Lambeth and Southwark to establish £10m barristers framework agreement
Southwark and Lambeth councils are set to launch a £10m, four-year inter-boroughs framework agreement aimed at securing "significant reductions" in the cost of barristers’ services.
The Cabinet at Southwark yesterday (7 July) approved the details of the procurement strategy, which will lead to the establishment of the framework agreement. Lambeth’s business case was approved by its strategic procurement board on 26 May 2010.
The report prepared for Southwark’s Cabinet revealed that barristers are currently commissioned by the council on a spot purchase basis from chambers. There is no agreed fee structure and fees vary widely, ranging from £150 for advocacy on a possession case to £750 for a full day at court.
The council spent £1.35m on barristers in 2007/8 and £1.6m in 2008/9. It is expected to have spent £1.5m by the close of the current financial year. These figures do not include the outlay on barristers commissioned through external solicitors on complex cases.
Southwark’s highest spend is on children and adults services, which reflects – amongst other things – the fact that the council handles the highest proportion of child protection cases in London, the report said. Housing litigation is its second biggest outlay.
The report said the aim of the procurement exercise was to achieve “significant reductions” in the £1.5m per annum spent, “while at the same time improving on the already high quality of legal advice provided”.
It is also part of a programme that includes empowering legal services professionals at the council to take on more advocacy work, negotiating interim fee structures with barristers, recruiting three in-house advocates to undertake child protection work and working with legal services clients across the council to make the most effective use of spend on legal services.
It is understood that Lambeth’s spend on barristers is closer to the £1m mark per annum, making a combined total of £2.5m at stake. In Southwark's case, it is hoped that the arrangements will reduce spending by £100,000 a year.
The proposal is to create four panels covering:
- Planning, property and contracts
- Housing litigation
- Children and adults
- General litigation and employment
The two councils are discussing the optimum number of firms on each, which is likely to be in the region of five to ten. The panels could also be made available to other local authorities.
The move is the first significant joint procurement since Southwark and Lambeth announced – alongside the London Borough of Lewisham – plans to work together to cut costs and protect frontline services.
Cllr Richard Livingston, Southwark's cabinet member for resources, said: "It is the first decision that the cabinet [has taken] to work more closely with one of our neighbours and as such is in line with the new administration's priorities to find innovative ways to find financial efficiencies through joint working with other south London authorities."
Earlier this month the elected Mayor of Lewisham, Sir Steve Bullock, the leader of Lambeth, Cllr Steve Reed, and the Leader of Southwark, Cllr Peter John wrote to their respective chief executives, calling on them to begin joint discussions to consider where potential exists for efficient and effective joint working. They have been asked to work together to present a range of options by the autumn.
Reed said: “Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark councils all provide many services that are identical, but do we really need to pay twice for separate sets of senior management and back-office support? We need to proactively look at making savings at a time when the Tory/Lib Dem government is making cuts to council funding in order to protect frontline services”
