# The Civil Legal Aid (Scotland) (Fees) Regulations 1989, Note: Explanatory note


(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations regulate fees and outlays allowable to solicitors and fees allowable to counsel (subject to any taxation) from the Scottish Legal Aid Fund in respect of civil legal aid, when such fees and outlays are not recoverable by virtue of an award of expenses, or of any agreement as to expenses (regulation 3).
The fees and outlays previously allowable for legal aid in civil proceedings under the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986 were prescribed by the Civil Legal Aid (Scotland) (Fees) Regulations 1987 (the 1987 Regulations), as amended.
The major change regarding solicitors' fees is contained in Schedule 3 which prescribes a simplified table of fees for calculating the remuneration of solicitors who choose to lodge a detailed fee account. The amendment makes provision for 7 basic fees, which combine and simplify the detailed fees previously prescribed in Chapter 1 of Schedule 1 (Court of Session Table) and Chapter III of Schedule 2 (Sheriff Court Table) of the 1987 Regulations, as amended, and which have been set at a level that incorporates the 12% added by those regulations to cover posts and incidents. The payment of posts and incidents with regard to Schedule 3 is specifically excluded (regulation 6).
In addition to uprating all solicitors' fees in Schedules 1 to 3 by around 9%, the provisions for fees and outlays in these Regulations consolidate regulations 4, 5 and 8 and the prefaces to Schedules 1 and 2 of the 1987 Regulations, as amended, subject to some small drafting amendments (regulations 4 to 8).
As regards counsel’s fees, regulations 9 and 10 and Schedule 4 provide for the same level of fees as previously allowable in the Civil Legal Aid (Scotland) (Fees) Amendment Regulations 1989, which uprated them from 1st April 1989.
Provision is made in these Regulations for the submission by an assisted person’s solicitor or counsel to the Scottish Legal Aid Board of a claim for payment of sums to account of fees necessarily and reasonably incurred for legal aid work done provided two years have elapsed since the grant of aid, such aid was granted on or after 1st April 1987 and the proceedings have not been concluded. Further claims for more work in the same proceedings may be made at not less than 12 monthly intervals after any preceding claim. The sums payable will be limited to not more than 75% of the fees eligible for payment in any period of claim. Any excess in the total of the sums paid to account over the total fees and outlays allowable to solicitors or fees allowable to counsel shall be repaid following submission and taxation of the final account of civil expenses. Receipt of a payment on account does not remove the duty to submit a final account of expenses within the timescale prescribed in regulation 8. If a final account is not submitted timeously, any payment made to account in respect of those proceedings may require to be repaid (regulation 11).
The same provision is made for taxation of fees and outlays as in the 1987 Regulations except in relation to payments to account of fees under regulation 11, (regulation 12).
Regulation 13 revokes the 1987 and subsequent amending instruments subject to their continuation in effect for work commenced before 31st August 1989.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1989/1490/note (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/civil-legal-aid-scotland-fees-regulations-1989/note
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.