Scottish legal aid solicitors could strike over rota changes
The Legal Aid Board currently runs a 24-hour hotline to offer advice to those who have been taken into custody and source legal representation.
Read More:
It was previously run by two solicitors at a time, responding to calls from officers requesting lawyers for suspects being held at police stations.
They would then contact private law firms or, if one cannot be found, travel to represent the arrestee themselves.
With only one person now staffing the line, it's feared the ability to respond to calls and offer representation will be hampered.
John McCartney, GMB Scotland organiser for the board, said: 'Our members are qualified solicitors working around the clock to ensure anyone arrested gets the legal representation they are entitled to.
'Their work is an essential protection for the legal rights of every Scot and the foundation of our criminal justice system.
'Their work is stressful, challenging and underpins our justice system.
"It is unreasonable to expect a single solicitor to sustain national coverage over a 12-hour shift.
"These are dangerous changes introduced for no good reason and must be reviewed then reversed.
"There is no operational justification for these changes and there is no evidence of cost savings.
'Managers took this decision despite concerns and imposed it with no consideration of the impact it will have on staff and, more widely, fair access to justice in Scotland's legal system.
'The clear determination of staff to reverse this decision is no surprise and demands urgent action.'
A spokesperson for the Scottish Legal Aid Board said: 'We have not been formally notified by the GMB Union that they intend to ballot their members employed on the Solicitor Contact Line in relation to potential strike action.
'We will be contacting the GMB officials to seek clarification.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
a day ago
- Scottish Sun
Two arrested after pro-Palestine activists target Scot's arms company
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) TWO PRO-PALISTINE protesters have been arrested after they allegedly targeted a Scot's arms company 'locked' on to a van they abandoned at the front gate. It is alleged that the activists from the 'Shut Down Leonardo Edinburgh' blocked the entrance to the Italian firm's factory in the capital earlier today. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up Just after 6am it's alleged the group parked a van across the entrance before a man 'locked' himself to the roof and another was inside the vehicle. The factory was also targeted with glass jars, filled with red and green paint in a bid to block access and shut the site down. Cops attended and a specialist team was brought in to safely remove the pair It's understood that it took around five hours to remove the duo. A spokesperson for the campaign group said: "With most world leaders either ignoring Israel's genocide in Gaza, or actively involved in it, we cannot look aside while our Palestinian brothers and sisters are being exterminated. "By shutting down Leonardo, we hope to disrupt the supply chain to the deadly F-35 war planes." In December last year, a spokesperson for Leonardo insisted the company does not 'supply equipment' directly to Israel. The factory has been previously targeted by pro-Palestinian protestors for its role in supplying equipment used by the Israel Defense Forces - specifically guidance kits for F-35 jets. Last month three women were arrested after a van was allegedly driven into a perimeter fence at the site. The trio were all charged with offences aggravated by having a "terrorist connection". Record number arrested at Palestine Action protest as demonstrators bring chaos to London They were all released on bail. Speaking of the latest incident a spokesperson for Police Scotland said: A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "Around 6.15am on Monday, 18 August, 2025, we were called to a report of a protest outside a business premises in the Crewe Road North area of Edinburgh. "Officers are in attendance and a 35-year-old woman and a 40-year-old man have been arrested in connection. "Enquiries are ongoing."
The National
a day ago
- The National
A single electoral outcome could open up many routes to independence
The good news for the indy movement is that it should be possible to produce a single electoral result that includes almost all the trigger conditions for all the proposed routes to independence. With the right result we could try the weakest approach first. If that first option failed, we'd have another option available, and if that failed, yet another option. And there's no reason why, as each option becomes 'live', the whole of the indy movement can't get behind the proposal and apply political and civic pressure to help make the case. READ MORE: Mike Small: Beyond Sturgeon, Salmond and the centrist collapse The main desired outcomes I hear are: SNP seat majority, indy seat supermajority, evidence of voter majority and evidence of voter majority emerging in the list alone. The last two require that a vote for a declared party of independence be regarded as a vote for independence. A perfectly legitimate expectation, one supported by international law. And the stronger the result, the more leverage it will have. All the proposals will be there after the vote, but if we don't get a result that allows us to pursue these proposals, we're going nowhere. No matter how inspired or outlandish the proposal, we're going nowhere if we don't have the result we need. The most important objective is to get the indy vote out on the day. Polling of indy electoral voting intentions adds up to 45%. Polling for a straight Yes/No vote has Yes on 55%. Spot the problem? Likely the only proposal that will get its trigger condition met is the SNP proposal. That needs to change. READ MORE: Richard Walker: Nicola Sturgeon's memoir gives plenty of insight but isn't very frank Achieving a seat majority is relatively simple due to the UK's use of a pluralistic voting system. This first-past-the-post plural voting system awards the majority of seats to the largest minority. Scotland uses the identical voting system in the constituencies, and then uses a list system to allocate seats on a proportional basis, which also serves the dual purpose of preventing a party that has done well in the constituencies from winning an even bigger, disproportionate share of seats. Notice I use the word 'party'. Some folk get upset about the indy camp, which is made up of several parties, winning too big a share of seats overall. Don't. The SNP will win more seats than it should, but only for 56% of the available seats, unlike the Westminster version, where a party can win a disproportionate share of 100% of the seats. The other indy parties will win their proportionate share of the list seats based on how many votes each party gets. Though not completely proportionate, 44% of Holyrood seats are distributed on a proportional-representation basis. Which is a much fairer system. Every Scot has two votes. Every Scot has complete freedom about how they use those votes. READ MORE: Are the SNP taking my vote for granted like Labour used to? I say 'go for it'! Get all the results in the bag and let the various route proposers work their magic and achieve us our independence. The best way to win loads of seats and tick all the boxes? Make sure that every indy vote is cast in a way that can win seats for indy. This boils down to the Vote Indy strategy: In the constituencies, everyone indy votes for the SNP. On the list, everyone indy votes for any indy party that is NOT the SNP. This is the ONLY way to achieve the winning or trigger condition for each proposal. Please note the 'list referendum' idea is seriously flawed. First, there is no way to put the voting instructions on the ballot paper or include them in any official communication from the Electoral Commission. But a more glaring flaw is that if the Unionists win the vote in the constituencies, they can claim an equally valid win. It will be a one-all draw. Indy-voter majority needs to emerge in both constituency and list. Everyone indy needs to use both constituency and list votes. Any withholding of votes could wreck the outcome. Alistair Potter via email IN 1979, despite winning the referendum for Scottish devolution, the vote failed to clear the 40% ruling brought in by the Scots-born Labour MP for a London constituency George Cunningham. Because of this gerrymandering, the cause of devolution, never mind Scottish independence, was delayed for decades. History since then, and with no gerrymandering, has seen a devolved parliament established in Scotland, and an unsuccessful independence referendum, in the last 25ish years. READ MORE: SNP councillor hits back at 'lie' he defected to Reform UK One of the lessons learnt was to get the vote out, and that every – yes, EVERY – vote counts. So, why do I see the motion on the SNP conference agenda to only count SNP votes after the 2026 Holyrood election? Have no lessons been learnt? This is, in my opinion, pure lunacy. If we had taken this approach in 2014, we would have never got 45%, we would have alienated every other independence supporter who was not an SNP member, and in doing so received a larger defeat. Surely, as an independence party we want and need to gain the largest possible vote? A large positive vote only lends more power to our demands. As it stands, this motion is a vote for continued devolution and London control. Use the Yes support we have in Scotland or we stand to lose Scotland to London control for decades to come. Mr Swinney, Mr Brown and all who considered this a good idea, think again. Bill Golden Forfar
Daily Record
4 days ago
- Daily Record
'It's not Government money they're spending it's ours'
Record View reminds readers that all governments need to be careful how they spend the money they raise. Our political leaders often talk about spending 'government' money. But in reality that's not true. The cash they spend is actually your money – most of it gathered from taxes on our wages, VAT on consumer goods and company profits. That's why all governments need to be careful how they spend the money they raise. In today's Daily Record both Labour and the SNP are throwing barbs at each other about 'wasted money '. But both the UK and Scottish government s need to do better on that front. The Scottish Government has wasted hundreds of millions of pounds on various overspent or failed projects. The ferry fiasco, the scrapped bottle deposit scheme and the unwinnable Supreme Court legal fight on trans issues are just three areas where millions of pounds have been poured down a very big black hole. It is also true that the UK Government could be doing more to guard the public finances. They should be making sure big businesses – especially tech and energy giants – pay a fairer share of their profits to the public purse. Too much money has been blown on the HS2 high-speed rail project, with not one inch of track yet laid and the benefits to the whole UK not yet clear. We all know public services need paying for – and tax is vital for services like schools, hospitals and roads. But our governments in Edinburgh and London need to keep a closer eye on how they spend it. Together at last The world seems like a harsh place to be in 2025. Wars in Ukraine and Gaza are threatening global security. At home there seems to be a constant deluge of online hate and political discord. But it's always worth remembering that the vast majority of people out there are just trying to do their best. And some people go above and beyond to help those around them. One such person is Juleena Masters, an American lady who decided to donate bone marrow to save the life of young Scot Ava Todd. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. We reported in 2016 that Ava – then three – would not survive without a transplant due an inherited disorder. Our story made it to the US, where Juleena was found to be a match and agreed to be a donor for Ava. Now Ava is a happy and healthy girl of 12 – and has finally met up with Juleena for the first time to say thank you. It's the happiest of endings to a long and difficult journey for Ava. We hope it brightens up your day reading her story.
