Press Release

The way ahead for criminal defence best value tendering

16 July 2008

The future shape of the commissioning of criminal defence services paid for by legal aid has progressed following the Legal Services Commission’s (LSC) initial consultation: Best Value Tendering for Criminal Defence Services.

Carolyn Regan, Chief Executive of the Legal Services Commission, said: “The LSC shares with its service providers the desire of greater certainty and greater stability. We have listened to them and have made a number of changes to our initial plans for Best Value Tendering (BVT) as a result. We are putting back the second consultation on BVT to December 2008 so that we have more time to work with providers and their representative bodies.

“Following the second consultation if BVT is adopted it will be piloted and then evaluated before deciding whether or not to go forward with it in other areas of England and Wales. The start date for tendering for any pilot has also been put back to July 2009 at the earliest.

“There is broad agreement between the LSC and service providers that fixed fees at the present level will not be sustainable in the long-term.  We also recognise that many providers do not feel that price competition can work. However, we believe that we can create a competitive system that meets their principal concerns and ours.

“The Legal Services Commission believes that BVT has the potential to secure high quality criminal legal aid services, best value for taxpayers money and a fair deal for providers. For example BVT could set market prices that would differ in different areas of the country to reflect local delivery costs and conditions.”

The LSC has learned a good deal from meeting a large number of providers during the consultation and receiving their written views. We will take their views on board in the design of a future scheme. In particular we will look to maintain a choice of providers for clients and ensure that there are safeguards against unsustainably low bids.

In addition the LSC has set out the other developments it intends to make in criminal legal aid over the next 12 months. These include consulting on the introduction of means testing in the Crown Court and consultation on crown court remuneration later in 2008.

We are committed to working with representative bodies as we shape the new contracts for 2010.