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Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 16 June 2025
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Displaying 1293 contributions

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Social Justice and Social Security Committee [Draft]

Financial Considerations When Leaving an Abusive Relationship

Meeting date: 8 May 2025

Jeremy Balfour

I will come to the courts in a moment. In a previous century, when I was doing legal aid work, which was mostly civil, my understanding was that getting automatic legal aid was a fairly short procedure—it was a one-off for a year and it was for advice and assistance or whatever. Would the Law Society suggest that legal aid should be for the whole case, including if it went to an appeal, or are you suggesting that it should be for the initial meeting with the client and the initial paperwork? How long is the piece of string that you are suggesting with regard to domestic abuse cases?

Social Justice and Social Security Committee [Draft]

Financial Considerations When Leaving an Abusive Relationship

Meeting date: 8 May 2025

Jeremy Balfour

That is really helpful. Remind me—did you say that it is a year-long project?

Social Justice and Social Security Committee [Draft]

Financial Considerations When Leaving an Abusive Relationship

Meeting date: 8 May 2025

Jeremy Balfour

Have you looked at what type of firms are no longer doing a little bit of civil legal aid work? Is it sole practitioners or middle-sized firms, for example? Has the Law Society or the Scottish Legal Aid Board done any work on the types of firms that are doing civil legal aid work, compared to those who were doing it 20 or 30 years ago?

Social Justice and Social Security Committee [Draft]

Financial Considerations When Leaving an Abusive Relationship

Meeting date: 8 May 2025

Jeremy Balfour

Okay. Perhaps my colleagues are too nice to ask this question, but I will ask it of the Law Society: is that simply because legal aid work does not pay enough money? Are solicitors choosing not to do that work—particularly family and civil legal aid work—because they are not getting what they think is enough of a return from it?

Social Justice and Social Security Committee [Draft]

Financial Considerations When Leaving an Abusive Relationship

Meeting date: 8 May 2025

Jeremy Balfour

Apologies, but I would like to seek clarification from Colin Lancaster. You said that there has been no reduction in the total number of solicitors doing legal aid, which would include criminal and civil law cases. Has the number of solicitors who are practising civil and, particularly, family law fallen?

Social Justice and Social Security Committee [Draft]

Financial Considerations When Leaving an Abusive Relationship

Meeting date: 8 May 2025

Jeremy Balfour

The Law Society’s submission suggests extending civil legal aid automatically to those with domestic abuse cases. I wonder whether I can explore that a wee bit. First, how would that work in practice? Who would make the decision about whether it was a domestic abuse case or some other case? Secondly—this is probably a more difficult question for Colin Lancaster—do you have any concept of how much that would cost the Scottish Legal Aid Board or the Scottish Government and, ultimately, the taxpayer?

Social Justice and Social Security Committee [Draft]

Financial Considerations When Leaving an Abusive Relationship

Meeting date: 8 May 2025

Jeremy Balfour

Okay, that would be helpful. I go back to my million-dollar question, but it might be slightly more than that. How much do you think that could cost?

10:00  

Social Justice and Social Security Committee [Draft]

Financial Considerations When Leaving an Abusive Relationship

Meeting date: 8 May 2025

Jeremy Balfour

My final question to all of you is about the Scottish Government’s promised reform of the legal aid system. Particularly with regard to domestic abuse cases, what changes would you like to see in any reform?

Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee

Leases (Automatic Continuation etc) (Scotland) Bill

Meeting date: 6 May 2025

Jeremy Balfour

Good morning, and thank you for coming. My apologies for being late—I was in another committee trying to make law, unsuccessfully.

What is your position on the criticism that section 28 allows tenants to withhold payment if the landlord fails to notify them of their UK address? That is about those who have different addresses.

Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee

Leases (Automatic Continuation etc) (Scotland) Bill

Meeting date: 6 May 2025

Jeremy Balfour

I will leave it there, convener.