What impact it considers that reductions in its legal aid budget will have on fair access to justice.

In Scotland, we were able to increase the legal aid budget by £3.6 million (2.5%) in 2015-16 but that has proved unsustainable in the face of the Westminster settlement this year. The stark financial reality is that we must manage expenditure on legal aid through efficiencies and simplification if we are to protect access to justice and maintain the current generous legal aid system.
We believe there is potential for significant efficiencies and simplification of the current system that can deliver savings without affecting access to justice. The Law Society of Scotland set out ways in which efficiency and streamlining could be achieved in its paper on legal assistance. We are reviewing the legal aid system and intend to continue to work closely with the Scottish Legal Aid Board and the Law Society of Scotland to develop a more efficient and streamlined legal aid system.
We are committed to maintaining the broad scope of civil legal aid and avoid the approach taken in England and Wales where there is limited availability of legal aid. It should be noted that the legal aid system in Scotland is highly regarded by our international colleagues who admire the way in which the Scottish Government has been able to make efficiencies without compromising the scope of legal aid.
Legal aid in Scotland will continue to be a demand led system and all who are eligible will continue to receive legal aid – no one will be turned away and therefore there is no anticipated negative impact on access to justice.