Legal aid statement

Law Society of President, Amanda Millar, Vice-President, Ken Dalling and Legal Aid Committee conveners, Ian Moir and Patricia Thom met with the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and the Minister for Community Safety alongside the Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow Bar Associations to reiterate the need for support to deal with the substantial and systemic challenges caused by Covid-19.

Amanda Millar said, “Our message to the Cabinet Secretary was simple and stark. Without additional financial support, we risk a crisis in the legal aid sector in Scotland, with firms going out of business and solicitors walking away from doing legal aid work altogether. Worst of all, the people who will lose out are the poorest and most vulnerable in our society.

“We are grateful to the Cabinet Secretary for meeting with us, listening to our concerns and agreeing to look once more at what can be done. We all want to find a practical way forward, however the window to save our legal aid system and its valuable contribution to society is narrowing fast”.