Still waters run deep

January is a month where time is spent recovering from the festive season and it can be a little difficult to get fully back to work again. In Dunfermline it was not really until mid-January that the incoming mail returned to its normal level, which suggests that I am not alone in this. January is typically a quiet month in terms of going out and about as President, although I did have a most enjoyable evening as a Burns Supper guest of the Society of Scottish Solicitors in London. Luckily for them I was not required to expose my limited knowledge of the Bard!

The same week saw a meeting in London between the UK & Irish Law Societies’ office bearers. These take place twice a year and have been dominated throughout my time by the Clementi proposals in England and Wales and their equivalent in the other jurisdictions. Even now at the stage of a published white paper for England and Wales, more detail is needed in relation to the proposed new Legal Services Board and alternative business structures (formerly MDPs). The Law Society of Scotland has put in a brief response reiterating our concerns. Beyond that we can do little other than watch and wait.

Back in Scotland we are told that the bill dealing with legal aid and the profession is likely to be published towards the end of February. The Society continues to have dialogue with the Executive to make the new body dealing with service complaints as efficient, fair and cost-effective as possible.

Moving from one quango to another, I was dismayed but not surprised to read the recent press reports about the Child Support Agency. Private debt collectors are to be used in what is considered a “radical” move to recover some of the staggering £3 billion of arrears owed by “absent” parents. I am old enough to remember the days when aliment for children was dealt with in the sheriff court. We were told in the early 1990s that the court was not an appropriate place for this as the awards made were not consistent. Furthermore, where the parent who had the care of the children received income support a sheriff very often made no award at all on the basis that the parent would not directly benefit – leading to an unhappy Treasury.

The Child Support Agency was the much trumpeted new way forward. The system had substantial teething problems – to be expected given the volume of applicants to the Agency. How galling it is that well over a decade later things have really not improved. £3 billion of arrears is a shocking situation. As a family law practitioner I often have to explain to clients that if the parent from whom aliment is due will not pay up voluntarily, they will have to endure (and I use the word advisedly) the machinations of the CSA. The system of obtaining aliment through court may well have produced some inconsistent results; but what we have now is consistent failure. How long will it be before it moves back to court, I wonder?

Although January has felt like a comparatively lean month (not calorie wise), much work continues at Drumsheugh Gardens. The Society’s new website will be launched this month, and if you have not already done so by the time you are reading this page, I would encourage you to have a look at it. Its aim is to be more user-friendly and to give more easily accessible information.

Also as part of enhancing communication, we are running four roadshows starting in February and going to Kilmarnock, Dumfries, Greenock and Elgin. Communication is a two-way process and the Society is keen to have as many members attend these as possible. Come along and ask a question – either for yourself or for a colleague.

Preparation is well in hand for the Society’s AGM on 17 March. I am hoping that the AGM will be a good chance to discuss the proposals for dealing with complaints handling and so this is an important date for all of your diaries. The AGM will once again be held at the Royal Museum of Scotland in Chambers Street, Edinburgh, and I encourage you to attend.

Finally, I could not end this month’s column without acknowledging the appalling attack last month on the Society’s Chief Accountant, Les Cumming. As I write this the Executive at the Law Society and members of the profession who know Les are still reeling from the shock. Tributes have flooded in to the Society, showing what a highly respected man he is. By the grace of God his injuries appear less serious than might have been the case and I know that all of our thoughts are very much with him and his family. Les, I hope you make a speedy recovery.