Legal aid rise comes into effect at last
www.journalonline.co.uk/Referendum/1027239.aspxSolicitors and advocates providing advice and representation through the legal aid scheme in Scotland will receive a 3% increase in fees from today (26 April 2019).
The across-the-board rise for criminal and civil work change was announced last autumn by Community Safety Minister Ash Denham in response to the independent review of legal aid led by Carnegie UK Trust chief executive Martyn Evans.
It is intended as a cost of living rise to preserve the position of practising lawyers pending the outcome of a further review to advise on an evidence-based approach to setting legal aid fees in future. Legal aid lawyers have seen their rates severely cut in real terms since 1992.
Ms Denham said: “Solicitors and advocates who deliver legal aid work are providing a service that is crucial for our society, and their efforts often benefit some of our most vulnerable citizens. I am pleased to see this 3% uplift in fees come into effect to demonstrate our commitment to those delivering this vital service.
“Scotland’s legal aid system is among the best in Europe when we look at scope, eligibility and cost. This uplift is just one part of our efforts to support this system for the future and we will continue to work closely with the legal profession to deliver further improvements.”
In a blog for the Journal today, Law Society of Scotland Council member Ken Dalling writes: "The 3% increase still leaves the profession 106.5% behind in real terms [since 1992]. So by RPI alone, and without any weighting for the increases in the technical or evidential difficulty of cases across almost 30 years, those rates should be more than double the 'new' rates.
"The Scottish Government has, however, promised more than just the 3% increase and a working party has been established to decide how, in future, the rates will be reviewed. But here’s an idea – unless there is a real willingness to let the profession catch up on lost ground, why not just commit to annual increase in line with inflation? Something which has in fact applied to the charge rates of sheriff officers.
"Wouldn’t that save a lot of time and trouble? And if my scepticism about the will to repair the funding shortfall is misplaced, I could be proved wrong simply by the Government reversing the cuts of 2011."