The Master of the Rolls has called for implementation of the new legal aid contracts, proposed as part of the Carter review, to be delayed until after a key report by the constitutional affairs select committee (CASC) has been published and considered.


In a letter to the Lord Chancellor last month, Sir Anthony Clarke wrote about the 'serious concerns' raised at a recent meeting of the Civil Justice Council (CJC) that the contracts would be introduced ahead of the MPs' findings.



Sir Anthony, who chairs the CJC, added: 'The council agreed that this would not be desirable, since both you and the Legal Services Commission (LSC) will presumably wish to have considered the views of the committee before taking any further step. I have been asked by the council to urge you (and the LSC) not to take any further steps until after the CASC report has been digested.'



Legal aid minister Vera Baird replied that the select committee planned to deliver its report before Easter - and that the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) would 'normally expect to reply within two months'.



She added: 'As no civil fee scheme will become operational before October, there would not seem to be any question of anticipating consideration of the CASC report.'



However, Legal Aid Practitioners Group director Richard Miller said that, far from waiting until October 2007, there are numerous provisions coming into effect as early as April to facilitate the implementation of the Carter reforms. These include giving the LSC 'unprecedented' rights to terminate contracts on a no-fault basis without compensation on just six months' notice.



Mr Miller added: 'We have asked for more time to find an acceptable way to provide the LSC with the powers that it needs, while doing less damage to firms as businesses - and have been repeatedly refused. If the DCA's response to the CJC is correct, then there's clearly no obstacle to extending the current contract for six months while terms are agreed.'



Jonathan Rayner