Wednesday 21 June 2000

The Scottish Legal Aid Board has decided that from 1 July people in Edinburgh who want criminal legal aid will be able to choose either a private solicitor or the Public Defence Solicitors' Office, regardless of their date of birth.

Since the PDSO opened in October 1998, anyone born in January or February who wanted criminal legal aid for a summary case in the Edinburgh courts has had to use the PDSO. This was to ensure that the PDSO dealt with enough cases to allow a fair and meaningful evaluation of the possible benefits of the pilot scheme. A report is to be made to the Scottish Parliament after the first three years of the pilot.

At the same time, there will be changes to the duty solicitor plans for Edinburgh district and sheriff courts which will result in greater involvement by the PDSO.

The changes have taken place after full discussion between the Board, the Edinburgh Bar Association and the PDSO and additional consultation with the Law Society of Scotland and the Scottish Executive. The developments have been welcomed by all of the parties involved. The new duty plans are being drawn up in consultation with the Edinburgh Bar Association.

Commenting on the Board's decision to make these changes, Chairman Jean Couper said:
"The PDSO has been operating for over 18 months and is now sufficiently established to allow us to remove the compulsory direction of people to the PDSO. The Board is confident that these changes will benefit everyone involved -the public, the legal profession in Edinburgh and the PDSO itself. We also welcome the constructive discussions we have had, principally with the Edinburgh Bar Association, to make this development possible."

The Board has today written to solicitors outlining these changes and hopes to publish revised duty plans within the next few days.

The PDSO opened in October 1998 as a five year pilot scheme to compare the provision of criminal legal aid by private solicitors with salaried solicitors employed by the Scottish Legal Aid Board. A comprehensive report on the first three years of its operation is to be made to the Scottish Parliament by October 2001. The pilot is being independently evaluated for the Scottish Executive. It will be for the Scottish Parliament to decide whether the pilot scheme should continue beyond September 2003.

The duty solicitor is available to represent anybody prosecuted under summary procedure who is either in custody or has been liberated on an undertaking to appear. The duty solicitor can represent the accused when the case first calls in court and, if a plea of guilty is tendered, until the conclusion of the case. The Board prepares annual duty plans for each court involving solicitors practicing in the area. Three new duty plans will come into effect in Edinburgh from 1 July.

• The PDSO will be responsible for 60% of the district court duty plan
• The sheriff court duty plan will be divided into two separate plans, one for summary and one for solemn cases. The PDSO will have responsibility for 60% of the summary plan and the same share of the solemn plan as other solicitors.

The Scottish Legal Aid Board is a non-departmental public body which assesses legal aid applications and scrutinises and pays accounts submitted by solicitors and advocates. It also provides advice to the Scottish Ministers on legal aid matters.

In 1998/99, £75.5 million was spent on criminal legal aid in Scotland. The total amount paid out in legal aid was £138 million.

For further information please contact: Charlotte Townsend at the Scottish Legal Aid Board on 0131 226 7061.