Committee
Justice Committee, 12 Jan 2010
12 Jan 2010 · S3 · Justice Committee
Item of business
Legal Services (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
Yes. I have discussed the matter with SLAS representatives. I also noted the wide-ranging evidence from Kyla Brand, Ian Smart, SLAS representatives and others, who expressed various concerns about wills. As Robert Brown will know, the starting point is that the Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1980 sets out the reserved functions for Scottish solicitors, which include the framing of writs, but exclude wills, which are therefore currently not reserved or regulated. That has led to an awful lot of concerns, which the committee has heard about. Michael Scanlan gave a pretty scary example of a fee of £1,200 being applied for what he said was a clearly inappropriate will. My recollection of charging for wills is that the fee was nearer to £30, £40 or £50 than to £1,200; that is perhaps where I went wrong.Many witnesses have said that making a will can have serious consequences. When a non-nuclear family is involved, such as Robert Brown mentioned, or when someone who makes a will has children by different partners, there is immense scope for difficulties and problems. Instinctively, I feel as a solicitor that it is important that wills be written by people who are properly qualified, and that there should be an element of regulation.We will lodge amendments at stage 2 in the spring, one of which could concern the introduction of a regulatory framework for non-lawyer will writers. That idea is being considered following representations to us during consultation on the bill and, subsequently, by various bodies. I note that many members of the committee have pursued this line of questioning with various witnesses. It is not our intention to regulate individuals who prepare their own wills: the aim is not to place restrictions on informal or death-bed wills. I do not think that it would be right—although this is a matter for consultation and debate—to outlaw people making their own wills, perhaps in their last moments on this earth. That might run contrary to the European convention on human rights. The aim is to produce regulations on non-lawyer will writers, which might, in practice, include entities such as supermarkets that provide pro forma wills.A particular point of concern about which evidence has been led is the prevalence or development of execution-only wills, whereby a will is offered by a non-lawyer business—say, a supermarket—on the proviso that it takes no responsibility for the consequences of it. Many of us have deep misgivings about the probity of that practice and question whether it should be permissible and legal in Scotland. I just wanted to outline that matter.If committee members want more information, Andrew Mackenzie can talk about the consultation paper that we have issued. For the benefit of committee members and people who might read the Official Report of the meeting, I remind members that the consultation will conclude on 19 February. That is, as a result of the timetabling of the bill, less than the usual 12-week minimum period for consultation responses. Responses to the consultation that are submitted by that deadline will be very much appreciated.
In the same item of business
The Convener:
Con
Item 2 also relates to the Legal Services (Scotland) Bill and is the main item of business this morning. I welcome Fergus Ewing, the Minister for Community S...
The Minister for Community Safety (Fergus Ewing):
SNP
Good morning, convener and committee members. I begin by declaring that I am a Scottish solicitor, but I am not in practice.At the heart of the bill is the r...
The Convener:
Con
Thank you for your useful introduction. I certainly do not think that we want to do anything about rights of audience until the Thomson report, which follows...
Fergus Ewing:
SNP
Several factors have driven the case for reform. The committee is aware of the history, which is fully canvassed in the policy memorandum to the bill. In Eng...
The Convener:
Con
Given that the Westminster Government introduced the financial services act south of the border some years ago, what would be the impact of our not passing a...
Fergus Ewing:
SNP
I presume that you are referring to the Legal Services Act 2007, not the financial services act.
The Convener:
Con
Sorry—yes.
Fergus Ewing:
SNP
One facet that has emerged from almost all the evidence is that not passing the bill presents some very real risks for the Scottish legal profession. If we d...
The Convener:
Con
You may think that it is strange that I am raising this issue at this stage in the proceedings, bearing it in mind that the bill has been certified by both t...
Fergus Ewing:
SNP
I am pleased that you have raised that issue with me. The answer is that I am satisfied. A number of issues have been raised relating to possible problems wi...
The Convener:
Con
It would be useful if you could give us a written representation on that heading.
Fergus Ewing:
SNP
Thank you.
The Convener:
Con
We now turn to questions surrounding access to justice, which will be led by Stewart Maxwell.
Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
Good morning, minister. You said in your opening remarks that a number of witnesses have submitted evidence to the committee in which they express concern ab...
Fergus Ewing:
SNP
My response is on a number of levels. First, to ensure that access is available to those who are perhaps most vulnerable and those whose problems may involve...
The Convener:
Con
You will have that opportunity shortly.
Stewart Maxwell:
SNP
We will come on to the issue of regulation in more detail shortly.The minister mentioned that the amount of legal aid work has increased. It has been express...
Fergus Ewing:
SNP
Arithmetically, the argument is correct, because 600 divided by 10,000 is 6 per cent—I am no mathematician, but I think that that is correct. I said earlier ...
Stewart Maxwell:
SNP
I hear what the minister is saying, but I have a final question. Although the legal services market is not directly comparable to many other areas of life in...
Fergus Ewing:
SNP
I do not think so. I really do not think that the areas of law that we are talking about are likely to be of great interest to supermarkets. As the member en...
Colin McKay (Scottish Government Constitution, Courts and Law Directorate):
I was not sure whether the 600 to which Mr Maxwell referred were 600 individuals or 600 firms.
Stewart Maxwell:
SNP
I think that the minister used the figure 619.
Colin McKay:
If it was 600 firms, that would not be comparable with 10,000 individual solicitors, because firms would have more than one—
Fergus Ewing:
SNP
I was quoting Tom Murray, who referred to 619 registered civil firms.
Colin McKay:
So it is not quite such a fragile—
The Convener:
Con
It could be much higher.
Colin McKay:
Absolutely.More generally, a lot of access to justice issues were looked at in a fairly major review that was undertaken a few years ago. One of the review's...
Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD):
LD
I am intrigued by the suggestion that the bill will have advantages in social welfare law. To be frank, it seems to me that if, for example, one were to cons...
Fergus Ewing:
SNP
The bill's primary purpose is not to tackle that problem, as I have already said. I hope that members agree that the provisions in the bill that directly app...
Robert Brown:
LD
I would like to avoid doubt about the motivation for the bill and its general purpose and direction. You have given a clear view of the position that would a...