Criminal Defence Service (CDS)

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About this section
Also in this section

About this section

The CDS guarantees people under police investigation or facing criminal charges can get legal advice and representation. It is run by the LSC in partnership with criminal defence lawyers and representatives.

This section contains:

information, guidance and resources for providers of CDS services
details of developments affecting the CDS of interest to all our stakeholders.

Read general information about the CDS here.

Also in this section

The main pages in this section contain:

forms: forms used by service providers to do CDS funded work
Transforming criminal legal aid: information about our reform programme that affects crime providers
Focus and Focus on CDS supplement: our newsletter for legal aid practitioners
Crime contracts: information and guidance updates to the General Criminal Contract held by all providers of CDS services
High cost criminal cases: explains how we manage very high cost criminal cases and complex fraud cases
Criminal legal aid eligibility: information for providers about getting criminal legal aid for clients in magistrates' court cases
Public Defender Service: our scheme to provide CDS services through directly employed solicitors, barristers and accredited representatives
Criminal areas of work: what we are doing in police stations, magistrates' courts, the Crown Court and other areas of CDS work
Consultations: latest consultation papers and responses affecting the CDS
Tenders: for external providers interested in supplying CDS services.

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Last updated: 27 May 2008