Chamber and committees

: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.

Good morning, committee, and thank you, convener.

I welcome the opportunity to speak to the draft Legal Aid and Advice and Assistance (Fees) (Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2026. This Scottish statutory instrument forms part of the Scottish Government’s programme of legal aid reform, which aims to strengthen access to justice and ensure that the system remains fair and sustainable for those who need it most.

The instrument will increase solicitors’ fees and fixed payments for criminal, civil and children’s legal aid and advice and assistance by 13 per cent, commencing on 1 September 2026. Additionally, it makes further changes to legal aid, amending regulations laid last December, and meets a commitment given to the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee to make corrections and minor drafting and clarification changes to the Civil Legal Aid (Scotland) Regulations 2002 and the Advice and Assistance (Assistance by Way of Representation) (Scotland) Regulations 2003.

The SSI has been developed in close collaboration with the Law Society of Scotland and the Scottish Solicitors Bar Association, and I want to express my thanks for their valuable contributions to the negotiations. I would also like to extend my gratitude to the Scottish Legal Aid Board for its input on the technical and operational aspects of the fee increase.

The SSI provides a significant increase to solicitors’ fees, ensuring that legal aid professionals are better remunerated and supported and allowing them to continue to make a real difference to people’s lives. The 13 per cent increase in fees addresses the profession’s concerns and contributes positively to the retention of legal aid solicitors as it decreases the potential risk of their stopping legal aid work. That would have a detrimental impact on access to justice and solicitor availability, as the committee heard in evidence to its recent inquiry on civil legal assistance. Indeed, the Law Society of Scotland has publicly welcomed the increase, calling it

“a lifeline for access to justice”.

The SSI forms part of a broader package of reform that includes the establishment of an independent fee review mechanism group, which will help shape the future of legal aid by creating a robust, evidence-based process for reviewing and agreeing legal aid fees. The package also includes further secondary legislation that will come into force on 1 April, 1 June and 14 December this year, as approved by the committee on 3 February.

Additionally, funding for 40 traineeships with digital support for new trainees will be provided as part of the fee uplift package of reforms to further support access to justice. The package demonstrates the Scottish Government’s commitment to a long-term investment in the talent pipeline into the legal aid profession.

In summary, convener, the fee uplift reaffirms our commitment to continuing to provide a robust legal aid system and supporting solicitors to provide crucial legal aid services, which, in turn, allow people access to justice whenever they might need it. We aim to ensure that people get the help that they need and that the solicitors are there to provide it.

I am happy to take questions.

:Absolutely. As we move into the next parliamentary session and consider primary legislation for legal aid reform, it is really important that all the recommendations from the committee’s civil legal aid report are taken into account for the next Scottish Government to move forward.

: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 date for the introduction of the 13 per cent uplift has been negotiated with the profession. SLAB and the profession will have operational aspects to put in place, so it is not something that can be done overnight. We have had discussions with the profession and it is happy for the uplift to be introduced on 1 September.

As the member and Parliament know, I have been working closely with the legal profession over the past couple of years to see what can be put in place to improve access to justice. One of the main things that we can do is provide an uplift. Regulations to do that were laid in Parliament on 28 January. If the measure is approved, it will provide a 13 per cent increase in legal aid fees and fixed payments for solicitors.

As I said to Paul McLennan, once the Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Act 2025 has been commenced, it will remove restrictions that prevent charities, law centres and citizens advice bodies from directly employing solicitors.

I have set up an independent fee review mechanism group to explore the fundamental changes that are required to create a legal assistance system for the 21st century. In addition, the Scottish budget has made provision to double the number of places for legal aid traineeships from 20 to 40 in order to improve the sustainability and capacity of the legal profession. The work continues.

Our reforms to legal aid will strengthen access to justice, which is a central aim of our changes. Parliament has approved reforms to children’s and criminal legal aid to remove means and merit testing in the children’s hearings system and to reduce financial barriers for young people who are moving on from care. For criminal cases, the reforms will reduce complexity, support early resolution of cases and guarantee timely representation.

The Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Act 2025 will remove restrictions that prevent charities, law centres and citizens advice bodies from directly employing solicitors to provide certain legal services. In addition, the legal aid traineeship fund is part of our longer-term commitment to improving the sustainability and capacity of the legal aid profession.

The Scottish Government is focused on the delivery of our strategic approach to challenging demand for prostitution, including work with Police Scotland to support the implementation of its national approach on prostitution.

As the member knows, we have already set out the unequivocal position that prostitution is violence against women and girls and that the purchase of sex should be criminalised. [Interruption.] The member is aware of the reasons why we could not take forward her bill. Further, we will take forward the Criminal Justice Committee’s recommendation that an independent commission be established to consider the issues that were raised throughout stage 1 of that bill and inform future legislation in which the Parliament can have confidence.

There is an extensive list of work, which I will try to summarise in the time available. When it comes to legislation, there is the Prostitution (Public Places) (Scotland) Act 2007 and the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015.

As the member was responsible for that area for four years, she will be aware of the 2020 consultation on challenging men’s demand for prostitution, which led to a commitment to developing a model for Scotland that effectively tackles and challenges men’s demand. A short-life working group was set up in November 2021 to support the design of that development, policy principles were published in 2022 and the strategy was published in February 2024. Joint work with Police Scotland on operation begonia started in December 2024 and was adopted nationally in April 2025.

In addition, we are part of a five-jurisdiction group on commercial sexual exploitation that brings together the four United Kingdom nations and the Republic of Ireland. In the draft Scottish budget for 2026-27, further funding has been announced for support services.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring access to justice in remote areas. Funding is available to allow solicitors to travel to remote parts of the country, which ensures that individuals do not have to rely on local provision alone when they seek publicly funded legal assistance. Furthermore, the Scottish Legal Aid Board funds 16 projects, including in East Lothian, to support people who are facing court action. We fund public legal services through the Civil Legal Assistance Office and the Public Defence Solicitors Office.

All those services can operate across a wide geographical area. In addition, through our on-going reform programme, we are considering how different funding models can be used to strengthen access to legal aid where it is needed most.

Our reforms to legal aid will strengthen access to justice, which is a central aim of our changes. Parliament has approved reforms to children’s and criminal legal aid to remove means and merit testing in the children’s hearings system and to reduce financial barriers for young people who are moving on from care. For criminal cases, the reforms will reduce complexity, support early resolution of cases and guarantee timely representation.

The Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Act 2025 will remove restrictions that prevent charities, law centres and citizens advice bodies from directly employing solicitors to provide certain legal services. In addition, the legal aid traineeship fund is part of our longer-term commitment to improving the sustainability and capacity of the legal aid profession.