It has definitely been Contract Compliance week. I have just come off the phone with a firm subject to the new civil version of this long discredited process, now re-badged as “Fixed Fee Contract Compliance Audit”. Just as with the Crime version referred to below, this too involves pretty much the same as previous, this time “proof of means” providing the headline. I don’t want to go into the detail of the potential appeal however civil providers should be aware that the LSC are rigidly, and wrongly in my view, applying the new post October ’07 Rule 2.5. This removes the long-standing under 2-hour protection on which firms have traditionally relied when clients fail to provide proof. So be warned.
With regard to the bigger picture here is what the Constitutional Affairs Select Committee (at p. 87) had to say about CCA in July 2004
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Hi Simon we have had both Crime and just completed Civil on this so called CCA , and totally agree they are keeping to the 2.5 rule . We had one file nil assessed on civil for it . However both audits came back A1 . We did make sure though where evidence was not available we had only claimed 2hrs or less . Now been hit with a family Peer review it is never ending . …………… Won on the Crime peer review ie they had to agree that they were wrong and couldnt audit us again until 2010 as we had a competence plus last year . Blamed the IT system again ….. funny they have not handed back the award !!!!!!! Janet