Review of the Board’s administration costs

In view of the very challenging times ahead for public expenditure the Board is carrying out a review of our running costs.

The Board’s running costs are met from a Grant-in-Aid funded by the Scottish Government. It is accounted for separately from the Legal Aid Fund which pays for legal aid expenditure on cases. Unlike the Fund, the Grant-in-Aid is cash limited.

Our Grant-in-Aid has been frozen for the last three years and has therefore reduced in real terms while at the same time Ministers have asked us to take on new responsibilities, including granting solemn legal aid, operating a grant funding programme and funding In-Court Advisers. Also, the Civil and Criminal Quality Assurance schemes for solicitors are funded from the Board’s Grant-in-Aid.

However, the increasing pressure on public expenditure means that we must redouble our efforts to ensure that our administration provides best value for the taxpayer. At the same time as trying to find ways of reducing our administrative costs we will also try to identify further ways of simplifying legal aid processes. For example, we will shortly be substantially reducing the pages for completion in the civil means form from 34 to around 11 pages. All legal aid applications will be made and processed online from April 2011 enabling us to further reduce administrative functions in the Board.

Many of the activities carried out by the Board save legal aid expenditure and clearly there is a balance to be struck between reducing administration costs and being able to discharge properly and effectively our statutory functions. For example, the Board authorises the employment of counsel or the cost of an expert and ensures that the Legal Aid Fund only pays for work that is carried out reasonably and with regard to economy. 

As we take forward the review, we will engage with the profession as to its potential impacts and to identify further ways of making savings.