SUPPLY: true state of affairs will not emerge until next year
Civil practitioners have stuck with legally-aided work through a contract bidding round despite concerns that it would lead to an exodus from the system, the Legal Services Commission (LSC) said this week.
However, practitioners have suggested that the true state of civil legal aid supply will not emerge until next year, when the new contracts come into play.
In a statement to the Gazette, LSC civil contracting policy head Patrick Reeve said there were variations of between 89% and 99% of current supply in registration for existing contracts, which closed at the beginning of this month.
'Many of the contracts that are not being renewed are small or had been winding down over some time and will not significantly effect local provision,' he added.
In general, withdrawals have been more than matched by applications for new contracts to run from next April, either from existing contractors wishing to expand, or from suppliers wanting to join up.
'In some regions, including London, there have been very significant numbers of new bids,' Mr Reeve said.
'This will mean that those regions will need to hold more competitive bid rounds than were at first envisaged.'
But Roy Morgan, chairman of the Legal Aid Practitioners Group, argued that just because firms had registered for new contracts, it did not mean that they would take them up next April, and said there was still a 10% drop in supply in some areas.
'Things are not quite as rosy as they are making out,' he warned.
'We will have to wait until next year to see the true picture.'
Law firms will learn from LSC regional offices next month whether they have won a contract, or whether they will have to take part in further bidding rounds.
Paula Rohan
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