Extension notices are being issued shortly to tell providers that Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme (HPCDS) contracts will be extended.
Why is this happening?
We are extending contracts to enable:
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publication of the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) response to the 'Housing Legal Aid: the way forward' consultation
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development and procurement of new contracts by the LAA
This needs to happen now because HPCDS services are currently being delivered through contingency contracts that end on 30 September 2022. So, these contracts, which maintain the 2013 Standard Civil Contract exclusive schedule arrangements, need to be extended.
Extension timescales
All existing HPCDS providers will be offered an extension of their current contract running from 1 October 2022 to 29 April 2023.
What do I need to do?
We will be writing to all current HPCDS contract providers to confirm our intentions and formally issue extension offers over the course of the next month.
Providers will need to sign into the contract extension, or where they do not wish to do so, confirm this to the LAA by the date set out in their letters.
Consultation response
The MOJ consultation on 'Housing Legal Aid: the way forward' ran from 25 November 2021 to 20 January 2022. Publication of the response is expected to happen shortly, and this will be available to view on GOV.UK.
