Chamber and committees

Sorry, Mr Whittle—I think that Gordon MacDonald intends to come in on that area.

We will move over to Gordon, if that is okay. We have dealt with clinical trials.

Thank you very much. We will now move to questions. If people could keep their answers and questions concise, that would be helpful.

Mr McGeoch, you referred to NSET, which is the Government’s 10-year economic strategy. Coming now to George Davidson, does your organisation see the impact of NSET? I know that we are just in year 2, but have there been any changes? How do you engage with the Scottish Government?

I asked about engagement with the Scottish Government. Is there a forum where you are able to speak to Government?

Good morning, and welcome to the 23rd meeting in 2023 of the Economy and Fair Work Committee. Our first item of business is a decision on whether to take items 5 and 6 in private. Are members happy to do so?

Members indicated agreement.

You might be able to give us an insight into when any future bankruptcy reforms will be introduced. The bill that the Government has introduced is a fairly technical one. It includes the mental health moratorium, but the rest of it is quite technical. You mentioned the 10-year limit for minimal asset process bankruptcy. As I have mentioned, there are issues around arrestment of wages and other areas. Do you have an understanding of when the Government plans to introduce secondary legislation or policy in this area? You have talked about the pressure that people are under at the moment. When will we see the other reforms that people need?

David Menzies, do you want to comment before I bring in Maggie Chapman?

Our second item of business is a decision to take item 5 in private. Are members content to do so?

Members indicated agreement.

Our next item of business is a stage 1 evidence-taking session on the general principles of the Bankruptcy and Diligence (Scotland) Bill. The bill aims to make changes to the law around bankruptcy and diligence by implementing various stakeholder-led recommendations. I thank all those who replied to the committee’s call for evidence. We are grateful for the submissions, which will help shape our consideration of the bill.

I welcome Dr Alisdair MacPherson, who is a committee member of the banking, company and insolvency law sub-committee of the Law Society of Scotland; Katie McLachlan, who is a licensed personal insolvency practitioner in insolvency and restructuring, from the Association of Business Recovery Professionals, known as R3; David Menzies, who is director of practice at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland; and Barry Mochan, who is a board member at the Insolvency Practitioners Association. As always, it will be helpful if members and witnesses keep their questions and answers as concise as possible. I will open with questions to Alisdair MacPherson, but I will give everyone the chance to address them.

The Government is adopting a three-stage approach to reforms in this area. I mentioned the responses that we have had to the bill; many talk about other areas that go beyond what is in the bill and other improvements that they would like to see in this field of work. The Government has argued that it is trying to strike a balance between regulatory and statutory duties. Alisdair, does the Law Society have a view on whether the Government has got that balance right? Does the bill cover the areas that should be statutory, and do you agree that other areas that people are arguing should be included in the bill are better suited to regulations?

Thank you. Kevin Stewart, do you have any relevant interests to declare?