The LAA has confirmed that they are to continue with the gradual roll out of CCMS further to the expansion of the system to include a small number of providers in the Manchester, Leeds and Midlands areas.
The LAA will now begin inviting additional providers to use CCMS and will give two weeks’ notice of when providers will be able to use CCMS for new applications on a voluntary basis.
Schedule of roll-out:
Tranche 1 providers (firm names beginning A-F) will be invited to use the system first, from early May onwards.
Tranche 2 providers (firm names beginning G-Z or a number) will then be invited to use the system from early June onwards.
The LAA intends to divide Tranche 1 and Tranche 2 groups into smaller groups to allow system performance and usage to be continuously reviewed and to enable a flexible and responsive approach to be adopted.
When will CCMS be mandated?
It is the LAA’s intention that once all providers have been invited to use CCMS, a three-month contract notice will be issued. Only after that period will it become mandatory to use CCMS.
Once a case has been issued in CCMS it will remain in the system and therefore advocates will need to use the system to bill for their work.
What should you do now?
Providers should ensure that they are prepared for using the system and training documents and further information regarding the use of CCMS can be located on the CCMS website.
Please feel free to get in touch with your local John M Hayes office for further assistance and advice regarding CCMS and the billing process.
The LAA has also recently issued an update setting out a new process for the submission of Court assessed bills, providing clarification regarding key processes and highlighting new guidance that is available to help users get the best out of CCMS.
Submission of post assessment claims in CCMS cases
Post assessment claims in CCMS cases where a bill of costs has been assessed by the Court must now be submitted online.
Bills of costs should be submitted to the Court for provisional assessment in the usual way with the details of the amounts allowed on assessment then being entered into CCMS. The LAA’s ‘Submitting a court-assessed bill’ quick guide outlines the full process for dealing with post assessment claims from 11 April 2014.
Avoiding Common Mistakes
The Legal Aid Agency has also published a user guide setting out the most common mistakes made in CCMS and providing advice on how to avoid these issues.
The ‘Avoiding Common Mistakes’ guide can be found here.
Reporting the Statutory Charge in CCMS
Details of any awards and judgements made in CCMS cases should be reported online in the ‘Outcome and Awards’ section of the system rather than an Admin 1 form being completed.
Guidance on how this information should be submitted can be found in the 'Reporting the Statutory Charge' quick guide.