Legal aid changes will cost lawyers over £3m a year warns think tank

LAWYERS stand to lose £3.1 million a year if proposed changes to legal aid are driven through, a think tank has warned.

Front Line Policy, in Edinburgh, says Ministry of Justice research of English cases suggest just 20 per cent of contributions are recovered.

The Scottish Government proposals have infuriated lawyers, who want the Scottish Legal Aid Board (Slab) to be responsible for collecting any fees, and have threatened to take industrial action in protest.

Mark Harrower, vice president of the Edinburgh Bar Association, said: “The fact of the matter is that whoever collection of contributions falls to will encounter significant difficulties in recovering more than a fraction of the total amount due. This will represent a significant loss in income.”

Mev Brown, editor and founder of Front Line Policy, added: “If the proposed reforms are pushed through and Scottish solicitors only recovered 20 per cent then they will lose £3.1 million a year.”