Chamber and committees

Thank you.

Happy new year. I will go to Les Robertson with my first question. How does the benefit subsidy system affect the cost of providing temporary accommodation? You touched on that issue a wee bit earlier. Would you mind explaining that a bit more for the committee?

No problem. In that case, I will pass that question to Maeve McGoldrick.

Absolutely. That £2 million is a drop in the ocean, isn’t it? It is very demand led, too.

Hannah, if you do not want to come in on that question, I will just stick with you for the next one. Is there enough awareness among tenants of the availability of discretionary housing payments to cover the shortfall?

Sheila Haig, do you want to come in on that?

Those details would interest the committee, so if you do not mind following up on that, that would be helpful.

How are you using discretionary housing payments to support tenants? When the local housing allowance does not cover the full rent, what pressure does that put on the budgets that you might use to mitigate other policies? We spoke earlier about the £75 million of the discretionary housing payment budget that is going to mitigate the bedroom tax.

Presiding Officer, I take this opportunity to wish you and everyone in the Parliament a happy and healthy new year. As we know, it will be a busy one for everyone.

As a member of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee, I welcome the opportunity to speak in the debate. I thank the committee’s clerks for their assistance with producing the report. I am also grateful to all the stakeholders and witnesses for taking the time to submit their views on the issue.

As has been mentioned, because of concerns about the declining number of solicitors in Scotland who offer legal aid, the committee agreed to undertake an inquiry into civil legal assistance. It is of the utmost importance that we ensure that such assistance is delivered effectively in Scotland so that there is better access to justice for all. Throughout the inquiry, it was understood that there is an urgent need for reform of civil legal assistance.

A key concern was the prevalence of so-called legal aid deserts, as described by Pat Thom, president of the Law Society of Scotland. We refer to legal aid deserts in relation to both geographical areas and particular areas of law, including those relating to asylum seekers, immigration and employment. The situation is exacerbated by the lack of quantity among practitioners.

In the context of domestic abuse the position in rural areas can also be challenging. As has already been mentioned, Dr Marsha Scott of Scottish Women’s Aid highlighted that Grampian Women’s Aid is making between 50 and 60 calls just to find one legal aid solicitor. That means that people cannot exercise their legal rights, which is a real problem. The committee is clear that legal aid deserts cannot be allowed to persist in Scotland.

On a second and connected point, the committee then explored what is causing the shortages in the number of legal practitioners that are, in turn, creating those legal aid deserts. The main finding was that such shortages could be attributed to low rates of fees for solicitors for legal aid work and that increasing those rates would have a significant impact on the availability of legal practitioners. The disincentives to working within the legal aid system were also seen as putting unmanageable strain on the remaining services and increasing work-life balance issues.

The committee welcomes the Scottish Government’s recognition of the need to build capacity. I appreciate that the Government will continue to work on legal aid fee structures, with the aim of implementing reforms that promote fairness, sustainability and responsiveness to case complexity.

The committee has agreed that there is an urgent need for action to improve the delivery of civil legal aid assistance and, in turn, to improve access to justice. However, it recognised that it is now too late in this session of Parliament to introduce primary legislation to reform civil legal assistance.

The Scottish Government agrees with the committee’s view that long-term structural reform of civil legal assistance is needed. In the short term, it would be welcome to see the Scottish Government working with the Scottish Legal Aid Board to progress reforms that do not require primary legislation, including proceeding with measures to increase the fees paid to legal practitioners. It is welcome that the Scottish Government has already announced reforms to make the legal aid system simpler for both solicitors and those who need legal assistance and that it recognises the need for further reform to ensure that Scotland has a modern and responsive system to provide services as efficiently as possible.

No one should be left without access to justice, so it is essential that we push forward and ensure that civil legal assistance is delivered effectively in Scotland.

To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting Forestry and Land Scotland to protect the Kilpatrick hills. (S6O-05294)

I recently met Forestry and Land Scotland and other stakeholders to discuss antisocial behaviour in the Kilpatrick hills, such as the illegal use of e-bikes and motorbikes on the trails. Litter, including remnants from campfires, also poses a risk. I am aware that campfire bans have been implemented in the Cairngorms national park during the summer months. Can the cabinet secretary advise whether Forestry and Land Scotland could consider that approach for the Kilpatrick hills? Will she join me in calling out the antisocial behaviour in the area that is causing damage to our precious environment?

Having engaged with you before, Andrew, I know that your service has considerable experience in providing advice. What do you consider to be the defining difference between advocacy and advice?