Scotland Bill passes a significant milestone, Law Society says

Responding to the Scotland Bill being passed by the House of Commons tonight, Christine McLintock, President of the Law Society of Scotland said: “The passing of this important constitutional bill in the House of Commons is a significant milestone in its parliamentary journey.  

“We are pleased to see that the UK Government has changed the bill to make sure it declares the UK Government’s and the UK Parliament’s intention that the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament are recognised as permanent parts of the constitution, and in doing so have accepted the advice of the Law Society of Scotland, and others, that the original clause was unclear and insufficient in this respect.   

“We are also pleased to see that the bill has been changed to include a requirement for a referendum in Scotland should a future UK Government wish to abolish the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government.  This was something that we highlighted in our written evidence.  

“We still have concerns around the extent to which the bill puts the Sewel convention on a statutory footing.  We would have liked to have seen the legislation extended to include those aspects of the convention which require the consent of the Scottish Parliament when changes are being proposed to the legislative competence of the Parliament or the executive competence of the Scottish Government.  It was disappointing that the UK Government did not accept the amendments tabled which would have achieved this.”

ENDS                                                                     

Notes for Editors 

All the Law Society of Scotland’s documents relating to the Scotland Bill can be found on our website

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Journalists can contact Louise Docherty louisedocherty@lawscot.org.uk 0131 476 8204