Restriction on legal fee payments

Generally, section 96 of the Redress for Survivors (Historical Child Abuse in Care) (Scotland) Act 2021 (opens in new tab) prevents solicitors who receive payment from the scheme (under sections 92 or 93 of the Act) for legal work reasonably carried out in connection with making a redress application on behalf of a person, or a proposed application, from receiving any additional payment for work carried out relating to that same application. This is intended to ensure that that applicants who access legal advice funded by the redress scheme will be able to keep the entirety of their redress payment, without further legal fees being deducted or requested separately by their solicitor in relation to work that is already covered by the redress scheme’s legal fees provisions. 

Where a solicitor provides advice to their client (an applicant or potential applicant) about civil litigation – in considering whether to pursue litigation as an alternative to a redress application – , the solicitor is not prevented from charging for that advice and assistance provided it goes beyond what is required or appropriate as part of the legal work undertaken in making, or proposing to make, an application to the redress scheme.

Note: per section 92(3) of the Act, legal work undertaken relating to advice and assistance on pursuing litigation as an alternative to a redress application is not treated as work undertaken in making the application.  As such, it is not eligible for payment under section 92(1) unless advice and assistance was also given on one or more of the matters referred to in section 92(4).