Proposal to narrow scope of civil legal aid shelved

Legal aid should remain available for a wide range of civil cases such as employment and divorce, the Law Society of Scotland has said.   

The Law Society of Scotland yesterday confirmed it will not pursue proposals mooted in a previous discussion paper that certain areas be exempt from civil legal assistance in Scotland.

Legal problems such as housing, employment and personal injury - with the exception of medical negligence - were amongst areas that ought to be considered for removal, the Society had suggested in November, with a “properly funded and widely available advice network” relied on instead. 

However, the prospect caused considerable alarm with Paul Brown, director of the Glasgow-based Legal Services Agency, and Mike Dailly, principal solicitor of the Govan Law Centre, among those to warn of the impact on the most vulnerable within Scottish society.

It came against the backdrop of sweeping changes to legal aid in England and Wales that has restricted the type of civil proceedings for which people can access funding. 

“There is evidently strong feeling in support of wide scope, and the important place of legal assistance in our society,” said the Society’s final recommendations paper, published yesterday. 

“It is clearly felt that this is a key safeguard for the most vulnerable, and that the system must be preserved. As a result, we do not recommend pursuing the suggestion to restrict the scope of legal assistance.”

The Law Society has called on ministers to allocate additional resource to the legal aid fund with this investment used to increase legal assistance rates.

Further research has also been called for into the effectiveness of video conferencing over face to face legal services, while the Society has recommended that digital recording in civil proceedings be considered.

Funding arrangements for solicitors carrying out police station advice should be reviewed “as a matter of urgency”, with introduction of a fixed fee called for.

Meanwhile, the Society has proposed a block fees system be introduced for solemn cases that encourages early resolution of cases.

Alistair Morris, president of the Law Society of Scotland, said the time is right for “root and branch change” of the current system of legal aid.

“We think it essential that there is proper investment to halt the real-term decline we have seen in legal aid expenditure over the years,” said Morris.

“The recommendations we make in our paper will help streamline legal assistance, reducing complexity and the administrative burden, and allow businesses to be more efficient. This will help generate savings which can then be reinvested.  

“We fully understand that public funding remains an issue for all frontline services, but we believe that with the high prevalence of justice problems, the social, emotional and financial cost of leaving these unresolved is too high a price to pay.”

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “We note with interest the Law Society of Scotland’s paper of recommendations on legal aid. We look forward to working with them on future proposals."