Lord chancellor Chris Grayling has today announced a revised timetable for the introduction of price-competitive tendering for criminal legal aid services. The government proposes to issue a consultation paper in April 2013 and to hold the tender round in autumn 2013, with a view to the new contracts starting in autumn 2014.
Read the ministerial statement (PDF)
Law Society reaction
The Law Society’s head of legal aid Richard Miller said:
‘The government has set out a challenging timetable. We will take some convincing that price competition is workable, given the nature of the work and the market as it currently exists.
'But we will endeavour to co-operate with the procurement process, whatever form it might eventually take, since it would be in nobody’s interest for a repeat of the problems with court translation services.
‘As to the substance of their consultation - we await with interest and will take a full part in the consultation, on behalf of our members.’