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The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) introduced Crown Court Means Testing (CCMT) in 2010. Previously, defendants who were granted, and in receipt of Criminal Legal Aid, made no financial contribution; except a very low percentage who were subject to a Recovery of Defence Cost Order (RDCO) following the completion of Criminal Proceedings. Upon applying for Legal Aid defendants are now means tested to assess their ability to pay. This conforms with the Governments held view that those who have the ability to pay for their Criminal Legal Aid should do so and that resources should be allocated to those most in need. The CCMT scheme currently comprises of monthly income based contributions, from the defendant, either for the life of the court case or 6 months, whichever is the lesser. Defendants also have the option of making a one-off payment to the value of five monthly contributions, or will be required to make five monthly payments if each one is paid on time. Any remaining balance will be recoverable once the case has concluded, if the defendant has capital and/or equity above the GBP 30 000 threshold. Any unpaid contributions then need to be recovered. The Legal Aid Agency is seeking to invite applications from suitably qualified, professional, and experienced companies to provide value for money Collection and Enforcement Services; for the CCMT Project. The contractor will be responsible for the collection of income based and capital based contributions, and, for enforcement in relation to any non-compliant debt. The contractor will also be responsible for capital and equity checks for means tested individuals. The proposed contract length is 39 months: an initial 15 months, with the option for an extension of 12 months, and then the further option of another 12 months extension. The services will commence from 1.4.2014 and any applicant will need to satisfy the LAA about their financial viability, technical competence, culture, and professional standards to carry out the services. To be effective, the debt collection and enforcement function must pursue debts in a timely manner, and ensure that the timetable for the recovery of debts is complied with. However, individuals identified as vulnerable will require a more sympathetic, sensitive, and practical approach to debt recovery. Any Provider would need to take account of the needs of vulnerable customers throughout the debt recovery process and provide an appropriate and proportionate approach. Any provider would need to be mindful of the LAA's obligations under the Equality Act 2010 and the LAA's obligations under the Welsh Language Act 1993. In order to provide relevant context to potential applicants, volumes of Debt Collection work (per annum) are approximated as per the following table: Case Type Case Volumes Income Contribution Order cases 10 000 Capital Contribution Order cases 3 000 Capital and Equity checks 25 000 Appeal Contribution Order cases 300 In accordance with the Criminal Legal Aid (Contribution Orders) Regulations 2013, the means assessed individual is liable for any enforcement costs that are incurred, and this is added to the amount payable by that individual. Total enforcement costs are in the region of GBP 2m (per annum). It should, however, be noted that volumes and values are estimated and are in no way guaranteed due to the nature of the contract. Since 2010, the LAA has continually realised improvements to recovery rates in relation to this area of work and wishes to continue to do so. Approximately 31 % of debt was recovered against the recognised debt book in 2012-13 and the target set for 2013-14 is 40 %. For further information, Crown Court Means Testing Debt Collection and Enforcement is governed by the Criminal Defence Service (Contribution Orders) Regulations 2009 and the Criminal Legal Aid (Contribution Orders) Regulations 2013. These regulations can be located at the following links: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2009/3328/contents/made http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2010/142/contents/made http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/483/contents/made It is possible that future policy changes in relation to the delivery of criminal legal aid could result in changes to the scope of the contract. Should any changes to the scope of the contract be required, this will be managed via the change control process.

Provision of Debt Collection and Enforcement Services, Crown Court Means Testing.

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