Committee
Economy and Fair Work Committee 29 January 2025
29 Jan 2025 · S6 · Economy and Fair Work Committee
Item of business
Subordinate Legislation
Moveable Transactions (Register of Assignations and Register of Statutory Pledges Rules) (Scotland) Regulations 2024 (SSI 2024/381)
Good morning, minister. I have a mild fascination with this subject, dating back to my days in legal practice. To put that in context, I can remember being instructed by an England-based bank that had been approached by an impoverished Scottish farmer—not Jamie Halcro Johnston, I hasten to add. The bank was prepared to lend him some money and he had offered a flock of sheep as security, but I had to try to explain to the institution that it could not take security over the flock of sheep unless it took delivery of that flock, which was not of interest to the bank. I am delighted that the law has been reformed to simplify such processes, but that throws up a range of other issues that we must carefully consider.
You referred to the change in the definition of insolvency, which arose from the consultation process run by the Scottish Government. You mentioned the responses to that consultation, but those have not been published and we do not know what else was in them. Is there any reason why you have not published the consultation responses, and was there anything else in those responses that you considered but decided not to change at this stage?
In the same item of business
The Convener
Lab
Our second item is an evidence session on four Scottish statutory instruments arising from the Moveable Transactions (Scotland) Act 2023. Two of those—the dr...
The Minister for Public Finance (Ivan McKee)
SNP
Good morning and thank you for inviting me along to give evidence on these four Scottish statutory instruments, which all relate to the Moveable Transactions...
The Convener
Lab
Thank you, minister. We go to members’ questions, starting with Murdo Fraser.
Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Con
Good morning, minister. I have a mild fascination with this subject, dating back to my days in legal practice. To put that in context, I can remember being i...
Ivan McKee
SNP
That is a good question. I will defer to officials, as I have not been through the consultation responses in detail. Does Jill Clark want to pick that up?
Jill Clark (Scottish Government)
We have not published the responses, but we would be happy to do so. It was not a formal consultation. It was quite a short, one-month consultation that was ...
Murdo Fraser
Con
It would be of interest to the committee to see whether there are other issues that we could look at in future. I will widen the point slightly. Minister, b...
Ivan McKee
SNP
That is a good point. The registers would make that information easily available for anyone who chose to search for it. You are absolutely right that raising...
Jill Clark
Yes. In the few years since the legislation was passed, a lot of legal articles have been published about what is coming. Events and seminars have also been ...
David Robertson (Registers of Scotland)
Yes, that is correct. Full guidance will be available on our website, and a short, targeted marketing campaign is being planned so that people can become awa...
Murdo Fraser
Con
I guess that that is my concern. Raising awareness among practitioners is one thing, but not everybody who is purchasing something moveable would necessarily...
Ivan McKee
SNP
That is a very good point, and you are right. Engaging with the profession is one thing, but, as you say, in many cases, legal support would not be engaged i...
Murdo Fraser
Con
That would be helpful. There are consumer groups, for example, that would help to spread the word.
The Convener
Lab
I want to come back to the point about the consultation. This is probably a question for Jill Clark. You will publish the consultation responses, which will ...
Jill Clark
Yes—as I said, there were differing views as to how wide or narrow the definition should be, but there was no consensus on that, so that is why there is only...
The Convener
Lab
Okay—thank you for that. I bring in Daniel Johnson.
Daniel Johnson (Edinburgh Southern) (Lab)
Lab
I have some questions about the Registers of Scotland (Fees and Plain Copies) Miscellaneous Amendments Order 2025. I thank Murdo Fraser, because the flock of...
Ivan McKee
SNP
In general, Registers of Scotland brings in enough revenue through its various activities to cover its costs, which, from a public finance point of view, is ...
Daniel Johnson
Lab
Is a review and assessment of the fee structure programmed in once the new measures are up and running?
Ivan McKee
SNP
The keeper will be watching that as part of her on-going business and engagement with ministers. The same would apply to the whole range of fees that ROS cha...
David Robertson
That is correct. We review fees anyway, but we will be keeping a particular eye on the two new registers in the first couple of years following their introdu...
Daniel Johnson
Lab
In your statement, you referred to the cost for searches. That is an important element of the whole system: that people can quickly look at what registration...
Ivan McKee
SNP
Has that not come forward?
David Robertson
To be honest, I do not have an answer to that.
Jill Clark
I can answer that. That was linked to individuals being able to take advantage of the Moveable Transactions (Scotland) Bill, but they were removed at stage 2...
Daniel Johnson
Lab
I was not asking about individuals.
Jill Clark
The reason why money advice bodies might have had free access to the registers was to check on behalf of individuals. It would have meant that if they were s...
Daniel Johnson
Lab
Sorry, can I clarify whether you are saying that not-for-profit money advice organisations will be able to search the register.
Jill Clark
They will be able to search the register.
Daniel Johnson
Lab
For free?