Public Defence Solicitors' Office
37 York Place
Edinburgh EH1 3TR

Press Release by the Public Defence Solicitors' Office

Welcoming today's publication of the three year research evaluation into the pilot Public Defence Solicitors' Office, Alistair G Watson, the Director of the office made the following statement -

"I welcome the report which is published today and which is a large and complex piece of work. While it will obviously take time for me to study the whole body of the text, on an initial perusal of its contents I am greatly encouraged by what I have observed so far.

Given the restrictive timescale for the preparation and publication of the report, it is necessarily an examination of the early stages of this pilot office. I am conscious that much of what we do has already changed since that time. In particular, since July 2000 the controversial "direction" process restricting client choice has no longer applied. All clients who use the PDSO now do so through their own choice. The remit of the office has also changed since the research period with the PDSO now undertaking a number of more serious cases while, at the same time, continuing to improve its cost efficiency.

Further, and significantly, I am very pleased that over the three years the local legal fraternity has come to accept this office as a part of the profession rather than as a rival to it. As a consequence of this, last year, the Edinburgh Bar Association invited the solicitors in this office to become members of their organisation. I believe that this was a very progressive step for the future.

It is clear that there is much in the report to encourage us. As the office continues to mature I have no doubt that it will continue to increase its efficiency and effectiveness. I look forward to the remaining two years of the pilot with very positive aspirations for the future".

EDITOR'S NOTES: -

1. Alistair G Watson, the Director of the pilot Public Defence Solicitors' Office (PDSO) is 42 years of age, an experienced criminal court solicitor and took up his appointment in April 1998.
2. The PDSO is a five-year pilot, which opened on 1 October 1998. The report is published at the conclusion of its first three years of business. The pilot has a further two years to run.
3. The Scottish pilot PDSO was the first of its kind in Great Britain although, over the last twelve months, a number of similar pilot offices have opened in England and Wales.