Hansard

We have been in regular contact with the OFT. We have always been at pains to point out that we accept the need for consumers' rights to be preserved and protected. As I made clear at the Law Society conference, which the convener of the Justice Committee also attended, we also recognise that, at the end of the day, we are not simply consumers but part of a community, so we must also bear in mind our responsibilities in that regard. Our position is that we are happy to continue to liaise with and speak to the OFT. On the particular issue that the member raised, I will come back to her at a later stage. If I do not, I am sure that my colleague Fergus Ewing will mention the issue.

We are considering carefully everything that the OFT has said. We agree that change needs to happen, but I have no intention of adopting a model that is unsuited to our needs as a country. Our geography, demography and topography are different from those of England. We are a country of small towns, islands and archipelagos rather than a series of large urban metropolitan areas. The English bar has 14,000 members, whereas the Scottish bar has 470. An SNP Government will do what is right for Scotland. We will not preside over any diminution in the quality and integrity of the Scottish legal profession.

In September, I set out a challenge to the profession to lead the debate on how reform should be taken forward in Scotland. I am pleased to report that it has responded to that challenge. Two weeks ago, the Law Society published a consultation on alternative business structures. The Faculty of Advocates has also initiated a debate within the bar about how its rules might be amended. I pay tribute to the Law Society for the leadership and courage that it has demonstrated. It is difficult for a membership organisation to lead its members through radical change, especially when no clear or consistent view prevails among an overwhelming majority of its members.

However, the Law Society's consultation rightly makes clear why the status quo is not an option and sets out a timetable for rapid change. The society aims to present detailed proposals early in the new year, following the conclusion of its consultation on 31 January. I anticipate that the bar should be able to match and even improve on that timescale.

That urgency is not a response to a timetable set by the OFT, but a response to the practical issues faced by the profession and, even more important, by those who use our legal services. We cannot build a wall against specialisation, commodification or competition from outside the profession—they are already happening. Senior and respected figures in the profession are already identifying how reforms might create new opportunities. At this stage I do not intend to limit their thinking, but I will set out the tests that I will apply to determine whether the proposals that come forward meet Scotland's needs.

In short, it is our ambition that everyone in Scotland should have access to good-quality legal services when they need them. The word quality is fundamental—the right level of service at the right price. The badge of Scottish solicitor or advocate has always carried an assurance of professionalism, which I am determined to maintain. A key test for me will be whether our large financial institutions, which are able to choose where to take their legal business, increasingly choose to do that business in Scotland. There is something fundamentally wrong if key players in the Scottish economy choose to litigate in another jurisdiction. It is fundamental that we ensure that they make their home jurisdiction their jurisdiction of choice.

As well as ensuring quality, we need to expand access. That means maintaining viable legal services in local communities. New business structures may be helpful—for example, if they allow a firm to offer a wider range of services. However, there are dangers in moving in a single step to a wholly open market, and we should not allow new entrants from outside the profession unless access and quality can be maintained.

We need to deliver quality and access, and we will be able to do so if we strike the right balance between competition and regulation. If we act quickly, we can get ahead of the game. England's reforms are massive and will take several years to implement. As a small country, we can do what any good small business would do—we can be flexible and innovative, test out new ideas quickly and build on those that have potential.

Of course, there are things that we must safeguard and difficult issues that we must resolve. I strongly believe in the value of an independent referral bar and will do all that I can to help the high street firms that offer vital services to our local communities. We need to ensure that the core values of the profession are not diminished and to consider how reform might affect important consumer safeguards such as the solicitors guarantee fund. I look forward to hearing Parliament's views on those issues, which will inform the response that we make to the OFT later this year.

I hope that members will support our motion, but I am happy to accept the amendment that Pauline McNeill has lodged. In this and previous debates, I have indicated that, although this may not be the most flamboyant or interesting subject for members, the general public or the press corps—representatives of which are entirely absent today—it is fundamental. I pay tribute to those who are participating in the debate and those on the Opposition front benches who are addressing the matter constructively, to ensure that the Parliament gets it right.

We accept that this is a difficult time for our legal profession. That is understandable when people are afraid for their livelihood, because they fear that change may undermine their situation and damage their economic position. The Law Society is doing an excellent job of trying to allay understandable fears, at the same time as making it quite clear that the status quo is not and cannot be an option—not because the desire for change is driven from here in Scotland, but because there is change in our society and elsewhere in the world. We must adapt. If we do so, the profession that has served us well, not only through 300 years of an incorporating union but over the centuries prior to that, will be able to deliver.

We are at one with Pauline McNeill in the desire to enhance justice at grass-roots level, through new forms of provision, where appropriate, and through continued support for those members of the profession who have served local communities over the years, often for modest rewards. We will remain a candid and supportive friend of the legal profession, helping it to continue to serve Scotland well in the years to come.

We will doubtless have to return to the chamber on the issue. Whether there will be greater interest on the part of the media and others is a matter on which we will have to comment at that stage, but the issue is fundamental. Today's debate is taking place at an early juncture, but we can lay out what we envisage for the legal profession. It must maintain quality of service, continue to assure value, through regulation, and continue to ensure, as the Labour amendment makes clear, that it serves not only itself and those who have the appropriate financial means, but all our communities in as many ways as it can.

The way in which the law serves its community is changing. The changes in our society mean that the legal profession must change substantially. Today we are taking a significant stride forward. I pay tribute to all members who are participating in the debate, which will be on-going and cannot simply be left to the legal profession. Given the importance and pivotal role of the legal profession in our society, everyone in our community—especially those who have been given the privilege of speaking in the chamber—should participate in the debate.

The Law Society has also taken a significant stride forward, and we should support it in its efforts. I hope that when we return to the chamber on the issue, the profession will be united on the direction that it wishes us to take. Ultimately, it is the Government's desire to work with the Law Society to deliver the appropriate legislative changes that the society wants, rather than to impose directions. We are making it clear that the status quo cannot be retained and that there must be change, because of matters beyond our or the profession's control. Together we can ensure that a legal profession that has served us well continues to do so and, as Pauline McNeill has rightly said, continues to serve our communities. However, as a Government with ambition for Scotland, we also look forward to firms that aspire to compete pan-UK, if not internationally, being able to do so, as we are now in a global world.

I move,

That the Parliament notes the Office of Fair Trading's response to the super-complaint by Which? on restrictions on business structures and direct access in the Scottish legal profession and the Law Society of Scotland's consultation on alternative business structures; believes that the regulatory and business structures of the Scottish legal profession should reflect Scottish circumstances and support improved access to high-quality legal services in a competitive and appropriately regulated market in accordance with competition law, and notes the Scottish Government's approach of working closely with the legal profession to secure reforms that will allow the Scottish legal profession to compete internationally while enhancing access to justice in local communities.