Scottish Government’s legal aid plans fail to reflect urgency of crisis

The Law Society of Scotland says newly announced plans for legal aid fail to reflect the urgency and scale of the crisis in access to justice.

The Scottish Government has today released a legal aid discussion paper alongside plans to reduce the administrative burden of legal aid, but has remained silent on the key issue of inadequate fees driving solicitors to exit and putting the system into crisis.

Any long-term reforms to legal aid from today’s announcement would not proceed before the next Scottish Parliament election, despite the Law Society’s warning that more than a third of legal aid solicitors are due to reach retirement age in the next decade.

The Co-Convener of the Law Society’s Legal Aid Committee, Ian Moir, said: “The Scottish Government has finally acknowledged that legal aid is in trouble. However, at a time when legal aid is burning to the ground, the Scottish Government has put in an order for a bucket rather than calling the fire brigade.

“The measures outlined are nowhere near good enough, in either scale or timeline. Additional financial support is needed now if legal aid is to have any chance of surviving long enough for a long-term reform process to play out.

“Legal aid is a vital part of Scotland’s justice system, and its long-term survival is vital for access to justice so people can get legal support regardless of their financial circumstances. It’s a problem that gets worse each week as solicitors choose to retire or seek work elsewhere.

“We support absolutely the need for legal aid reform, but the dire state of the sector now can’t be ignored. The plans published fail to recognise the urgency of this crisis.”