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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)

Smyth, Colin Lab South Scotland Watch on SPTV

Our second item is an evidence session on four Scottish statutory instruments arising from the Moveable Transactions (Scotland) Act 2023. Two of those—the draft Moveable Transactions (Scotland) Act 2023 Amendment Regulations 2025 and the draft Registers of Scotland (Fees and Plain Copies) Miscellaneous Amendments Order 2025—are affirmative instruments. The other two—the Moveable Transactions (Forms) (Scotland) Regulations 2024 and the Moveable Transactions (Register of Assignations and Register of Statutory Pledges Rules) (Scotland) Regulations 2024—are negative instruments.

I welcome our witnesses. Joining us are Ivan McKee, who is the Minister for Public Finance, and Scottish Government officials Camilo Arredondo, who is a solicitor, and Jill Clark, who is the team leader of the private law unit. We also have David Robertson, who is a policy lead for Registers of Scotland.

All the instruments are linked, so this is an opportunity for the committee to discuss all four of them with the minister and his officials before we move to the formal procedure under the next agenda item. I stress that there is no need for any motions to be moved at this stage; that will happen under the next item.

I invite the minister to make a short opening statement.

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...

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 ...

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.

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.

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.

They will be able to search the register.

Daniel Johnson Lab