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NEW PUBLIC DEFENDER SERVICE LAUNCHED IN THE HIGHLANDS Press Release issued by PDSO, the Public Defence Solicitors' Office
and the Scottish Legal Aid Board The Public Defence Solicitors' Office, or PDSO as it is known, a new service providing people with quality advice and representation in criminal court cases in the Highlands and Moray has been officially launched by Jean Couper, Chairman of the Scottish Legal Aid Board. A range of representatives of local organisations attended the launch. This new service has started following a decision by Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson MSP that the system of public defenders would be expanded outside of Edinburgh, where an office has been running for six years. As well as the new Inverness office, another in Glasgow is being opened. All of the public defence solicitors in PDSO are experienced criminal court lawyers. Each of them is paid a fixed annual salary, rather than being paid on a case by case basis in the way that private solicitors operate. The Highlands PDSO is based in Inverness but serves people facing criminal charges in the Highlands and Moray, including the courts at Inverness, Elgin, Dingwall, Tain and Dornoch. It is led by local solicitor Eilidh MacDonald, who is based at 17 Queensgate in Inverness and can be contacted by phoning 01463 709680. Jean Couper, Chairman, Scottish Legal Aid Board commented: "This new office will help the Board and Scottish Executive to consider the future use of public defenders in Scotland. The PDSO has substantial benefits for the public as it increases the choice of solicitors available and has the potential to ensure that legal representation is available to an accused person in cases which might be expensive to defend, or in geographic areas where there is a shortage of private solicitor provision. I look forward to hearing about how the service is developed and the lessons that can be learned from this office." Welcoming the opening of the new PDSO service, Eilidh MacDonald
said: "Our job is to give our clients a high quality advice and legal representation service. We also aim to provide information and links to other organisations who can offer help with other problems a client may face, such as on employment or health issues. Our launch today helps us to meet with a range of organisations to explain our new service and to help us help our clients." Any person involved in a criminal case who is eligible for legal aid can use the PDSO. Many people qualify, often including people in employment. The Director of the PDSO in Scotland, Alistair Watson, commented: "We have been working in co-operation with those involved in the justice system in the Highlands and Moray including local solicitors to establish the new offices and develop constructive relationships. We expect to learn a great deal from our new office and look forward to serving our clients in the north of Scotland." The first Public Defence Solicitors' Office (PDSO) in the UK opened in 1998 in Edinburgh. The legislation that set up the PDSO required that Scottish Ministers had to publish a report into the operation of the PDSO within 3 years. A substantial and detailed research report was published in 2001 raising issues for the PDSO, private solicitors and the wider justice community. It was considered that the PDSO had been worthwhile and had generated a lot of useful information on how the criminal legal aid system was working. Ministers announced their intention to continue the PDSO Edinburgh office and to create up to two further offices in other areas when the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill was introduced in the Scottish Parliament in March 2002. The Scottish Legal Aid Board was responsible for setting up the PDSO and the Director of the PDSO reports to the Chief Executive of the Board on administrative issues. In all other ways, the PDSO operates entirely independently. The Board assesses applications for summary criminal legal aid from the PDSO in the same way that it does for applications submitted by private solicitors. The Scottish Legal Aid Board operates another innovative project from Inverness. Ian Dickson, a solicitor employed by the Board, works with Citizens Advice Bureaux in the Highlands to provide bureaux advisers with specialist legal advice and support. ENDS Journalists please contact: NOTES FOR EDITORS 1. The launch event takes place at 3.30pm on Thursday 24 June at the PDSO office at 17 Queensgate. There are opportunities for interview and photography at the event. Please contact us to arrange interviews if you require a different time. 2. Photography of the launch event is available for use - contact Colin Sim for details. 3. Opportunities for photography or interview with Eilidh MacDonald are available by contacting her direct. There will be further news and opportunities for interviews over the next months. 4. In 2002/2003 the Edinburgh PDSO dealt with 1,123 cases and acted as duty solicitor on behalf of other solicitors in a further 415 cases. The cost of the PDSO was £319,000. 5. Legal aid allows people who would not otherwise be able to afford it to get help for their legal problems. Legal aid and advice and assistance can only be accessed through a solicitor. 6. In 2002/2003 the costs of legal aid to the taxpayer (net Legal Aid Fund expenditure) was £135.1 million. In 2002/2003 there were 317,042 advice and assistance intimations, 85,915 grants of criminal legal aid, 13,480 grants of civil legal aid, 3,118 grants of children's legal aid and 239 grants for contempt of court. 7. The Scottish Legal Aid Board was set up in 1987 to manage legal aid in Scotland. The Board employs around 300 full-time staff. Twelve Board members, appointed by Scottish Ministers, oversee the work. The Board's mission is to promote the development and delivery of appropriate access to quality legal assistance for those eligible, in a cost-effective manner. 8. For more information, visit the Board's website www.slab.org.uk
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