HC Deb 05 December 1986 vol 106 cc832-3W
Mr. Craigen

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish in the Official Report a copy of his reply to the letter from the secretary of the Scottish Council for Civil Liberties, copies of which have been sent to hon. Members, regarding the refusal of legal aid applications in Glasgow district courts.

Mr. Lang

Following is the reply:

Dear Mr. Godwin, Mr. Lang has asked me to thank you for your letter of 26 November to the Secretary of State expressing your concern about the refusal of legal aid applications by Glasgow District Court, and to reply on his behalf. Under the present arrangements it is entirely a matter for the court to decide whether or not legal aid should be awarded in any particular case. In reaching its decision, however, the court must have regard to statutory criteria which includes the interests of justice and the avoidance of undue financial hardship. The Secretary of State cannot intervene in individual cases or advise particular magistrates. If there has been a change in the way in which Glasgow District Court applies the interests of justice criterion when dealing with applications for legal aid it is not as a result of guidelines recently issued by the Scottish Home and Health Department. No guidelines on this matter have been issued by the Scottish Home and Health Department to district courts since March 1982 and it is not intended to revise them at this stage. As you appreciate, the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986 provides for the transfer of responsibility for the determination of applications for legal aid in summary criminal cases from the courts to the newly established Scottish Legal Aid Board. It is hoped that this transfer will take place on 1 April 1987. One of the main reasons for the change is to secure greater consistency in the award of legal aid and the factors set out in section 24(3) of the Act are designed to help the Board to achieve this in their consideration of the interests of justice criterion. This provision will be brought into operation when the Board assumes responsibility. Meantime it must remain a matter for the individual courts to decide how to apply the existing statutory criteria.

Yours sincerely,

PETER A. D. RITCHIE,

Private Secretary