Chamber and committees

Is the committee content with the instruments?

Members indicated agreement.

That concludes the public part of the meeting.

Welcome to the 20th meeting in 2023 of the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee. I remind everyone present to switch mobile phones to silent.

The first item of business is to decide whether to take items 5 and 6 in private. Is the committee content to take those items in private?

Members indicated agreement.

Before we move on to discuss succession, I note that, a couple of weeks ago, we had someone giving evidence who was a sole trustee. We know that, under charity law, when somebody is in that position, OSCR can step in to assist. Do you believe that the bill provides enough safeguards for a person who becomes a sole trustee to a trust? Something might happen to that individual. Clearly, we do not want that to happen but, in such a case, the trust could end up having no trustee.

However, the beneficiary might not be in a position to make such an application.

We move on to the issue of what happens when someone dies without leaving a will. Currently, a cohabitant has six months to apply to the court in order to access the deceased person’s estate. We have heard a lot of evidence on the strict six-month time limit. It is fair to say that the majority feel that that time period is far too short. Various witnesses have suggested that the bill should be amended to address the issue, and there have been several suggestions about the specific nature of any changes. Having heard the views that have been expressed in evidence, is the minister persuaded that the bill should be amended to change the six-month time limit, or are there drawbacks to a change in policy?

Thank you, minister. The Faculty of Advocates argued that a power for the court to extend the time limit on an individual case-by-case basis should have been included in the bill; indeed, it did not think that that particular aspect would be controversial. It also suggested that it would help grieving and vulnerable cohabitants navigate family dynamics after the death. I should add that Yvonne Evans suggested that the time limit simply be extended to 12 months, and others thought that that should be the case, too.

Just before I bring in Jeremy Balfour, I want to pick up the point about grief. Obviously, grief affects everyone differently, so the six-month time period might be far too short for some individuals. Therefore, the recommendation from the Faculty of Advocates on extending the period on an individual case-by-case basis could be a compromise in the bill. That said, there was strong evidence in support of a full extension to 12 months.

Will the Scottish Government send that research to the SLC for additional work or will it remain solely for the Scottish Government?

Oliver, did you want to come back in?