Committee
Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee 24 February 2026 [Draft]
24 Feb 2026 · S6 · Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee
Item of business
Subordinate Legislation
Legal Aid and Advice and Assistance (Fees) (Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2026 [Draft]
:I apologise for my letter coming late last night. It has a lot of detail in it and I am not aware of whether all the committee members have been able to go through it. I have been able to outline some of the work that I have been doing to get secondary legislation through during the current parliamentary session and, as we look ahead to the next parliamentary session, it will be up to the next Government to take that work forward. I think that it will include developing new primary legislation to modernise the legal aid framework, with the aim of introducing a clearer and more flexible system and supporting longer-term reform.On top of that—I can guarantee that this will happen, because it was introduced by this Scottish Government—we have the implementation of the provisions of the Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Bill, which was passed last year. That will include the phased commencement of licensed provider provisions, which will support the delivery of the legal aid traineeship fund by the Law Society of Scotland to support long-term workforce resilience alongside on-going evaluation to strengthen legal aid.
In the same item of business
09:30
The Convener
SNP
Our second agenda item is consideration of a draft affirmative instrument. I welcome to the meeting Siobhian Brown, Minister for Victims and Community Safety...
The Minister for Victims and Community Safety (Siobhian Brown)
SNP
Good morning, committee, and thank you, convener.I welcome the opportunity to speak to the draft Legal Aid and Advice and Assistance (Fees) (Miscellaneous Am...
The Convener
SNP
Thank you. We will move on to questions from Maggie Chapman.
Maggie Chapman (North East Scotland) (Green)
Green
Good morning, minister. I am sorry that I cannot join you in person, but I thank you for that update. The 13 per cent uplift is welcome news. I have a couple...
Siobhian Brown
SNP
:There has been a long period of negotiations with the Law Society and the Scottish Solicitors Bar Association about this uplift during the past 12 months, a...
Maggie Chapman
Green
:Thank you. That is helpful. Given the conversations that can happen and the annual reviews, I am curious about why the 13 per cent increase will apply from ...
Siobhian Brown
SNP
:Through some of the reform that we have been doing in secondary legislation, uplifts will be coming in on 1 April, 1 June and 14 December. The 1 September d...
Maggie Chapman
Green
:Last night, we received the updated timeline for the different activities in legal aid reform, and I put my thanks for that on the record. I know that a lot...
The Convener
SNP
We now have questions from Paul McLennan.
Paul McLennan (East Lothian) (SNP)
SNP
It is great to hear about the progress of the discussions as we look towards the next parliamentary session. The committee made some recommendations on civil...
Siobhian Brown
SNP
:I apologise for my letter coming late last night. It has a lot of detail in it and I am not aware of whether all the committee members have been able to go ...
Paul McLennan
SNP
:I have a supplementary question. The minister will remember that I have asked this in the chamber as well. It is about accessibility in more remote areas. W...
Siobhian Brown
SNP
:Absolutely. As we move into the next parliamentary session and consider primary legislation for legal aid reform, it is really important that all the recomm...
Paul McLennan
SNP
:Thank you.
Tess White (North East Scotland) (Con)
Con
Before I ask my main question, I want to ask the minister about the 40 traineeships that she mentioned. Those are definitely to be welcomed, so thank you for...
Siobhian Brown
SNP
:Originally, it was to be 20 traineeships, which as a result of the negotiations has now gone up to 40 traineeships along with the digital support package. W...
Ciaran McDonald (Scottish Government)
We are still negotiating and talking about it, so we will be looking into the detail of that, and we will be able to share that with you in due course.
Tess White
Con
:So, that is Government funded, and there might be some requirement that those people spend time on legal aid cases.
Siobhian Brown
SNP
:Yes.
Tess White
Con
:My next question is on something that my colleague Paul McLennan touched on, which is longer-term legal aid reform. It is difficult to say, because this is ...
Siobhian Brown
SNP
:Yes. We went through that when we discussed the issue in a previous meeting. The work that I have been doing in the past 18 months is outlined in the letter...
Tess White
Con
:When we had the debate on legal aid in the chamber, we discussed the issue of women fleeing domestic abuse and the recommendation that the financial thresho...
Siobhian Brown
SNP
:Yes. I have on-going conversations with SLAB—I met with it last week. We must be clear that the work that SLAB does is vital. We have a legal aid budget of ...
Tess White
Con
:Perfect—thank you.
Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab)
Lab
What other things are happening to help to provide legal advice in rural areas? Obviously, increases in fees help, but there are many other issues, such as t...
Siobhian Brown
SNP
:The negotiations that we have been having for the past couple of months have primarily been on fee uplifts, to ensure that solicitors get the fees that come...
Rhoda Grant
Lab
:Thank you.09:45
The Convener
SNP
We move to agenda item 3, which is the formal consideration of motion S6M-20605. I invite the minister to move the motion.Motion moved,That the Equalities, H...
The Convener
SNP
Do members agree to delegate to me approval of the publication of a short factual report on our deliberations on the affirmative instrument that we have cons...