Regulations laid to end police detainee legal aid contributions

Regulations to remove the requirement for suspects who are questioned by the police to pay a contribution toward the cost of their legal advice, have been laid before the Scottish Parliament.

The Law Society of Scotland has welcomed the tabling of the regulations, which will go before the Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee next month for consideration, while warning that other issues relating to police station work still have to be dealt with.

Ian Moir, convener of the Society of Scotland Legal Aid Committee, said the Society had consistently maintained that contributions were not practical in police station advice cases.

He commented: “The new arrangements recognise the concerns raised by Lord Bonomy in his 2015 report – that requiring suspects to pay a contribution towards legal advice is likely to dissuade some suspects from taking up their right to legal advice. Ensuring access to justice is essential and removing contributions from police station advice cases should mean that every member of the public who needs the services of a solicitor whilst questioned in a police station is able to get free automatic legal assistance. It also removes the practical difficulties involved in trying to assess finances and collect contributions when the suspect will not have the relevant documentation to hand.

“However, these new regulations do nothing to address other fundamental difficulties with legal aid arrangements for police station work. The payment arrangements do not adequately remunerate solicitors. At present private practitioners provide a 24/7 service all year round. They do this to help clients and provide a societal benefit as the costs of providing this service clearly outweigh the low payment available. Also, the existing payment arrangements involve unnecessary bureaucracy and we believe the most efficient framework for providing suspects with free legal advice is through a system of block fees, automatically payable on completion of the work.

“We have submitted comments to the Justice Committee to outline our position on this issue. We will also work with the Scottish Government and Scottish Legal Aid Board during the implementation of the Criminal Justice Bill, which will further affect the delivery of advice and assistance in police stations.”