Scottish legal aid desert is growing — and failing Scots in 'traumatic' situations

Scotland's legal aid desert is continuing to grow and Scots are be failed when they need the system most, the Law Society of Scotland has warned.

Society officials have made a formal submission to an inquiry into civil legal assistance by the Scottish Parliament's Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee.

"The current legal aid system is failing people who need help with traumatic legal situations in relation to their housing, relationships and work"

The submission advocates for increases in legal aid rates for civil legal aid work, and for changes to reduce the administrative burden and payment delays when dealing with the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB).

Law Society of Scotland President Susan Murray said: “We are grateful for this opportunity to provide MSPs with evidence on the state of civil legal aid provision in Scotland. Our submission makes clear the scale of the legal aid crisis and the negative impact that is having on clients and solicitors.

“The evidence we have submitted shows why action is urgently required from the Scottish Government to begin the restoration process, so Scotland once again has a properly functioning legal aid system.”

The Co-convener of the Law Society’s Legal Aid Committee, Pat Thom, said: “Our submission outlines in considerable detail how the current legal aid system is failing people who need help with traumatic legal situations in relation to their housing, relationships and work.

“The Law Society is contacted on a daily basis by people who’ve exhausted all possible options trying to find a solicitor to represent them. These reports show that Scotland’s legal aid deserts are growing as lawyers reduce the amount of legal aid work they do or stop altogether.

“We’ve advised the committee of the changes required to restore the system, including increased legal aid payment rates and improvements to reduce the red tape of dealing with SLAB and the often-lengthy wait to be paid.”

What is the inquiry investigating?

The Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee is exploring issues in civil legal assistance and grant funding for advice organisations.

The committee has already heard about barriers to accessing civil legal assistance and how eligibility criteria limits types of action.

The Scottish Government recently published a discussion paper on legal aid reform. This proposes a three-stage approach to reform:

• changes to regulations to simplify the current system, to be delivered in 2025 to 2026 - for civil legal assistance, proposals include introducing standard fees for work relating to adults with incapacity legislation and assessing financial eligibility using standardised personal allowances
• reform of legal aid fees, to be delivered in 2025
• longer-term reform, including testing different funding models and embedding user experience in decision-making, with a view to introducing new legislation in the future