SLCC ready to meet demands of the new Legal Services Bill

Following the publication of the Legal Services (Scotland) Bill, Jane Irvine, Chair of the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) commented: "The SLCC welcomes the new Bill and the many benefits it will offer to both consumers, who will have increased choices, and legal practitioners, who will have more options regarding how they operate.

"As a complaints handling organisation, the SLCC is ready to develop its own role in handling complaints against the members of any of the new regulatory bodies which will be appointed or licensed by the Scottish Government.

"However, on a note of caution, there is the potential to create more complex regulatory structures which consumers and practitioners could find difficult to circumnavigate, although in the longer term, the SLCC foresees that ABS just might lead to a reduction in the differences between the professions' regulatory processes and codes, which would be a good thing."

The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission was set up by the Scottish Government to receive all complaints about legal practitioners in Scotland and replaced the office of the Scottish Legal Services Ombudsman when it opened for business on 1 October last year.

Jane Irvine continued: "The Bill has benefited from the co-operation of both consumer bodies and the legal profession and the Scottish Government is to be commended for taking the Bill forward in good time."