Telephone advice: criminal defence scheme put on hold until October due to solicitor uproar

The Legal Services Commission (LSC) has once again delayed its plans for a telephone advice service for criminal defence work - now until October - in light of uproar among solicitors.


The LSC had originally planned to kick-start its CDS Direct project in April 2005, focusing on detainees in Liverpool and Boston suspected of non-indictable offences, and generally across the country for minor offences such as driving with excess alcohol that are normally dealt with over the telephone.


The plans for implementation were then put back to July, but the profession protested that the LSC was only allowed to legally make contract changes in April and October each year.


The six-month pilot will now commence on 5 October. Criminal Defence Service director Derek Hill insisted CDS Direct would still increase efficiency and save funds. 'By providing advice over the phone, it also promises to reduce unnecessary duty solicitor attendances at police stations, which are a drain on solicitors called out in the middle of the night and the public purse,' he argued.


Rodney Warren, director of the Criminal Law Solicitors Association, said: 'Although there is no economic justification for this pilot, we are pleased that the LSC has listened to our concerns.'


Law Society chief executive Janet Paraskeva, said: 'This decision provides greater clarity for legal aid practitioners who have been worried that their business plans could be thrown into doubt by sudden policy changes by the commission. We will monitor the effectiveness of this pilot to see if it delivers benefits to clients.'


The Legal Aid Practitioners Group (LAPG) said the July plans were 'never feasible' but also cast doubt on the proposals overall, arguing that solicitors would end up having to correct work and take up appeals on what CDS Direct staff had done.


Chairman Roy Morgan said they were also of the view that statute required a duty solicitor to be involved when a detained person requests one.


LAPG director Richard Miller argued against the removal of telephone payments for cases where CDS Direct has been contacted, saying it has no impact on the amount of work the solicitor has to do on the telephone. 'The LSC is yet again demanding something for nothing.'