The Legal Services Commission's (LSC) preferred supplier pilot has done little to reduce bureaucracy and offers only marginal incentives - but it has improved self-esteem within the firms selected for the scheme, solicitors involved revealed last week.

At a mid-pilot event for the 25 law firms chosen for the scheme, solicitors said they felt they had access to the LSC's leading policy-makers.


Hewit: rethink incentives
Under the pilot, launched in July, top-performing civil and criminal firms enjoy special arrangements with the LSC, including streamlined contracting processes, faster payment and devolved powers to self-grant certificates for general help in family and housing matters and investigative help in non-family matters.


Stephen Hewitt, partner at London firm Fisher Meredith, which is taking part in the pilot, said: 'There has been a lot of talk about reducing bureaucracy, but I have yet to see much of that on the ground. We are on the fast track [for work to be approved] but the process of means testing is torturously slow... If they trust us with the devolved powers granted so far, then why not extend this?'


He continued: 'This has been a good start and worthwhile, but the commission must give a lot of thought to some of the incentives on offer, because frankly some of them do not garner the confidence of some members of my organisation.'


Digby Johnson, senior partner at preferred supplier firm The Johnson Partnership in Nottingham, said: 'The pilot offers a guarantee that there will be no cost compliance audit - that in itself is a good enough reason to join it.'


LSC preferred supplier project manager Louise Collins said the LSC had an open and honest relationship with the suppliers and was looking forward to national roll-out in April 2005.