Legal aid strategic review published
1 Nov 04
Report recommends more co-ordinated approach to publicly funded advice
The Executive has published its Strategic Review of the Delivery of Legal Aid, Advice and Information. The review, announced last year by Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson, is the first comprehensive look at the operation of the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986.
The report examines a wide range of issues concerned in the delivery of publicly funded legal advice and has been co-ordinated between the Executive and the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) with input from a wide range of interests including legal aid practitioners.
The review calls for a more strategic and co-ordinated approach to planning and delivery of publicly funded legal advice. The Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) should have an enhanced role to help deliver a better co-ordinated and more flexible and responsive system. But it believes local authorities are best placed to take on the function of planning and ensuring appropriate advice provision in their area (taking account of advice provided by solicitors), through a consensual approach working with the Executive and SLAB.
The Executive has opened a consultation on the recommendations made by the Strategic Review, which can be viewed at www.scotland.gov.uk/strategicreviewlegalaid, or in summary at www.scotland.gov.uk/strategicreviewlegalaidsumm.
Meanwhile, speaking at the Law Society of Scotland's annual legal aid conference, Deputy Justice Minister Hugh Henry announced some changes that would be introduced in the legal aid system in the short term.
These include:
- Reform of advice and assistance on civil matters ensuring tighter and more efficient procedures allied with greater clarity for the clients on eligibility and the advice available;
- Closely associated with these efficiency measures, an increase in fees for substantive advice and assistance work from April 2005, in line with the increase in civil legal aid fees brought forward in late 2003;
- Free legal aid to be available for welfare guardianship proceedings under the Adults with Incapacity Act 2000.
Mr Henry said:
"The strategic review sets out guiding principles for remuneration that I fully endorse. Fair reward and regular review of remuneration are essential, as is ensuring that pay levels and structures reflect policy priorities.
"Value for money needs to be foremost in our minds when taking forward modernisation of our legal aid system.
"Only if we drive efficiencies through the system through a more effective management of legal aid will we be able to meet our goals, whether promoting access to justice or ensuring a fair reward for those who deliver legal aid services."