Civil/crime news: review of provider monthly payments
Engagement on proposals to remove standard monthly payments in future contracts, and to repay related balances including held liabilities.
We are seeking your views on the advantages of moving all providers on to a single system of monthly payments.
Payment mechanisms
This would mean removing the option of standard monthly payments (SMP) from future legal aid contracts. All providers would instead be moved to variable monthly payments (VMP).
Repayment of balances
The proposals include repayment of all balances, including those held from a historical move to VMP.
How will the engagement exercise work?
We are inviting representative bodies and all providers to take part in the exercise, which will include a questionnaire. The exercise will include consideration of several options for the reconciliation of standard monthly overpayments.
Information about the exercise is now available on GOV.UK, and links to this will be sent out to providers by their contract managers.
The reconciliation team will contact individual providers on SMP or with a held liability shortly after the launch of the exercise. Providers will be able to see how each of the options would affect their repayments. This will happen in the week beginning 8 May, using April 2023 submission data.
An impact assessment is being published alongside the engagement exercise.
Why is this happening now?
We want to complete the engagement exercise by 30 June 2023 as we will also be engaging shortly on the new Standard Civil Contract. This deadline will allow us to finalise the necessary contract changes in good time.
The changes will allow the business to operate one method of payment and remove a process that only applies to a minority of providers.
We will publish a response to the engagement exercise in August 2023.
Timescales
- launch of engagement exercise – 3 May 2023
- reconciliation team to contact providers on SMP and those with held liabilities – week beginning 8 May
- engagement exercise closes – 30 June
- engagement exercise response published – August 2023
Further information
LAA payments to providers – to download engagement exercise resources
smpreform@justice.gov.uk – engagement exercise questions