Modernising and improving legal aid

Tuesday 27 June 2006

Ambitious plans for modernising and further improving the legal aid system in Scotland over the next three years were announced today by the Scottish Legal Aid Board, when it published its Corporate Plan 2006-2009.

Iain A Robertson, Chairman of the Scottish Legal Aid Board said:

“Our plan reflects our commitment to modernising and continuing to improve the delivery of legal aid . Our key areas for delivery over the next three years build on progress already made, while others reflect Scottish Ministers’ priorities for future development. The next three years will see a very substantial development programme for legal aid in Scotland.”

Central to the modernisation plans are changes being proposed by Scottish Ministers. Ministers issued a consultation “Advice for All” on possible legal aid and advice provision changes in summer 2005. The changes considered are across all types of legal aid provision as well as how legal aid services were provided, with the possibility of extending access to legal aid through advice agencies. Legislation changes are required to enable some of Ministers decisions. The Legal Aid and Legal Profession ( Scotland) Bill is currently being considered in the Scottish Parliament. Other proposals in the consultation do not require primary legislation.

Mr Robertson said:

“We were strongly supportive of the proposals in the consultation, which set out a vision for legal aid and publicly funded legal assistance more widely. We believe that these developments are necessary to ensure that Scotland’s legal aid system is able to respond effectively to the range of problems faced by people in 21st century Scotland, and support the variety of ways in which information, advice and representation can help them resolve their problems.”

“The changes proposed will require the Board to complete substantial development programmes to enable their implementation. We are committed to working with the Scottish Executive and our many partners to continue the development of the legal aid system.”

The Board’s plan also sets changes to continue improvements in the delivery of legal aid. The Board’s performance targets reflect its commitment to applicants, opponents and the legal profession to deliver their service on time and to a high standard. For 2006-2007 it has further increased two of its six headline targets and made improvements to 11 individual targets, such as shortening target times for civil legal aid applications by 13%, which come as a result of investment in a new computer system.

The plan also sets out the many other developments underway by the Board through working with its partners to deliver improved services:

• over the next three years the Board intends to see a large proportion of legal aid transactions being conducted online
  
• the justice system and legal aid are undergoing significant reform and change, which is expected to result in the coming year to changes to civil advice and assistance, civil and criminal legal aid
  
• continuing to reduce legal aid bureaucracy including through a review to streamline the operation of all aspects of civil legal assistance and to simplify financial assessment
  
• continuing to develop new approaches to delivering legal advice such as through the Board’s innovative advice projects with community based organisations and by further developing its legal aid telephone helpline.

The plan also includes forecasts for the volumes and expenditure on legal aid over the next year. Estimating the costs of legal aid is complex and can be affected by many factors. The Board expects that overall the cost to the taxpayer of providing legal aid in 2006-2007 will fall by 5% to around £140 million.

The Board’s Corporate Plan 2006-2009 is available on its website www.slab.org.uk

Ends

Journalists please contact :

Charlotte Townsend tel (direct) 0131 240 2034, or email townsendch@slab.org.uk

Notes for editors

• 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. In 2004-2005 providing legal assistance cost the taxpayer£152.4 million, with 428,821 grants of legal aid being made.