"Last year the Legal Services
Commission spent over £1 billion on criminal legal aid. With such a
considerable sum of money involved, it is very important that the
Commission understands the market from which it is buying and the
cost effectiveness of its own practices, but at present, that is
not the case. It needs to address this as a priority to make sure
that it is paying a fair price for legal aid services that both
sustains a competitive supplier base and provides value for
money."
Amyas Morse, head of the National Audit Office, 27
November 2009
The National Audit Office has today reported
to Parliament that there are risks to value for money from the way
the Legal Services Commission (the LSC) administers and procures
legal aid for criminal cases. In 2008-09, the Commission spent more
than £1.1 billion on criminal legal aid – legal assistance for
people suspected of or charged with a criminal offence.
A study by the NAO has discovered that the LSC should do more
to understand the market for criminal legal aid to make the most of
its ability to control price and quality. In particular, while the
Commission holds good information locally about its suppliers it
does not bring this information together centrally. Better use of
this information would help the LSC to establish whether it is
paying a fair price for criminal legal aid and forecast the impact
of changes it makes.
The LSC is undergoing a major transformation to reduce
administrative costs and to improve effectiveness. The LSC has
implemented some significant market reforms in the last few years,
but it has not always piloted reforms or evaluated their impact,
nor has it confirmed the financial savings generated.
The NAO also found that the Commission is not always making
accurate payments to solicitors for criminal legal aid. In October
this year, the NAO qualified the LSC’s accounts for the legal aid
fund for 2008-09 because it had overpaid solicitors on criminal and
civil legal aid cases by an estimated £25 million.
An NAO survey of solicitors has also revealed tensions in the
relationship between the profession and the LSC. Of those who
responded to the survey, 36 per cent of solicitors perceived the
LSC as ‘unhelpful’ and 29 per cent believed the LSC did not fully
understand the legal system, although firms were more positive
about the knowledge of the Commission’s local relationship
managers.
The LSC is a Non-Departmental Public Body of the Ministry of
Justice. The Ministry employs 34 staff on legal aid policy work at
a cost of £2 million. This is in addition to the LSC’s own
administration budget of £125 million. The NAO has called on the
Ministry to clarify the respective roles and to review the level of
staff involved in making legal aid policy in both organisations
with a view to reducing this number.
Publication details:
HC: 29, 2009-10
ISBN: 9780102963311