Hansard

Thank you.

I thank those who contributed to the committee’s scrutiny of the bill, whether in writing or by appearing before the committee during one of the evidence sessions. We are grateful for the time and energy that has been given to help the committee in its work.

I also thank committee members for their scrutiny of the bill. We work well together, as Oliver Mundell touched on, in scrutinising all the bills that we encounter. We have the same goal of attempting to improve them to ensure that good laws are created. Oliver Mundell touched on the fact that the law relating to trusts and succession has existed for more than 100 years. I encourage present and future Scottish Governments, whatever their colour, to ensure that it is not another 100 years before the bill is changed.

I know that our work is noticed by relevant business sectors, because feedback is given to the committee from time to time. I thank the minister and her team for the way in which they have worked with the committee to get the best possible outcome for the bill. Their collegiate approach has been appreciated by everyone in the committee. Finally, I thank the first-class clerking team. I know that they enjoy the scrutiny of SLC bills, as it provides them with an experience other than the secondary legislation that we deal with every Tuesday. They assist us tremendously well and deserve recognition for their dedication.

The committee had some successes during the course of stage 2 and stage 3 scrutiny. For example, following an amendment at stage 2, the bill includes the following provisions that were recommended by the committee.

On incapacity, there is an explicit reference to the right of a trustee who has been deemed incapable by fellow trustees to go to court to challenge the decision. The definition of incapacity is now able to be easily updated in the bill, anticipating upcoming changes to this area of law in the context of the final report of the Scottish mental health law review.

The second point is on ethical investment. Following representations at stage 1 and the amendments at stage 2, the bill makes it clear that, unless the legal document creating the trust says otherwise, ethical, social and environmental considerations are relevant when trustees are choosing between otherwise comparable and suitable investments. The committee hopes that that is a small, but tangible, step towards helping us on our net zero journey.

My amendment today will also provide some additional safeguards to help to protect the integrity of trusts and trustees.

The committee also recommended that the bill should be amended to clarify that the law does not permit an unlawful killer to be an executor of their victim’s estate. New sections 6A and 73A, which were inserted at stage 2, deal with those who are convicted of or being prosecuted for murder or culpable homicide and clarify that such individuals are unfit to be the executor of the victim’s estate and, as such, can be removed from that role by the court.

The committee recommended as a priority the timely implementation of an order under section 104 of the Scotland Act 1998, which has come up not just in relation to this bill but in discussion of the Moveable Transactions (Scotland) Act 2023. Thankfully, discussions are well under way between the Scottish and UK Governments, and I know that all committee members are pleased with that. We hope that that is commenced as soon as possible.

With that, I look forward to supporting the Trusts and Succession (Scotland) Bill at decision time.