Island legal aid — Is demand for help outstripping supply?

With more islanders turning to lawyers on mainland Scotland for help with their legal aid cases, is there enough provision to keep pace with requirements? Peter Ranscombe investigates.

“I don’t think there’s anything like enough legal aid support, not just in Orkney, but across Scotland,” says Serena Sutherland, the Law Society of Scotland’s vice president-elect and director of Kirkwall-based d and h, the only Orkney law firm undertaking civil legal aid work. “North of Inverness, there’s definitely a lack of provision.”

Serena’s comments are echoed by charities. Hyo Eun Shin, senior policy officer at Citizens Advice Scotland, says: “We’re acutely aware of the significant difficulties people face when they are trying to find a legal aid solicitor in the Highlands and Islands.

“For example, Shetland has no local solicitor registered to provide legal aid, and demand for advice on the issue in Shetland Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) is among the highest in Scotland. The picture is similar across other island communities including Orkney, Skye and in Argyll and Bute.

“CABs continue to provide crucial support in these challenging circumstances. For example, for the past six months, the Western Isles Citizens Advice Service has been facilitating drop-in days at Lewis CAB with solicitors from the Civil Legal Assistance Office (CLAO) and supports people’s engagement with legal proceedings and legal aid providers.”

Hyo adds: “For many people who go to CABs for support, however, accessing legal aid remains an uphill struggle, often particularly steep for the most vulnerable. We recently highlighted this to the committee inquiry on civil legal aid at Scottish Parliament, reinforcing that this issue is impacting communities right across Scotland, not only in more remote and rural areas.

“We need to see meaningful change to the legal aid system, so people are not unfairly disadvantaged or forced to endure rights breaches due to geography or cost. We need a system that truly enables people’s access to justice, making sure person-centred legal advice is available to everyone, no matter where they live.”

Serena points out: “The administrative burden and the lack of financial remuneration for legal aid work need to be looked at urgently to stop even more people leaving the sector. How you look at reversing the decline is an even harder question because there’s a lack of people who want to live and work as solicitors in the north of Scotland.”

Serena wants to use her presidency in 2026 to highlight the opportunities for solicitors to work in the Highlands and Islands. “You can have a rewarding career in the north of Scotland and still take part in activities in the Central Belt, such as contributing to Law Society committees,” she explains. “You also get to live in fabulous places where most people only get to come on holiday.”

CLAO senior solicitor Rhea Frame highlights the pull of working on the islands. “One of the main challenges to working in our remote and rural areas is also one of the most appealing reasons to work there – the landscapes of Orkney, Lewis and Shetland are some of the most beautiful parts of Scotland,” she says. “Island hospitality is unrivalled and as a solicitor practising in the islands you can quickly become a respected member of the community with close and supportive networks of other professionals.”

More services delivered remotely

Calls for reform of Scotland’s legal aid system have intensified, with the Law Society of Scotland recently warning that the “exodus” of solicitors is continuing, while September’s report by the Scottish Parliament’s Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee (EHRCJC) into civil legal assistance demanded “urgent” change.

The statistics behind the headlines paint a grim picture. Figures published in May 2025 by the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) showed that, between 2014-15 and 2023-24, Shetland lost its sole active firm delivering legal aid, while Orkney had only d and h – alongside Kirkwall’s Public Defence Solicitors’ Office – and Na h-Eileanan an Iar had two firms, with four now listed on SLAB’s website.

Does a lack of lawyers mean demand is outstripping supply on the islands? “As with the rest of Scotland, there is no robust data on the extent of unmet legal need in Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles,” explains Angela Graham, head of CLAO’s Highland and Islands office. Since 2008, CLAO solicitors and support staff have been employed by SLAB under the auspices of the 1986 Legal Aid (Scotland) Act and 2001 Regulations.

“We have published geographical analysis of the national and local trends in civil legal aid over the past decade using the data available to us,” says Angela. “There is no clear overarching picture emerging from the analysis, but it does show that there are fewer, but busier, solicitors who deliver legally aided civil advice.

“The number of grants of civil legal aid is higher now than 10 years ago. But the trends differ widely between areas of civil law and also by geography. For example, the total number of civil legal aid certificates granted to applicants living in the three island council areas has increased by an average of 43% between 2014-15 and 2023-24.

“So, the data does not support the view that rural and island communities have become legal aid deserts. Instead, the biggest falls in civil legal aid activity are seen in major urban areas like Glasgow and Dundee. The geographic trends analysis shows that an increased number of applicants are instructing solicitors outside their council area. This may be partly because they are not restricted to using local solicitors as more services are being delivered remotely rather than ‘in person’ since 2014-15.”

Need for ‘better evidence’ and reform

Angela says: “Our recently published annual report for 2024-25 also shows legal aid funding helps tens of thousands of people across Scotland each year in relation to civil matters. However, the current legal aid schemes are not designed to, do not, and as currently structured cannot, guarantee access to a solicitor.

“It is not SLAB’s role to secure access to a solicitor for individuals facing legal issues, and the legal aid system as currently structured provides few mechanisms for addressing gaps in the supply of legal advice and/or representation or connecting those in need with available services.

“This is why, despite record legal aid spending of £169 million last year, we have repeatedly highlighted that meaningful change requires legislative action to reform the legal aid system. We believe significant structural change is needed to transform the system’s ability to harness new ways of designing, securing and delivering legal aid-funded legal services to respond to evolving demands and user needs.”

She adds: “The recent inquiry by the Scottish Parliament’s EHRCJC into civil legal assistance in Scotland recommended more work be done into assessing unmet legal need. We agree that better evidence is needed to help us better understand the extent, nature and causes of the types of problem highlighted to and by the committee.

“Without such evidence, it is very difficult to identify and deliver effective and proportionate solutions. My colleagues in our policy and development team will be meeting with the Law Society of Scotland shortly to discuss developing a better evidence base for demand and supply of legal aid-funded legal services.”