Legal aid reform
Overview
Why Reform?
The Scottish Government is consulting on a new Legal Aid (Scotland) Bill to modernise the legal aid system and create a simpler, more sustainable and user-focused framework for publicly funded legal assistance. While Scotland's legal aid system remains broad in scope and demand-led, concerns have been raised about accessibility, complexity, sustainability and the system's ability to respond to changing need.
Vision for Reform
The proposals aim to create a legal aid system that is:
- Simpler for users and providers to access and navigate.
- More sustainable and affordable over the long term.
- Better planned, with services shaped by evidence of legal need.
- More responsive, supporting earlier intervention and resolution.
- Focused on outcomes, transparency and accountability.
Key Reform Proposals
Clear Purpose and Strategic Direction
The Bill would establish a clear purpose for legal aid, supported by principles and periodically updated objectives set by Scottish Ministers. This would provide stronger strategic direction and clearer accountability for delivering outcomes.
Simplifying the System
Proposals include:
- Streamlining existing legal aid categories.
- Simplifying eligibility, contributions and repayment arrangements.
- Improving data sharing to support passporting and reduce administrative burdens.
- Creating a voluntary accredited "high-trust" model, giving approved solicitors greater autonomy and reducing unnecessary approvals and delays.
Diversifying Service Delivery
While retaining judicare as the core delivery model, the Bill would provide greater flexibility to:
- Commission services through grants or contracts.
- Use directly employed solicitors where appropriate.
- Target resources to areas of unmet need.
- Support innovative and preventative approaches to legal service delivery.
Strengthening Planning and Accountability
Scottish Ministers would set priorities and budgets, the Scottish Legal Aid Board would produce strategic delivery plans to meet those priorities, and Parliament would have a greater role in scrutiny and oversight. The aim is a more planned and accountable system linked to clearly defined outcomes.
What Will Stay the Same?
The consultation is based on the principle that:
- Legal aid should continue to be broadly available across Scots law.
- Core judicare legal aid should remain demand-led.
- Support should remain targeted towards those least able to pay.
- Those who can reasonably contribute to costs should continue to do so.
Overall Aim
The reforms seek to move legal aid from a predominantly reactive, process-driven model towards a modern public service that is easier to access, simpler to administer, more accountable, and better able to meet Scotland's future legal needs while remaining financially sustainable.
A programme of stakeholder engagement will run alongside this consultation, including workshops to gather views from users, practitioners and organisations. Those interested in participating are invited to contact: LegalAidReform@gov.scot
Read the consultation paper. The consultation paper contains full background information for this consultation. You may find it useful to read or refer to while responding.
Consultation questions preview
The consultation questions are included here for your reference. Please click 'Begin consultation' at the bottom of this page to proceed.
Q1. As set out above, to what extent do you agree with the Scottish Government’s proposed approach?
Q2. Do you think it would be beneficial for Scottish Ministers to continue to set a clear purpose for the legal aid system, supported by periodically updated objectives for the Scottish Legal Aid Board?
Q3. What principles, if any, should inform the purpose and objectives?
Q4. Do you think these principles should be subject to Parliamentary scrutiny?
Q5. Which of the following benefits, if any, do you think simplification would provide? (Select all that apply)
Q6. To what extent do you agree with the proposal to consolidate or streamline, where possible, the current range of separate aid types?
Q7. To what extent do you agree or disagree that contributions and repayment arrangements should be simplified?
Q8. To what extent do you agree or disagree that contributions and repayment arrangements should be made more consistent across all types of legal aid?
Q9. What changes, if any, should be made to contributions and repayment arrangements? (Select all that apply)
Q10. Do you agree that eligibility for legal aid should be clearly separated from the assessment of what a person is required to contribute?
Q11. To what extent do you agree or disagree that the Scottish Legal Aid Board should have a bi‑annual statutory duty to review and advise on contribution thresholds and arrangements?
Q12. Are you in favour of a higher trust model for accredited providers?
Q13. Are you in favour of data sharing between organisations (such as the Scottish Legal Aid Board and Social Security Scotland) to ease the passporting of benefits?
Q14. Which funding models do you think should be used more in future? (Select all that apply)
Q15. Are you in favour of services being commissioned directly in line with the approach set out, for example through grants/contracts or direct employment?
Q16. Do you consider that the scope of legal aid in Scotland should continue to be focused primarily on individuals, or are there circumstances in which non-natural persons should be eligible for support?
Q17. To what extent do you agree with the split of duties between the Scottish Parliament, Scottish Ministers and the Scottish Legal Aid Board?
Q18. Which of the following planning and reporting requirements do you think should apply to the Scottish Legal Aid Board under any new scheme? (Select all that apply)
Q19. Do you think there should be powers to act if the Scottish Legal Aid Board is not able to deliver the objectives of the legal aid system?
Q20. Who should have powers to act if the objectives of the legal aid system are not being delivered? (Select all that apply)
Q21. What types of powers should be available? (Select all that apply)
Q22. Overall, how would you characterise the likely impact of the proposed reforms?
Useful information about responding to this consultation
As you complete your response, each page will provide the option to 'Save and come back later' at the bottom. This means you can save your progress and return to the consultation at any time before it closes. If you don't use this feature and leave the consultation midway through, your response will be lost.
Once you have submitted your response, you can enter your email address to get a pdf copy of your answers sent to you.
On the 'About You' page at the end of this consultation, organisations will have the opportunity to tell us more about their work and/or how their response was informed.
After the consultation has closed there will be a few months delay before any responses are published. This is because we must check any responses to be published abide by our Terms of Use.
All relevant submitted responses will be analysed. This may be carried out by third party organisations who Scottish Government, its executive agencies or non-ministerial offices, contract to do this work. Such data sharing will be governed by appropriate contractual arrangements to keep your data secure.
An analysis report will usually be published some months after the consultation has closed. This report will summarise the findings based on all responses submitted. It will be published on the Scottish Government website and you may be notified about it if you choose to share your email address with us.
You can also join our consultation mailing list where we regularly list newly published analysis reports (as well as new consultations).
Why your views matter
Your views will help shape the future of legal aid in Scotland. We welcome responses from anyone with an interest in the legal aid system, including service users, legal professionals, advice organisations and representative bodies.
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