Quality Assurance Criteria amended

The Civil Legal Aid Quality Assurance Criteria Guidance has been amended with effect from 3 April 2017. In addition to minor amendments clarifying what will be considered under the criteria, there is a new criterion (15) which asks: “Has the solicitor taken all reasonable steps to address any issues relating to age, disability, gender, race, religion or belief and sexual orientation which arose in the course of the case?”

This is intended to help ensure an adequate standard of work by civil solicitors, and help satisfy the Quality Assurance Committee that cases are properly taken on and that the client has not been disadvantaged because of any of the above characteristics. When undertaking a review, a peer reviewer will consider language difficulties, access difficulties and cultural issues.

The amended criteria can be accessed in the Rules and Guidance pages on the Society's website.