It proposed a three-stage approach to reform:
research on and reform of legal aid fees, to be delivered in 2025 – the Law Society and other stakeholders have been invited to work with the Scottish Government on this;
changes to regulations to simplify the current system, to be delivered in 2025 to 2026 - for civil legal assistance, proposals include assessing financial eligibility using standardised personal allowances and introducing block fees for adults with incapacity work (such as guardianship orders); and
longer-term reform, including testing different funding models and embedding user experience in decision-making, with a view to introducing new...