Civil legal aid solicitors have this week warned against using the proposed fixed-fee scheme to try and slash the public funding budget, with ethnic minority firms raising particular concerns about how the new regime will affect them.

Delivering its response to a Legal Services Commission consultation last week, the Law Society argued that any measures linked to the civil budget are unlikely to solve spending problems unless it is ring-fenced from crime spending. 'It is the very high-cost criminal and asylum cases which are stretching the legal aid budget. The civil budget cannot be further reduced if the government is serious in its commitment to tackling social exclusion.'


An optional fixed-fee scheme was introduced for firms in September, promising a 2.5% pay rise for legal aid cases that came under the new fixed-fee umbrella and an end to cost audits. A compulsory scheme is set to begin next April.


The Legal Aid Practitioners Group (LAPG) said firms had been left in a state of uncertainty through fixed fees. LAPG's response said: 'We think it is deplorable that firms have been placed in the position of not knowing the basis of payment or whether they will have a contract in as little as 18 months. As with so much else that has happened in recent years, it makes a complete mockery of the requirements for sensible business planning.'


Both Chancery Lane and the LAPG argued that disbursement costs should be excluded from the £2,500 cap per case specified by the scheme, adding that in many cases that sum would be unrealistic if the case was complicated.


The Black Solicitors Network said its members had a high proportion of clients who required interpreters and would be disproportionately affected by the disbursements rule. The network also said it was not satisfied the LSC has given proper consideration to its obligations to ensure a fair procurement policy.