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| Legal aid U-turn over price competition plan | Legal aid U-turn over price competition plan |
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| Plans to cut the legal aid bill by awarding contracts to the lowest bidder have been dropped, Justice Secretary Chris Grayling has announced. | Plans to cut the legal aid bill by awarding contracts to the lowest bidder have been dropped, Justice Secretary Chris Grayling has announced. |
| In an interview with the Times newspaper, Mr Grayling said the move was part of a deal he had reached with the Law Society for England and Wales. | In an interview with the Times newspaper, Mr Grayling said the move was part of a deal he had reached with the Law Society for England and Wales. |
| Opponents of the policy had warned the policy would "irrevocably damage the criminal justice system". | Opponents of the policy had warned the policy would "irrevocably damage the criminal justice system". |
| But other cuts to legal aid are expected to go ahead. | But other cuts to legal aid are expected to go ahead. |
| In a statement in the Commons Mr Grayling said prisoners and households with more than £3,000 per month of disposable income would no longer be able to access legal aid. | In a statement in the Commons Mr Grayling said prisoners and households with more than £3,000 per month of disposable income would no longer be able to access legal aid. |
| And immigrants who had been in the country less than a year would be unable to access aid in civil cases, he said. | And immigrants who had been in the country less than a year would be unable to access aid in civil cases, he said. |
| Ministers had intended to introduce price competitive tendering (PCT) as part of a string of reforms aiming to cut the £2bn annual legal aid bill in England and Wales by £350m a year. | Ministers had intended to introduce price competitive tendering (PCT) as part of a string of reforms aiming to cut the £2bn annual legal aid bill in England and Wales by £350m a year. |
| BBC legal correspondent Clive Coleman said the proposal was very controversial, with concerns that the lowest bid would win in a "race to the bottom" which could impact quality. | BBC legal correspondent Clive Coleman said the proposal was very controversial, with concerns that the lowest bid would win in a "race to the bottom" which could impact quality. |
| He said that while the bidding proposal had been scrapped other savings would go ahead as the government remained committed to saving money on the legal aid system - said to be one of the most expensive in the world. | |
| 'Factory mentality' | 'Factory mentality' |
| There are currently 1,600 legal aid providers and there is potential for that number to be expanded if firms meet minimum quality standards. | There are currently 1,600 legal aid providers and there is potential for that number to be expanded if firms meet minimum quality standards. |
| The government plans to put a cap on contracts for duty solicitor work at police stations and to reduce legal aid fees by 17.5% across the board. | The government plans to put a cap on contracts for duty solicitor work at police stations and to reduce legal aid fees by 17.5% across the board. |
| It also plans to set up a working party to look at how thousands of short hearings can be avoided, or dealt with by email or video link. | It also plans to set up a working party to look at how thousands of short hearings can be avoided, or dealt with by email or video link. |
| Its final proposals on legal aid reform will be subject to a six-week consultation, our correspondent added. | Its final proposals on legal aid reform will be subject to a six-week consultation, our correspondent added. |
| Mr Grayling said: "We will introduce a new residency test that will prevent most people who have only just arrived in the UK from accessing civil legal aid until a year after they had arrived. | Mr Grayling said: "We will introduce a new residency test that will prevent most people who have only just arrived in the UK from accessing civil legal aid until a year after they had arrived. |
| "We will limit criminal legal aid for prisoners so that it is not available unnecessarily. There will be no more legal aid available because you don't like your prison. | "We will limit criminal legal aid for prisoners so that it is not available unnecessarily. There will be no more legal aid available because you don't like your prison. |
| "We will set out new rules that will mean the wealthiest Crown Court defendants - those in households with more than £3,000 in disposable income left after tax, housing costs and other essential outgoings - will have to fund their own legal costs." | "We will set out new rules that will mean the wealthiest Crown Court defendants - those in households with more than £3,000 in disposable income left after tax, housing costs and other essential outgoings - will have to fund their own legal costs." |
| He said that when the government set out its plans in April "I was clear that they were for consultation. I have kept that promise". | He said that when the government set out its plans in April "I was clear that they were for consultation. I have kept that promise". |
| He said that the agreement is "a sensible proposal which is tough but realistic". | He said that the agreement is "a sensible proposal which is tough but realistic". |
| The shadow justice secretary, Labour's Sadiq Khan, described plans to drop plans to award contracts to the lowest bidder as "a humiliating climb-down" for the government. | The shadow justice secretary, Labour's Sadiq Khan, described plans to drop plans to award contracts to the lowest bidder as "a humiliating climb-down" for the government. |
| He added: "If the government had their way, access to justice for many people would have been threatened, with the very real prospect of increased numbers of miscarriages of justice." | He added: "If the government had their way, access to justice for many people would have been threatened, with the very real prospect of increased numbers of miscarriages of justice." |
| The charity Reprieve said the blocking of legal aid to immigrants who have been in the country less than a year would "deny justice to a wide range of people wronged by the UK government - from victims of torture and rendition to Gurkhas and Afghan interpreters denied the right to settle in Britain". | The charity Reprieve said the blocking of legal aid to immigrants who have been in the country less than a year would "deny justice to a wide range of people wronged by the UK government - from victims of torture and rendition to Gurkhas and Afghan interpreters denied the right to settle in Britain". |
| The organisation's legal director, Kat Craig, said: "The reality is that the residence test is the latest in a long line of attempts by the government to silence its critics in the courts. | The organisation's legal director, Kat Craig, said: "The reality is that the residence test is the latest in a long line of attempts by the government to silence its critics in the courts. |
| "David Cameron and Nick Clegg once thought that torture victims and Gurkhas denied the right to live in Britain deserved their day in court - why are they now backing plans which would shut them out?" | "David Cameron and Nick Clegg once thought that torture victims and Gurkhas denied the right to live in Britain deserved their day in court - why are they now backing plans which would shut them out?" |
| Correction 17 September 2013: This story has been amended to clarify that is the legal aid system - rather than the legal system - that is said to be one of the most expensive in the world. |