Posted: 12 February 2007 at 11:55 | IP Logged

The Legal Serices Commission has published another consultation paper that suggests proposals for revised police station boundaries, fixed fees and new working arrangements.

The following text is from the executive summary of the consultation paper:

1. Executive Summary

1.1 This paper sets out the LSC’s proposals for Police Station and Duty Solicitor schemes to pave the way for the introduction of best value tendering on the basis of fixed fees for all categories of criminal work outside very high cost cases. These proposals follow Lord Carter’s review of legal aid procurement. These proposals have been subject to extensive consultation and the Government’s decisions following this consultation were published in November 2006 in “Legal Aid Reform: The Way Ahead”, which can be found on our website (www.legalservices.gov.uk).

1.2 The paper puts forward options for the redrawing of boundary areas in which work will be based; for fixed fees for police station work within those boundaries; for changes to eligibility for contracts; and for new working arrangements for the delivery of police station and Magistrates’ Courts solicitor work.

1.3 The aim of these proposals is to ensure the long-term sustainability of the legal aid provider base and to provide greater certainty about the volume of work available in boundary areas. By rationalising police station schemes and promoting greater efficiencies for providers delivering within them, we will enable providers to begin restructuring and to compete in the market more effectively. This approach will also help to control expenditure in police station attendance cases in advance of price competition, which is essential if we are to deliver services within our budget and avoid reductions elsewhere in legal aid.

The Introduction of Fixed Fees

1.4 Fixed fees will be introduced for legal aid work in the Police Station from October 2007, helping the market to prepare and re-structure in advance of the roll out of best value tendering for quality assured services from October 2008. The proposed levels of fixed fees are contained within this paper for consultation. They will cover all work undertaken on cases, including travel and waiting, although disbursements will continue to be paid separately. This will:

• Improve value for money for the taxpayer by reducing the amount of money spent on unproductive time such as travelling;
• Help maintain control of average case costs;
• Improve both certainty of expenditure for the LSC and certainty of income for providers; and
• Allow providers an increased opportunity identify innovative and efficient ways of working.

1.5 In all police station work, there will be variations in the time spent on individual cases. Providers will, in the main, be able to deal with this variability by taking advantage of the “swings and roundabouts” effect. It is accepted, however, that some exceptional cases cannot reasonably be covered by the fixed fee system. These most expensive cases will therefore be remunerated through hourly rates, subject to assessment. A full proposal and options for this escape mechanism are included in this paper. The new fees are based on local areas rather than the wider CJS areas proposed by Lord Carter; that will ensure that fees are more sensitive to local factors such as travelling time, mix of cases and local practices.

New Boundary Areas

1.6 The paper proposes new boundary areas which will replace the existing “schemes”. The new boundary areas (Annex G) have been redrawn by amalgamating existing schemes which are already familiar to providers. In practice there is little change outside the main urban areas; but in those urban areas we have in many places proposed an increase in the size of boundary areas. The new boundary areas will be the units within which best value tendering will take place. We would therefore welcome views on whether these areas will be a practicable basis for competition, and provide the profession with opportunity to grow their businesses by encouraging efficiencies and economies of scale. By introducing fixed fees and boundary areas in October, we intend to:

• Give providers the opportunity to increase their efficiency by rationalising their operational base;
• Familiarise providers with the area in which price competition will take place; and
• Enable some immediate reduction in cost based on efficiencies already available.

New Working Arrangements

1.7 We also propose a series of new working arrangements to enable providers to work efficiently under fixed fees. There are three key elements to these proposals:

• The introduction of a minimum contract threshold in some, or all, areas;
• New arrangements for access to work within a boundary area; and
• Changes to slot allocation for Police Station and Magistrates’ Court work.

1.8 In addition, we are consulting on proposals for transitional arrangements for niche providers such as those who offer specialist services to certain client groups, for example union members. We have also devised proposals to allow entry into the market alongside the new rules on working arrangements and access to work.

Minimum Contract Thresholds

1.9 We are consulting on the question of a minimum contract threshold for police station work under the fixed fee system. This would mean that the volume of police station and Magistrates’ Court work undertaken by a provider in a boundary area must exceed a set amount for the provider to be eligible for a contract in that area.

1.10 Any minimum threshold would be variable, allowing for the introduction of thresholds at the level most appropriate to conditions within a boundary area. In areas where there are low volumes of business, a low threshold, or no threshold at all, would be proposed to ensure continued supply and effective competition in the longer term. In the majority of areas, £50,000 of crime lower work (less than one fee earner) might be an appropriate threshold. In larger, more competitive areas, allowing providers to take advantage of the potential efficiencies offered by higher volumes of work, may indicate that higher thresholds would be desirable and again lead to more efficient supply in the short term and effective competition in the longer run. However, final decisions must balance the need for competition, the development of a quality service and value for money, access and the need to ensure diversity amongst providers.

1.11 Minimum contract thresholds would need to be related to market conditions. Therefore, this consultation process, which for the first time begins to define the local markets within which we must procure services, will provide more information, at national and local level, on which the LSC can base final decisions.

Access to Work

1.12 The proposals on how providers access work within the new boundary areas are key to the overall effectiveness of the reforms. We are seeking views on the proposal to limit the amount of publicly funded work a provider can do outside of the boundary area in which they hold a contract. We believe this will lead to efficiency gains on the part of providers by concentrating work in local police stations and magistrates’ courts. At present providers are limited in the locations that they may provide duty work by the geographical rules which govern scheme membership. The rules on own client work are different however and, within reason, firms are able to assist clients who are some distance away.

1.13 The proposals make allowance for the fact that providers will sometimes wish to represent “own clients” at Police Stations outside the provider’s boundary area. This maintains client choice. How exactly this will be structured is a matter on which we are consulting. We are also proposing the same geographical restrictions on Magistrates’ Court own client attendances. However, where a case was commenced at a police station within a provider’s contractual area and was then transferred out of the area for a Magistrates’ Court hearing, this would not contribute towards the allowance.

Allocation of Slots

1.14 Provider views are also sought on proposed changes to slot allocation rules. In October 2007 we propose to use historic case volumes to secure slots within a boundary area for those providers holding contracts within that boundary. We suggest that the assessment period for this allocation should be based on the final quarter of the financial year 2005/06 and the first three-quarters of 2006/07, January 2006 to January 2007.

The Legal Services Commission has posted the following text on to it's web site:

Police station reforms

Our consultation on proposals for police station boundaries, fixed fees and new working arrangements is now open.

This paper follows on from the Legal Aid Reform: The Way Ahead consultation response. It focuses specifically on our proposed reforms for police station work.

Closing date

The consultation period commenced on 12 February and will close on 10 April.

You can download the consultation from the Related Documents panel on the right of this page .

How to respond
Please send your response by email, fax or post.

Email: cds.directorate@legalservices.gov.uk

Fax:  020 7759 1051

Post:  

Rebecca Tinker
CDS Policy
Ground Floor, Greencroft House
12 Roger Street
London WC1N 2JL

Timetable

The LSC will publish a response to the consultation end June 2007 and will implement the new scheme in October 2007.

To download the consultation paper and the annexes, that include the new boundary area maps, to that paper follow these links:

1. Police Station Reforms Consultation
2. Annex A to F
3. Annex G1
4. Annex G2
5. Annex G3
6. Annex G4
7. Annex G5

Posted: 12 February 2007 at 14:07 | IP Logged

This isn't something I know anything about so three questions:

1) Is the proposal that firms will only cover station and court duties within their particular boundary?

2) How would one find out what area a particular firm is in? I ask this because I'm interested in knowing what area my firm will be in but as I don't start until September its not something I can quickly ask about.

3) Is there a version of the maps available in an A-Z style? I can estimate where each boundary is but it would be nice to be able to identify the exact limits.

Posted: 12 February 2007 at 15:39 | IP Logged

At present boundaries for London firms are set by their borough, for London Duty Schemes you can be on your Police Station Duty borough scheme and any adjoining borough scheme. For the Court Duty schemes you can be on any 2 in either your borough or adjoining boroughs.

The new proposals are to merge the many borough schemes in to a smaller number of areas but larger schemes. There are different proposals for the merger.

Every firm is located within a London borough by virtue of their address. Your firm will be on the Old Street scheme.

No, the only maps produced have been published today. You need to looks at Annex G part 5.

Posted: 12 February 2007 at 18:41 | IP Logged

Here is a link to the e-petition to scrap Carter

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/scrap-carter/

Posted: 12 February 2007 at 18:47 | IP Logged

And whilst I'm on the subject what about signing up for this one as well?

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/juggle/

Skills like that will probably pay better than crime!

And its got more signatures than Carter!