Legal aid reform must be ‘immediate priority’ after election, says committee

The reform of Scotland’s ailing legal aid system must be an “immediate priority” after next year’s election, a Holyrood committee has said.

In a new report, the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee pushed for reform to be a key consideration in the next parliament.

The Scottish Government had vowed to bring forward a Bill to reform the system – which has been hit by issues in recent years – but no legislation has been introduced, something the committee described as a “considerable disappointment”.

Its report said: “In this inquiry a number of significant concerns have been brought to the committee’s attention about the operation of civil legal assistance in Scotland and what this means in terms of access to justice.

“Fundamentally, however, what has emerged is an urgent need for reform of civil legal assistance.

“The committee recognises that at this juncture in the session, legislation will not now be introduced.

“Whatever the make-up of the administration is in the next session, it must make legislating for reform of civil legal assistance an immediate priority next session.

“There is a need for long-term structural reform of the current system.

“In the meantime, the Scottish Government should be taking all steps it can short of primary legislation to ameliorate the situation.”

In response to the committee’s inquiry, the Scottish Legal Aid Board said some of the criticism levelled at the system was as a result of “demonstrable misunderstandings”, though the committee considered the level of uncertainty an issue in itself.

Patricia Thom, the president of the Law Society of Scotland, urged the Government to reform the sector and increase the fees paid to legal aid solicitors.

She said: “We thank the committee’s members for their diligent work in examining the perilous state of civil legal aid in Scotland, and for calling for urgent and sensible changes to restore access to justice. We’re thankful also to all parties who contributed to this inquiry.

“This report unequivocally confirms our longstanding warnings that legal aid in Scotland is in crisis.

“MSPs have called out the existence of legal aid deserts and unacceptable administrative and other hurdles for people to get the legal help they need.

“The Scottish Government must now respond with an urgent uplift for civil legal aid fees, and indeed for criminal matters as well, and also facilitate changes to reduce the administrative burden and uncertainty for people seeking legal aid support.

“Legal aid will be a key priority for the Law Society leading up to next year’s Holyrood elections. This report shows that MSPs across the political spectrum recognise that action is needed to restore access to justice.”

Minister for victims Siobhian Brown said: “I welcome the committee’s scrutiny and will continue to work closely with stakeholders on the areas they have raised.

“I will consider the recommendations and respond to those in due course.

“We have already announced reforms to make the legal aid system simpler and easier for both solicitors and those who need legal assistance – along with longer-term proposals for funding and improving the delivery of services.

“We continue to meet all legal aid costs in full, with expenditure predicted to reach around £174 million this year the highest ever recorded – an increase of £24.2 million since last year.”