The Bar Council has set up a high-level working group to look at the impact on the bar of the government's plans to introduce price-competitive tendering and a single fee to cover litigators' and advocates' work in legal aid cases.


Bar Council chairman Geoffrey Vos QC said the government's proposals appeared to be anti-competitive and would disadvantage the bar because it would be unable to compete for the proposed block contracts.



Mr Vos said: 'Through no fault of its own, the bar will not be in a position to compete on a level playing field with solicitors for the blocks of cases on offer.'



He said no mechanisms could be put in place by October 2008, when the changes are due to be introduced, to enable such competition to take place.



The group, chaired by Desmond Browne QC, will report by October.



Derek Hill, director of the Criminal Defence Service, said the Legal Services Commission would design the process to ensure competition could be sustained.



Catherine Baksi