Detailed Provisions
Part 5: Other support for survivors of abuse.
Payment of fees for legal work
Section 95: Assessment, notification and review of certain fee payment requests
279.This section sets out the process for the assessment, notification and review of certain fee payment requests.
280.Subsections (1) and (2) provide that the Scottish Ministers must refer to Redress Scotland, for assessment, any fee payment requests for—
legal work that may not have been reasonably carried out,
any legal work reasonably carried out in connection with a proposed application by a person who sought legal advice on eligibility but did not subsequently apply, or
any legal work reasonably carried out in relation to an application or proposed application where there may be exceptional or unexpected circumstances which justify a payment over and above the fixed fee.
281.Subsection (3) requires the Scottish Ministers to, as soon as reasonably practicable after they have been informed by Redress Scotland of the outcome of Redress Scotland’s assessment, notify the solicitor of the outcome and provide the solicitor with a summary of reasons for it (which will have been provided to the Scottish Ministers by Redress Scotland).
282.Subsection (4) sets out the rules surrounding the rights of a solicitor to request a review of the assessment made by Redress Scotland. Namely, a solicitor may ask for a review where it has been determined that legal work was not reasonably carried out and that no sum is to be paid, where legal work was carried out in cases where no application was subsequently made and Redress Scotland decide that no sum is to be paid, and where in cases of exceptional circumstances an amount is sought above the fixed fee and it is decided that either no additional sum will be paid, or that the additional sum to be paid is lower than requested.
283.Subsection (5) allows the Scottish Ministers to make regulations making further provision about reviews of fee payment requests, including about time limits for requesting a review, the form and content of the request for a review, the outcome of the review and powers of the review panel, the notification of the outcome of the review, the suspension of payment for the work until the review is determined, and the payment for the work where the outcome of the review is that the sum is to be paid. Regulations under this subsection are subject to the negative procedure.
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