Legal aid firms that lost civil contracts through the bidding round have received some comfort this week, after the Legal Services Commission (LSC) agreed to open the appeals process to consider factors beyond the evaluation criteria used to decide who the winners and losers were.

The LSC gave the assurance following talks last week with the Legal Aid Practitioners Group (LAPG), when it also pledged to freeze standard monthly payments at their current level through April and May for London firms that are waiting to hear the results of their appeals.

Other regional offices may follow suit.

The move has brought an end to the uncertainty for firms that feared they would be left high and dry when the current contracts come to an end on 31 March.

Bills will now be reconciled in June.

The LSC said that the contract review body will not be constrained by the 'matrix' - the set of criteria used to evaluate firms' bids - when it comes to appeals, but will be allowed to look at whether the bid rules have been applied properly in each case.

This will enable the body to override the score generated by the matrix.

The LSC also promised not to terminate contracts again this year in order to hold another bidding round if it turns out that there are too many successful appeals.

The LAPG said it was glad it appeared that firms' legitimate grievances could now be addressed through a fair appeals process.

Director Richard Miller said the discussions had also clarified a number of points for concern regarding anomalies and discrepancies with the bid rules.

However, he called on both the LSC and the profession to learn from the mistakes of the bidding process to avoid a repeat of the current uncertainty firms are still facing.

'This process has bruised even those firms that have been awarded contracts,' he said.

An LSC spokesman said: 'We are pleased we have been able to reach a broad agreement with the LAPG as to how appeals against bidding round decisions will be made.'

Paula Rohan