Review of legal aid for families caught up in gridlocked FAI system
MINISTERS have announced a review of legal aid funding for families involved in fatal accident inquiries.
Community Safety Minister Ash Denham told MSPS 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 system, families of the bereaved must apply for legal aid funding to cover the cost of representation during FAIS, which can take many years to conclude.
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, pre-devolution regulations are still in use which do not let ministers 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... it will be happening this year before summer recess.”
Nicola Sturgeon was warned at last week’s First Minister’s Questions that some FAIS take eight years to report, potentially too late to learn any lessons from a death that could be applied to save others.
Relatives are still waiting for an FAI into the crash on the M9 four years ago in which John Yuill, 28, and his partner Lamara Bell, 25, died after police failed to respond for three days despite a call to them.
Once officers arrived, Mr Yuill was found to be dead and Ms Bell died later in hospital.
Labour said the cumulative backlog of FAIS was “shocking” and asked Ms Denham if there was “something seriously wrong” with the system.
She said the Scottish Government had given more funding to the Crown Office to speed up the sheriff-led investigations, but said the decision on whether to hold any FAI and its timing was a matter for the Lord Advocate , who operated “entirely independently of government”.
She said: “Sometimes depending upon the circumstances of a death investigation, it can be very complicated, it can be technical and it can also involve a number of different agencies working together.
“The Crown Office is committed to the prompt investigation of deaths but it does accept that in some cases, the time taken in order to complete a thorough investigation has been too long.”
Scottish Libdem MSP Liam Mcarthur said: “The Minister appears to have taken the first step .... but a review needs to look at more than grieving families being handed legal costs.
“The FAI system should be people-centred and ever mindful of the families. An independent review should examine the protracted timescales, structural barriers and lack of public confidence in the process.”