The Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme: commissioning sustainable services consultation (see March 2017 Legal Action 9) closed on 17 March. Many of the current providers covering the schemes will be waiting with some trepidation for the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) response, as it is proposing the amalgamation of some of the current areas to reduce the number of contracts from 117 to 48. An announcement by the MoJ about its plans for the contracts is expected on 28 April.

One large legal aid firm that currently covers several rotas told Legal Action it does the schemes ‘for the sake of local profile and to pick up certificated work, definitely not to make any money’. The firm said the Legal Aid Agency wants to join several courts with low levels of footfall to the scheme, but if it does this the firm will just put in a bid with the local firms that already cover these courts.