New interim payment report to show solicitors cases with no final account submitted

We have developed an interim payment report that allows solicitors to identify cases that have had interim claims paid but where there has been no activity for 12 months or more and where a final account has not been received.

You will be able to access the new report in Legal Aid Online from Monday 2 June 2025.

Why is the report required?

Our update on 27 September 2022 linked to guidance explaining that interim claims are made on the basis that there is a requirement to lodge a final account upon completion of the case, conclusion of your involvement, or otherwise as we reasonably require.

You are required to ensure that a final account is submitted to us within a time frame appropriate to the circumstances of the case and expeditious conclusion of case end formalities.

We are making this report available in advance of an automated reminder process that is currently being developed that will enable our systems to issue reminders on individual cases.

In the meantime, this report should help you identify the cases where final accounts require to be submitted now.

This will help to reduce the number of individual reminders you will receive when our automated reminder process goes live later this year. We will issue a further update about this nearer the time of its deployment.

Our ask of you

To reduce the number of individual reminders you could potentially receive when our automated reminder process goes live later this year, can you please take time to review the report and submit final claims on all appropriate cases.

Why you must submit a final account on conclusion/completion of the proceedings or when your involvement in the case is at an end or proceedings concluded

As set out in our guidance, Section 33ZB of the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986 makes provision that allows for solicitors to submit an interim claim for fees or outlays prior to the conclusion of the case.

The effect of the Act is that a solicitor must submit a final account at the conclusion of the case/completion of the proceedings or when their involvement in the case has come to an end.

If the value of the final account is less than the value of the interim claim paid from the Fund a solicitor and/or the firm are jointly and severally liable to make repayment to us the value of the sums that have been overpaid.

You should therefore ensure that a final account is submitted to us within the statutory time frame; and that the account is prepared in the form that is required in terms of the fees regulations to verify the work done that has been claimed.

If we do not receive a final account and/or a solicitor/firm does not respond to our request for a final account, we reserve our right to take any action as is reasonable and appropriate to ensure that there is no loss to the Fund, which may include:

• exercising our statutory powers by excluding solicitors/firms from being able to submit interim claims on future cases
• dealing with the matter as a conduct issue and possible referral to the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) and/or the Law Society of Scotland
• raising legal proceedings for the recovery of sums paid that have not been properly verified by us as being due
• exercise our statutory power under Section 31 of the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986 to exclude a solicitor from the provision of legal assistance.

What does the interim payment report show?

The interim payment report will allow you to access a list of your cases where the initial interim claim was submitted on or after 1 October 2022.

The report will only include those cases where our records indicate there has been no activity recorded on the case within the last 12 months.

The report will allow you to check for any concluded cases where a final account requires to be submitted.

Accessing the interim payment report

The report can be accessed through the ‘Reports’ function on the legal aid online (LAOL) homepage, which displays a list of reports.

To access the report, select ‘Interim Payments With No Main Claim’ – see screenshot below:

The report provides details of:

• the legal aid reference number (LARN)
• the last action we have recorded on our records; and
• the date.

There is a link beside each legal aid reference number (LARN) which takes you directly into the case record.

This will allow you to review the status of the case and to confirm if the case has concluded or your involvement in the case is at an end, and if a legal aid should now be submitted.

More information

For more information, please contact:
Lynne Dunlop, Accounts System Specialist
Email: dunloply@slab.org.uk