§ Lord James Douglas-Hamiltonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the implementation of the Divorce, Jurisdiction, Court Fees and Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1983.
§ Mr. YoungerI have decided that sufficient progress has been made with the preparatory work to enable section 1 of the Divorce Jurisdiction, Court Fees and Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1983 to be brought into effect on 1 May 1984. Accordingly, that will be the date for the introduction of divorce into the sheriff court.
Section 3 of the Act gives the Secretary of State power to regulate fees for legal aid work, including legal advice 205W and assistance. This section, in so far as it relates to legal aid, will be brought into force on 1 May. However, following consultations with the Law Society of Scotland, the fees relating to legal advice and assistance will be uprated from 1 April and section 3, in so far as it relates to legal advice and assistance, will come into force from that date.
Section 4 of the Act, under which powers to regulate court fees are transferred to the Secretary of State from the High Court of Justiciary and the Court of Session, will be brought into force on 1 April. I have decided that the court fees payable in respect of all divorce actions, whether simplified or ordinary, or whether raised in the Court of Session or the sheriff courts, will be £40 and that the present exemptions from the payment of court fees on simplified divorce cases for applicants in receipt of either legal advice and assistance or certain forms of benefit payments should be extended to the sheriff court.