This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Two new PDSO offices to open
20/10/2003
Two more Public Defence Solicitors
Offices (PDSO) are to be opened in Glasgow and
Inverness.
The first PDSO opened in Edinburgh in
October 1998 to pilot a different way of providing criminal
legal aid, with solicitors directly employed by the
Scottish Legal Aid Board.
Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson
said:
"We are working to deliver a safer,
stronger Scotland through an efficient and effective
justice system founded on the basic principles of fairness
and equality.
"The Public Defence Solicitors Office
is part of our overall policy in continuing to modernise
legal aid by developing more efficiency and choice in the
provision of legal services.
"Extending the pilots outwith
Edinburgh to bring in Glasgow and Inverness courts will
enable us to make better comparisons between public defence
and private solicitors in terms of cost, quality, client
satisfaction and the wider impact on the criminal justice
system.
Comparisons which will allow us to determine
whether the PDSO offers an efficient and effective
alternative.
"Initial research into the Edinburgh
pilot office indicated that the use of public defenders,
working alongside private solicitors, shows potential
benefits - such as cases being completed in less time.
The new pilot offices will provide further
information, in different geographical contexts, on how
effective access to justice can be provided.
"The Glasgow pilot will allow us to
see if the PDSO will be able to function effectively in the
busiest court in Scotland - accounting for almost a quarter
of all Scottish criminal cases.
"The office in Inverness will let us
look at the feasibility of a PDSO facility in a rural and
semi-rural area.
The Inverness PDSO will be able to work in
Sheriff Courts from Dornoch to Elgin.
"I remain fully committed to ensuring
access to justice for all - legal aid is an essential part
of a humane and fair society.
Every person accused of an offence is
entitled to legal advice and assistance.
If someone cannot afford this without undue
hardship it is right they should be able to access legal
aid.
"It is also right that the Executive
should ensure that the people of Scotland get the most
efficient and effective service available."
The Crime and Punishment (Scotland)
Act 1997 allowed the Secretary of State to authorise the
Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) to set up a pilot study
into the direct provision of criminal legal assistance.
PDSO is effectively a part of the
SLAB.
While PDSO staff are employees of the Board
and their costs are included in the Board's annual report,
the solicitors operate independently. Applications for
legal aid from clients of the PDSO are treated in exactly
the same way as those from clients of private
solicitors.
The cost of running the PDSO in
Edinburgh in 2002-03 was £319,000.
research on the Edinburgh PDSO can be
viewed at
www.scotland.gov.uk/cru/kd01/purple/pdso-01.asp
Provisions within the Criminal Justice
(Scotland) Act 2003 allowed for the continuation
of the PDSO, as well as required Scottish
Ministers to publish further research on the PDSOs by
December 31, 2008.