Survey with suppliers of civil legal aid to inform reform

We have commissioned the independent company, IFF Research, to undertake research on civil legal aid or civil advice and assistance.

The survey is an opportunity to gain insights into the practicalities of supplying civil legal aid and to gauge views to inform recommendations for Legal Aid Reform. We will be speaking with:

• solicitors who are registered to provide civil legal assistance
• firms who have not undertaken legal aid since January 2025
• partners/business managers at firms.

The survey will cover topics such as supply and demand, referrals signposting, the challenges of legal aid from both a business and provision perspective – focusing on business considerations such as planning and decision-making – as well as insights into how the profession see legal aid being developed by reform.

IFF Research will contact people to invite them to take part in a telephone survey from Tuesday 10 March.

The more people that respond to the survey, the more useful and representative the findings will be, and we hope as many solicitors and partners as possible will take part.

Although most surveys will take place during standard working hours, IFF will do their best to accommodate individuals outside these hours, if needed for participation.

Taking part in the research is voluntary and responses are confidential. It will not be possible to identify any individual respondents. It will take around 20-25 minutes to complete the survey, depending on the answers that you give.

Once the survey fieldwork is complete, IFF Research will write a report on the findings which we will publish on our website. We will utilise these findings to provide strategic advice to Scottish Ministers, shaping the future of legal aid in Scotland and contributing to Legal Aid Reform.

For more information on how we process personal data, including the rights individuals have, please see our privacy notice.

For more information about IFF Research, see their website: About Us | Social & Market Research Services | IFF Research.

More information

If you have any queries about this project or would like to know more, please get in touch with our Research team on research@slab.org.uk.