Legal aid franchising has hit a huge snag in Cardiff, where only three firms have applied to join the scheme.

And, at the other end of the country, applications in Newcastle are also very patchy.But of all the major conurbations, law firms in the Welsh capital seem the most reluctant to sign up.

There are some 400 firms in Cardiff, with only about two dozen not doing any legal aid work at all.

Indeed, the picture for all of south Wales is not encouraging for the Legal Aid Board.

Only 75 firms have applied for a franchise out of a catchment area of about 1000.

But according to Lyn Devonald, the Welsh chairman of the Legal Aid Practitioners Group, the wider area of Tyneside is the least covered in all of England and Wales.

There, the board has received only 57 applications out of some 1000 firms.

The LAB has already conceded that the numbers for London are disappointing, with only 169 firms applying out of a possible 3841.So far, the board has received some 1600 applications in total.Mr Devonald said this week that practitioners in south Wales and Cardiff especially are deeply concerned at the prospect of exclusivity.

They put little stock in recent assurances from Lord Mackay, the Lord Chancellor, that for the time being he is not interested in such a scheme.There is a general feeling amongst Cardiff solicitors that if an exclusivity deal came into force, many of the city's firms would go bust.

Ironically, they view a policy of not signing the contracts as the best tactic in the fight against exclusivity.If Lord Mackay eventually moves in the direction of exc lusivity, Welsh lawyers predict they will be able to scupper the plan by pointing out that the existing franchising scheme has an insufficient number of firms.