Scotland’s legal aid system is to receive a 13% fee rise from September 2026, alongside 40 new traineeships and additional digital support for solicitors.
Access to justice in Scotland is set to receive a major boost, with solicitors providing legal aid due a 13% fee increase from September 2026.
The increase, which was laid before the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday (28th January), forms part of a wider package aimed at improving access to justice.
The package includes:
- £1.5m funding over two years for 40 new legal aid traineeships
- Digital support to help firms buy devices for trainees and for use in court
- Creating an Independent Fee Review Mechanism Group to develop a more sustainable legal aid system
According to the latest figures, cumulative fee increases of 25% since 2019 have outpaced inflations, bringing £31m in additional funding into the system.
‘We have fought long and hard for this support for legal aid,’ Patricia Thom, Law Society of Scotland President, said. ‘This is a significant fee increase and a lifeline for access to justice in Scotland that will help stabilise the legal aid system while work on long-term reform continues.’
‘It has been widely acknowledged that inadequate fees are driving solicitors to stop taking on legal aid work,’ Thom continued.
‘While it would be better if fees went up tomorrow, this announcement gives solicitors a reason to remain in the legal aid system.’
Siobhian Brown, minister for victims and community safety, added: ‘Access to justice is a fundamental right and we want to ensure people get the help they need and that there are solicitors available to provide it.
‘These reforms mark the biggest change to Scotland’s legal aid system in a generation. This 13% uplift, combined with our doubling of traineeship places and exapanded digital support, demonstrates our commitment to a legal aid system that works for everyone.’
The announcement comes alongside other recent changes in Scotland’s legal sector. Some of these include the removal of income and merits tests for children in the hearing system and automatic legal aid for guilty pleas from custody.
With the 13% increase, the criminal core fixed payment – a fee paid by the Scottish Legal Aid Board to solicitors – will rise from £572 to £646.36, subject to parliamentary approval.
A report from the Law Society of Scotland shows the number of solicitors registered to carry out legal aid work fell from 1,084 to 911 by May 2025. In February last year, it was also reported that a complex divorce case was turned down by 116 legal aid solicitors because funding was too low.
Image: Sasun Bughdaryan/UnSplash
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