The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has criticised government plans to introduce a 'potentially costly' quality assurance scheme for publicly-funded criminal defence work.


The proposed scheme - first recommended by Lord Carter in his review of legal aid procurement - would see advocates graded in four levels according to the skills required.



Advocates, whether barristers or solicitors, would be made responsible for collecting a body of evidence to show their competencies and skills. This evidence is expected to cover advocacy skills, legal knowledge, case management, client service, accurate and timely advice, and effective interaction with other agencies in the criminal justice system. This will then be evaluated by chambers or an independent panel.



But in its response to a joint Ministry of Justice and Legal Services Commission consultation paper on a scheme for advocates at Crown Court level and above, the BSB expressed concern over whether it should be involved in monitoring the scheme, and how the plans would fit into the board's wider approach to quality.



The regulator also raised concerns about whether the grading should be advisory or mandatory, and the extent of any sanctions. The scheme may also have an adverse impact on diversity, it warned.



Ruth Evans, chairwoman of the BSB, said: 'The board is committed to assuring quality at the bar, but to take part in this scheme we would need to be satisfied that the standards required were proportionate and did not affect access to justice, and were consistent with those that the BSB itself wished to require of the profession.



'It is not clear either from the consultation paper what monitoring would involve. This, and the fact that a potentially costly scheme might be designed to benefit only one purchaser, gives us further cause for concern.'



The consultation closed earlier this month. The ministry and commission are now expected to design a six-to-12 month pilot scheme, testing out different approaches in different geographical areas.