Press Releases

The Court of Appeal has given judgment today in the appeals by both the Law Society and the Legal Services Commission (LSC) against the earlier judgment on the LSC's Unified Contract and its terms relating to how the contract can be amended.

The LSC is giving the judgment careful consideration, but welcomes the clarification it provides. This now enables us to move forward with greater certainty.

Although the judgment states that the current power of amendment in the Unified Contract is too wide, this only affects how changes to legal aid can be introduced under existing contracts. We had already anticipated this outcome and it does not alter the fact that the legal aid reform programme is going ahead and remains on track to achieve its important goal of continuing to help the greatest number of people possible within a budget that is necessarily limited.

The Appeal Court judgment recognises that changes may become necessary or desirable during the life of a contract and that bodies like the LSC may need the power to amend contract terms.

However, it gives no specific indication about the kind of amendments that could be made to an existing contract and the kind that would require a new contract. We will therefore be looking to develop an alternative amendment provision which is not open to challenge. If this cannot be achieved, we will have no choice but to terminate and re-tender for contracts much more frequently than in the past.

Looking forward, the new six-month contracts we are introducing in January for criminal legal aid work ensure that we have already taken account of this possible effect of the judgment and, as previously announced, we will be progressing with the crime reforms we have already consulted on.

The LSC will soon be consulting on several elements in the next stage of legal aid reform and providing greater clarity on others. We encourage providers and other partners in the justice system to participate actively in these consultations and to work with us to shape a legal aid system which is sustainable for the future and can continue to provide the help that people need at very difficult times in their lives.

Media information:

Gary Spink           Phone: 020 7759 0493

Richard Shand     Phone: 020 7759 0491