There are currently 911 solicitors registered for legal aid – down from 1,084 in 2020, a drop of 16 per cent.

However, only 791 of them claimed for at least one criminal legal aid certificate last year. And only 608 applied for a summary legal aid certificate, required to conduct a trial. A mere 124 applied for fewer than seven certificates.

The Scottish Solicitors Bar Association said this means just 484 lawyers will actually be doing criminal work at a “meaningful level”. 

The demographics of practitioners point to an impending loss of experience. The number of solicitors registered for legal aid aged over 40 outnumber those under that age by two to one, as compared with the ratio across the entire profession, which is closer to one to one.

Matthew McGovern, a partner with McGovern Reid, told The Herald: “The government is reluctant to accept that there’s a problem, never mind come forward with solutions or work with the profession to solve the problem.

“I think the breaking point is going to be the next parliament, because the demographics are of particular concern. It’s largely older men doing it, who have done the job for 30-plus years and do it with tremendous skill.

“But there are not the same numbers coming through to support the profession and once the older lawyers retire, there is going to be a very significant issue with most vulnerable people in our society being able to access justice.”

“I think it’s now unsolvable,” he added. “I think it’s now so bad that there will not be a solution, or even a measure or a series of measures that will be brought forward by the government to solve the problem.”

Dean of Faculty Roddy Dunlop KC said the Scottish government could not be “unaware of the concerns” from lawyers, “given how often they have been expressed”.

“But they are not acting on those concerns, and doubtless, because they don’t feel they have the money to do so, and that they think other matters need to be prioritised.

“And I readily understand the financial pressures that they’re under at the moment, but the simple fact of the matter is that criminal legal aid at a solicitor level has been in crisis for years now and you’ve got what’s looking like an imminent wasteland in terms of criminal solicitors.”

A Scottish government spokesperson said: “The Future of the Legal Profession Working Group has met three times and a report of those meetings will be finalised shortly.

“The group is undertaking an evidence-based review of the key challenges facing the criminal law workforce. It proposes solutions to increase diversity, capacity and equality of opportunity. Once group members have considered the contents of that report, the Scottish government will arrange to meet the group again.”