A Scottish minister has announced the government is committed to delivering legal aid reform within the next 18 months, following the investigative series on legal aid from The Herald's Politics team. 

Siobhian Brown, the minister who oversees legal aid for the government, also mentioned a Scottish Government paper on legal aid reform will be published "imminently". 

The commitments from the minister comes after The Herald's politics team ran a series on the legal aid crisis in Scotland. 

Our investigation 'Beyond Breaking Point: Scotland's Legal Aid Crisis'  found more than a third of legal aid lawyers in Scotland are due to retire in the next decade, leading to fears that the current crisis in criminal law could be “unsolvable.”

Law Society of Scotland analysis of Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) data, shows there are currently 911 solicitors registered for legal aid, down from 1,084 in 2020, a 16% drop. 

The Scottish Women's Rights Centre also told us that their service users are already struggling to find representation and regularly have to contact anywhere between 30 and 50 solicitors.

Meanwhile, Scottish Women's Aid said it was becoming commonplace for some women to represent themselves in court. 

Addressing questions on legal aid in the Scottish Parliament today, Siobhian Brown minister for Victims and Community Safety said: "I do acknowledge and I've been upfront about the parliamentary timetable that it is unlikely that primary legislation on legal aid reform will happen this parliamentary term but I am committed to making legal aid reform within the next 18 months."

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The minister added: "Legal aid needs to be better able to identify and anticipate the needs of service users to allocate resources where they're most needed and to ensure it is accessible, consistent, transparent and ensure it has a clear focus on delivering policy objectives." 

Reacting to the commitment from the minister on legal aid, criminal defence solicitor Ian Moir welcomed the news, however, said lawyers' optimism will be "tempered" after "years of inaction" from the government in tackling the legal aid crisis. 

Mr Moir told The Herald: "We are encouraged to hear the Minister indicate that legal aid reform will be a priority before the next Holyrood election in 2026, though our optimism is somewhat tempered after years of inaction as the legal aid crisis has worsened year by year.

"Law Society of Scotland stands ready to play an active and constructive role in progressing legal aid reform that is fit for purpose, ensuring that ordinary people can access the legal expertise they need and that solicitors are fairly paid and respected for their work.

"Fees payable to solicitors providing legal aid must be set at a level that ensures that practitioners remain in the system, with a regular review mechanism so that legal aid is sustainable in the longer term. Investment in access to justice is an investment in a fair and just society.

"Time is running out to implement a long-term solution before Scotland's legal aid system is damaged beyond repair. If meaningful reforms do not emerge then legal aid solicitors will continue to vote with their feet by leaving the sector."

Labour MSP Carol Mochan raised concerns from Legal Aid organisations in the chamber, telling MSPs that they have said the government has "failed" to see legal aid needs "immediate reform" and that domestic abuse survivors are being impacted. 

The Herald series found four out of five lawyers working on civil legal aid in Glasgow will no longer take on protective order cases unless the rates of pay increase, leading to concerns for domestic abuse victims. 

A survey carried out by the Glasgow Bar Association found that 80% of the city's lawyers are willing to walk away, leading to warnings of "impending disaster".

Solicitors are typically paid around £500 per case, but with the application for the orders — often used to protect victims of domestic abuse, and stalking — being incredibly complex and lengthy, many practitioners "are considering whether they should continue doing this work on legal aid certificates".

The figures were shared with domestic abuse charities by Tracey Mulholland, president of the Glasgow Bar Association (GBA), who warned of a “significant impact on domestic abuse victim’s ability to access justice”.

The Scottish Government said it recognises the legal aid system needs improvement and reform.

A spokesperson added: “We have provided annual funding of £230,000 for a number of years to the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre to support access to legal services and will continue to work with key stakeholders. The legal aid system is demand led and offers help for a wide scope of civil actions, as well as criminal defence.

“Despite extremely challenging financial circumstances, the Scottish Government continues to meet all legal aid costs in full. The cost of providing legal assistance in 2023-24 increased by 12% on the previous year to £151 million.

“An £11 million package that increased fees for legal aid lawyers was implemented in April 2023, bringing the total additional funding to legal aid providers to £31 million since April 2021, and the number of active legal aid solicitors remains broadly similar in the years 2020-21 to 2023-24.”