Constitutional Affairs - Third Report
Here you can browse the report together with the Proceedings of the Committee. The published report was ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 18 April 2007.
Contents
Terms of Reference
Summary
1 Introduction
Legal aid and access to justice
The reform proposals
2 Businessbackground
Increases in the Legal Aid budget
Identifying the major cost drivers
The supplier base
The decline in the supplier base
The fragility of the legal aid supplier base
3 Fixed and graduated fees in the transitional period
The move from hourly rates to fees per case - a continuing process
The new fee schemes
Flat fixed fees and the quality of legal aid
Protecting vulnerable clients
A risk to specialist providers
Regional differentiations in fees
The inclusion of travel and waiting time costs in the fee schemes
Not for Profit organisations - a special case?
Detailed impact of the new fee schemes
The criminal fee scheme
The family fee schemes
The civil fee schemes
The combined impact of the fee schemes
Conclusion
Lack of adequate data
Risks in the transitional period
4 'Best Value Tendering' - the market-based approach
The legal aid market - how will market rules apply?
The existence of an appropriate market
The Government's acceptance of increasing prices
What will happen after the first bid round?
'Winner's curse' and market stability
Competition and market entry in subsequent bid rounds
The tendering process - a guarantee for quality?
The fee structure and adequate sharing ofeconomic risk
The need for piloting competitive tendering
5 A move to fewer and larger suppliers
Lord Carter's plan: fewer and larger legal aid providers
The impact of moving to larger providers
Gearing in legal aid firms and the impact on quality
Adequate provision in rural areas and smaller towns
6 Sustaining high quality and expert advice
Peer review and the new quality assurance mechanism
The LSC proposals
Comments on peer review
Quality assessment on the basis of a file
Permanence of quality standards
Recognition of expertise
Child care proceedings
Police station work
7 The impact of the reforms on BME firms and clients
BME clients
A comprehensive race impact assessment
A breach of the Race Relations Act?
8 The relationship between the LSC and suppliers
9 Conclusion
10 Recommendations
Formal minutes
Witnesses
List of written evidence
List of unprinted evidence
Reports from the Constitutional Affairs Committee
List of Oral Evidences
Wednesday 17 January 2007
Tuesday 23 January 2007
Tuesday 30 January 2007
Tuesday 20 February 2007
Written Evidence
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