Legal aid solicitors have won an additional week to bid for the 2004 non-immigration civil contracts after the Legal Services Commission (LSC) relented to pressure from ethnic minority and specialist practitioners.

But the announcement came against a backdrop of further criticism from the LSC of the quality of solicitors providing legal aid immigration and asylum advice.

Following an emergency meeting last week with the Black Solicitors Network (BSN), the LSC has agreed to extend the closing date for contract work bids from 5 December to 12 December.

The BSN had argued that the short notice for the civil contract bids - the bid round was announced on 14 November - potentially discriminated against smaller firms, where a large proportion of ethnic minority legal aid practitioners practise (see [2003] Gazette, 27 November, 3).

Responding to the concession, BSN chairwoman Yvonne Brown said her group still had concerns: 'While the network welcomes the decision to extend the deadline for bids by one week, we are far from satisfied that the bidding process is fair, open or transparent.'

At last week's meeting, Andy Grant, the LSC's London area director, painted a bleak picture of legally aided asylum advice in the capital.

'The quality of some immigration work in London is absolutely appalling,' he said, continuing: 'This has really shocked me since I became London director...

We have taken action and regrettably many, many firms have lost their contracts because of poor quality.'

He said a drop in the amount of work available - from a monthly average of 8,000 matter starts to 5,000 - meant there was a 'shrinking client base' and therefore 'a shrinking supplier base' was likely.

Law Society chief executive Janet Paraskeva said: 'The vast majority of immigration solicitors giving legal aid advice provide a high-quality service.'

She said Chancery Lane is working with the LSC to root out poor advisers through the Society's new accreditation scheme.

By Jonathan Ames