The London boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark have launched a review of their barristers framework, which is set to be worth £24m over the next four years.
The two councils initially launched the joint panel in 2010 to share legal costs. Lambeth council has also mooted launching a joint ABS spin-off to deal with large legal issues that would usually be given to external legal counsel.
The existing panel is made up of 31 sets of chambers including 2-3 Grays Inn Square, Field Court Chambers and Landmark Chambers, though it is expected the new panel will be larger than previous years and include up to 51 sets of chambers.
The framework was initially given a budget of around £10m to cover chambers’ fees for Southwark and Lambert over the four-year panel term.This has been increased to £12m for the renewed panel, which will also be open for other local authorities within the Greater London area to use. The councils estimate these authorities will spend a further £12m on the barristers framework.
London Borough of Lambeth’s head of legal services Alison McKane will lead the panel review, which will be split into 10 lots. These are: childcare; housing; property; planning and infrastructure; social care; licensing and regulatory; prosecutions; employment; education; and general litigation.
The deadline for applications from chambers is 22 February.