legal aid

Guide aimed primarily at practitioners working in various settings for organisations involved in safeguarding. It may also be useful for volunteers, family.

It aims to equip practitioners with information about how to assist and safeguard people. Knowing about the legal basis is fundamental, because the law defines the extent and limits of what can be done to help people and to enable people to keep themselves safe.

Report commissioned by the Legal Action Group, and funded by the Baring Foundation, to investigate the impact of the proposed legal aid reforms on disabled people.

The report, 'Renewing Scotland: the government’s programme for Scotland', published on 7 September 2011, sets out the Government’s intention to maintain and improve access to justice in the current economic climate, including by taking forward a series of legal aid reforms.

This paper proposes how this will be done. The ambition is to maintain a fair, high quality and equitable system which maintains public confidence at an affordable and sustainable level of expenditure.

The topics in this report include: an overview of how the Children's Hearings system works; experiences of the premises used for hearings; the deliberations of the hearings which were observed; the excellent training programme for panel members; the changing role of reporters; concerns about resources available to service the system; legal aid and representation; and a summary of recommendations.

Summary of the main findings of research which looked at the Legal Representation Grant Scheme, a scheme which permits children's hearings to appoint legally qualified individuals to represent children when this is required. The purpose was to review the operation of the scheme and inform its future development.

Report summarising the main findings of research which looked at the Legal Representation Grant Scheme, a scheme which permits children's hearings to appoint legally qualified individuals to represent children when this is required. The purpose was to review the operation of the scheme and inform its future development.