News In Focus
9 May 2008
Legal aid: talks go on
Key concessions over front-loaded payments, levels of bureaucracy and self-certification have improved the Scottish Government’s criminal legal aid and assistance reform plans, according to the Society, though reservations remain.
Oliver Adair, convener of the Society’s Legal Aid (Solicitors) Committee, said that proposals published by ministers last month were more acceptable than those put forward by the previous administration and the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB). However, there would still be an overall cut in the summary legal aid budget and the failure properly to redress underfunding since the last fixed fee increase in 1999 represented a missed opportunity.
The new arrangements follow the summary justice reforms, which are designed to save time and expense by dealing with cases more quickly.
Mr Adair, who negotiated with ministers for the Society, agreed that there were benefits in dealing with cases quickly. He said the Society supported the principle of subsuming several payments under the current system into a single “case disposal fee” for cases disposed of before trial. The Assistance by Way of Representation (ABWOR) rate has been set at £515 in the sheriff and stipendiary magistrate courts and £150 in district courts. Crucially, the ABWOR fee will be available even when representing a client in custody, and so allows for the the early resolution of such cases.
Under the previous proposals, the case disposal fee would have been at an initial minimum rate with access to enhanced funding only at a lower level following approval from SLAB.
Mr Adair said a number of other concessions had been granted. The government dropped plans to prepare a list of specified sheriff court cases where ABWOR could be self-certified, instead agreeing that all summary cases should be dealt with in this way. A significant degree of control therefore remains in the hands of solicitors without the need for additional bureaucracy.
Likewise, SLAB is no longer insisting on receiving a copy of the disclosable summary of Crown evidence with any application in sheriff or stipendiary magistrate courts, while reserving the right to see it in specific cases at district court level. Again, this reduces red tape for solicitors.
Other changes include an additional payment of £25 for a deferred hearing where a social enquiry report is required, and a reduction from four to two hours in the length of police custody visits subsumed in the overall case disposal fee.
There is a small rise in the current summary legal aid fixed fee for all courts. Criminal advice and assistance fee rates will rise by 10%.
Mr Adair said: “The Scottish Government listened to our concerns and accepted many of our representations, which was particularly welcome with regard to front-loaded payments.” Recognising that some practitioners continue to have concerns, reflected in motions before the Society’s AGM, he added: “We have sympathy with those concerns but believe the progress made since the publication of the original proposals encourages an inclusive approach and makes it appropriate at this stage to continue our involvement in the ongoing discussions.
“These interim measures will come into force at the beginning of June this year and it is important that they are carefully and rigorously reviewed to ensure that any savings in the overall criminal justice budget are available to reinvest in legal aid. The Cabinet Secretary has assured us that any anomalies identified will be remedied at the earliest opportunity.”
The Society will continue to meet regularly with representatives from the government and SLAB. A major review of the new system is to take place in December.
- Discussions between the Glasgow Bar Association and the Justice Secretary failed to avert a boycott of several sheriff courts, including Glasgow, on Tuesday 6 May. Only duty solicitors were present. The GBA called the action in protest at cuts in levels of payment that have already remained unchanged since 1999. The Society has asked lawyers not to take industrial action while the reforms are being monitored..