§ 11. Mr. Smallasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will take steps to deal with the increase in the costs of legal aid.
§ Mr. BuchanAs regards criminal legal aid, I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my right hon. Friend on 384 29th November, 1968, to a Question by the hon. Member for Edinburgh, South (Mr. Clark Hutchison). The main purpose of the changes in procedure effected by the Act of Adjournal which came into operation on 2nd January is to contain the rising cost of the criminal legal aid scheme.
The growth of expenditure on civil legal aid is very largely due to a continuing increase in the number of certificates granted in respect of divorce actions in the Court of Session. This is a matter to which the Law Society of Scotland have called attention in recent reports on the legal aid scheme, and I am watching the situation closely.—[Vol. 774, c. 212–3.]
§ Mr. SmallWill my hon. Friend say what is the degree of resistance among practising lawyers? Will he give the latest figure in terms of those lawyers who have refused to practise as an automatic reaction to the Act of Adjournal?
§ Mr. BuchanI presume that my hon. Friend is referring to the recent action by the members of the Glasgow Bar Association. I have great pleasure in telling the House that they have returned to the operation of the scale.
§ Mrs. EwingHas the Minister considered the reduction that would follow in the cost of civil legal aid if the Court of Session were abolished as a court of first instance, or, alternatively, if undefended divorce actions were remitted to the sheriff; and has it occurred to him that the number of lawyers per case would be reduced from three or four to one, with an obvious increased saving to the taxpayer who foots the bill?
§ Mr. BuchanI know the point which the hon. Lady is making, and this formed part of the work of the Committee which looked at sheriff courts. The Committee felt that the net saving along those lines would not be considerable, and it may very well have been right.