Legal aid reform: consultation

Glossary of Terms

"CLAO" – Civil Legal Assistance Office, helps clients eligible for legal assistance with civil legal problems. It comprises solicitors and administrative staff employed by SLAB.

"Judicare" – Case-by-case legal aid funding that can be accessed by solicitors.

"Justiciable issue" - matters which raise a legal issue or which, if not resolved earlier, could ultimately result in court action or some other form of legal procedure e.g. tribunal, being initiated.

"Legally aided" – A service supported by payment from the Legal Aid Fund, including judicare, grants and directly employed solicitors.

"Legal Aid Fund" or "the Fund" - The budget from which legal aid is paid and which is administered by SLAB.

"PDSO" – Public Defence Solicitors Office, provides advice and representation in criminal cases to those eligible for criminal legal assistance. Its solicitors and administrative staff are employed by SLAB.

"Primary legislation" – Acts of Parliament and Acts of the Scottish Parliament.

"publicly funded legal assistance" – All advice and representation services funded by the public sector, such as local authority advice providers, advice agencies such as CABx, but also including judicare, grants paid from the Legal Aid Fund and directly employed solicitors (CLAO, PDSO, SCL).

"SCL" – Solicitor Contact Line is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by solicitors on a duty scheme to provide free advice to persons in police custody.

"SLAB" – Scottish Legal Aid Board, which has the statutory functions of securing that legal aid and advice and assistance are available, and of administering the Legal Aid Fund in Scotland.

"The Act" – Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986.

"The Review" – Rethinking Legal Aid – An Independent Strategic Review, published in March 2018.