Research on Legal Aid Payment in Scotland

Description

The Scottish Government wishes to commission research legal aid remuneration to focus on four key research questions recommended in the report of the Legal Aid Payment Review Panel (https://www.gov.scot/publications/legal-aid-payment-review-panel-report-minister-community-safety/) regarding: -The actual and expected remuneration of legal aid providers under the existing system -The conditions needed to secure sufficient supply to enable the effective delivery of legal aid services at a scale and quality consistent with prevailing needs and in line with legal aid policy and stated strategic justice and social outcomes -The development of metrics to assess the ‘health’ of the legal aid sector -Measures that can be used to assess legal aid fees from year to year The research will be conducted over two Phases. Phase 1 will involve collection of specific evidence from solicitor firms about the costs and financial structure of their businesses – information that will be discussed and agreed with the RAG. It is expected that this will include detail on fee income, overhead costs; staff numbers, grades/status and remuneration; the allocation of their time to legal aid or private business; the turnover of the firm and the profit taken by (or available to) partners. This information would then be linked to data supplied by SLAB that covers legal aid volumes, aid types, subject areas, fees, firm location and such like. Phase 2 will be the analysis and reporting of the data. The successful bidder is not expected to action the findings of the report. This is a time limited research project, the contract expected to begin in January 2024 to last no more than 8 months from the commencement of the research to delivery of the findings. This requirement will be published as an open tender via Public Contracts Scotland Tendering Website. https://www.publictendersscotland.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/esop/guest/login.do