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Delivery of welfare benefits work community legal advice contracts after 1 April 2013
Community Legal Service has provided further info on interim approach to welfare benefits work remaining in scope from April 2013 -
‘The route we have decided on will involve delivering advice on the areas remaining in scope through the current Community Legal Advice (CLA) telephone contracts. This will be for a six month period from 1 April until 30 September 2013.
Face-to-face advice will also be provided through these contracts, where required.
The volume and value of this work will be small and what it will involve was confirmed by the Government in a written ministerial statement.
This was published on 18 September 2012 and we explained at the time that an interim approach would be needed.
This is because there was insufficient time to run a procurement process to have new face-to-face contracts in place from 1 April 2013.
Next steps
The LSC will run a tender for the 2013 welfare benefits face-to-face contracts starting on 1 October 2013.
We are finalising this approach and will provide further details in due course.
What is staying in scope?
* Appeals to the First-tier Tribunal in Social Security and Child Support for all welfare benefits cases (including housing benefits, war pensions, State pensions, vaccine damage payments or similar benefits) where the Tribunal reviews its own decision because there has been an error in law; and
* Appeals on a point of law to the Upper Tribunal and onwards appeals on a point of law to the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.
All other welfare benefits work previously delivered under the 2010 Civil Standard Contract, will not be covered by legal aid from 1 April 2013.’
here’s a link -
http://www.legalservices.gov.uk/civil/cls_news_14190.asp?page=1
and to written ministerial statement of 18 september -
[ Edited: 22 Nov 2012 at 02:44 pm by Ros ]