Meeting of the Parliament 20 December 2017
I draw members’ attention to my entry in the register of interests, where they will find that I am a member of the Law Society of Scotland and that I hold a current practising certificate, albeit that I do not currently practise.
The draft Criminal Legal Assistance (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2017 are the last in a series of regulations that implement part 1 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016. They provide a significant improvement on the current fee levels, including an increase to the block fee; an enhanced antisocial hours premium; an extension of the antisocial hours premium to travel time; a flat fee for providing telephone advice, no matter how short; and an easy process for claiming fees, which is important.
The current arrangements for providing advice to those who are held in police custody are delivered by a combination of solicitors who are employed by the Scottish Legal Aid Board and private practitioners. The arrangements are entirely voluntary for private practitioners, who can choose to participate or not to participate. Even when a firm is on duty, on average in around one week every six to 18 months, they are not obliged to attend. Therefore, the system is flexible to the needs and availability of solicitors at any given time, and employed solicitors provide cover for the smooth running of the scheme. That flexibility will extend to the new arrangements.
The rights to legal advice in a police station are twofold: there is the right to a consultation, which can be via telephone; and there is the right to have a solicitor present at an interview. Therefore, not all legal advice in a police station is provided in person.
As far as travel time is concerned—this is, of course, of particular relevance to those who operate in rural areas—the antisocial hours premium can be added and additional payment is possible for travel time for journeys over two hours.
The Scottish Government and Scottish Legal Aid Board officials have sought to provide reassurance on the requirements of the new duty scheme and the improved fee package and flexibilities, and there were very few responses to the consultation on the regulations. Notwithstanding that, some solicitors have elected to withdraw from the duty scheme, as they feel that they cannot meet the potential additional demands that come with the increased rights of citizens who are held in police custody. That is the right of those solicitors.
However, it is important to stress that the rights of those who are held in police stations will be upheld both in the short term and when the new scheme is implemented through the continued use of the combination of private and employed solicitors. Indeed, the provision of police station advice is under constant scrutiny and review by the Scottish Legal Aid Board, which works closely with Police Scotland to ensure that sufficient cover is available across Scotland. That scrutiny will continue up to and beyond the implementation of the new arrangements from 25 January 2018.
In summary, the regulations provide an improved financial package for solicitors who provide police station advice and they make provision for legal aid in consequence of legislative changes that the Parliament has already approved. If the regulations are not agreed to, we will have to rely on the current legal aid framework, which is less attractive to solicitors in respect of both the level of fees and the arrangements for submitting a claim.
I urge members to support the regulations.