PE1851, which was lodged by Melanie Collins and William Tait, calls on the Scottish Government to urgently review and reform the Scottish legal system, including through an update of systems and practices to ensure that bodies, authorities and institutions are fit for purpose.
In its written submission, the Scottish Government outlines its on-going work on the reform of legal services regulation, the judicial register of interests, law reform, legal aid reform and mediation. In relation to legal services regulation, it highlights the independent review that it commissioned, which was chaired by Esther Roberton.
Although the review concluded that the current complaints system was not fit for purpose, the Scottish Government explains that it is seeking to build consensus, where possible, on the way forward prior to deciding on a course of action. Although progress has been disrupted by the impact of Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic, the Scottish Government anticipates that it will be able to publish a consultation seeking views on a way forward during this session of Parliament.
The submission also highlights work to progress interim improvements to the complaints system ahead of wider reform. The consultation on those changes ended in February this year, and the Scottish Government is currently analysing the responses.
In their submission, the petitioners state that the issues in their petition are important and
“impact on all living in Scotland.”
Does anyone have any thoughts on the course of action that we might take?
