SLAB details simple procedure legal aid rules
Legal aid arrangements relating to the new simple procedure in the sheriff court have been published by the Scottish Legal Aid Board.
Coming into force on 28 November except for special types of action such as housing andm personal injury, the simple will replace the small claims and summary cause procedure, applying to actions with a value of £5,000 or less.
In order that solicitors’ legal aid fees are in place to support the core Simple Procedure Rules, a new schedule 2A of the Civil Legal Aid (Scotland) (Fees) Regulations 1989 is introduced that provides that fees are chargeable on a detailed fee basis, equivalent to those presently allowable to solicitors for civil assistance by way of representation (ABWOR) in terms of schedule 3, part 1, of the Advice and Assistance (Scotland) Regulations 1996.
In addition, an exceptional case application may be made in simple procedure cases where payment in accordance with schedule 2A would not provide reasonable remuneration for the work actually, necessarily and reasonably done, because the case involved unusual court procedure, or a significantly greater volume of work than usual for a case of that type.