Strange not doing a webinar today, so I have chance to do a bumper Friday Song post with loads of extra links and stuff.

Am off to see Nanci Griffith (again) on Monday. Despite her recorded output being a bit lacklustre of late she is usually very good live and we are hoping for some of the classics like this;

We are also going to see Mariza the day after and are up in Newcastle on Friday for an SP junior stand-up performance as well. Sadly we missed out on tickets for Stornoway and Beth Jeans Houghton also at the Sage on Sunday. Talk about Tyneside busses!

New Gill Scot Heron album next week too - guess who's Friday Song artist next week?

Preview here.

Sorry should have conveyed this much earlier in the week - and saved us all a lot of phone related hassle. Today's PPQ deadline is for Immigration Removal Centres ONLY.

So calm down and relax.

Here we go again more Legal Aid related JR activity.

Hat Tip

Tim @ No 6

Here are 6 million pounds worth of Legal Aid savings.

Not likely to result in loads of NMSs in my estimation. (I am always a little suspicious of "crack downs on fraud")

The key proposal - a 14 day representations period - for the other side to grass up the ineligible looks like becoming fun.

The MoJ releasing this sort of stuff over the heads of the LSC continues mind.

Well that's all my appointments for the Crime bid window all but filled up, with only 1, half-day left and only 2 short visits to the office available. For the first time in years I will be on the road for basically a month solid. This is certainly the cue for loads of deadlined appeals to drop on my desk - or rather arrive in boxes at my home address to be completed during the ad break in TV Burp.

Keeping this place up to date might prove somewhat demanding - the pressure being exerted to go onto twitter is mounting. I really do think I am too much of a GOM to do that though. (Any thoughts would be welcome).

Fortunately the Civil windows are a bit bigger so there will be a bit of respite after March 12th.

Revised procurement plans are trickling through. There are not any up yet for areas where I saved the first edition. I have however had a look at Walsall and spoken to a resident there - my guess is that the new Family NMS procurement target is now 10% lower than originally set and, consequently, what was actually delivered in 2008/9.

In other news we continue to hear from clients at the end of this years NMS allocation and still being refused increases - this despite the raids on under utilising firms. The formal review process should also allow the LSC to run down the clock until there is no realistic prospect of a legal challenge.

Bleak at the moment then and possibly bleak from October - except for firms doing their own advocacy under the Family Advocacy Scheme.

The LSC have outlined (and it is a bit of a thin outline) their reinterpretation of Rule 2.5 - proof of means on Legal Help. We are currently involved in a couple of appeals which test this reading of contract. What is sure is that the are taking a fairly draconian line.

It does however yet again make clear the need to obtain appropriate proof at the outset of all controlled work - be warned they are looking at this.

With the major category procurement rounds taking place this month we are consequently immensely busy.

We have therefore decided to prune the Webinar programme down to two "Procurement Update" sessions on Friday 12th and 26th. These will involve up-to-date information on the projects and an extended opportunity to ask questions and resolve issues with your bids.

As ever there is a £60 fee or you can do both for £100.

I read this to mean cuts in Family NMS in certain areas. I don't have any of the new Procurement Plans yet so I can't do a comparison for confirmation.

You will, as anticipated, get an interim allocation of starts for April to October based on "current usage rates".

Sorry - pressure of work has precluded posting here today. Not even a song.

It is late on now and as ever the news of the day comes through from the LSC at 16.45. Check the tender pages where procurement plans have gone but at least we know we have a 7 week bid window.

More on Monday and will pull the song over.

EXTREMELY IMPORTANT WARNING

Immigration bidders please make sure that you have completed the "Commercial Response" section of the ITT - IN FULL. Before you "publish".

There are two sections to ITT the "Technical Response" and the "Commercial Response". Once again we have received a call from a firm who have missed this vital section of the bid.

I don't blame the firm, this is an easy mistake to make. In support of this view a quote a client who mailed me today to say;

"I have never come across a more confusing and customer hostile web site in my life".

The Private Sector Applicant Information Form, about which we have commented before is subject to this notice.

Seems you will have to submit this information at some point, however not right now. It seems that the form is "corrupt". Immigration firms therefore do not have have to upload this in their soon to be "published" bids.

Do not ask!

The Mental Health procurement plan has finally been published.

I think I have said this here before, I certainly have said it out-loud, and once again I have marked a fresh immigration bid this morning which was fatally flawed by a simple error. (Made because the software is not a transparent as it should be).

I am covering all this sort of thing on the, not-to-be-missed, webinar on Friday.