Scottish legal aid spending falls by eight per cent to £124.4m

Scottish legal aid spending falls by eight per cent to £124.4m

Colin Lancaster

Scottish spending on legal aid fell by more than eight per cent to a total of £124.4 million last year, the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) has said.

The fall in spending is linked to a lack of demand rather than a reduction in funding or the level of fees, but still paints a challenging picture for law firms.

The publication of SLAB’s annual report for 2017-18 today closely follows the Scottish government’s announcement of a three per cent increase in legal aid fees.

In 2017-18, there were 203,000 grants of legal assistance at a total cost of £124.4 million, down from £135.7 million in the previous year.

SLAB chief executive Colin Lancaster welcomed the figures, but warned that even with fee increases, falling cases numbers would continue to impact on firms’ incomes.

There were nearly 8,000 fewer applications received for criminal legal assistance last year compared with the previous 12 months. Criminal legal assistance accounted for £74.1m of the 2017-18 expenditure, down from £85.4m in 2016-17.

Mr Lancaster said: “The 13 per cent fall in criminal payments to the profession this year comes on the back of several years of falling expenditure. This is not because of a reduction in funding or in the level of fees. Rather it reflects a very significant and long term fall in reported crime and the increasing availability and use of alternatives to court prosecution.”

He said measures relating directly to legal aid, including the government reforms and proposed changes to criminal fees, were only part of the solution.

Mr Lancaster continued: “We strive continually to improve the operation of the system, focusing our efforts on taking earlier decisions, making our guidance clearer and reducing the administrative workload for the profession.

“But falling numbers of legal aid applications mean that these steps and those announced by the Scottish Government will not address the very real financial challenges facing parts of the profession.

“We urge firms to consider and plan for their future in an environment of lower business volumes and lower overall expenditure.”

Commenting on the report, Angela Grahame QC, Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, said: “Our members are committed to continuing to help those who need legal aid to gain access to justice. It is essential that those who are most in need are able to secure the best representation in civil and criminal proceedings.”

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