Thursday 11 October 2001

Four innovative projects from across Scotland announced today by the Scottish Legal Aid Board herald the start of a programme of developing new approaches to delivering legal advice and improving access to justice. Amongst those who will benefit from the pilot projects are asylum seekers in Glasgow, people living in rural areas of the highlands and islands, socially excluded people in west Lothian and rough sleepers and young people in Edinburgh.

Jean Couper, Chairman of the Scottish Legal Aid Board said:
"I'm delighted to announce these four pilot projects which aim to make legal advice more accessible by adapting to non-traditional legal settings and delivering services in new and different ways. The projects will provide a new, innovative and much wanted services to the communities they serve whilst giving the Board and others a unique insight into different ways of providing legal advice. These four projects are the beginning of a continuing programme of pilots."

Solicitors will be employed directly by the Board to work in partnership with the local advice giving organisations. The four projects are:

• Castlemilk Law and Money Advice Centre and the Ethnic Minorities Law Centre in Glasgow - this partnership will provide advice and representation to clients throughout the asylum process at outreach surgeries in the north and south side of Glasgow. Additional Scottish Executive funding from the Social Justice Department has enabled this service to be extended to asylum seekers in Sighthill.
  
• Citizens Advice Bureaux Service - working out of the Citizens Advice Scotland Inverness office, the solicitor will serve six bureaux in 13 locations including Caithness, Ross and Cromarty, Nairn, Moray, Skye and the Western Isles. The project will deliver a second tier advisory service through training and support for CAB advisors and enable greater access to legal services for people living in rural areas.
  
• Streetwork - working with some of the most socially excluded people in the community, the project will provide legal advice to young people and rough sleepers at risk on the streets n Edinburgh. The solicitor will inform and advise clients by working with them at their own pace and in surroundings where they are comfortable, including on the streets, drop in centres and hostels.
  
• West Lothian Advice Partnership - brings together the expertise of all the major advice providers in West Lothian, providing advice and support to socially excluded people. The solicitor will help break down barriers to legal advice through better access and local delivery, whilst working in partnership with the local legal profession. The advice partnership includes West Lothian Council Advice Shop, Livingston Citizen Advice Bureau, Workers Benefits Centre and Breich Valley Information Service.

The Scottish Executive has given the Board additional funding of £250,000 pa which has led to the creation of the pilot projects. These have also evolved within the commencement of key legislation - Part V of the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986 - and the pilots are therefore known as "Part V (five) Projects."

Deputy Justice Minister Iain Gray said:
"Many of us from time to time have difficulty in finding the best source of legal help. This problem is even greater for those who have particular personal needs or are vulnerable in some way. The Scottish Executive is committed to helping all Scots get the advice they need as soon as possible to help with their legal problem, as part of our wider drive towards greater fairness and social justice.

"The powers to set-up projects like these have been available for some years and the time is now right to put them to good use. I am delighted that the successful projects include such forward-thinking but practical ideas on how best to deal with a wide-variety of problems, such as those affecting asylum-seekers in Glasgow, young homeless people in Edinburgh, people living in rural communities in the Highlands and Islands and socially-excluded people in West Lothian. It is also welcome that all these projects could be copied elsewhere and this is something we will look at in the future as we continue to improve access to justice."

Jean Couper, Chairman of the Scottish Legal Aid Board added:
"Although a welcome initiative in their own right, these projects should be seen as part of the wider development of community legal services. Solicitors and advice organisations continue to serve their local communities well. These pilots will allow us to evaluate different methods of improving access to justice. The information gained on different ways of delivering legal advice will be invaluable in the development of community legal services in Scotland, building upon the strengths and variety of present provisions, through new partnerships, new initiatives and new services.
"This combination of projects offers a chance to explore innovative methods of providing advice services in a range of situations and to let us consider what difference, for example, solicitors working in non-traditional settings, or providing support to advisers can make to helping people with their legal problems."

Earlier this year the Board invited interested organisations to submit proposals and over 40 submissions were made from across Scotland. Jean Couper commented, "The number, quality and diversity of the proposals submitted is a tribute both to the range of advice services available in Scotland upon which we aim to build and of the imagination, innovation and commitment of those offering the services."

All the projects will be operational by the end of March 2002. Each pilot will run for a period of two or three years, during which time it will be monitored and evaluated. The projects were announced today at a prestigious event attended by around 150 people at Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh.

Ends

Journalists please contact: Colin Sim tel 0131 226 7061, m 0796 8005881, simco@slab.org.uk

Notes to editors

1. Further information suitable for features, such as project profiles, case studies and photography are available on request from the Board.
   
   
2. Contact details for a spokesperson for each project are available from the Board.
   
   
3. The key difference with Part V projects is that the Board will employ the solicitor who works in the advice organisation. The Scottish Executive funding meets the costs of the solicitors and running costs of the projects, such as administration.
   
   
4. Legal aid allows people who would not otherwise be able to afford it to have the help of a solicitor, and in some circumstances an advocate, for their legal problems. To receive legal aid, applicants must consult a solicitor who will help them complete an application. The Board itself does not provide a legal aid service - it pays solicitors and advocates to do this.
5. The Scottish Legal Aid Board is responsible for managing legal aid in Scotland. It is a non-departmental public body set up under the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986. Twelve Board members including the Chairman, appointed by Scottish Ministers, currently oversee the work.
   
   The Board's mission is to develop and deliver appropriate access to quality legal assistance for those eligible, in a cost-effective manner. The Board's main tasks are to consider and then grant or refuse applications for legal aid; to scrutinise accounts and pay solicitors and advocates for the legal aid work they do and to advise Scottish Ministers on legal aid matters.
   
   
6. In 2000/2001 425,281 advice and assistance and legal aid applications were granted and the total gross expenditure on legal aid was £130.5 million.