Meeting of the Parliament 20 December 2017
I rise to speak against the draft Criminal Legal Assistance (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2017. The Parliament is being asked to vote on the regulations with undue and unnecessary haste, given that there is time before part 1 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016, which contains provisions that relate to the police station duty scheme, comes into force on 25 January 2018.
As part of its consideration of this Scottish statutory instrument, the Justice Committee received a number of written submissions from the legal profession that expressed grave concern about the proposed changes that the SSI would make. At the time, it was suggested that a reasonable course of action would be to allow the organisations to put their points to the committee in a formal evidence session, but the minister refused to withdraw the SSI to allow that to happen. The concerns include but are not limited to the following.
The Dunfermline District Society of Solicitors said that there would be increased demand
“in terms of police station work and attendances”,
under a fee structure that
“is not fit for purpose”.
The society said that there is
“a significant issue in terms of sex and equality discrimination”
against solicitors, which will lead to greater recruitment of those who do not have children, are unlikely to do so and do not have caring responsibilities. It also said that a change in employment contracts will be required, and concluded:
“if the regulations are laid in the present form then no firm will participate in the Police Duty Scheme.”
The Edinburgh Bar Association said that the approach will increase the number of people who are eligible for legal advice by 163,360, and said that, due to the downsizing of many legal firms,
“it is unknown whether such firms will actually have the capacity to provide the level of service required.”
The association also expressed concern about the potential impact on workload of the regulations
“at a time when rates of pay are at an historic low”
and concluded:
“the Edinburgh Bar Association is now wholly unable to recommend to its members that they participate in the provision of police station advice.”
The Society of Solicitors in the Supreme Courts of Scotland expressed concern that the unsociable hours might offend the article 8 right to private and family life, and said:
“This is particularly the case where solicitors have child care responsibilities or responsibilities to family members that are elderly or disabled.”
It has recently been reported that solicitors have confirmed that they are withdrawing from the police station duty scheme.
There is parliamentary time at the beginning of January to take further evidence on this SSI. There is no need to rush into something about which such significant doubts have been expressed. Therefore, even at this late stage, I call on the minister to withdraw the SSI to ensure that those concerns are given a fair hearing. Failing that, I ask members to think very carefully before they vote tonight. If they agree that the sensible course of action is a short delay until January, when there will be parliamentary time to resolve the matter, they should vote against approving the draft Criminal Legal Assistance (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2017 at decision time.
16:40