As I indicated last week we have finalised our thoughts on the most appropriate support services to offer regarding the forthcoming procurement rounds. We have also organised a limited number of training events*. Regular readers, and those on our e-mail alert list, will shortly receive some on-line details of both. (Ring if you want an early chat about either).

In the meantime those in the north might be keen to book a place on one of these training events.

We are doing separate sessions for CDS and Civil.

The CDS Sessions will be at Leeds on 12th January with Gateshead on the 14th.

CLS Leeds will be on 26th January and at Gateshead on the 28th.

The above link contains a booking form.

There will also be some related webinar activity in the New Year too!

* The extremely tight time-scales involved have made any more significant "tour" impossible. We will however consider doing these sessions in-house or for small gatherings of firms, should these requests be possible.

Passing a Fixed Fee Contract Compliance Audit

A round of these assessments has now taken place. The recent report of the National Audit Office, alleging serious over-claiming on the part of legal aid providers, is likely to increase the level of activity.

As audit results begin to filter through we are better able understand the LSCs interpretation of contract and how they apply this to individual assessments. This course aims to identify the key areas of risk, update participants upon recent changes to the process and provide increased confidence that standard fees are being appropriately claimed.

This came up on i Pod shuffle this morning and is wonderfully cheesy. It is also the first ever Elvis Friday Song (which might wind up some die hard Attractions):

Apparrently that pays better than Legal Aid Lawyering.

The forecasters were correct about the weather in the North West today - terrible driving conditions safely, if occasionally scarily, overcome.

I have had another chat about 2010 procurement and we now have a good feel of the type of assistance firms might be looking for. You can anticipate a some advertisement of this "support package" in the near future, give us a ring if you want to beat the rush.

Just so that you know

It has come to our attention that the whilst the latest APP 1 form is version 12 the Forms Version List document for November 2009 had the APP 1 form recorded as version 11. We can confirm that the APP 1 is version 12 and the Forms Version List document has been updated accordingly and is attached for your reference.

Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience that this may cause.

Another Monday another webinar to promote.

As ever - 1pm this coming Friday - bookings by phone or on-line.

What Every Good Supervisor Should Know

The supervisory role is central to effective contract delivery and compliance. It is a role not made any easier by the constant evolution of rules and guidance and the increasing difficulty of making Legally Aided work profitable.

This course aims to cover those essential areas of knowledge and activity central to being a successful franchise supervisor.

I think I have posted this before but cannot find it by way of the search feature. I wanted to put something of hers on to mark impending return as both a live and studio artist following the death of her husband.

I it has been Friday Song before there is no harm in hearing it again.

Just a reminder that tomorrow is the deadline for firms to submit CDS 12's for any new duty solicitors either transferring from another supplier to yourselves or a solicitor who has recently qualified where the firm has not previously submitted a CDS 12 for them. All details are on the LSC website.

Just on site where the firm this morning has received a letter from the LSC outlining an exercise to reduce matter starts where a firms "run rate" per category is not 95% yes 95% !

I know Simon has been looking at matter start usage for firms in the last couple of weeks so we will await his blog on Friday when he returns from a well earned rest.

Anyone else who has received a similar letter please let us know so we can get a feel per region, although this letter was not from a regional office but from Bristol.

Andy Bean

It has been a particularly busy day here today - which might might make up for the likely radio silence tomorrow and Thursday. Two other new items have turned up at the LSC site which I will deal with in order of priority.

This item makes it clear that instructing an Independent Social Worker, when a Guardian has not been appointed, is not an allowable disbursement.

A generic "Quality" guide - not really sure who this is for.

We have joked in the office about regularly posting one or two of the frequent pearls of wisdom from Kay - the most vocal member of our costs drafting team.

Here goes.

As we are all adapting to the new Claim 1 we have noticed that the "Panel Membership Declaration" has been moved from page 8 to page 3. Worth noting in case this leads to a rash of rejected bills and an ongoing impact on cash flow .

Ta daa!

Some "changes and fixes" to LSC Online have just been made - to block wrong combination of SPAN codes for instance. You can read the detail here should you wish to.

2010 Procurement Rounds: An Overview

Are you still confused over the timetables and nature of next years Criminal and Civil "procurement" rounds? This weeks session, Friday 13th, is designed to clear up any remaining misconceptions about these processes and to provide some thoughts on necessary preparation.

The date and subject matter are purely coincidental.

The Law Society are cross about this "report"
too!

This seems cornily appropriate this week - great song too:

As I have mentioned in passing I have recently been assisting some firms with fixed fee CCA audit appeals and some assessment of level 2 family claims. Alongside this there has been a National Audit Office assessment of files to which any number of our clients have been subject.

It is the latter which I suspect has provided the "evidence base" for this report. There are some obvious, and reasonable, objections to its findings made in this weeks Gazette.

Could I add some more?

The NAO way well be correct about the accuracy of LSC auditing. During the major Contract Compliance wars, for instance, we successfully achieved a downward reclassification of over 80% of CCA outcomes. A minority of these were subsequent to Cost Committee appeals. The files in this sample are subject to no such process so we do not know if their findings are either accurate or involve a reasonable interpretation of contract and guidance. This is of particular concern given the current "evidence of means" rule, and the other contract provisions re the new standard fees, have not been subject to any significant scrutiny - especially by way of applications for "Points of General Principle".

This is a central flaw in the current fee and reporting regime there is no living appeals process which can inform billing practice. The death of the interactive Cost Committee system has exacerbated this.

These grandiose estimates of "over-claiming" are therefore simply that, estimates.

It has been a bit quiet on the Peer Review front of late, probably in line with the decision to make the process more of a "risk management" tool.

Positively however we have heard from another successful firm who have achieved a Category 3 result after a previous 4. This cannot be appealed to try for a 2 however.

I have a variety of other appealy things on my desk with the LSC wanting to close offices, chuck people off rotas and nil assess files. Lets hope we can equally be of assistance to the firms involved.

By the way (or BTW as the kids say on MSN) give us a ring if the words "recurring client audit" mean anything to you.

Here is the programme for November's Friday Webinar Service

6th November

The New Family Fee Regime

The final proposals for the introduction of fixed and graduated fees for all family work have now been announced. They will be introduced alongside the 2010 Contract next year. This course is for those seeking a sneak preview of the fees, their structure and the chance to develop an early understanding of how the scheme will work.

13th November

2010 Procurement Rounds an Overview

Plans are hardening for both Civil and CDS procurement rounds next year, and a timetable has now been announced. The course will explore the links between these two bid rounds and ongoing Ministry of Justice consultations and provide guidance on the immediate preparatory action required by both civil and criminal providers.

20th November

What Every Good Supervisor Should Know

This is a re-run of our popular guide to being an effective franchise supervisor. We will cover the key SQM requirements and offer some practical hints as to help ensure compliance and profitability.

27th November

Passing a Fixed Fee Contract Compliance Audit

Firms continue to receive requests for files to be audited. Results of earlier audits are also beginning to filter through. The course will explore the key reasons for failure and offer strategies to ensure safe passage should you face this form of assessment.