This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
Listen
New Bill on legal reforms
02/03/2006
The Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Bill, published today, aims to modernise the court system by allowing a wider range of professionals to raise court actions and provide legal representation.
Deputy Justice Minister Hugh Henry said the Bill would provide greater consumer choice, increase public confidence in the justice system, show consistency and transparency in elegibility for legal aid, and improve access to advice and assistance.
Measures in the Bill include:
- enabling a wider range of legal service suppliers to apply for the approval of Scottish Ministers and the Lord President to provide legal representation in court. Currently only solicitors, advocates and solicitor-advocates can provide these services
- putting service users at the heart of the complaints handling service with the creation of a Scottish Legal Complaints Commission, independent of the legal profession. The Commission, with a non-lawyer majority, will receive all complaints against legal practitioners which it has not been possible to resolve at source
- transferring the power to grant legal aid in solemn cases from the courts to the Scottish Legal Aid Board, who already deal with legal aid in summary cases.
- allowing the Scottish Legal Aid Board to fund advisors with appropriate skills and expertise, not just solicitors
Mr Henry said:
"For many years the legal system has worked hard to deliver excellent, professional services. However, consumers now look for more from the services they use. They want and deserve more choice, tailored services, transparency and confidence that when things go wrong - their complaints will be handled fairly and efficiently.
"Consumers are right to expect high standards of service, and the time is now right for this culture change in our society to be extended into Scotland's legal system.
"The Legal Profession and Legal Aid Bill will improve complaints handling, better co-ordinate the delivery of legal assistance, and will ensure that suitable advisors are available to the public.
"Together with the success of our High Court reforms, summary justice reforms outlined earlier this week and ongoing work, including efforts to develop in-court advice, I am confident that we can provide modern legal services that set high professional standards and deliver excellent, qualified advice to the public."
The Bill stems from two separate strands of policy development:
- A programme of improving the handling of complaints against lawyers
- A programme to improve the delivery of legal assistance
The proposed arrangements with respect to handling of legal complaints build on the outcome of a consultation exercise, Reforming Complaints Handling: Building Consumer Confidence. The consultation ran from May 11 to August 3, 2005 and responses showed strong support (85 per cent) for an independent complaints handling body.
In 2004-05 expenditure on legal aid was £152.4 million.
There are over 400,000 applications for Legal Aid received by Scottish Legal Aid Board every year.