Specialist Quality MarkSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM)Quality standardsPerformance monitoringSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM)Quality standardsPerformance monitoringSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM):desktop auditSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM)Quality standardsPerformance monitoringSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM):desktop auditSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM)Quality standardsPerformance monitoringSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM):on–site auditSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM)Quality standardsPerformance monitoringSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM):on–site audit:opening meetingSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM):on–site auditSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM)Quality standardsPerformance monitoringSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM):on–site audit:discussions with auditorSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM):on–site auditSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM)Quality standardsPerformance monitoringSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM):on–site audit:audit procedure and outcomesSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM):on–site auditSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM)Quality standardsPerformance monitoringSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM):requirementsSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM)Quality standardsPerformance monitoringSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM):LexcelSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM)Quality standardsPerformance monitoringSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM):LexcelSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM)Quality standardsPerformance monitoringSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM):supervisors:technical legal competenceSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM):supervisorsSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM)Quality standardsPerformance monitoringSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM):supervisors:technical legal competenceSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM):supervisorsSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM)Quality standardsPerformance monitoringSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM):supervisors:technical legal competenceSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM):supervisorsSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM)Quality standardsPerformance monitoringSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM):supervisors:technical legal competenceSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM):supervisorsSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM)Quality standardsPerformance monitoringSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM):supervisor standards in 2013 Standard Civil ContractSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM)Quality standardsPerformance monitoringSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM):supervisor standards in 2013 Standard Civil ContractSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM)Quality standardsPerformance monitoringSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM):supervisor standards in 2013 Standard Civil ContractSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM)Quality standardsPerformance monitoringSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM):supervisor standards in 2013 Standard Civil ContractSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM)Quality standardsPerformance monitoringSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM):supervisor standards in 2013 Standard Civil ContractSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM)Quality standardsPerformance monitoringSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM):supervisor standards in 2014 Standard Civil ContractSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM)Quality standardsPerformance monitoringSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM):supervisor standards in 2014 Standard Civil ContractSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM)Quality standardsPerformance monitoringSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM):supervisor standards in 2014 Standard Civil ContractSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM)Quality standardsPerformance monitoringSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM):supervisor standards in 2014 Standard Civil ContractSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM)Quality standardsPerformance monitoringSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM):supervisor standards in 2014 Standard Civil ContractSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM)Quality standardsPerformance monitoringSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM):supervisor standards in 2014 Standard Civil ContractSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM)Quality standardsPerformance monitoringSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM):supervisor standards in 2014 Standard Civil ContractSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM)Quality standardsPerformance monitoringSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM):supervisor standards in 2017 Crime ContractSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM)Quality standardsPerformance monitoringSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM):supervisor standards in 2017 Crime ContractSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM)Quality standardsPerformance monitoringSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM):supervisor standards in 2017 Crime ContractSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM)Quality standardsPerformance monitoringCivil legal aid:Social Welfare Law ContractsSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM):supervisor standards in 2017 Crime ContractSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM)Quality standardsPerformance monitoringCivil legal aid:Social Welfare Law ContractsSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM):supervisor standards in 2017 Crime ContractSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM)Quality standardsPerformance monitoringCivil legal aid:Social Welfare Law ContractsSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM):supervisors:file reviewsSpecialist Quality Mark (SQM)Quality standardsPerformance monitoringCivil legal aid:Social Welfare Law Contracts
19.6Organisations wanting a contract with the LAA must hold the SQM (or Lexcel – see below) by the date for verification (which is before the contract start date), set in the tender documentation. At the time of writing, the current version of the SQM is V 2.1 dated December 2014.
19.7The LAA has appointed Recognising Excellence to deliver auditing services for the SQM from April 2017. It has significant audit experience as it also conducts assessments for Lexcel, the Advice Quality Standard (AQS), the Money Advice Service standard (MAS), and ISO 9001. For information about assess- ment, including cost, see Recognising Excellence’s website
www.recognisingexcellence.co.uk/. It will take over from the SQM Delivery Partnership.
Desktop audit
19.8This is the first stage of assessment. The documentation submitted will be reviewed against the requirements of the Quality Mark. If the documentation is incomplete or so deficient that it is clear the organisation cannot meet the standard, the application will be refused. The documentation will be returned within 28 days with comments so that the organisation knows the issues it needs to address.
19.9If the organisation passes the desktop audit, and its application for a contract is also successful (see chapter 18 for more information), it will be awarded a provisional quality mark and a contract.
Pre-Quality Mark audit
19.10Before the SQM is confirmed, an on-site audit will be carried out, usually four to six months after the desk top audit, to make sure that the SQM requirements are in effective operation.
Opening meeting
19.11The audit will start with an opening meeting at which the auditor will explain its scope and purpose. It is useful to have a copy of the Self-Assessment Audit Checklist (SAAC) to hand as the auditor is likely to check his or her understanding of procedures and check any queries.
Discussions with the auditor
19.12If it appears that an auditor is requiring procedures to operate in a certain way, which does not coincide with the organisation’s interpretation of SQM requirements, (and particularly if it appears that implementing such a system could cause difficulty), it is advisable to ask him or her to refer you to the requirement in the standard. It may be that the organisation has not understood the requirement. On the other hand, as auditors are human too, they can make mistakes. Many SQM requirements are so detailed that there is a limited number of ways in which they can be met. Auditors can become so used to seeing something being implemented in a certain way that they fail to recognise that an unusual system may still comply. Some auditors conduct assessments against both Lexcel and the SQM. It is not unknown for them to assess against eg a Lexcel requirement which is not in the SQM by mistake. If you both consider the system against the actual wording of the requirement, and any mandatory definition, you are most likely to reach a consensus.
SQM audit procedure and outcomes
19.13The result will be one of:
•pass;
•pass with acceptable corrective action – usually relating to general quality concerns in non-critical management areas – this is the most common result; or
•fail (recommendation not to award or to terminate the SQM) – this usually relates to critical quality concerns which cannot be addressed.
There is a representation process which can be invoked if the organisation considers that the audit was not correctly carried out, a critical quality concern should have been disregarded, or any other reasonable grounds.
Quality Mark requirements
19.14First, the standard itself is set out. It is split into ‘Requirements’, which are mandatory, and ‘Definitions’. The definitions are only mandatory where the word ‘must’ is used. See following page for a compliance aide-memoire, to assist you in maintaining compliance with SQM and contract requirements.
SQM | | | |
A: Access to service | | | |
Business plan – in detail for one year and outline for two further years. Non-discrimination in the provision of services. Six-monthly review of plan. Providing information about service provision. | | | |
B: Seamless service | | | |
Signposting – as a minimum providing the Civil Legal Advice call centre details. Note that under the Standard Contract Specification, para 2.49, in those categories of law delivered exclusively through the telephone gateway from April 2013, you must signpost clients or potential clients to the helpline unless that Client or potential Client is an Exempted Person as described in the Procedure Regulations. The exclusive categories are Debt (post LASPO, where the client’s owner-occupied home is at risk and involuntary bankruptcy), Education (post LASPO, special educational needs cases) and Discrimination (eg consumer and employment cases). Exemptions to the mandatory single gateway include where the client is a child or in detention or has previously been assessed by CLA as requiring advice face-to-face, In emergency situations the client is not exempt but where representation is required the gateway should immediately refer the client to face to face advice. Telephone advice is available for in-scope matters in Housing and Family, but it is not the mandatory route for clients to access legal aid in these categories. Referral – records kept when a client is referred elsewhere on an existing matter. | | | |
C: Running the organisation | | | |
Staff structure. Key roles and decision-making structure. Financial control. Demonstrate independence. | | | |
D: People management | | | |
Job descriptions, responsibilities and objectives. Equality and diversity. Open recruitment process. Induction procedure. Annual performance review and feedback. Training plans, training and records. Named Supervisors – meeting very detailed technical requirements (see note below for more information). Supervisory skills and conditions for supervision. Limits of individual competence. Legal qualifications or 12 hours’ casework per week. | | | |
E: Running the service | | | |
File management – file lists, conflict of interest, locating files and tracing documents, key dates, solicitor undertakings, monitoring files for inactivity, identifying all matters for one client, logical and orderly files. File reviews for all conducting cases – including legal and procedural issues – by Supervisor with corrective action taken where required (see note below for more information). File review records monitored annually. | | | |
F: Meeting clients’ needs | | | |
Procedures for recording and confirming information and advice at the outset, during and at the end of the case. Code of Conduct chapter one requirements; case plans in complex cases; costs and cost/benefit advice; considering legal aid entitlement. Confidentiality and privacy. Use of approved suppliers (eg counsel, experts, interpreters) – selected on the basis of objective assessment, evaluation, consultation with the client, instructions in prescribed form. | | | |
G: Commitment to quality | | | |
Complaints procedure. Quality management – responsibility for, review of all quality procedures annually, Quality Manual. Client satisfaction feedback. | | | |
Lexcel
19.15The requirements of Lexcel are more demanding than the SQM and more closely aligned with the SRA Code of Conduct. It is broken down into the following sections:
1.Structure and strategy;
2.Financial management;
3.Information management;
4.People management;
5.Risk management;
6.Client care;
7.File and case management.
19.16Accrediting to Lexcel makes sense for firms which do non-contentious work or undertake work with a higher risk profile than legal aid. However, firms that have a low risk profile, for example those specialising in criminal defence work only, may find that the simpler SQM standard suits them best.
Supervisors – technical legal competence
19.17Supervisors in family and civil categories must demonstrate that they have experience in their category of 1,050 casework hours over the preceding three years if full-time, or five years if part-time (supervisors who have been on maternity leave or long-term sick in the last three years can demonstrate the five-year requirement even if they work full-time). In crime, from April 2017, full-time supervisors only need to demonstrate that they have 350 hours experience over the past 12 months if full time. Requirements for part time supervisors are the same as in family and civil.
19.18In some categories, supervisors must be members of a specialist panel, eg family, mental health; in immigration, supervisors must be accredited to that level under the IAAS, as well as providing evidence of 350 hours’ case involvement over the preceding 12 months. Evidence of that experience can be direct casework (which may be easier as that will be time-recorded in any event), or it can include up to 115 hours’ supervision, file review, training and research for publication.
19.19The Supervisor Self-Declaration Forms have caused some confusion. Practitioners should remember that in Case Involvement table (table 4) in many versions boxes (b), (c), (d) and (e) are optional, not mandatory, as long as the individual can show 350 hours’ direct personal casework in box (4)(a).
19.20In categories where there is no panel, supervisors must demonstrate that they have closely defined experience of case types. As for panel members, this must be maintained by at least 350 hours’ experience in that category annually.
Supervisor standards in the 2013 Standard Civil Contract
19.21The rules are to be found in the Standard Civil Contract 2013 Specification paras 2.10–2.27. Under the Contract you must (unless Category Specific Rules specify otherwise – which they do not for family, housing/debt or immigration) employ at least one full-time equivalent supervisor in that category. This means you need at least one full time equivalent in those categories (and you may need more if there are more than four people to supervise or multiple office arrangements mean that is the only practical way to ensure cover).
19.22For this purpose ‘full time equivalent’ means the equivalent of one individual working five days a week and seven hours on each day (excluding breaks).
19.23The contract goes on to say that a supervisor must at all times during their working hours (except as required for the proper performance of their role, (such as attending court and/or clients)) work from one of or any combination of your offices. Note this is not exactly the same as requiring them to be in the office at all times during working hours and does allow a degree of flexibility.
19.24In addition, supervisors must be a sole principal, an employee or a director of or partner in or member of your organisation if your practice is a company, partnership (other than an LLP) or an LLP. Consultants are therefore not permitted to be supervisors.
19.25The LAA will only authorise external supervisors at its discretion and for temporary periods, for example if your supervisor becomes unwell and is unable to discharge their duties for no more than six weeks.
Supervisor standards in the 2014 Standard Civil Contract
19.26These requirements are in addition to the general requirements set out above.
19.27Mental health supervisors must hold current membership of either:
•The Law Society Mental Health Accreditation Scheme; or
•(For non-solicitor supervisors only) be assessed by The Law Society as meeting the Mental Health Accreditation Scheme criteria.
The supervisor must have provided representation on five MHT case files in the previous 12 months. Where you have not represented at five hearings, eg due to late cancellation, delay leading to discharge of the patient, etc the LAA will accept representation at three hearings; plus two further cases in which either the preparation for the hearing had been completed and can be demonstrated on file or where you had conduct of a case within scope of the category and the client qualified for legal aid. Supervisors must have undertaken work in at least five Legal Help (non MHT) cases, in the previous 12 months (these may include mental capacity cases).
19.28
Community care supervisors must maintain a portfolio of specified case types.
12014 Standard Civil Contract Community Care Specification paras 8.1–8.2.Supervisor standards in the 2015 Standard Civil Contract
19.29These requirements are in addition to the general requirements set out above.
19.30Clinical Negligence supervisors must hold current membership of one of the following:
•the Law Society’s Clinical Negligence Accreditation Scheme;
•the Action Against Medical Accidents (AVMA) Clinical Negligence Panel; or
•the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) Clinical Negligence Accredited Specialist Panel.
The supervisor must, during any preceding 24-month period, have worked on a minimum number of five cases significantly concerned with claims for damages in respect infant neurological injury.
19.31Actions Against the Police etc: there are two supervisor standards in this category:
•the General Standard; and
•the Abuse in Care Standard.
Supervisors must maintain a portfolio of specified case types.
22015 Standard Civil Contract Category Specific Specification paras 7.7 and 7.8 or paras 7.12–7.13 respectively.19.32
Public Law supervisors must maintain a portfolio of specified case types.
32015 Standard Civil Contract Category Specific Specification paras 7.17–7.18.Supervisor standards in the 2017 Standard Crime Contract
19.33The general requirements are very similar to the 2013 Civil Contracts above. The particular issues relating to the Crime Contract are set out below.
19.34Supervision requirements in the 2017 contact
42017 Standard Crime Contract Specification paras 2.1–2.31. are significantly different from the 2010 contract which it replaced. A number of practices have found that supervisors who qualified under the previous requirements would no longer qualify from April 2017. From April 2017 a supervisor can only supervise up to two offices
52017 Standard Crime Contract Specification para 2.8. and up to four people (six for prison law
62017 Standard Crime Contract Specification para 2.29–2.30.). Except in prison law (where it is limited to two), someone can only be a supervisor for one organisation
72017 Standard Crime Contract Specification paras 2.9–2.10.. Supervisors can supervise more than one class of work (eg investigations, proceedings etc
82017 Standard Crime Contract Specification para 2.6.).
19.35Crime supervisors must be accredited to the Law Society’s CLAS scheme (either via the PSQ route or the passporting route); and have held a current non-conditional practising certificate for the previous three years; and in the previous 12 months:
•have undertaken a minimum of six Police Station Advice and Assistance cases (of which no more than two can be Police Station Telephone Advice where there is no subsequent Police Station attendance); and
•have undertaken a minimum of 20 magistrates’ court representations and advocacy (which may include magistrates’ court duty sessions – one session counts as one representation only); or
•10 magistrates court representations and advocacy and five in the Crown Court
19.36Prison law supervisors must have, in the previous 12 months, undertaken a minimum of four representations for four clients before the Parole Board or the Independent Adjudicator/Prison Governor. They do not have to be legally qualified.
19.37
Appeals and reviews supervisors do have to be legally qualified.
92017 Standard Crime Contract Specification para 2.26.Supervisors – file reviews
19.38File reviews under the SQM must cover legal and procedural points (Lexcel allows for file reviews limited to procedural points but that would be risky from the point of view of peer review under the contract). This can cause problems when considering who should review the supervisor’s files. If there is another experienced practitioner in the same area of law, they can review each other’s files. Where there is not, perhaps because there is no one else who practises in that specialism, the supervisor will have to review his or her own files (as objectively as possible!) for legal issues and someone else will review it for procedural points. The LAA does not expect an organisation to incur the expense of an external supervisor in these circumstances.
Key supervision issues from recent audits
•Have file reviews been carried out by the named supervisor (or delegated to a deputy with a training and development plan to meet full supervisor status)?
•Do the management/organisation structure and individual job descriptions agree? It’s amazing how disorganised you can look to an outsider if they don’t!
•If the supervisor has to demonstrate compliance through the portfolio route (as opposed to panel membership), can they do so over the last 12 months? Consider the numbers of hours required and the range of cases.
•Were independent file reviews undertaken by an appropriate person? If you are developing a member of staff as a deputy supervisor and delegating some file reviews to them, make sure this is all properly documented.
•Are the independent file review records completely up to date? If there are gaps, eg someone was on maternity leave or on the holiday of a lifetime, are the reasons for them clear?
•If you have not been able to do file reviews for a period due to pressures such as sickness absence or additional work demands, catch up later and put a note onto your central record explaining why some file reviews were done late
•Is corrective action required recorded on the file review forms, with appropriate dates?
•Do they also show what action was taken and by when?
Did file reviews identify any non-compliances with SQM or contract requirements? If the supervisor is lenient, the LAA cannot be confident that the organisation meets its requirements.