and the legal aid market to face months if not years of continuing uncertainty, and expensive litigation, while it is heard”. The Legal Aid Agency will instead extend existing contracts, suspend a fee cut which was due to come in with the new contracts, and work with the profession to examine ways of promoting greater efficiency in the criminal legal aid system. The litigation has now “fallen away” and will be disposed of, subject to argument about costs.
Jason Coppel KC, Amy Rogers and Zoe Gannon represent the Fair Crime Contract Alliance.
Jason Coppel KC, James Goudie KC, Peter Oldham KC, Charles Bourne KC, Akhlaq Choudhury KC, Jane Oldham, Andrew Sharland, Harini Iyengar, Joanne Clement, Holly Stout, David Bedenham, Patrick Halliday, Christopher Knight, Joseph Barrett, and Hannah Slarks all represent claimants in the Part 7 CPR proceedings.
Jason Coppel KC, Jonathan Swift KC, Joanne Clement, Christopher Knight and Rupert Paines have previously acted for representative associations of criminal legal aid solicitors in judicial review challenges to the two-tier contracting model and the process by which it was adopted.
Link to Government announcement: read here.
