This section covers legal aid, public funding, Community Legal Service (CLS) legislation and relevant reports and consultation papers.
The DCA and the Legal Services Commission (LSC) have published 'Legal Aid Reform: The Way Ahead'. The paper accepts the blueprint set out by Lord Carter of Coles in his final report into legal aid procurement, published in July 2006. It makes adjustments to the detail and sequencing of Lord Carter's proposals, and those in the accompanying DCA / LSC consultation paper, but retains the move to a market-based system for legal aid procurement, following a transitional phase in which hourly rates are replaced by fixed and graduated fees.
The Regulatory Impact Assessment covers the first stage of implementation of fixed and graduated fees for legally aided work, as set out in 'The Way Ahead'. The paper also assesses the impact of the Legal Services Commission's 'Preferred Supplier Scheme'.
The Legal Services Commission published analysis they commissioned from Otterburn Legal Consulting into the impact on the criminal legal aid supplier base of Lord Carter’s proposed fixed fees from April 2007. The report and a background note were published on the LSC website on 8 March 2007.
Lord Carter has published his independent review into legal aid procurement, which we commissioned in July 2005 as part of A Fairer Deal for Legal Aid. The review sets out a programme of radical reforms to a market-based system, which will change the way Government buys legal advice on behalf of the public.
Over the past year, Lord Carter has been involved in detailed negotiations with the legal profession to reach a sustainable way forward for legal aid.
Lord Carter's recommendations will provide a fairer deal for the vulnerable, for the taxpayer, for defendants and for practitioners.
Lord Falconer, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs, has responded to the Carter report with a formal joint consultation paper from the Department for Constitutional Affairs and the Legal Services Commission which reflects Lord Carter's recommendations.
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Our vision for legal aid reform is outlined in the "A fairer deal for legal aid" paper, which was laid in parliament on 5 July 2005. It sets out proposals that aim to guarantee continued fair and equal access to justice; improve outcomes for those who most need publicly funded legal services ensuring that the taxpayer gets value for money from those who provide legal services.
If you are working on government policy development within DCA or other government departments you must consider whether there will be either a potential impact on the workload of the courts or a legal aid cost. This section includes guidance to help you determine this; provides a background to the legal aid scheme in England and Wales; and includes the contact details of our legal aid policy team who you should contact to obtain further guidance and help with costing the impact.