The Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) is now sending a letter to all applicants for legal aid in a contact/residence action.
While the letter is effectively reminding applicants (and their solicitor if they have one) of the existing regulations and their obligations to behave reasonably if they are to receive public funding for their case FNF Scotland is aware that SLAB is now looking at applications more closely than before.
SLAB is reminding applicants of their obligations including:
- complying with all court orders made;
- not seeking to have the case conducted unreasonably or extended unnecessarily;
- ensuring that the welfare of the child or children is kept at the forefront of the minds of the parties; and
- to keep SLAB informed of any changes in financial circumstances;
SLAB says the letter sets out, “in unambiguous terms, our expectations when getting public funding. We believe this will assist us in our handling of assisted persons where problems arise.
“It will also set out a clear basis for the termination of any grant of civil legal aid should someone fail to comply with any of these requirements.”
The letter also tells applicants that their solicitor or counsel has a duty to let SLAB know about any unreasonable behaviour on the applocant’s part.
Regulation 24 of the Civil Legal Aid (Scotland) Regulations 2002 requires that an assisted person’s solicitor, or counsel, draws to SLAB’s immediate attention any matter where it is believed that the assisted person is requiring his or her case to be conducted unreasonably so as to incur an unjustifiable expense to the Fund or is requiring unreasonably that the case be continued.
In many of the high cost cases where SLAB have undertaken monitoring work there have been issues of concern arising which they think should have formed the subject of an unprompted stage report.
SLAB has also seen Judgements where Sheriffs have commented on the poor behaviour of an assisted person.
FNF Scotland has raised in meetings with SLAB and in other forums the experiences of our members where interminable correspondence between solicitors about trivial matters that will never be raised in court has become an issue in itself.
We have expressed our concerns that this kind of attrition by correspondence polarises issues between separated parents; is often unduly and unjustifiably personal in nature about the parties; delays proceedings in the pretence of “negotiation”; and does not put the interests of the children first.
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