Lord Hope raises concerns over absence of plans to consult Scots lawyers on new bill

Lord Hope

The Professional Qualifications Bill, currently at committee stage, would treat individuals seeking to practise particular professions in the UK “as if they have a specified UK qualification or specified UK experience”.

Speaking in the Lords yesterday, the crossbench peer expressed surprise at the lack of any provision for a consultation with the professions and suggested one would be “essential before the regulation-making powers are exercised”. 

He noted that the bill was “remarkably silent” about obtaining the views of the professions.

The proposed legislation contains a test to enable demand for services to be met “without unreasonable delay or charges”. Lord Hope said that in Scotland this test is not currently met by existing regulations. The bill states that a legislative consent motion will be sought from Holyrood.

Lord Hope said: “As regulation of the legal professions in Scotland is wholly devolved, the appropriate authority in their case will be Scottish ministers. It will be for them to decide whether the test … is met – that is, to enable demand for legal services to be met without unreasonable delay or charges.

“That does not seem to be the situation at present. It is difficult to know how readily that test will be met in future in the case of legal services, so we must assume that that matter will arise sooner or later.”

He pointed out that the Law Society of Scotland’s regulations would probably need to be amended to satisfy the bill – which requires the agreement of the Lord President. 

The former judge said he would expect the Lord President to “at least be consulted before the power … to implement is exercised, in view of the overriding responsibility that he has over that branch of the legal profession”.

As for the Faculty of Advocates, which operates under a different regime, Lord Hope said: “Here, too, one would want to be sure that this rather complex system is fully respected by the Scottish minsters before the power [to implement] is exercised. Consultation with the Lord President and the Faculty must surely be a prerequisite”.

He concluded: “Overall, this is a necessary bill, but I suggest that more thought needs to be given to how it will work in practice.”

UK investment minister Lord Grimstone of Boscobel said in response: “Many noble Lords spoke about the importance of respecting the devolution settlements for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.”

He added: “The bill will apply to the entirety of the UK and it allows the devolved administrations to make regulations within their devolved competences. The bill contains concurrent powers, because some professions are regulated on a UK-wide or GB-wide basis despite being within devolved competences.

“I am sure we can discuss this further in committee. These powers – all the powers in the bill – are compatible with the devolution settlements.”