Legal aid and payment queries: FOI release

Information requested

In relation to legal aid and payments over the years -

Could you please provide per year, the amount of money paid to the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service and the amount paid to the legal aid fund.

I'd like this split into the previous First Ministers and if you could state who the Justice Minister and Finance Minister was for each year as well that would be helpful.

So for 2007 - 2014 which was Alex Salmond, please give a break down of the money spent on the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service and for the Legal aid fund.

I would also like to know for each year, how much funds were provided to the Scottish Government each year for Justice and a break down, other than the two i've listed on what the money was allocated to/spent on.

If there has been any top ups or changes to any of the money allocated or any additional payments, please give detail or any other information you may feel is relevant to explain anything i've asked for.

Response

Question 1 – I’d like this split into the previous first ministers and if you could state who the Justice Minister and Finance Minister was for each year as well that would be helpful.

Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we are not required to provide information in response to a request if it is already reasonably accessible to you. The information you requested is available on the Scottish Government website and through various search engines on the internet.

For your ease I have listed below the names of the First Minister, Justice and Finance ministers from 2007 to present day below:

First Minister	Alex Salmond	16/05/07 – 18/11/14
	Nicola Sturgeon	18/11/14 – 28/03/23
	Humza Yousaf	28/03/23 – 07/05/24
	John Swinney	07/05/24 -

Justice Minister

Minister for Justice	Cathy Jamieson	21/05/03 – 17/05/07
Cabinet Secretary for Justice	Kenny MacAskill	17/05/07 – 21/11/14
	Michael Mathieson	21/11/14 – 26/06/18
	Humza Yousaf	26/06/18 – 20/05/21
	Keith Brown	20/05/21 – 29/03/23
Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs	Angela Constance	29/03/23 -

Finance Minister

Minister for Finance and Public Service Reform	Tom McCabe	04/10/04 - 17/05/07
Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth	John Swinney	17/05/07 – 19/05/11
Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth	John Swinney	19/05/11 – 21/11/14
Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Economy	John Swinney	21/11/14 – 18/05/16
Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Constitution	Derek Mackay	18/05/16 – 26/06/18
Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work	Derek Mackay	26/06/18 – 05/02/20
Cabinet Secretary for Finance	Kate Forbes	17/02/20 – 20/05/21
Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy	Kate Forbes	20/05/21 – 28/03/23
Cabinet Secretary for Finance	Shona Robison	29/03/23 – 08/05/24
Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government	Shona Robison	08/05/24 -

Question 2 – Could you please provide per year, the amount of money paid to the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service and the amount paid to the legal aid fund.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not hold all of the information you have requested.

Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we are not required to provide information in response to a request if it is already reasonably accessible to you. Some of the information you requested is available from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Services and the Scottish Legal Aid Board’s websites.

You may wish to note that the retention periods for public records are subject to the requirements of specific legislation but as a general rule retention periods for financial records should comply with those indicated in the Retention and Disposal Schedule for Accounting Records available on the website of the UK National Archives. These currently indicate that financial records should normally be retained for either 6 years or 2 years, depending on the type of record, following the end of the financial year in question.

For your ease I have provided you with the links to the available annual accounts and information for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and the Scottish Legal Aid Board below:

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service – website https://www.copfs.gov.uk/publications/

COPFS	2017-18
	2018-19
	2019-20
	2020-21
	2021-22
	2022-23
	2023-24

Scottish Legal Aid Board – website https://www.slab.org.uk/corporate-information/publications/corporateinformation/
For older reports please email communications@slab.org.uk

SLAB	2021-22
	2022-23
	2023-24

Question 3 - I would also like to know for each year, how much funds were provided to the Scottish Government each year for Justice and a break down, other than the two i've listed on what the money was allocated to/spent on.

If there has been any top ups or changes to any of the money allocated or any additional payments, please give detail or any other information you may feel is relevant to explain anything i've asked for.

Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we are not required to provide information in response to a request if it is already reasonably accessible to you.

You may wish to note that the retention periods for public records are subject to the requirements of specific legislation but as a general rule retention periods for financial records should comply with those indicated in the Retention and Disposal Schedule for Accounting Records available on the website of the UK National Archives. These currently indicate that financial records should normally be retained for either 6 years or 2 years, depending on the type of record, following the end of the financial year in question.

For your ease I have provided you with the links to the available annual accounts and information for the Scottish Government below:

Scottish Government – website https://www.gov.scot/publications/

Scottish Government Accounts	2015-16 Scottish Budget Autumn Budget Revision Spring Budget Revision consolidated accounts 2015 to 2016
	2016-17 Scottish Budget Autumn Budget Revision Spring Budget Revision consolidated accounts 2016 to 2017
	2017-18 Scottish Budget Autumn Budget Revision Spring Budget Revision consolidated accounts 2017 to 2018
	2018-19 Scottish Budget Autumn Budget Revision Spring Budget Revision consolidated accounts 2018 to 2019
	2019-20 Scottish Budget Autumn Budget Revision Spring Budget Revision consolidated accounts 2019 to 2020
	2020-21 Scottish Budget Autumn Budget Revision Spring Budget Revision consolidated accounts 2020 to 2021
	2021-22 Scottish Budget Autumn Budget Revision Spring Budget Revision consolidated accounts 2021 to 2022
	2022-23 Scottish Budget Autumn Budget Revision Spring Budget Revision Spring Budget Revision 2022 to 2023 consolidated accounts 2022 to 2023
	2023-24 Scottish Budget Autumn Budget Revision 2023 to 2024: supporting document - gov.scot Scottish Budget 2023 to 2024: spring budget revision - gov.scot consolidated accounts 2023 to 2024
	2024-25 Scottish Budget Autumn Budget Revision 2024-25: supporting document - gov.scot Spring Budget Revision 2024-25: supporting document - gov.scot

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