Programme for Government a missed opportunity for access to justice

The Scottish Government has proposed a range of positive justice sector reforms in its 2024-25 Programme for Government, but has failed to recognise the urgent need for investment in access to justice and legal aid, according to the Law Society of Scotland.

The programme, unveiled by First Minster John Swinney yesterday in the Scottish Parliament, indicates a number of bills will be brought forward in areas which will be of particular interest to Law Society members, including:

• Adults with Incapacity
• Criminal Justice Modernisation and Abusive Domestic Behaviour Reviews
• Crofting
• Leases

Progress will also continue on significant ongoing pieces of legislation, including:

• Regulation of Legal Services Bill
• Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform Bill
• Judicial Factors Bill

Law Society of Scotland President Susan Murray said: “In terms of the Government’s legislative agenda, the bills we’ve identified are those we believe will be most closely watched by our members. We will engage with MSPs on these accordingly, though we are concerned at the lack of movement on previously promised human rights legislation.

“We recognise that while this Programme for Government reflects a difficult fiscal position for the Scottish Government, a number of the measures announced by the First Minister are positive, both for the justice sector and for the wider Scottish community. These include ongoing support to reduce court backlogs and funding to better support victims and witnesses of crimes.

“However, the programme makes no mention of the urgent need to properly fund legal aid practitioners. Continued underinvestment in legal aid over the long term risks undermining improvements that have been made elsewhere within our justice system. The result will be further erosion of access to justice for the people of Scotland and will be more keenly felt by those in our communities who are most vulnerable.

“This underfunding of legal aid is a longstanding issue with a negative impact which compounds with each passing year. Now is the time for Government to positively address the issue and save the situation from getting any worse.”