Lawyers have called for the Scottish Legal Aid Board to be scrapped, saving an estimated GBP40 million over five years, and ensuring the poorest can continue to access justice in the face of budget cuts. The Law Society of Scotland's access to justice committee has proposed merging the board with Scottish Legal Complaints Commission, creating a one-stop-shop.
I refer to the letter from John McGovern, president of the Glasgow Bar Association (The Herald, November 9). Clearly Mr McGovern and his colleagues have concerns about what the Scottish Government's budget decisions will mean for solicitors. From the Scottish Legal Aid Board's perspective, we hope ministers will be able to maintain or, where necessary, improve access to justice at a difficult time for public finances. Achieving this will require substantial further efficiencies in the way legal aid operates. This is likely to mean changes in how the board and the legal profession operate legal aid. These are challenges we need to face in a co-operative and constructive manner.
Mike Dailly made reference to legal aid expenditure and the Scottish Legal Aid Board's running costs (Letters, November 10). Unfortunately, Mr Dailly's use of figures is incorrect and may mislead. He refers to the legal aid fund of pound(s)150m and states: "Once you subtract the money solicitors recover from opponents, third party outlays and VAT, the budget is closer to pound(s)89m." However, the figure of pound(s)150m is actually the net figure after deducting recoveries and applicants' contributions of around pound(s)12m. The gross expenditure from the legal aid fund has been between pound(s)160m-pound(s)167m over the past three to four years.
A JUDGE has hit out at the Scottish Legal Aid Board and ordered it to pay a man's GBP 33,500 bill for defending himself in court against his former partner. Lord Brodie heard that the board had continued to fund the woman's cases despite repeated warnings it had been duped and that the granting of legal aid was "an abuse of process".
A JUDGE has ordered the Scottish Legal Aid Board to pick up a man's bill for defending court actions funded by taxpayers' cash brought against him by a former partner. Solicitors acting for William Bohannon repeatedly raised problems in the action against him with the board and asked, without success, that legal aid granted to Carol Young be suspended.
A JUDGE has hit out at the Scottish Legal Aid Board (Slab) and ordered it to pay a man's GBP 33,500 bill for defending himself in court against his former partner. Lord Brodie heard that the board had continued to fund the woman's cases, despite repeated warnings that it had been duped and that the granting of legal aid was "an abuse of process".
A ROW over fees between solicitors and the Scottish Legal Aid Board has reached "breaking point" and may end up with lawyers walking away from cases, it was claimed yesterday. Some defence lawyers are bitterly opposed to rules that they say caps their payment for consulting clients held in custody awaiting trial.
A RECORD Pounds 161million of taxpayers' money was spent on legal aid in Scotland in the past year, it was revealed yesterday. The annual report of the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) said it had 'delivered value...while maintaining access to this important public service'.
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