Legal Aid contract 2010: Civil

Changes to the legal aid contract: Civil – 15 February 2010

1. Introduction

1.1 Who should read this practice note?

Solicitors and practice managers who deal with legal aid contracts for civil work.

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1.2 What is the issue?

The current Unified Contract (Civil) will be extended to 13 October 2010 . The new 2010 Standard Civil Contract will come into force on 14 October 2010 . Practitioners must apply for and be awarded the new contract in order to carry out any new civil controlled and licensed work from October 2010. The bid round for immigration contracts has already opened.

This practice note aims to provide you with a summary of the main changes to the Legal Aid contract 2010 and the tendering process. This information in this represents our best understanding of the position but you must read the tendering documentation very carefully, as items may be dealt with differently, and some requirements may be added or removed.

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2. Timetable for tendering

The current contracts have been extended until the beginning of October 2010. The following is the likely timetable for tendering:

Week commencing 25 January 2010	LSC publishes updated procurement plans
10 February 2010	Bidding starts for Mental Health services. There are seven weeks in which to submit a bid. Bidding closes 31 March 2010.
Week commencing 22 February 2010	Bidding starts for Social Welfare Law and Family services. There are seven weeks in which to submit a bid. Bidding closes week commencing 19 April 2010.
Week commencing 8 March 2010	Bidding starts for low volume categories. Bidding closes week commencing 26 April 2010.
June 2010	Appeal process begins.
August 2010	LSC to check that firms are ready to start from October.
13 October 2010	New Contracts start New fees apply to cases opened from this date.

If the bids made are for less than the New Matter Starts (NMS) available then it is likely that a decision for award of contracts will be by the end of May. If the bids exceed NMS the decision may not be until July.

The new contracts are due to last for three years (except in social welfare law categories in places where a Community Legal Advice Service, or Network is proposed), and the LSC will have the right to extend them for up to two years. The LSC may terminate the contract for any reason on six months notice and providers may terminate for any reason on 3 months notice.

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3. What the LSC want to buy:

3.1 Minimum service combinations (Specification 2.15)

The contracts are broken down to a range of minimum service combinations that you must provide during the life of your contract. These are:

Category	Minimum service combination	Service type(s)
Family	Domestic abuse, divorce and separation, and children and finance in private family law and public law children	Integrated Services A
	Domestic abuse, divorce and separation, and children and finance in private law family and/or public law children	Integrated Services B
	Services for children – public and private	N/A
	Child abduction	N/A
Family Mediation	Full breadth of services including children, finance and all issues mediation	N/A
Social welfare law	Debt, welfare benefits and housing	Integrated Services A and Integrated Services B
	Housing and family	A&B
	Community Care	A&B
	Employment	A&B
Mental Health	Services for both detained and non-detained clients covering Mental Health Review Tribunal and non- Mental Health Review Tribunal work	Integrated Services A & Integrated Services B
Immigration and asylum	Immigration and asylum, except in limited circumstances where the LSC may ask for: Immigration and asylum with limited or no asylum starts	Integrated Services A & Integrated Services B
Low Volume Categories	Actions against the police etc	N/A
	Clinical negligence	N/A
	Consumer: Professional negligence and disability discrimination only	N/A
	Education	N/A
	Personal injury	N/A
	Public law	N/A

Mainstream family work: There are two service combinations for mainstream family work, Integrated Services A and B. The procurement plans drafted for each procurement area will identify which services will be tendered for in each area.

Integrated Services A: These are areas where the LSC think there is over-supply and therefore will demand a wider range of services provided in the contract. In these areas you must provide the full breadth of family advice across both private and public family law.

Integrated Services B: These are areas where the LSC think there is less coverage. In these areas you will be required to deliver either the full range of private family work and/or public law children work.

Family Service Standards : The supervisors' legal competence standard is set out as follows in the specification of the 2010 Standard Civil Contract:

"7.151: Subject to paragraph 7.152, the Supervisor must be either:

• (a) A member of the Law Society's Family Law Accreditation Scheme;
• (b) A member of the Law Society's Children Panel Accreditation Scheme; or
• (c) A Resolution Accredited Specialist.

7.152: If your contract is for Specialist Children services (see paragraphs 2.6 and 2.15), the Supervisor must be a Children Representative under the Law Society's Children Panel Accreditation Scheme."

Download the specification (PDF 202KB)

It is vitally important that you provide clear information about your service provision in the tender documentation. If you don't meet the requirement now, you need to say how you will do so before the commencement date for the contract.

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3.2 Minimum contract sizes

There are a minimum number of NMS that you must bid for in order to obtain a contract. These vary between categories of work. They also vary within categories depending on local conditions. The minimum numbers will be outlined in the procurement plans that the LSC publish on their website. Below is a table outlining the minimum new matter starts for the individual categories:

Category Group	Sub Category	Minimum new matter start size
Family	Private	100, 75, 50 or 25 Depending on procurement plans
	Public	5*
Services for Children		N/A**
Child abduction		N/A
Family mediation	Family mediation	N/A
Social welfare law	Debt	100, 75 or 50 Depending on procurement plan
	Housing
	Welfare Benefits
	Community care	20
	Employment	30
Mental Health	Mental Health	30
Immigration and asylum	Asylum (where provided with immigration)	100 overall with at least 35 of those being Asylum and at least 15 being Immigration (Integrated Services A areas). 35 (integrated Services B areas)
	Immigration (where provided with asylum)	100 overall with at least 35 of those being Asylum and at least 15 being Immigration (Integrated Services A areas. 15 (Integrated Services B areas)
	Immigration only service	30 (Services A areas) 15 (Services B areas)
Low volume categories	Actions against the police etc (police claim)	20***
	Clinical negligence	N/A
	Consumer (professional negligence)	15***
	Education	30***
	Personal Injury	10***
	Public Law	15***

*Providers bidding for public law children work who represent children only within this category of work will not be required to meet this minimum new matter start, as they will be instructed upon the issue of proceedings. All public law children providers will be required to open at least 5 certificates in each contract year (2.19 Specification).

**Providers bidding for children only services will be given a notional allocation of 5 new matter starts but there will be no minimum new matter start contract requirement. They will, however, be required to open 5 family certificates each contract year.

***Whilst providers will be required to bid for the minimum matter start sizes, it will not be a contract requirement.

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4. LSC Procurement areas for services

The LSC have divided the country up into procurement areas for different categories of law. These will replace the current bid zones for the 2010 tender. These are published on the LSC website via the link below:

Map of Procurement areas (PDF 366 KB)

They include:

• Family and social welfare law: 134 procurement areas
• Mental Health - 10 Strategic Health Authority areas plus Wales plus three high security hospitals
• Immigration - 6 regions based on Home Office regional areas, but with Wales and the South West split. The London tender will be separate from the South East.
• Low volume categories - 13 procurement areas including Wales.

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4.1 Access Points (4.16 consultation response)

The immigration procurement areas are subdivided further into areas based on the Family and social welfare law procurement areas or clusters of them. These areas will then be assessed as high, medium or low demand. High demand areas are classed as access points. Matter Starts are allocated to access points. Firms can deliver Matter Starts anywhere in the Procurement Area but must maintain access in the access point.

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4.2 Presence in the procurement area

You must maintain a presence in the procurement area. The type of presence maintained depends on the category of law. Below is a table listing the category and the presence required (Specification 2.46):

Category	Presence
Family, Housing, Debt, Welfare Benefits, Immigration	Permanent (subject to your Schedule and to Para 2.47)
Employment, Community Care, Clinical Negligence, Personal Injury	Part-time
Actions against the Police etc, Public Law, Education, Consumer and General	Local Arrangements
Mental Health	Category Specific Rules

Family Contracts : The LSC intends to have a minimum of 5 providers in Family Law in a procurement area but are likely to let more contracts if more bids meet the minimum criteria.

Mental health : providers must provide services in at least one detention location within the procurement area. They must list any others they will serve, but this is for LSC information only and will not affect the outcome of the bid.

There is a minimum of 3 providers per hospital and 5 for the high security hospitals.

Low volume categories : there was no proposal for any procurement areas to be set for low volume categories, but in the consultation response, the LSC decided that they would contract for these services on the basis of the former LSC regions.

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4.3 Definitions of type of presence

The following items are quoted from the 2010 Standard Civil Contract Specification Section 2 (PDF, 827kb).

Permanent presence (Specification 2.49)

“Must have a permanent… Office in the Procurement Area... the Office must be open and physically accessible to Clients in normal business hours every day Monday to Friday. You must be able to arrange appointments for a client and to provide face to face legal advice”

During office opening hours, clients must also be able to speak to a person by telephone to set up appointments and to contact about emergency matters.

Part-time presence (Specification 2.51)

“you must have an Office in the Procurement Area but this does not need to be continuously occupied. The Office must be open and physically accessible to clients on a regular weekly basis for at least one full day or two half days per week”

A permanent phone number must also be available each day from Monday to Friday during normal office opening hours where clients can speak to a person to set up an appointment and to contact in emergency matters. This number can be the number of an actual office or a central number but access only to mobile phone numbers will not be acceptable.

Local Arrangements (Specification 2.53)

“Although you do not need to maintain an Office (as defined above) in the Procurement Area you must have arrangements confirmed in writing allowing you to use premises within the procurement Area to provide face-to-face advice and client interviews where appropriate.”

“Clients must be able to contact you by telephone and speak to a person in your organisation every day from Monday to Friday during normal business hours to arrange appointments and, where appropriate, receive advice in emergency cases. This telephone number may be for an office outside the Procurement Area but must not be a mobile number”

Offices (Specification 2.48)

The LSC provides a definition of Offices within the contract for the purposes of the presence requirement.

“A building which is suitable to cater for the needs of your clients and personnel…The Office must display the Community Legal Service logo and be included in the category and location directory of Community Legal Advice. Hotels, retail outlets and vehicles cannot count as offices for these purposes.”

Out of hours and emergencies

Clients must be able “where appropriate [to] receive advice in emergency cases”

Out of hours, clients “must be able to access information about opening hours, who to contact in an emergency, and Community Legal Advice”

The clause specifically refers to clients, not to former clients. “Client” is defined as someone who has been assessed as eligible for legal aid.

Outreach

This is not included in the contract and is arranged through discussions with your contract manager.

4.4 Service outside the Procurement area (Specification 2.60)

You are able to advise clients outside of your procurement area, subject to certain restrictions. The table below outlines the restrictions in each category.

Category of Law	Can you represent clients based outside of the PA?	Can you see clients outside of your Office?	Can you represent clients where the proceedings take place outside the PA?
Family	Yes	Potentially – the contract permits Outreach where this has been agreed with your Relationship Manager and exceptional circumstances where you can attend your client	Yes
Social Welfare Law (community care, debt, housing, employment, welfare benefits)	Yes	As above	Yes
Mental Health	Up to 30 per cent of matters started can be used for clients based outside of the PA	Yes - the office requirement in this category is more flexible (see from 4.40 of consultation response for presence arrangements)	Yes
Immigration	Up to 30 per cent of matters started can be used for clients based outside of the PA	Potentially - the contract permits Outreach where this has been agreed with your Relationship Manager and exceptional circumstances where you can attend your client	Yes
Asylum	Up to 10 per cent of matters started can be used for clients based outside the PA	Potentially – the contract permits Outreach where this has been agreed with your Relationship Manager and exceptional circumstances where you can attend your client	Yes
Clinical Negligence	Yes – Whilst in other low volume categories there will be an allowance based on new matter starts allocated this will not apply to clinical negligence as the LSC do not allocate new matter starts in this category	Yes	Yes
Other low volume categories (actions against the police etc, consumer, education, personal injury, public law	Up to 40 per cent of total new matter starts allocated can be used for clients based outside of the PA	Yes – there is no office requirement for any of these categories apart from personal injury (see from 4.59 of consultation response for presence arrangements)	Yes

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5. How the LSC will buy it

5.1 The tendering process

The LSC will first publish the updated procurement plans,followed by Invitations to Tender( ITT ) and the Information for Applicants (IFA).

There is a 7 week window to submit a bid on the e-tendering portal.

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5.2 Making an application

You must first register on the e-tendering portal. Then complete the following steps:

• Complete the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ). Once a PQQ response has been submitted, providers wishing to tender in relation to services covered by another IFA must check that any PQQ response they have previously submitted is still correct and up-to-date. If it is incorrect you must ensure that a corrected version is submitted before the deadline for the relevant IFA closes.
• Complete and submit an ITT for each category of law bearing in mind the Essential Criteria and the Selection Criteria (yet to be published as category specific, for further information see the Immigration Tender information (PDF, 406kb)

The portal includes Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), and you can ask questions online.

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5.3 Procurement Plans

Procurement Plans published on the LSC website have now been updated.
View the latest information

The plans identify the:

• The number of Matter Starts available;
• mix of services ( including whether integrated services A or B will apply);
• access points;
• allocation criteria.

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5.4 Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ) (s5 of the Consultation response)

The PQQ relates to the organisation, not the work. There is a common form for all tenders, and one must be submitted with each tender.

It largely consists of a series of yes/no questions to enable you to confirm compliance with key legislation and aspects such as professional conduct.
It will cover the following areas:

• Rejection: Any mandatory grounds for rejection of the Applicant under regulation 23(1) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2006 (Applicants or Key Personnel convicted of conspiracy, bribery, fraud, money laundering)
• Experience: Requirement to have 1 year's managerial experience and 3 years' experience of delivering specialist legal advice.
• Complaints: Requirement to have a complaints process, and no history of complaints being upheld and sanctions applied by a regulatory/complaints body, or upheld professional negligence claims, in the last 3 years (in relation to publicly funded areas of law only).
• Insurance: Requirement to have appropriate professional indemnity, public liability and employers' liability insurance cover.
• Workplace legislation: Requirement to comply with workplace legislation (data protection, equalities and health and safety at work) by having appropriate policies and procedures and an acceptable history of discrimination claims in the last 3 years.
• Business conduct: An acceptable history of business conduct including interventions and adverse findings by regulatory bodies, bankruptcy/insolvency, terminations for fault of public sector contracts, criminal convictions and failures to repay money owing on public sector contracts.
• Liabilities: Confirmation that the Applicant Organisation has met its tax, VAT and NI liabilities.
• Standards: Confirmation that the Applicant Organisation will hold an appropriate quality standard (SQM or Lexcel).

The PQQ is already available on the LSC website through the ‘PQQs open to all suppliers' link on the e-tendering portal.

The deadline on the PQQ refers to the deadline for the Immigration tenders only. The deadline for other areas of law is the tender deadline. However, you should fill in the PQQ as early as possible as you will need to gather information from your offices.

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5.5 Minimum entry requirements

You must pass the pre-qualification stage and at least the minimum entry requirements in order to qualify for a contract. The following document contains the minimum requirements:

Annex A: Summary of requirements (PDF, 35kb)

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5.6 Invitation to Tender (ITT) and Information for Applicants (IFA)

The Invitation to Tender will appear in the Gazette and on the LSC website.

The ITT and IFA:

• Detail exactly what is being tendered
• Set out how to tender
• Confirm requirement to use e-tendering
• Include formal tender rules
• Include allocation criteria and appeals processes
• Set out a process for asking questions

See the Legal services website for the current version of the Immigration Tender.

You should look at this in order to get an idea of how these documents are set out. Many of the rules are likely to be broadly the same for the general civil tender.

You should read the document thoroughly at least twice, and once you have completed your tender, read it again to ensure you have covered everything. You should read it as early as possible so that you have time to ask questions and receive answers to them.

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5.7 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

You are able to ask questions online. These will be answered in a public FAQ published on the civil tender page of the LSC website. Keep reading the FAQ, and don’t submit your bid until after the last update. The IFA sets out the rules for asking questions, namely through the e-tendering software, and gives the last date for questions and the date of when the final FAQ will be published.

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5.8 Testing Capacity

The LSC will ask you to detail the number of matter starts you are bidding for and the number of full-time equivalent caseworkers ( FTE ) in your organisations. The LSC will set out a maximum number of matter starts per FTE. This is to try and safeguard against unrealistic bids.

The current Maximum number of Matter Starts per full time equivalent is:

• Debt, WB, employment: 300
• Housing, consumer: 250
• Family private, Community Care, AAP: 200
• Education, public law: 180
• Immigration, mental health: 150

Bids that exceed the maximum will be capped but not rejected.

If a post is vacant, only half the starts will be allocated.

The LSC will check the position 6 weeks before the contract starts. If the position is filled, the firm gets the balance of the matter starts. If not, the firm loses the starts allocated to the vacancy.

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5.9 Allocation of New Matter Starts (NMS)

The LSC will state the maximum number of NMS available in an area. You will set out the number of NMS you want to tender for. If it is possible to meet the numbers requested the LSC will allocate to practices meeting the minimum requirements without applying a selection criteria.

Where the number of matter starts requested exceeds the volume available for the area NMS will be allocated to practitioners following a ranking exercise using selection criteria. Full details of the selection criteria will be set out in the tender documentation. You should look at the immigration selection criteria as the selection criteria for the general civil tender is likely to be the same.

Mental Health: there is a non-competitive process for work in Strategic Health Authorities. This means that everyone meeting the minimum entry requirements in Mental Health will be awarded a contract, but this could be at the minimum matter starts size of thirty, rather than at the levels that applicants bid for.

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5.10 E-tendering

The tendering process is online at the e-tendering portal. Applications for new contracts will only be accepted through this online facility. You must have a PC with a minimum of Internet Explorer 6+. The LSC will be offering technical support.

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5.11 Consortia (section 3.11 Standard Terms and sections 2.12 - 2.14 Specification)

The LSC want to provide debt, housing and welfare benefits as joined up services. To help facilitate this providers have the option of forming a consortium under which they sign separate but linked contracts. The following document provides full details:

Consortium Arrangements for Social Welfare Law contracts in 2010 (PDF 40KB)

A consortium must as a minimum include debt, housing and welfare benefits.

Linked contracts : you must meet all standards in the categories for which you have a schedule authorisation but you will also comply with standards in linked categories if all the following conditions apply:

• One other consortium member meets the standard in that category
• Details of the other consortia members are set out in your contract
• Access requirements are complied with

You must let your client know the identity of the other consortium members.

You must not share information about clients with other consortia members without the clients consent.

Before referring a client to another consortia member you must take steps to ensure there is no conflict of interest.

It will not be your responsibility to ensure the quality of work delivered by the other members of your consortium.

Under clause 13.14(d) of the Standard Terms, you can apply to the LSC for an amendment to the contract to change the membership of a consortium. LSC's consent is required, such consent not to be unreasonably withheld.

Under clause 25.4(i), the LSC may terminate the contract if the contract of any fellow consortium member comes to an end for any reason. This power is not subject to the six month notice provision.

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5.12 Appeals

Appeals rules are in the IFA. Appeals are made to the LSC's Legal Director under very strict deadlines. There is no other appeal route.

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6. The terms on which the LSC is buying

6.1 Contract Structure

The LSC has developed a single set of ‘standard terms' across all areas of work, that is including:

• Crime,
• Very High Cost Cases (Crime) and
• Civil

There are separate category specifications.

Standard Terms apply to all contracts with the LSC across the board. The specification deals with crime/civil and subject-specific rules.

The Contract for signature and Schedule remain as you currently know them.

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6.2 Standard Terms

The standard terms (PDF, 379kb)

Below are the main areas of change in the Standard Terms:

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6.3 Civil Specification

The Specification has been significantly re-structured. The rules regarding Controlled work and Licensed work are set out separately. Procedural and remuneration provisions have also been separated. The Specification has six main general sections (plus the Payment Annex) and a further four category specific sections.

1. General provisions - the structure and scope of the scheme, the schedule and various provisions equally applicable to Controlled and Licensed work
2. Service Standards - all the new standards from the Bid Round consultation and the Key Performance Indicators (KPI), plus rules on exclusive categories and supervisor standards taken from the SQM
3. Carrying out controlled work
4. Payment for controlled work
5. Carrying out licensed work
6. Remuneration for licensed work.
7. Family Specification
8. Immigration Specification
9. Mental Health Specification
10. All other category specific rules, including supervisor requirements are contained in Section 10.

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7. Preparing for the tender

The LSC website provides the following information to help you prepare for tendering:

• The LSC final policy proposals
• The Terms of the new 2010 Standard (Civil) Contract Specification
• The Procurement Plans ( these may be subject to alterations when the final detail of all contract requirements in each area are published in the formal tender documentation)
• Information and guidance on the e-tendering portal
• Update on Consortia
• Consultation response Q&A document

You should look at all the information available, particularly that for the e-tendering portal. You can register at the portal and fill in the PQQ before the tender starts.

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8. More information

8.1 Further products and support

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8.2 Status of this practice note

Practice notes are issued by the Law Society for the use and benefit of its members. They represent the Law Society's view of good practice in a particular area. They are not intended to be the only standard of good practice that solicitors can follow. You are not required to follow them, but doing so will make it easier to account to oversight bodies for your actions.

Practice notes are not legal advice, nor do they necessarily provide a defence to complaints of misconduct or of inadequate professional service. While care has been taken to ensure that they are accurate, up to date and useful, the Law Society will not accept any legal liability in relation to them.

For queries or comments on this practice note contact the Law Society's Practice Advice Service.

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8.3 Terminology in this practice note

Must - a specific requirement in the Solicitor's Code of Conduct or legislation. You must comply, unless there specific exemptions or defences provided for in the code of conduct or relevant legislation.

Should - good practice for most situations in the Law Society's view. If you do not follow this, you must be able to justify to oversight bodies why this is appropriate, either for your practice, or in the particular retainer.

May - a non-exhaustive list of options for meeting your obligations. Which option you choose is determined by the risk profile of the individual practice, client or retainer. You must be able to justify why this was an appropriate option to oversight bodies.

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8.4 Definitions and Glossary

'Access Point'	a Procurement Area which also forms part of a larger area as described at Paragraph 1.30;
'Authorised Litigator'	a solicitor or other authorised litigator as defined in section 119 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 (as amended);
' Budget Direction'	a Direction issued by the Lord Chancellor under section 5(6) of the Act which places restrictions on the Controlled Work Budget or on the funds available for the funding of Licensed Work;
' Case Involvement Standard'	the standard for Supervisors set out at Paragraphs 2.24 to 2.26;
' Category', 'Category of Law' or 'Category of Work'	have the meanings given at Paragraph 1.18
'Category Specific Rules'	Sections 7 to 10 of the Specification, and all other provisions of the Specification which are expressed to apply only to a particular Category or Categories;
'Confirmed Peer Review'	at the conclusion of the peer review process, following appeal and any follow-up audit;
'Controlled Legal Representation' or 'CLR'	Legal Representation which has been designated as Controlled Work under Part A of the Funding Code Procedures;
'Counsel'	either a barrister in independent practice or (in the Family Specification only) a solicitor with higher rights of audience who works on a self-employed basis;
'Devolved Powers'	powers given under this Specification for you to take decisions on our behalf – see further Paragraphs 1.15 to 1.17 and Paragraphs 5.4 to 5.7 (Devolved Powers in respect of Licensed Work);
'Drop In Service Session'	face-to-face advice for clients on the day without a prior appointment being made – a session must last for at least 2 continuous hours;
'eTendering System'	the online system that will be used to run the tender process and through which Applicant Organisations must submit tenders;
'ePortal'	where you can access the eTendering system
'Exclusive Schedule Arrangements'	arrangements under which services can only be undertaken by providers who have been issued with a Schedule authorising such work in accordance with Paragraphs 1.40 and 1.41 and Category Specific Rules;
'Graduated Fee'	a range of Standard Fees payable under the Specification which are designated as Graduated Fees under Category Specific Rules
'Guidance'	guidance issued by the LSC and published on their website ( www.legalservices.gov.uk );
'Hourly Rates'	payment on the basis of time reasonably spent on a case (as opposed to payment by way of a Standard Fee) where payment is based on the rates set out in sections 7 to 10 of the Payment Annex
'Individual Bid'	the services an Applicant Organisation has tendered to deliver from a particular Office in an Access Point;
'Information for Applicants' or 'IFA'	the document that contains information, instructions, rules and Conditions of Tender that will govern the tender process and the other Tender Documents (PQQ and ITTs);
'Invitation to Tender' or 'ITT'	the specific Services that Applicant Organisations can tender against. Eg for the immigration tender process there are eight separate ITTs which can be accessed via the eTendering system;
'Legal Competence Standard'	the standard for Supervisors as designated in Category Specific Rules
'Matter'	Controlled Work case governed by the Specification;
'Matter Start Limit'	a limit set out in a Schedule on the number of Controlled Work Matter Starts you may commence – see further Paragraph 1.26;
'Office'	an office which you occupy (either continuously or part-time) and which satisfies the requirements of paragraph 2.47
'Outcome Codes'	the civil reporting codes published by the LSC on their website in accordance with Paragraph 2.79;
'Outreach Services'	services authorised under Paragraphs 2.57 to 2.58
'Part-time Presence'	presence in a Procurement Area as defined at Paragraphs 2.51 to 2.52;
'Permanent Presence'	presence in a Procurement Area as defined at Paragraphs 2.48 to 2.50;
'Pre Qualification Questionnaire or PQQ'	A document found on the e-tendering portal that has to be filled in once and then submitted with each tender. Confirms your compliance with legislation and professional conduct.
'Prescribed Rate'	an Hourly Rate prescribed by the LSC in the Payment Annex to the Specification;
'Procurement Area'	a geographical area specified by the LSC under Paragraph 1.30;
' Schedule Authorisation'	authorisation to carry out work in a particular Category of Law as set out in your Schedule;
'Schedule Office'	an Office for which the LSC have issued you with a Schedule;
'Schedule Payment Limit'	the maximum sum the LSC will pay you, while a Schedule is in force, for Controlled Work;
'Service Standards'	means the requirements set out in Section 2 of the Specification together with any other requirements so designated in Category Specific Rules;
'SMP Reconciliation Protocol'	the document of that name published on the LSC website, setting out their approach to reconciliation and to review and amendment of Standard Monthly Payments due under the Specification – see further Paragraph 4.30;
'Standard Fee'	a fee payable under the Specification for a case or an item of work which is calculated on a basis other than Hourly Rates;
'Supervisor'	a person you employ who the LSC have accepted as meeting the Supervisor Standards set out at Paragraph 2.21
'Supervision Standard'	the standard for Supervisors set out at Paragraphs 2.27 to 2.34;
'Supplementary Matter Starts'	Matter Starts issued by the LSC under Paragraphs 1.31 to 1.34;
'Tender Documents'	the IFA, the PQQ and ITTs.
'Tolerance Work'	Work carried out in a Category for which you do not hold Schedule Authorisation, in accordance with the rules set out at Paragraphs 2.39 to 2.45

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9. Amendments

This note has been amended from the previous version dated 08 February 2010. Changes are as follows:

Section 3.1: Corrections to the advice on family supervisor standards.

Section 3.2: Correction to number of Immigration new matter starts shown in the table.

Section 4: Correction to the number of procurement areas for low volume categories.

Section 5.2: Clarification of advice on maintaining an up-to-date PQQ submission.

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