Legal Aid Payment Review Panel report

Co-convener of the Law Society of Scotland’s Legal Aid Committee, Ian Moir, has said the Legal Aid Payment Review Panel report, published on Friday, 23 July, is a step towards reforming Scotland’s legal aid system to ensure it works for those who need it.

He said: “Legal aid plays a vital role in helping people resolve legal issues and uphold their rights, regardless of their financial circumstances, and we must ensure that it can work effectively for those who need it.

“The Scottish Government has already accepted that there is a need to address the historic underfunding of legal aid and delivered a 5% increase in legal aid fees earlier this year, with a commitment for a further 5% next year, to begin this process. Much more needs to be done. This report shows that there is work which needs to happen to create a process of regular reviews to ensure that legal aid fees are set at a sustainable level to protect this vital community service.

“I hope that the Scottish Government will make this a priority and the Law Society is committed to continuing our ongoing discussions about the need for substantial and ongoing investment which reflects the true value of the service provided by legal aid practitioners.”

Legal aid fees are just one part of the work which is necessary to ensure the sustainability of this under threat sector. To ensure that the legal aid sector remains viable it is critical to ensure we can recruit and retain solicitors in this branch of the profession. The Law Society has been working to implement the Scottish Government’s Legal Aid Traineeship Fund which launched just last month. The importance of this kind of support was shown in the high level of interest which saw many more applications than the maximum 40 traineeships within the first 24 hours.