Bright future for civil aid

The Legal Services Commission finally published the report by the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies into the civil advice and assistance pilot last week (see [2001] Gazette, 21 June, 1).

And a detailed reading shows the future looks bright for those organisations that commit to advice and assistance work.It is the most comprehensive study of legal aid work undertaken by solicitors' firms and advice agencies, each operating under different study models.

The study focused on what used to be known as green form work before the introduction of contracting and legal help in January 2000.The report concludes: 'In the client survey overall levels of satisfaction of the service were strong; 73% rated the handling of their cases as very good or excellent (46% rated the service as excellent); 16% fair and 12% poor or very poor.'One interesting conclusion is that the model which would have most closely mirrored competitive price tendering was by far the least successful.

LSC chief executive Steve Orchard has confirmed that competitive tendering would 'significantly detract' from the aim of providing better quality services.

The report is likely to cause the government to abandon any plans for competitive tendering.The period of the study was September 1997 to December 1999 and changes have already been made by the LSC as a result of interim findings and discussions with the Legal Aid Practitioners Association and others.

The initial financial limit on the advice and assistance scheme has gone and there is an initial ceiling of 500 for each case.

Case workers can now do the necessary work in each case.The report's findings show that where there is less fettering of organisations, they tend to perform better and more efficiently.

The authors are keen to check quality at the conclusion of the case, and call for peer review - which is to be welcomed if it is affordable.What the pilot allowed, and contracting has continued, is for organisations to view advice and assistance work as something other than just a passport to a legal aid certificate.

There are many legal problems such as housing, debt, family and welfare benefits which proper advice and representation can help solve.

It is an area ripe for expansion and proper funding.

Having organisations that are prepared to commit themselves to the management, training and supervision of case workers specialising in particular areas creates a more effective method of solving the legal problems of many people.

It will become extremely difficult for small organisations to undertake cost effective quality advice and assistance work unless they choose to specialise.Moves by the LSC to raise the standards of quality in the provision of legal services and the introduction of its quality mark this month for consultation are further evidence of that.These higher standards will make it more difficult for organisations to dabble in advice and assistance work.

Many firms will give up legal aid.

Others will be prevented from continuing because they do not meet the higher standards, while others will seek to grow and merge.

This will benefit the public in urban areas where there are already many suppliers.

More of a problem emerges in rural areas where there may be few able to specialise.The institute's report concludes that the work must be properly paid and funded.

Case workers and solicitors must not be precluded from undertaking advice and assistance work or being able to supervise less experienced case workers, and this must be reflected in the rates paid for the work.

Much has been done in the past year to address this, with a 10% increase in rates and payments for file review.Payments to organisations must keep pace with rising costs year on year.

The report shows that the commission is clearly moving in the right direction and the legal profession is moving with it.

David Emmerson is chairman of the Legal Aid Practitioners Association