Legal aid reform should put children and family relationships first

Shared Parenting Scotland has responded to the Scottish government’s consultation on legal aid reform calling for a more considered approach to cases involving children and separated parents.

In many areas of civil law, the purpose of court proceedings is to resolve a dispute, with each party presenting their evidence and a judge reaching a decision. Family cases are different. Most of the time, parents will have to continue working together in their children’s interests long after the sheriff has gone home and the solicitors have closed their case files.

An adversarial process focused on winning and losing risks increasing hostility and damaging children’s relationships with one or both parents.

Drawing on almost 20 years of casework, our response questions whether the proposed reforms will address the particular problems faced by families. These include the shortage of solicitors willing to take on legal aid cases, steep costs for those who fall just outside eligibility thresholds, and the risk that one parent has publicly funded representation while the other does not.

Shared Patenting Scotland supports greater investment in alternatives to court, with legal aid available to help parents resolve disputes constructively where possible. Court proceedings should remain an option for the most serious issues and where other approaches fail.

Our core message is that legal aid policy in family cases should be judged by its impact on children and their relationships with both parents, with their best interests paramount.

Scotland’s ambition to be the best place to grow up should guide the development of a system that helps families move forward – rather than deepening conflict.

Read our full response to the Scottish Government’s legal aid reform consultation here.