Legal aid (Hansard, 11 April 1984)

§ 31. Mrs. McCurley
asked the Solicitor-General for Scotland if he will list his responsibilities regarding legal aid in Scotland.

§ The Solicitor-General for Scotland
I have no direct responsibilities for legal aid in Scotland.

§ Mrs. McCurley
Will my hon. and learned Friend exercise his influence in connection with the discrepancies over the way in which legal aid is disbursed in the different parts of Scotland?

§ The Solicitor-General for Scotland
That is not directly a matter for me, although there may be occasions in court when procurators fiscal are involved in the working of legal aid. This is a matter for the Secretary of State for Scotland. The test to be applied in the district and sheriff courts is whether the granting of legal aid is in the interests of justice. My right hon. Friend's Department has already given some advice to the Scottish courts. There are discrepencies in the practical application, but there is in statute a clear test in accordance with which legal aid should be granted.

§ Mr. Maclennan
Will the Solicitor-General for Scotland consider discussing with his right hon. Friend the possibility of making legal aid available in Scotland to petitioners to the European Commission of Human Rights, in view of the fact that there have been a number of Scottish cases?

§ The Solicitor-General for Scotland
I am certainly prepared to discuss that matter with my right hon. Friend. There have been a number of cases, but the hon. Gentleman will appreciate that legal aid is widely available for a large number of matters, and that recently the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Argyll and Bute (Mr. MacKay), made provision for legal aid to be made available in tribunals dealing with mental health. That was an important move.

§ Mr. Dewar
Is the Solicitor-General for Scotland aware that there have been a number of statements about the need to economise on legal aid, from Government and ministerial sources? Can the hon. and learned Gentleman assure us that there will be no cut in the range of cases for which legal aid is available and that proper care will be taken to safeguard the right to representation of people who are at hazard in the criminal courts of Scotland?

§ The Solicitor-General for Scotland
I am somewhat astonished that the hon. Gentleman should make that observation. If he had taken a superficial look at the public expenditure White Paper for Scotland, he would have seen that there has been considerable extra expenditure on legal aid since the Government came to power in 1979 through to 1985–86. It is entirely right that the courts and the Government should try to ensure that people get value for money when using public funds for representation in court. That is the policy we have pursued and will continue to pursue.