Law Society demands halt to family legal aid contracts tender

The Law Society's chief executive Des Hudson has called for a halt to award of new family legal aid contracts, which are due to start on 14 October, “pending an urgent but thorough and public evaluation”.

The Law Society protested to the Legal Services Commission last week after almost half of the firms tendering for legal aid family contracts were turned down.
Among the contract awards that gave the society concern were the approval of only one firm for Poole, which has a population of 140,000 people.

Hudson said that in east Cornwall one firm has been allocated all the matter starts which meant that where more than one party was legally aided, the second would have to find an alternative solicitor probably a long distance way.

“We believe that the situation in Wales, Northumberland and Lincolnshire gives rise to similar concerns,” he said.

“We do not understand how this is consistent with the commission's duty to secure access to justice.”

An LSC spokesperson said: “An insistence on ensuring quality advice where it is needed is at the heart of our tendering process. We are confident we have achieved quality advice provision throughout England and Wales.”