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Hugh Barrett leaves LAA in management restructure
The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) has announced that Hugh Barrett, who was its director of legal aid commissioning and strategy, has left the organisation. He had been employed there for just under eight years and led the procurement process for the controversial two-tier criminal legal aid duty tenders. These were abandoned by the government in January after a successful campaign led by practitioner groups.
According to a statement from the LAA, his post, for which he received pay and pension benefits of £185,000 a year, will not be filled. Instead, his duties will be picked up by other senior managers. LAG understands Barrett left under a voluntary redundancy arrangement as part of the cost savings programme at the LAA.