Death in custody inquiries guaranteed legal aid

Family members involved in deaths in custody Fatal Accident Inquiries (FAI) are to have immediate, free access to legal aid support and advice.

Justice Secretary Angela Constance confirmed that she is using existing ministerial powers to remove means-testing for legal aid in such cases.

From 7 April, families will not have to provide information on their income.

Constance announced the move as she updated the Scottish Parliament on the changes being made following the deaths of Katie Allan and William Brown - also known as William Lindsay - at Polmont Young Offenders Institution.

In January, a sheriff concluded that the deaths of Katie, 21, and William, 16, could have been avoided but for a "catalogue of failures".

They took their own lives in separate incidents at Polmont in 2018.

All of the sheriff's 25 recommendations have been accepted. The Scottish government said they would be delivered "at pace" and that progress would be closely monitored.

Constance said providing free, non-means tested legal aid would need primary legislation but given the time that would take, she was using her powers to grant it from 7 April.

Additional family support services will also be provided.

Constance outlined the measures being implemented, which include:

• A dedicated operational taskforce, chaired by the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) chief executive and involving NHS partners, to ensure all of the recommendations are actioned
• His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland will provide an initial report by the summer on how the implementation of Sheriff Collins' FAI recommendations will be independently reviewed
• The Scottish Prison Service is overhauling its Suicide Prevention Strategy "Talk to Me" across the prison estate. The strategy will be published at the end of this year, with a full training package to be rolled out in 2026
• An independent review of the FAI system has been commissioned to focus on improving the efficiency, effectiveness, and trauma-informed nature of investigations into deaths in prison custody

Constance said: "I was grateful to have had the opportunity to again meet with the families of William Lindsay and Katie Allan today and extend my deepest condolences to them, as I do to all those affected by a death in custody.

"It is through ongoing and decisive action that we will create the lasting change they rightly demand and deserve. We have made substantial progress since my January statement to parliament."

She added: "We will continue to drive forward change and strengthen accountability. This is about changing the system and the culture that underpins it."

Aamer Anwar, the lawyer representing the families of Katie Allan and William Brown, welcomed the news as he said families do not have the resources to fight against the "army of state lawyers".

However, he said legal aid should be available from "day one" in the process because at the moment it will only be accessible 42 days before an FAI - rather than four or five years before, adding that this must be changed "immediately".

The Scottish Conservatives' justice spokesman Liam Kerr said: "The inquiry's findings in January exposed a broken system.

"The deaths of Katie Allan and William Lindsay were not only tragic but also preventable and demonstrate the desperate need for action, without delay, to prevent further tragedies.

"Given the crisis facing the legal aid system, it is vital ministers ensure that they deliver the necessary investment to improve it so that families can access the support they need and receive the justice they deserve."

Sheriff Collins found that William's death resulted from a catalogue of individual and collective failures by SPS and healthcare staff at Polmont.

He said "almost all of those who interacted with him were at fault to some extent."

He said a reasonable precaution would have been to have kept William – who had a history of attempting suicide – on observations.

He was removed from observations the morning after he arrived at a case conference. The sheriff also found that the cell he was accommodated in could have been made safe for him.

William had been arrested after walking into Saracen Street police station in Glasgow while carrying a knife.

He was remanded in custody after being deemed a "potential risk to public safety" three days before his death because there was no space in a children's secure unit.

In Katie's case, the sheriff found that there were multiple failures by prison and healthcare staff to properly identify, record and share information relevant to her risk.

However, he said that even with the benefit of hindsight, her death had been spontaneous and unpredictable.

Sheriff Collins found that if the Glasgow University student's cell had been made safe - which could have been done without significant cost - her death would not have happened.

There was a safety issue with the cell that had long been known to the SPS.

Katie was serving a 16-month sentence for dangerous and drink driving following a hit-and-run.