Election priorities, social security and money laundering

Committee highlights include issuing a Stage 1 briefing on the Social Security bill, and responding to HMT's consultation on improving money laundering regulations.

Public Policy Highlights June 2024

UK election priorities

In advance of the UK General Election, the Law Society of Scotland issued a UK Election Priorities Document.

Alongside access to justice and the separation of powers, the Law Society identified key areas of focus for the benefit of the Scottish solicitor profession and the businesses, organisations, communities and people across Scotland it serves, which it believes the incoming Government and all MPs should champion:

• The rule of law – a fundamental part of society and the constitution
• Access to justice – the justice system must be open and available to all
• Administrative justice – to ensure people can enforce their legal rights
• Protecting the public from financial crime – through anti-money laundering and other measures
• The future of the legal profession – a career in law should be accessible and desirable
• Trade and Scotland on the global stage – supporting cross-border legal services

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Social Security (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill

The Law Society of Scotland’s Administrative Justice Committee issued a Stage 1 briefing on the Social Security (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill welcomed in the provisions pertaining to the existing child payment and the proposed new assistance for care-experienced young people.

The committee did however express concerns regarding specific parts of the Bill. Part 3, for example, relates to provisions around re-determination or appeal requests, and the Committee is concerned about unnecessarily complicating the review and appeal provisions of the Scottish welfare system.

Similarly, Part 6 of the Bill concerns the provision of information for audit, and the concern expressed is that some of the provisions are confusing and appear to conflate audit and fraud, despite these being two separate issues. 

Find out more about our work on the Bill

HMT consultation: Improving the effectiveness of the Money Laundering Regulations

The Law Society of Scotland’s Regulatory Committee responded to HMT’s consultation: Improving the effectiveness of the Money Laundering Regulations, calling for greater clarity and a refocus on key ways to mitigate underlying risk in order to strengthen the UK’s anti-money laundering system.

The response urged the Government to address gaps in guidance for matters of critical importance to the legal sector, such as source of funds/wealth checks, and added that the Government should review provisions around the use of digital identity, high-risk factors and enhanced due diligence checks to ensure that the Money Laundering Regulations remain fit for purpose.

The Law Society was clear that pooled client accounts are a fundamental part of the conveyancing system and any changes to the approach taken to mitigate money laundering risk in this area need careful consideration.

Read our response

Find out more about the Law Society of Scotland’s work on influencing law and policy