The civil legal aid system is on the rocks because solicitors are being unfairly 'punished' by draconian audits and low rates of pay, the parliamentary constitutional affairs select committee warned last week.


The scathing report - which coincided with legal aid solicitors clinching rates rises worth an extra £6 million - dismissed claims from the government and the Legal Services Commission (LSC) that there were enough suppliers, blaming growing 'advice deserts' on a recent 10% drop in civil contracts. Firms' inability to recruit and retain quality lawyers was also a problem.



One of the main contributors to the exodus was an 'arbitrary, inaccurate and bureaucratic' audit system that was 'clearly punishing honest and competent solicitors', the committee argued, recommending greater use of peer review.



Legal aid rates were also unattractive, particularly for new entrants. 'There is a serious risk that if legally aided work is associated with very low fees, this may have a serious impact on the quality of people who undertake legally aided cases,' it said.



The report criticised LSC plans to slash the existing number of legal aid firms because 'once these valuable practitioners are lost, they will be hard to replace'. It called for the civil fund to be ring fenced from the crime budget, more use of telephone and Internet advice, and better incentives for trainees.



The LSC said it already had initiatives under way that addressed many of the problems, including the preferred supplier pilot, which will incorporate greater use of peer review, and telephone advice through CLS Direct.



But Law Society chief executive Janet Paraskeva demanded a long-term plan for the sustainability of legal aid. 'The government must also ensure there is enough money for people to receive advice on civil as well as criminal matters,' she argued.



Legal Aid Practitioners Group director Richard Miller said: 'We hope in light of this that the government will reaffirm the importance of civil legal aid in the course of the fundamental legal aid review, and will agree to commit to the scheme the resources necessary to provide the services that are required.'



The £6 million package negotiated by the Society last week will see solicitors working under the controversial civil fixed fees scheme receive a 2.5% pay rise. Criminal defence solicitors will get up to £10 per hour extra for the most serious cases. Ms Paraskeva welcomed the move. 'Solicitors doing this kind of work have not received a rate increase for several years,' she said.



Richard Collins, LSC executive director of policy and planning, said the remuneration changes would reward the most able solicitors and work to the benefit of the legal aid fund by controlling expenditure.