Report and Recommendations - Scottish Government

appearance, can only be delayed in exceptional circumstances, which willrarely occur.Other Jurisdictions6.1.6 In England and Wales, a person who has been arrested and detained is entitledto intimation to a reasonably named person 3 and to a private communicationwith a solicitor 4 , although the latter term is interpreted as including anaccredited representative of a solicitor (i.e. a paralegal). The right tocommunicate with a solicitor is not specifically related to any interview. Inpractice 5 , the communication is made by telephone to the Defence SolicitorCall Centre which will refer the suspect to a nominated or duty solicitor, bothof whose services are publicly funded, or to CDS Direct who provide freetelephone legal advice, but only for relatively minor offences such as roadtraffic contraventions. Although there is no express right to have a solicitorpresent during any interview, such presence must be afforded if requested. Atleast until the recent introduction of fixed fees for solicitors in theinvestigative process, it is not unreasonable to comment that the provision oflegal services at this early stage resulted in considerable business to legal firms,especially in urban areas, and consequent significant cost to the public purse.There are some firms of solicitors specialising exclusively in this pre trial 6work.3 PACE s 564 PACE s 595 see generally Skinns: the Right to Legal Advice in the Police Station: Past, Present and Future (2011)Crim LR 19 at 20-216 in the domestic rather than Convention sense143