Updated leaflets - Civil legal aid – information for applicants: this leaflet will shortly be re-printed and has been updated to reflect changes to clawback exemptions. Most firms will not need to order new leaflets as current stocks will simply soon run out and be replaced with the new versions.

Legal aid for children – the current stock of this leaflet will be updated in July so that any new requests for copies include inserts outlining financial eligibility and contribution payments for civil legal aid. If you have 'old' stock of this leaflet, please print this note to add as an insert.

Transfer of the power to grant solemn criminal legal aid from the courts to the Board

Criminal legal assistance register - annual publication

Mailing to all firms about:

• Employment and support allowance – changes to eligibility for advice and assistance and legal aid
• Children’s advice and assistance – further guidance
• Assessing capital in advice and assistance applications
• Criminal and Civil Legal Assistance Registers
• St Andrew’s Day office closure.

Criminal Legal Assistance Register

Letter to compliance partners attaching a copy of the criminal register as at 14 December 2006.

You can view the most up to date version from this web page.

Consultation on Revisions to the Code of Practice for Criminal Legal Assistance

Under Part V of the Legal Aid ( Scotland) Act 1986, both solicitors and firms wanting to provide criminal legal assistance require to be registered with the Board and comply with the Code of Practice for Criminal Legal Assistance. The Code enables the Board to monitor the quality of criminal legal assistance work carried out in Scotland and to ensure that the considerable sums spent on criminal legal assistance is being properly spent. Because of reforms and changes in legal aid, we now wish to update the Code.

The consultation is now closed. The closing date was 19 January 2007 but you can read:

• Report on responses to the consultation
  
  
• The original consultation documents:
  • letter to compliance partners at criminal legal assistance registered firms outlining the background to the changes
  • read the consultation document which sets out the changes being proposed to the Code
  • the current Code of Practice, issued April 1998, is also available

Solemn fee increase 16 November 2006: payment of backdated sums due.
This letter to all compliance partners at criminal firms details how to claim backdated amounts. The letter also includes guidance on completing the new claim form. Read the letter.

The letter also includes the form RET/SL/INC - Retrospective solemn fee increase claim form. This is an interactive pdf form which can calculate the amount to be claimed.

The fees regulation is available as the 2006 Scottish Statutory Instrument no 515 on the Office of Public Sector Information website in pdf format or as a web page.

Letter to all civil legal aid practitioners about significant improvements to the payment of income-based contributions in civil legal aid cases, effective 2 October 2006. The letter also highlights the advantages of estimating the legal aid costs of a civil case. It also includes details of changes for two of our legal aid information leaflets to reflect the new contribution payment periods.

Read the letter including the leaflet text update.

Update for all practitioners on legal aid for adults with incapacity and mental health cases
There were a number of important changes to legal aid legislation in 2005, affecting adults with incapacity and mental health cases. On 1 August 2006, the requirement to assess financial eligibility for some types of civil legal aid applications will change. This update provides solicitors with guidance on providing advice or representation for adults with incapacity and mental health cases.

• Read the mailshot
  

Duty plans 2007

This mailshot to all criminal legal aid practitioners provides information about how to apply to be on the 2007 duty plans. You can read:

• covering letter
• Duty Plans eligibility criteria
• application forms for all courts excluding Edinburgh
• application form for Edinburgh courts

Summary Justice Pilot courts in Grampian and West Lothian

This mailshot for criminal practitioners contains information about legislative changes effective 12 June 2006 concerning pilots courts in Grampian and West Lothian. It also contains guidance on how to complete application forms for these cases. Read the letter.

• Letter with details of changes
• Keycard - effective 10 April 2006
• Leaflet - Do I qualify financially for advice and assistance or for civil legal aid? - updated edition from April 2006 - no longer available online
• Leaflet - Complaints and comments about the Scottish Legal Aid Board
• Legal aid forms and leaflets order form for solicitors (pdf)
  

New civil forms

Read update 1 about the new civil forms that will be issued in January 2006. Also obtain a order form to request or revise a starter pack of the new forms.

Civil legal aid applications

Letter to all civil practitioners about implementation of our new computer system

Corporate Plan 2005-2006

• Read cover letter to all firms
• Corporate Plan 2005-2006 in pdf format - or email to request a printed copy

• Letter with details of changes
• Keycard - effective 11 April 2005
• Leaflet 6- Do I qualify financially for civil legal assistance? - updated edition

Annual Changes to Financial Limits – effective 11 April 2005

• Changes to Capital Eligibility Limits
• Changes to Income Eligibility Limits
• Increase in “Clawback” limit

Administrative Changes

• Special Urgency Provisions: pro forma calculation and mandate - continue to use current form issued in April 2004
• Financial Eligibility Leaflet for the public

Advice and Assistance: General  

• Advice and Assistance: whether civil, criminal or children’s matter and whether it relates to one or more distinct matters
• “Other rights and facilities” extended to advice and assistance

Criminal Legal Assistance

• New Tables of Fees for counsel in criminal proceedings
• New Fixed Payments for adjourned trial diets where no evidence is led
• ABWOR for representation of obstructive witnesses

Civil and Children’s Legal Assistance

• Future recovery of payments made under the “solicitor hardship” provisions
• Increase in civil and children’s advice and assistance and ABWOR fees
• Power of Board to obtain information from assisted persons and applicants for civil legal aid
• Council Directive on cross-border disputes: modified application requirements
• Special urgency cover for review of decision of Asylum and Immigration Tribunal
• New ABWOR provisions for Asylum and Immigration Tribunal
  

This letter to all legal aid practitioners contains advice and assistance guidance– seeking requests for increases in authorised expenditure and guidelines on Vulnerable Witnesses – sanction in legal aid cases – effective 1 April 2005. Read:

• all of the issued mailshot
• the letter only
• advice and assistance guidance only
• vulnerable witnesses guidance only

In addition, you can read all advice and assistance guidance on seeking requests for increases in authorised expenditure (includes previously published guidance.)

Criminal Legal Assistance Register - new edition published

• read the cover letter to the Compliance Partner at all firms registered to provide criminal legal assistance
• view the Criminal Legal Assistance Register as at 12 December 2003 - not available online

The Recorder Issue 38 published

Modernisation of legal aid, advice and information
Modernising the justice system, and in particular legal aid, was the theme of a keynote address by Cathy Jamieson, the Justice Minister , at the joint Law Society and Board Legal Aid Conference on 24 October. It was also the subject of an interesting debate in the Scottish Parliament on 3 December.

• On the Scottish Executive site, read the text of the Minister's address to the Conference
• On the Scottish Parliament site, read the Official Record of the debate
  

New civil legal aid information leaflets published - sent to all civil firms

• read the cover letter or
  
• view leaflet 2, Civil legal assistance - a simple guide - revised edition October 2003
  
• view leaflet 5 Civil legal aid – what you may have to pay at the end of your case if you win or keep money or property. (This guidance for applicants for civil legal aid explains what you might have to pay towards your legal aid if you win or keep money or property as a result of your case.)
  

Civil legal aid merits guidelines - These guidelines cover a range of topics and types of application. They are designed to give a basic background to the factors that will be considered in considering probable cause and reasonableness, and the evidential requirements for applications. Printed copies will be sent to practitioners over the next two weeks. Read the cover letter.

Letter to all practitioners with guidance for civil practitioners about:

• Civil legal aid: cases involving a wider public interest
  
• Advice and assistance and ABWOR for immigration and asylum cases – introduction of a template approach for requests for increases in authorised expenditure

Read:

• all of the mailshot
• wider public interest guidance only
• immigration and asylum templates only
  

Postal services – a letter to office managers highlighting mail delivery issues - read

Developing...
The legal aid system is delivering a better service due to a wide range of improvements, important developments and higher performance in the past year, says the Scottish Legal Aid Board, on publication of its annual report for 2002/2003. The report shows that there are many more developments to come, with the aim of helping people access justice. View:
letter to legal aid firms
Annual Report (pdf)
press release

Letter to all solicitors giving further clarification of the changes to financial eligibility for advice and assistance. Also enclosed were guidelines on sanction for counsel in children’s cases.

• View all mailshot
• View advice and assistance eligibility information only
• View guidelines on sanction for counsel in children’s cases only

• View all of the mailshot
• View the letter only
• View the financial information guidance only
  

Duty Plans 2004 Applications

• View letter to all criminal legal aid practitioners
• View eligibility criteria
• View Edinburgh duty application form
• View all other locations duty application form
  

Legal aid plans published
Significant changes in access to justice and the operation of legal aid during the next three years were highlighted when the Board published its Corporate Plan 2003-2006. The plan summaries the Board’s progress during the past year and sets out what it aims to achieve during the coming three years. The Board has identified three key themes to its strategy for 2003-2006. View:
covering letter to all legal aid firm from our Chairman
Corporate Plan 2003-2006

Letter to firms about new legal aid information leaflets and how to order these and legal aid forms. Also an erratum – Eligibility Limits leaflet effective 7 April 2003 and Availability of ABWOR notes for guidance, issued with the mailshot on 31 March 2003. View:

All of mailshot
Cover letter only
Revised eligibility limits leaflet
Revised ABWOR Notes for Guidance
Leaflets:

1 Guidance for opponents in civil legal aid cases - superceeded so no longer available online
2 Civil legal assistance - a simple guide- superceeded so no longer available online
3 Criminal legal assistance if you are in custody
4 Criminal legal assistance if you are not in custody

Order form for legal aid forms and leaflets from the Board's printer - view order form.

Mailshot to all legal aid practitioners about:

• important legal aid changes effective 6 April 2003, such as changing income “passporting” benefits, resources of a person’s partner of the same sex to be taken into account; increase of the ‘clawback’ limit, and general disregard of benefits in assessing financial eligibility for advice and assistance.
• important legal aid changes effective 7 April 2003, such as changes to eligibility limits in advice and assistance and civil legal aid
• further improvements to the Contributions System
• guidance on new Court of Session Personal Injuries Rules
• Criminal Legal Aid: Issue of Certificates (Summary Cases)/Payment of Crown Witnesses.

View:

• All of mailshot
• Letter only
• Keycard (including Notes for Guidance on Advice and Assistance). The Keycard now includes all the income and capital eligibility limits for civil legal aid, for ease of reference.
• Availability of ABWOR as at 7 April 2003 - this is a new information sheet to assist solicitors in identifying the circumstances in which ABWOR can be made available.
• Revised pro-forma calculation sheet
• Pro-forma Calculation Sheet – Explanatory Notes.
• Notes for Guidance in the use of Regulation 18 (Special Urgency).
• Revised leaflet showing uprated eligibility limits.

Letter to all legal aid practitioners about:

• important changes effective 24 March 2003 - Consolidated ABWOR Regulations
  
• important administrative changes effective 1 April 2003 - change of practice in issuing criminal legal aid certificates; payment of Crown witnesses in criminal cases; provision of expert reports to the Board; guidance on judicial expenses accepted.

View the mailshot.

Public consultation - details of four public meetings being held in March - view details.

2002

Letter to all legal aid practitioners with further details on the civil legal aid changes that came into force on 1 December 2002. The mailshot contains further practical advice on the new regulation 18 procedure and a new pro-forma calculation sheet. The letter also contains information on fund payments – arrangements for the festive period. View:

all of the mailshot
new pro-forma calculation sheet only

Revised advice and assistance category codes for solicitors published - view the codes

Letter to all legal aid practitioners with further details on the important civil legal aid changes that come into force on 1 December 2002. The mailshot also contains new forms and revised notes for guidance. View:
all of the mailshot
the letter only
Revised pro-forma calculation sheet containing mandate to be signed by the client
Revised Notes for Guidance for completion of pro-forma calculation sheet
SU2 Form containing revised list of regulation 18(2) steps in proceedings

Letter to compliance partners at criminal legal assistance registered firms about updating their entry on the criminal legal assistance register and a Code of Practice update on advice and assistance, preparation and precognition. View the letter.

Letter to all legal aid practitioners about changes to financial eligibility scale allowances for advice and assistance and civil legal aid, effective from 14 October 2002. Read:

All mailshot
Letter only
Advice and Assistance Keycard only
Pro-forma calculation sheet only
Eligibility Limits leaflet only

A number of important legal aid changes.  This includes a new form for requesting interim payment of fees and/or outlays in criminal and children's legal aid cases and another for requesting interim payments in advice and assistance cases (where no potential for recovery or preservation of property, or recovery of expenses).

View all mailshot
Letter only
New form SLA/ROL/5 Request for reimbursement of outlays where there is no potential for any financial recovery
New form SLA/ROL/6 Request for reimbursement of outlays or interim payment of fees  under criminal legal aid (in solemn and appeals cases) and children's legal aid 

Also guidelines for sanction for the employment of counsel. 
View:
All mailshot
Letter only
Advice and Assistance Keycard only
Pro-forma calculation sheet only
Eligibility Limits leaflet only
Guidelines for sanction for the Employment of Counsel only

View all mailshot

View letter only

2001

View all mailshot

View guidance only

View press release

View public leaflet

2000