SLAB report confirms that legal aid remains in crisis

Newly released official data suggests that demand for legal aid support is no longer able to be met by the shrinking pool of solicitors working in the scheme.

The Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) 2023-24 annual report has been released, showing that funding for legal aid continues to trail inflation, meaning solicitors are being paid less in real terms.

The report shows the number of cases paid for by SLAB fell to 134,900 in the year, a 1% decrease on the previous year. The number has fallen 29% from the 191,256 cases paid in 2016-17.

The total cost of legal assistance increased by 12% from last year to £151.2 million. However, that is an increase of just 11% on the £135.7 million paid in 2016-17. In real terms, £25 million less is being spent now than in 2016-17.

Just 596 solicitor firms submitted at least one legal aid application in 2023-24, down from 621 firms the previous year.

Ian Moir, Co-convener of Law Society’s Legal Aid Committee, said: “The figures in this annual report show the long-term deterioration in Scotland’s legal aid system is continuing. Read in context, the only conclusion that can be drawn is that this crisis is getting worse, not better.

“Scotland’s courts are busier than they’ve ever been. On that basis, the long-term fall in the number of cases being funded through legal aid points to a shortage of solicitors to do this work, not a fall in the number of people who need help.

“Significant investment is urgently required, and every day of delay makes it harder to reverse this decline. The Law Society of Scotland remains ready to work with the Scottish Government to identify and make the changes required.

“We need short-term and long-term action, to meet demand now and in the future. More needs to be done to attract young solicitors to work in this vital sector, and far more needs to be done to ensure that legal aid is a viable long-term career.”