This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Scottish Legal Aid Board
17/08/2006
Deputy Justice Minister Hugh Henry today announced the appointment of four new members to the Scottish Legal Aid Board.
The new members are:
Denise Loney: Ms Loney qualified as a solicitor in 1987 and has held a variety of positions in private practice from trainee to equity partner. Her area of expertise is Civil Litigation. Ms Loney is currently a Partner in Semple Fraser LLP, in Glasgow. She does not hold any other ministerial public appointments.
Joseph Hughes : Mr Hughes qualified as a solicitor in 1984 and set up his own practice in 1986 specialising in criminal court work. He is currently the Senior Managing Partner in J.C. Hughes, Solicitors, Glasgow, operating five offices with eight other solicitors. He is a solicitor advocate (criminal) and member of the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies at King's College, London. Mr Hughes is Legal Convenor for the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland that attracts a remuneration of £423 per day and Legal Convenor of the Additional Support Needs Tribunal that attracts a remuneration of £375 per day. He has recently been appointed Chair of the Scottish Charity Appeals Panel attracting a remuneration of £325 per day. In addition Mr Hughes is a Director of Turning Point Scotland and Chair of its Audit Committee and a Member of the Board of NCH (Scotland). He does not receive any remuneration for these posts.
Professor Mahendra Raj: Professor Raj has been Professor of Finance at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen since 1996. He has held several public and voluntary appointments and is currently a Member of the Reporting Panel of the Competition Commission for the United Kingdom for which he receives a remuneration of £300 a day; Member of the Accounts Commission for Scotland that attracts an annual remuneration of £4,500 and a lay adviser to Grampian Police which is unpaid.
Les Campbell: Mr Campbell is a Chartered Accountant and is currently the Director of Finance and Corporate Services in Glasgow Housing Association (GHA). Prior to joining GHA in August 2003 he spent over 25 years in the private sector including posts with British Energy, Scottish Power and PricewaterhouseCoopers. He does not hold any other ministerial public appointments.
The appointments of Joseph Hughes, Mahendra Raj and Les Campbell will run from September 1, 2006, to March 31, 2011, and that of Denise Loney from January 1, 2007, to March 31, 2011.
The positions are part-time and attract a remuneration of £8,328 a year for a time commitment of 42 days per year.
The Scottish Legal Aid Board is an independent statutory body established under the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986. Its main functions are:
- To assess, and where appropriate, grant legal aid applications
- To scrutinise and settle accounts submitted by solicitors and counsel
- To collect applicants' contributions or awards of expenses to the other side, in the case of civil legal aid
- To provide advice to Scottish Ministers on legal aid matters
The Board has annual expenditure of around £164 million, which includes the Legal Aid Fund and the Board's running costs.
Ministerial public appointments are made in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland's Code of Practice.
All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for appointees' political activity (if there is any to be declared) to be made public. None of the above appointees have been involved in any political activity within the last five years.