Public defender network expansion welcomed

20 October 2006 - issued by the Scottish Legal Aid Board and PDSO

Hugh Henry MSP, Deputy Minister for Justice decision to significantly expand the network of Public Defence Solicitors’ Offices (PDSOs) has been supported and welcomed by the Scottish Legal Aid Board and PDSO. New offices will open in 2007 in Dundee, Aberdeen, Falkirk, Ayr, Dumfries and Kirkwall, building on the current network based in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness.

Iain A Robertson CBE, Chairman of the Scottish Legal Aid Board said:
“I welcome very much the Minister’s announcement to expand the PDSO network. We believe that the PDSO not only offers clients increased choice and a more holistic service, but offers value for money and enables valuable insight into the operation of the criminal justice system.”

“The expansion of PDSOs allows Scotland to see criminal legal assistance delivered by a combination of salaried solicitors and those in private practice. This combination of private and public provision is common around the world and brings a number of benefits. PDSOs can also help ensure comprehensive access to criminal legal assistance and gives clients greater choice. PDSO provide solicitors with an alternative employment and training opportunity and bring opportunities to test new ideas and greater partnership working with agencies to address the whole range of problems faced by people who have criminal charges, including health, employment and drugs and alcohol abuse.”

Matthew Auchincloss, Director of the PDSO network in Scotland commented:
“We are delighted that the Minister has decided to expand our PDSO network, which ensures the availability of an accessible, user friendly and efficient public defender service throughout Scotland. The decision reflects our success and progress since our first office opened in 1998, particularly in adopting a holistic approach in the representation of accused.”

“PDSO is now an important network providing quality, legally aided advice and representation and filling gaps in legal and social provision. Also, PDSO Edinburgh has demonstrated that it is cost effective and offers good quality legal advice. We would aim to replicate this cost effectiveness across the PDSO network, as our newer offices mature.”

“We look forward to working with those involved in the justice system in the new areas to take forward the implementation of the new offices, which we will open in 2007. I will be arranging to meet local solicitors in the new areas as I am anxious to listen to any constructive views which they may have and perhaps to allay any misplaced fears as to how the offices might operate. I envisage the new offices will be relatively small practices working within a fairly large area, which will be similar to how our Inverness PDSO operates, where the two solicitors serve a number of courts in the Highlands. I am confident that the profession in each area can accommodate a PDSO without any significant adverse impact on local firms".

Ends

Notes for editors

1. Criminal legal assistance currently accounts for over 72% of legal aid expenditure - £109 million of the £152.4 million legal aid expenditure in 2004-2005. PDSO’s costs are met from legal aid expenditure, and were £831,000 in 2004-2005. PDSO handled 1,565 cases in 2004-2005, including 54 solemn cases.
2. When the first PDSO opened in Edinburgh in 1998, it was the first public defender service in the UK. Two more offices in Inverness and Glasgow opened in 2004. PDSO in Inverness is the sole, standing duty solicitor for the Orkney Islands, meeting an unmet need for criminal legal assistance. PDSO solicitors are paid a fixed annual salary, rather than being paid on a case by case basis in the way that private solicitors operate. The new PDSO offices will receive a share of duty plans in the area, and direction of clients will not be used.
3. 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.
4. 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. 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.
5. For more information on PDSO, visit www.pdso.org.uk and for the Scottish Legal Aid Board, visit www.slab.org.uk
6. The announcement by the Scottish Executive is available on their website.