Legal Aid Agency reprieve on CCMS

The Legal Aid Agency has granted a four-month reprieve on its client and cost management system (CCMS).

CCMS, which has come under fire from legal aid lawyers for being unworkable, will now not become mandatory until 1 February 2016. The new online system allows lawyers to apply for legal aid, manage certificates, submit claims and attach electronic documentation.

Paul Seddon, chairman of the Association of Costs Lawyers’ Legal Aid Group, says: “We welcome the delay to making CCMS compulsory, and the six improvements that the LAA has committed to is a good start. However, there is a long way to go in comparatively very little time to make the many more changes needed so that this system is fit for use. A great deal of commitment to making real change is required of the LAA in order to meet the new deadline.”