A. Broadly speaking, it makes grants of money to solicitors in Scotland or the dependents of such solicitors. Grants from the Fund can be paid out only in accordance with the purposes of one of the two separate Trusts under which it is held.

A. Firstly, there is the general Scottish Solicitors Benevolent Fund. It was established in 1961 by a Deed of Declaration of Trust, The trust purposes are very broad indeed; its funds shall be held “for any purpose which the Trustees may consider to be for the benefit of such of the Beneficiaries as may… be in necessitous circumstances”. The beneficiaries are solicitors in Scotland or their dependents. 

A. The application has to be supported by a solicitor, and we ask for the names and addresses of a couple of references; they don’t have to be solicitors. We have a form which has to be completed and sent to us. All the information is treated confidentially. The form asks about the applicant’s personal and financial circumstances. Most of the people who apply at the moment are in poor health, but that isn’t a prerequisite for making an application. All that matters is that there are “necessitous circumstances”.

A. No. We simply decide whether the applicant should be given a grant of money. If we think that he or she should be given a grant we then decide how much to pay, and we pay it. The applicant does not have to account for how the grant has been used.

A. It is named the Tod Endowment Trust. It distributes money for the purpose of providing holidays in Scotland. Grants are made to provide rest, a change of air and recuperation in Scotland. The Trust gives sums of money to the Scottish Solicitors Benevolent Fund so that we can administer it and distribute it in accordance with the purposes of the Tod Endowment Trust ie “to defray the cost of obtaining rest or recuperation in Scotland”.

Those who have been in practice as solicitors in Scotland for at least two years before application together with their spouses, partners and dependents. 

A. Again, we have a form which has to be completed and sent to us, and all information is treated confidentially. The form does not ask about the applicant’s personal or financial circumstances. 

A. Yes. We ask the applicant to say how much is sought and the purpose and reason for the application. We look for vouching eg a quotation from a hotel or other evidence of travel costs. In addition, we would expect to see evidence that the money has been spent for its intended purposes. 

A. No. 

A. As we know, the 2020 Regulations create rules about travel and they create criminal offences for breaches of those rules. Non-essential travel is prohibited and the trustees cannot facilitate a breach of the Regulations in any way whatsoever. However, the situation is continually evolving, every application will be judged on its own merits rather than under any blanket policy and the lockdown is not indefinite. 

A. The present trustees of the SSBF are the President and Vice President of both the Scottish Law Agents Society and the Law Society of Scotland together with several other senior officers. 

A.  Forms are available from scottishlawagentssociety@gmail.com or by writing to the

The Secretary

Scottish Law Agents Society,

14 The Firs, Millholm Road

Cathcart

G44 3YB.

Specific enquiries should be directed there too. Both the Trusts that I’ve mentioned are registered with OSCR, and general information can be found on its Website.