| Scottish Legal Aid Board welcomes fixed fees for summary
criminal legal aid
Tuesday 13 October 1998
The Scottish Legal Aid Board today welcomed the publication of The Scottish
Executive consultation paper on fixed fees for summary criminal legal
aid work done by solicitors, saying it would provide improved value for
money for the Scottish taxpayer.
Commenting on the proposal for fixed fees, Chief Executive Richard Scott
said: "The Scottish Legal Aid Board welcomes the move towards fixed
fees, as we believe it will give a fair level of remuneration to the legal
profession while at the same time ensuring that the taxpayer in Scotland
receives value for money from the criminal legal aid system.
" We will now be considering the consultation paper in detail to ensure
that the Government's proposals are practical and effective."
The Board has actively lobbied for the introduction of fixed fees as a
more efficient system of paying solicitors for legal aid work. A system
of fixed fees would reduce the amount of time spent by the legal profession
in preparing accounts for each case and by the Board in processing the
submitted accounts.
Editors' Notes
In 1997/98, £82 million was spent on criminal legal aid in
Scotland. The total legal aid budget was £145 million.
The average cost of a criminal case in 1997/98 was £1,073.
For further information contact: Charlotte
Townsend at the Scottish Legal Aid Board on 0131 226 7061.
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