By Rachel Rothwell


The Law Society has sealed a deal with the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and the Legal Services Commission (LSC) that will see a significant boost to civil legal aid fees in return for dropping its judicial review action against the LSC.


The MoJ has also guaranteed that price competitive tendering will not be introduced for civil or family work before 2013, and has agreed to delay best value tendering for criminal legal aid by six months to no earlier than July next year.



The deal means a 2% increase on all legal help fixed fees and underlying hourly rates from July, while care level 2 fees will rise from £347 to £405. Controlled legal representation fees and rates for mental health and immigration will rise by 5%, and there will be a delay in implementing private law family litigators' graduated fees.



In a bid to provide solicitors with more stability and certainty over the future, the LSC has agreed to supply a closed list of Community Legal Advice Centres and Networks planned for the period ending April 2010. It has also committed to publishing a 'route map' giving an outline of its proposals for the next five years. The LSC has agreed not to seek to recoup historic payments on accounts which are more than six years old where the amount outstanding is less than £20,000, with certain restrictions. It will also implement a new process on standard monthly payments which is intended to be more predictable.



Law Society chief executive Des Hudson said: 'Our talks with the LSC and the MoJ have not only helped ensure legal aid will receive vital financial support, they have also shown that we can work together in an effort to establish a more balanced system that is workable and accessible. However, we still have serious concerns about the future of legal aid and we welcome the LSC's commitment to a more open approach of better engagement with legal aid practitioners.'



The Law Society had threatened to bring judicial review proceedings against the LSC for failing to act on a Court of Appeal judgment that its unified contract for civil legal aid fees is unlawful. The LSC and MoJ have now accepted that the Court of Appeal ruling meant the unified contract did not comply with European regulations.



Legal aid minister Lord Hunt said: 'This agreement provides a significant period of certainty and stability for civil legal aid providers'.



The key changes are:



- 2% increase in all legal help fixed fees and underlying hourly rates from 1 July 2008



- Care level 2 fee increases from £347 to £405



- 5% increase in CLR (controlled legal representation) fees and rates for mental health



- 5% increase in CLR fees and rates for immigration



- Delay in implementing private law family litigators' graduated fees



- Closed list of all CLACS and CLANS (Community Legal Advice Centres and Networks) planned for the period ending April 2010



- LSC will not seek to recoup historic unrecouped payments on account over six years old and where the amount outstanding is less than £20,000, with certain restrictions apply.



- New process on standard monthly payments



- LSC to publish a route map setting out the outline of its proposals for the next five years, including a commitment that there will be no price competitive tendering for civil or family work before 2013.



- Best value tendering (BVT) in criminal legal aid will be delayed by six months to a date not before July 2009



- Reviews to be conducted of the contract compliance audit process and the operation of peer review and other quality assurance mechanisms.