Scottish Legal Aid Board° |
44 Drumsheugh Gardens
Edinburgh
EH3 7SW |
| Tel: 0131 226 7061 |
| Fax: 0131 220 4878 |
| Email: general@slab.org.uk |
| Website: www.slab.org.uk |
| Status: Executive NDPB |
| Established: 1987, under the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986. |
Terms of Reference: To access and where appropriate grant, applications for Legal Aid; to scrutinise and pay legal aid accounts submitted by solicitors and advocates; and to advise Scottish Ministers on legal aid matters.
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Chairman: Mr Iain Robertson CBE
Remuneration £29,831For other board members Show Members |
Chief Executive: Mr Lindsay Montgomery
Salary £90-95k |
| Staff Employed: 303 |
| Audit Arrangements: Auditor General for Scotland |
Last Reviewed by Government: 2003/2004
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Budget |
| Total Gross Expenditure: Legal Aid Fund - £147.9m (2005-06); Grant-in-Aid £12.2m (2005-06) |
| Scottish Government Grant-in-Aid: Scottish Government Grant-in-Aid (2006/07); Legal Aid Fund £142.363m; Administration £12.459m |
Other Expenditure by Directorate: The Legal Aid Fund is demand-led and funding additional to the £142.363m allocated for 2006-07 will be provided by Scottish Ministers should the need arise
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Other Information |
| /Topics/Government/public-bodies/SLAB-Guidance |
Notes: The Strategic Review of the Delivery of Legal Aid, Advice and Information, (October 2004) recommended improvements to the delivery of publicly funded legal assistance. A Scottish Government consultation in June 2005 ("Advice for All") obtained stakeholder feedback on the proposed changes, some of which were included in the Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 2007: enabling SLAB to provide grant funding, extending advice and assistance to non-lawyer advisers (in categories of circumstances to be prescribed in regulations) and transferring the power to award legal aid in solemn cases from the courts to SLAB.
Ministers have also asked SLAB to expand the Public Defence Solicitor's Office network in 6 new locations and to establish of a network of Civil Legal Assistance Offices.
The Review's longer term aims of improving the planning and coordination of legal advice are being taken forward alongside implementation of the LPLA Act. |