Scottish Legal Aid Board annual report

 

THE amount paid to Advocates in legal aid last year bucked a downward trend, the 2018-2019 annual report of the Scottish Legal Aid Board shows.

The number of grants of legal aid was 202,079, down one per cent from the previous year, and the cost to the taxpayer stood at £123.8 million, again a fall of one per cent.

Criminal legal assistance accounted for £73.4 million, and civil for £42 million.

Overall, payments to Advocates totalled £12,5 million (from £11.9 million last year). Payments to solicitors were £93.3 million (from £95.1 million), and for solicitor-advocates, the payments were £2.3 million (from £2 million).

Angela Grahame, QC, Vice-Dean of Faculty, said: “Legal Aid is a fundamental pillar of ensuring access to justice.  The ongoing commitment by the Scottish Government to the scope of legal aid in Scotland is reassuring.  The Faculty is fully engaged with the review of legal aid, and individual members will continue to commit their talents to those who are most in need of legal advice and representation in the civil and criminal courts.”

The report is here