The NAO raised concerns over the costs of the legal and secretariat service provided to the trust, but has decided not to pursue a ‘value-for-money’ case against the firm.
Following media criticism last year over Charles Russell’s handling of the situation, Liberal Democrat MP for North Devon Nick Harvey called for the NAO to investigate, suggesting that the legal work should be opened up for tender.
The trust decided not to re-tender, based on Charles Russell’s understanding of the trust deed and concerns of time delays that might be incurred by any other firm trying to get to grips with its complexity.
The trust also established that the fees being charged were “comparable with fees charged by other solicitors”.
In a letter to
Charles Russell responded to the letter saying: “We have spoken to Sir Robert Owen, chairman of the vCJD Compensation Scheme, who has commented as follows: ‘The Trust was looked into by the National Audit Office which was satisfied that the scheme was run appropriately and no further action was taken’.”
The vCJD trust was set up in 2000, as a ‘no-blame’ compensation scheme for victims of vCJD and their families. Initially, £67.5m was set aside for the first 250 cases. Up until July 2007, £37m had been paid in compensation, and an additional £10m had been paid in professional services fees.
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