Title of Study: Research on the importance of non-chargeable tasks in legal aid practices

Name and Contact Details of the Project Team:

Project Leader: Kate Pasfield, Legal Aid Practitioners Group, 12 Baylis Road, SE1 7AA United Kingdom, kate.pasfield@lapg.co.uk

Lead Researcher: Juliet-Nil Uraz, juliet.uraz@lapg.co.uk

Head of Learning & Development: Andrea Shumaker, Project Support Officer, andrea.shumaker@lapg.co.uk

Operations Officer: Anna Neira Quesada, Project Support Officer, anna.neira.quesada@lapg.co.uk

1. Invitation

You are being invited to take part in this pilot phase of the research project which is being run by Legal Aid Practitioners Group (LAPG). Participation is entirely voluntary. Choosing not to take part will not disadvantage you in any way. Before you decide, it is important for you to understand why the research is being done and what your participation will involve. Please take the time to read the following information and feel free to contact us if there is anything that is not clear or if you would like more information please contact one of our Project Support Officers in the first instance. Thank you for reading this.

We will use the learning from the pilot to inform any changes to our plans before launching the project to a much larger group of legal aid providers.

2. Duration

The pilot is designed to take 10 working days. First, you will be asked to electronically give your consent by ticking the below boxes in this form and then, if you consent to take part, you will be asked to record your time spent on non-chargeable activities related to legal aid work for 10 working days in the format of an Excel spreadsheet. All data will be collected and stored in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation.

3. What is the project’s purpose?

LAPG is conducting an independent research project to quantify the time legal aid practitioners spend on non-chargeable tasks. For this project, non-chargeable tasks are defined as essential activities for maintaining legal aid contracts, for example means testing, supervision, auditing, training, and billing, which are not compensated by the Legal Aid Agency (LAA).

The goal of this research is to provide actionable data on a well-documented issue: the significant and fluctuating amount of time spent on these non-chargeable activities. Some of these uncompensated tasks, such as LAA audits, demand considerable time at specific points in the contract cycle, while others, are performed hourly, daily, or weekly.

To collect this data, LAPG is initially piloting the research project with the support of a small group of legal aid practitioners before rolling it out to a larger group. We have been assisted by members of LAPG’s Advisory Committee in developing two comprehensive lists categorizing non-chargeable time for both casework and non-casework staff working under legal aid contracts. These lists aim to standardize non-chargeable tasks and assist researchers in translating data into actionable policy arguments. The ultimate goal is to foster a dialogue with the LAA and Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and to use the data that we collect to strengthen the argument that many of these tasks, which are necessary for running cases and managing legal aid contracts, should be compensated.

4. Why have I been chosen?

As someone who works part-time or full-time on legal aid cases, your input is crucial for this project. We are asking you to share information about the amount of time you spend on activities deemed non-chargeable by the LAA, according to the definitions provided by our researchers. Your participation will help ensure that we capture an accurate and comprehensive picture of non-chargeable work in legal aid.

5. Do I have to take part?

It is up to you to decide whether or not to take part. If you do decide to participate, you will be asked to tick a box to give your consent electronically. You can withdraw from this project at any time without giving a reason by emailing: kate.pasfield@lapg.co.uk.

6. What will happen to me if I take part?

If you choose to participate, your time recording collected for this project will be shared with LAPG researchers. Additionally, our researchers may follow up with you to seek clarification on some of your records after reviewing the data. You will also be asked to provide information about your work circumstances, such as: job title, the number of years you have worked in legal aid, and the total number of hours you worked on legal aid cases during the study period, including both chargeable and non-chargeable time spent on tasks. This information will be used to draw meaningful conclusions when aggregating data across different firms and areas of law.

7. What will my data be used for?

Your data will be used exclusively for this research project and to inform potential policy changes. We will handle all information with strict confidentiality and use it solely to support the project’s objectives. Specifically, we will aggregate the number of hours spent on non-chargeable tasks across different categories and teams. This will provide an initial overview of how these tasks are distributed over a period of 10 working days, across various practices and areas of legal specialization.

8. What are the possible disadvantages and risks of taking part?

There are no known risks associated with participating in this project. The information you share will remain confidential and will not be disclosed to any outside entities. Only members of the LAPG staff working on this project will have access to your data during the analysis. You will not be asked to provide any case-specific details or personally identifiable information (PII) about clients. Your data will be permanently deleted once the analysis is complete. The findings of the project will only present aggregated, overall results, ensuring that individual details are not identifiable.

9. What are the possible benefits of taking part?

While there are no immediate personal benefits to participating, your involvement will contribute to a broader understanding of the significance of non-chargeable tasks for practitioners with legal aid contracts. We hope this research will provide stronger evidence of the challenges and lack of sustainability in the sector, ultimately supporting efforts to address these issues and improve conditions for legal aid practitioners.

10. What if something goes wrong?

If you would like to raise a complaint about this research, please contact the Project Leader, Kate Pasfield at kate.pasfield@lapg.co.uk. If you feel like your complaint has not been handled to your satisfaction, you can contact LAPG CEO: chris.minnoch@lapg.co.uk.

11. Will my taking part in this project be kept confidential?

All the information that we collect about you and your firm during the course of the research will be kept strictly confidential. You and your firm will not be able to be identified in any ensuing reports or publications. You can contact Kate Pasfield at kate.pasfield@lapg.co.uk to request a copy of the data held about you

12. What will happen to the results of the research project?

The results of the research project will be compiled into a report for the LAPG Board and, with appropriate consent, shared with the LAA and MoJ. Additionally, the findings may be disseminated through academic journals, general interest newspapers, and blog posts. You and your firm will not be identifiable in any report or publication.

13. Data Protection Privacy Notice

The data processor for this project will be LAPG. Your personal data will be processed for the purposes outlined in this notice.

The legal basis that will be used to process your personal data is a scientific and historical research or statistical purposes. Your personal data will be processed as long as it is required for the research project and we will endeavour to minimise the processing of personal data wherever possible. If you are concerned about how your personal data is being processed, please contact Kate Pasfield at kate.pasfield@lapg.co.uk.

If you remain dissatisfied, you may wish to contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Contact details, and details of data subject rights, are available on the ICO website at: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/data-protection-reform/overview-of-the-gdpr/individualsrights/

14. Contact for queries and further information

Anna Neira Quesada, Operations Officer, Project Support Officer, Legal Aid Practitioners Group, SE1 7AA, United Kingdom, anna.neira.quesada@lapg.co.uk

Andrea Shumaker, Head of Learning & Development, Project Support Officer, Legal Aid Practitioners Group, SE1 7AA, United Kingdom, andrea.shumaker@lapg.co.uk

Thank you for reading this information sheet and for considering taking part in this research study.