The Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) 2023-24 annual report has been released, showing that funding for legal aid continues to trail inflation, meaning solicitors are being paid less in real terms.

The report shows the number of cases paid for by SLAB fell to 134,900 in the year, a one per cent decrease on the previous year. The number has fallen 29 per cent from the 191,256 cases paid in 2016-17.

The total cost of legal assistance increased by 12 per cent from last year to £151.2 million. However, that is an increase of just 11 per cent on the £135.7 million paid in 2016-17. In real terms, £25 million less is being spent now than in 2016-17.

Just 596 solicitor firms submitted at least one legal aid application in 2023-24, down from 621 firms the previous year.

Ian Moir, co-convener of Law Society’s Legal Aid Committee, said: “The figures in this annual report show the long-term deterioration in Scotland’s legal aid system is continuing. Read in context, the only conclusion that can be drawn is that this crisis is getting worse, not better.

“Scotland’s courts are busier than they’ve ever been. On that basis, the long-term fall in the number of cases being funded through legal aid points to a shortage of solicitors to do this work, not a fall in the number of people who need help.

“Significant investment is urgently required, and every day of delay makes it harder to reverse this decline. The Law Society of Scotland remains ready to work with the Scottish government to identify and make the changes required.

“We need short-term and long-term action, to meet demand now and in the future. More needs to be done to attract young solicitors to work in this vital sector, and far more needs to be done to ensure that legal aid is a viable long-term career.”

Colin Lancaster, chief executive of the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB), said the growth in legal aid spend showed no sign of slowing, with payments for the first half of the current year up by nine per cent compared to the same period last year.

“We are reporting total expenditure of £151 million for 2023-24. As we move into 2024-25, based on current and anticipated volumes and case costs, we are estimating that expenditure for 2024-25 could be around £171 million which would be the highest ever recorded,” he said.

“This represents a significant investment in legal aid and a substantial financial boost for the committed firms up and down the country who deliver this vital service.”