Justice Committee

Meeting date: Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Official Report 625KB pdf

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Subordinate Legislation

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Criminal Legal Aid (Scotland) (Fees) Amendment Regulations 2013 (SSI 2013/320)

Our next item of business is consideration of one negative instrument. The regulations amend fees payable to solicitors for carrying out legal aid work in relation to solemn proceedings with a view to ensuring compliance with the European convention on human rights. A letter from the Law Society of Scotland, which has written to the committee stating that it cannot support the regulations on various grounds, can be found in annex A of paper 3.

As it appears that members wish to make comments, I will set out the various options. A member can lodge a motion to annul, which will be considered next week; we can invite the minister or cabinet secretary to give evidence next week; we can write to the Scottish Government and consider the matter next week alongside the issues raised with regard to legal aid, in respect of which the regulations have been called a cost-saving exercise; or points can be noted on the record today. Can I quickly hear your objections—which I have probably already set out—and suggestions about what you want me to do?

The Law Society makes a number of very strong points; in particular, it points out that the shift in resources might give rise to further ECHR issues. We need to examine that in detail.

I think that the issues have been raised. Do we want to do this by letter, by evidence taking or what?

We should write to the Government.

And ask for a reply from the minister.

Should we not hear from both sides on the Law Society’s concerns?

The Law Society makes its concerns quite clear in its letter.

So let us write to the minister, then.

We will write to the minister, asking for a response, and then it will be for members to decide what they want do about the process.

Just for clarification, when does the 40-day limit expire?

At the beginning of January.

Thank you very much. We now move into private session.

13:15 Meeting continued in private until 13:16.