Meeting of the Parliament 05 March 2026 [Draft]
Like the minister, I commend the members who have joined us in the chamber. I am sorry that the public gallery cleared as the minister got up to speak—I am sure that that had nothing to do with the content of his speech.
I do not intend to say a great deal about the bill, as my comments in the stage 1 debate a few weeks ago covered all the key points that I would be making. No substantial amendments to the bill have been lodged, either at stage 2 or at stage 3, but some significant technical changes have been made that are welcome. I reiterate the thanks that I expressed at stage 1 to members of the Economy and Fair Work Committee and to the committee clerks and the Scottish Parliament information centre for their assistance in helping members to understand the legislation and scrutinise it. I do not know whether this will be the last bill that the Minister for Business and Employment will bring to the Parliament—I expect that it may well be—but I commend him for the way in which he has approached the bill and the co-operative approach that he has led. As I have done previously, I wish him all the best for the future as he looks to pursue other avenues beyond the Parliament in a few weeks’ time.
The bill is significant but is not in any way politically controversial. It represents a significant step forward in modernising Scots law to deal with changing circumstances—in this case, the creation of digital assets. Those assets did not exist at all two decades ago, but changes in technology have led to their creation, and it is important that the law is adapted to take account of those changes. As I said during the stage 1 debate, the bill is necessary because Scots law, as it previously existed, did not recognise digital assets as property—or, at least, it did not properly define them. The bill will classify them as incorporeal, moveable property, which is property that is not attached to land and which does not have a physical existence.
The bill will allow the trading of digital assets and provide a legal framework for those who transact with them. It will also provide protection to someone who acquires a digital asset for value and in good faith. That is important because, without that reassurance, those seeking to purchase a digital asset in Scotland would be unclear on what their legal remedies might be. There was some discussion during stage 1 scrutiny about what exactly purchasing in good faith would mean in practice. At the time, I raised concerns about drafting that had been brought to us by the Faculty of Advocates.
It is important to note that the bill is just a first step. Further changes to the law will be needed to take account of the growth of digital assets. Changes will need to cover, for example, areas of private international law and insolvency. Where digital assets are traded between individuals living in different jurisdictions, which law should apply in relation to the death of an individual who holds digital assets? What laws of succession should apply to them? Where a digital asset forms part of an insolvency, how should that be treated? Those will all be matters for a future Parliament to consider. I am sure that the Scottish Law Commission, which does such good work in keeping our law abreast of developments in society, will continue to do good work in researching those areas.
We will, no doubt, return to those points in future but, in the meantime, on behalf of the Scottish Conservatives, I am pleased to confirm our support for the bill at stage 3.