Calls for Scottish government to fund legal aid budget following cash boost for prosecutors

Ian Moir

Ian Moir, of the Law Society of Scotland’s Legal Aid Committee, said that since the government has been able to give prosecutors a funding boost it should now do the same for the legal aid budget to maintain a balance.

“For many years we’ve argued that the Crown and defence need more funding in order to prosecute and defend crime - both sides are desperately in need of funding after years of chronic underfunding,” Mr Moir said.

“I welcome funding for the Crown but it certainly increases the need for urgent funding to be put into the legal aid system.”

The Times reported yesterday that the Law Society of Scotland is drawing up plans to allow first-year trainee criminal lawyers to appear in court because there are too few entrants to the criminal legal aid sector.

These regulations will require to be approved by the Lord President, Lord Carloway.

Commenting on the Law Society’s plans, Thomas Ross QC said: “Let there be no doubt about it — this is an extremely serious situation. The trainees of today are the High Court practitioners of tomorrow and these figures suggest that there are unlikely to be enough of them to cope with the regular level of Supreme Court business.”