Justice fears halt legal aid fees reform

SCOTTISH ministers have halted plans to reform legal aid fees as part of a package of measures to help struggling law firms after solicitors claimed it would leave them worse off and was “not in the interests of justice”.

The Government had planned to implement a “cost-neutral” shake-up of fees. However defence lawyers raised serious concerns about proposals to pay more for early guilty pleas, while potentially paying less for case preparation when an accused pleads not guilty.

It has agreed to implement a 10 per cent rise in legal aid payments over a two-year period, as well as a £9 million resilience fund to help legal aid firms left struggling as a result of a downturn in court work due to the pandemic. The proposed

fee reforms were due to be introduced at the same time.

However Justice Minister Humza Yousaf wrote to the profession to confirm that he would not proceed with them at this time due to solicitors’ concerns.

In his letter, Mr Yousaf said it was “disappointing” that he was unable to make the changes just now but made it clear that he still plans to implement reforms in the coming year.

The Law Society of Scotland and various bar associations welcomed the decision not to press ahead with the changes. However some concerns remain over how the resilience fund will be distributed.

Law Society president Amanda Millar said the proposals had caused “great concern” within the profession, adding: “I am pleased the Cabinet Secretary has listened and taken on board some of the feedback which solicitors have provided over the last few weeks.

“The decision to remove the changes to solemn and summary fees is particularly good news.”

Some of the changes under the fee reform proposals included an increase in the fee for early guilty pleas, known as s76 procedures, while a block fee was being introduced for “perusal time”, ie the time taken to read through the evidence provided by the Crown Office.

The Law Society said it would now work with the Government to ensure that the resilience fund, and a planned trainee fund, are “simple and straightforward for firms to apply for”.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “The reform proposals were based on proposals developed by the Law Society of Scotland in 2015, and reflect several years of engagement with both the Society and the profession at large.

“They address a number of issues identified by the profession to deliver simplification, reduced bureaucracy and better reward for early preparation and resolution of cases where that is appropriate.”