The deadline to submit CRM12 applications for slots on the October 2020 rota is 13 July 2020 at 11.59pm.
The police station duty rota will run for the usual 6 months. But there will be a 3-month court duty solicitor rota which will end on Sunday, 10 January 2021.
Why is it a 3-month court duty rota?
We want to ensure that the Legal Aid Agency can respond flexibly to the changing situation as we move from the COVID-19 (coronavirus) period.
This means that when the October court duty rota expires we will run another one from 11 January to 31 March 2020.
Membership on this second court duty rota period will be based on the October 2020 rota.
Completing CRM12s
Organisations wishing to make amendments to their existing rota membership must submit a fully completed CRM12 by 13 July.
This should detail all the duty solicitors which providers wish to add or remove from rotas starting 1 October 2020.
Details of duty solicitors currently on the rotas can be found in the members' lists which are published on GOV.UK - see below.
Providers submitting a CRM12 for a new duty solicitor will need to provide a copy of their Criminal Litigation Accreditation Scheme (CLAS) certificate. But, strictly for the October 2020 rota only, we are making exceptional arrangements for the CLAS requirement.
This means providers may submit a CRM12 for duty solicitor candidates unable to complete CLAS accreditation for the 13 July deadline because of COVID-19.
Guidance on the process that will be followed for these applications is set out in the October 2020 duty rotas document, published alongside the CRM12 form.
Concerns relating to COVID-19
We are aware of concerns relating to COVID-19 and duty solicitor compliance. We can confirm the situation is being monitored. We will continue to act reasonably and proportionally when reviewing compliance.
The LAA will not act against those who are unable to reasonably meet the requirements for duty compliance. Our approach is set out in the guidance in the October 2020 duty rotas document.
Those who are currently furloughed will be able to maintain membership of duty schemes, a record of which should be kept by the provider.
