Consultation and inclusiveness are key to the future success of civil legal aid, says Carolyn Regan
Our consultation on proposals for the bid criteria and award process for civil legal aid contracts that will be introduced from 2010 closed last month. It included key changes to the contract terms and changes to the scope of legal aid funding.
We received around 350 responses to the consultation. I would like to reassure readers that the views expressed in the responses will be carefully considered, alongside the views expressed by solicitors and advisers at the 57 events we held across and to accompany the consultation, which were attended by 1,110 people.
The consultation events were well received and providers gave constructive feedback on our proposals. There was broad support for a number of the proposals—such as supervisor to caseworker ratios.
Driving up standards
In a recent NLJ article, JUSTICE director Roger Smith highlighted the response of the Administrative Justice and Tribunal Council (AJTC) to our consultation (see NLJ, 13 February
