I write with reference to the article by Catherine Baksi on the LSC’s proposed change of approach to quality assurance (‘LSC to abandon peer review’, [2009] Gazette, 9 July, 1).

It is unfortunate that a clear, balanced article was given such a misleading and inflammatory headline. The LSC is not abandoning peer review, which in any case has never been an entry criterion for mainstream legal aid contract bid rounds. Delivering at peer review standard 3 remains a contractual requirement, so we are not changing the quality standard providers must meet.

I am pleased to say the vast majority already achieve this – in part thanks to the other quality standards the LSC has developed. We will use peer review on a risk-based and random sample basis, and civil providers are likely to see increased peer reviews under the new approach.

Rodney Warren says that the LSC risks abrogating all responsibility for quality. The LSC must set the standards for the services that it wants to purchase on behalf of the taxpayer and clients, but the main responsibility for quality surely lies with the legal profession, its regulators and representative bodies.

Patrick Reeve, Acting director of strategy, Legal Services Commission