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Now that the Scottish election has been settled it is imperative that the Justice Secretary sorts out the resilience fund and the wider issues affecting the profession as a matter of urgency. At the time of resilience fund refusal I did a FOI request.
Now that the Scottish election has been settled it is imperative that the Justice Secretary sorts out the resilience fund and the wider issues affecting the profession as a matter of urgency. At the time of resilience fund refusal I did a FOI request.
The FOI request was to try and illustrate what I was seeing in the profession but which the Scottish government calculation would suggest was not the case.
The annual report for 2020/21 will not be published until December but i felt it must be known what the comparison figures for the preceding year would be as I knew my own figures. The figures are unaudited but clearly show the solicitor branch of the profession are affected.
To the tune of £21.5 million. These figures also include VAT so are not a true reflection of fees. The savings for the Scottish government are probably higher once you factor in Counsel fees and Sol Ad fees.
I also asked for stats about applications and received the following.
Solemn applications are up but everything else is significantly down. The solemn applications probably reflect the Crown policy in relation to spitting cases. These are either smaller than average fees or applications where we will not generate a fee until 2022.
Bail jury cases are currently being fixed for 2022 in Aberdeen. The extent of the crisis facing the profession is clear in these figures. In retrospect a £9.5 million fund was a slap in the face. The application of those funds and with only £2.3 million being paid is a disgrace.
Every other element of the system did not lose out during the pandemic. SLAB still got their budget, court staff still goy full pay, PF’s still got full pay and support to work from home. The defence though got no help, no funds to become COVID compliant and a drop off in income
During this we were expected to attend hub courts miles from our homes, attend police stations where no protection was afforded and work every holiday including national bank holidays with no benefit provided whatsoever. We are now expected to help ease the backlog
With no recognition for how we have suffered and an attempt to try and suggest our business was actually up during the pandemic. #weturnedup
@HumzaYousaf this needs your urgent attention.
@HumzaYousaf this needs your urgent attention.
