Funding review for families involved in fatal accident inquiries

THE availability of legal aid funding for families involved in Fatal Accident Inquiries (FAIs) will be reviewed, the Scottish Government has indicated.

Speaking at the Scottish Parliament yesterday, Community Safety Minister Ash Denham said that a full consultation would be carried out before this year’s summer recess, with a view to introducing a new legal aid bill.

Under the current legal aid system, families are able to apply for legal aid funding to cover the cost of representation during FAIs.

Requests are considered by the Procurator Fiscal on the basis of statutory tests, which include factors such as probable cause, reasonableness and financial eligibility.

However, regulations set out in the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act of 1986 are still in use and they do not allow ministers to make interventions on decisions taken by the Legal Aid board.

Ms Denham said: “I would agree that a review is required. It is the role of the Scottish Legal Aid board to make determinations if legal aid funding is to be awarded, Scottish ministers can’t overturn that decision.

“There isn’t flexibility for the board to decide to disapply or disregard the statutory requirements that operate to assess an applicant’s finances.

“Any changes to this system can only be made through changes to primary legislation and that is why we plan to consult on a new legal aid bill.

“This will be a full consultation and it will be happening this year before summer recess.”