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MPs’ committee takes evidence on proposals to ‘transform’ legal aid
In June, the Justice Select Committee began holding evidence sessions on the proposals for the reform of criminal and civil legal aid set out in the government’s consultation paper Transforming legal aid: delivering a more credible and efficient system. The first evidence session was with organisations representing lawyers, and others, on the proposals for price competitive tendering of criminal legal aid provision contained in the consultation paper. The witnesses were as follows:
•Lucy Scott-Moncrieff, president, Law Society;
•Bill Waddington, chairperson, Criminal Law Solicitors’ Association;
•Michael Turner QC, chairperson, Criminal Bar Association;
•Maura McGowan QC, chairperson, Bar Council;
•Tudur Owen, senior partner, Tudur Owen Roberts Glynne & Co;
•Roger Smith OBE, academic and former director of Justice and Legal Action Group; and
•Steve Brooker, consumer panel manager, Legal Services Board.
Following the initial session, the committee decided to take further oral evidence from Chris Grayling, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice. Just before the hearing, Chris Grayling wrote to the committee’s chairperson, Sir Alan Beith, to say that he expected to ‘make changes to allow a choice of solicitor for clients receiving criminal legal aid’; in addition, he agreed to ‘explore further’ the proposals the Law Society had put forward for a ‘managed market consolidation’. At the evidence session on 3 July, Chris Grayling announced that a second short consultation on the government’s finalised legal aid proposals would start in September, after which the government would ‘proceed with change’.
The committee also received a substantial number of written representations on the various proposals relating to criminal and civil legal aid contained in the consultation paper.