Legal aid talks "meaningful", says Society
16 Jun 06
Hopes that meeting with Executive will lead to progress in fees dispute
Talks between the Law Society of Scotland and the Scottish Executive to try to resolve the ongoing legal aid dispute have been described as "meaningful".
The talks were held in a bid to prevent the threatened boycott of publicly funded sex offender cases. The Association of Banffshire Solicitors and Dumfriesshire solicitors voted yesterday to join lawyers in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Hamilton, Dumbarton, Aberdeen and Falkirk in the proposed strike which would begin on 1 August.
The row concerns the delay in the introduction of a new block fees payment system for legal aid cases involving serious crimes. The Executive has said that the fees will not be introduced until at least April 2007, 18 months later than promised.
The Law Society of Scotland described yesterday's talks as a "full and frank discussion".
Oliver Adair, convener of the Society's Legal Aid Solicitors Committee, said: "There was meaningful debate and I hope that it will lead to substantial progress in the near future. We hope to meet the Deputy Justice Minister soon to ensure that this matter is resolved as quickly as possible."