Justice Committee
Meeting date: Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Official Report
477KB pdf
Subordinate Legislation
Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Disclosure of Information to and by Lord Advocate and Scottish Ministers) Amendment Order 2014 [Draft]
I welcome everyone to the fifth meeting of the Justice Committee in 2014. I ask everyone to switch off mobile phones and other electronic devices completely, as they interfere with the broadcasting system even when they are switched to silent.
Apologies have been received from John Pentland. Graeme Pearson is here as his substitute.
Agenda item 1 is consideration of subordinate legislation. We will consider an affirmative instrument: the draft—not the daft—Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Disclosure of Information to and by Lord Advocate and Scottish Ministers) Amendment Order 2014. The instrument enables the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and the civil recovery unit to disclose information to the Law Society of Scotland in appropriate cases, and it supports the council of the Law Society in effectively discharging its functions as a supervisory authority under the Money Laundering Regulations 2007.
I welcome to the meeting the Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs, Roseanna Cunningham, and two Scottish Government officials. Alastair Hamilton is a policy officer in the organised crime unit, and Carla McCloy-Stevens is a lawyer in the directorate for legal services. Good morning to you all.
The minister will give evidence in advance of the debate on the draft order, starting with an opening statement.
Yes, convener. It might be helpful to make a brief statement.
I do not expect the order to be particularly controversial. Obviously, tackling serious organised crime is a top priority for this Scottish Government, as it would be for any Scottish Government. The order is aimed at strengthening the proceeds of crime legislation in Scotland.
There have been a few cases in which a proceeds of crime investigation has revealed information concerning the conduct of a particular solicitor that, although not criminal, could amount to professional misconduct. However, the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 does not currently permit that information to be brought to the attention of the Law Society of Scotland, which is, of course, the regulatory professional body for solicitors. The order is intended to rectify that.
The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 regulates the purposes for which the Lord Advocate and the Scottish ministers may disclose information that has been obtained in connection with their functions under the act. Those purposes generally relate to the exercise of certain public functions. In effect, the order extends those purposes to include the exercise of two additional public functions: the regulatory functions of the council of the Law Society of Scotland, as defined by sections 3F and 3G of the Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1980, and the functions of the Law Society of Scotland as a supervisory authority under the Money Laundering Regulations 2007.
That approach will enable the Lord Advocate and the Scottish ministers to share with the Law Society of Scotland any information that concerns alleged professional misconduct or non-compliance by a solicitor with the Money Laundering Regulations 2007. As a consequence, that will help the Law of Society of Scotland in discharging its functions. As the regulator or supervisory authority concerned, it will have the opportunity to investigate any such matter and decide whether disciplinary action is required.
Accordingly, the order both protects the consumers of legal services and provides a further means of disrupting the operation of organised crime groups in Scotland. It has therefore been welcomed by the Law Society of Scotland as well as by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and the civil recovery unit, which exercise functions under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 on behalf of the Lord Advocate and the Scottish ministers.
Obviously, if members have any questions, I will do my best to answer them.
Thank you very much. You have pre-empted me. Do members have any questions?
Minister, does the order have any retrospective application? I presume that something gave rise to the concerns that brought it about.
The order will not change the law retrospectively. It switches on a function of disclosing information for specific purposes from the date of commencement. The small number of previous cases that would have been caught by the order—about 10 in total—will not be caught retrospectively.
As there are no more questions, we move to the formal debate on the motion to approve the instrument. I invite the minister to move motion S4M-08881.
Motion moved,
That the Justice Committee recommends that the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Disclosure of Information to and by Lord Advocate and Scottish Ministers) Amendment Order 2014 [draft] be approved.—[Roseanna Cunningham.]
Motion agreed to.
As members are aware, the committee is required to report on all affirmative instruments. Are members content to delegate to me the authority to sign off the report?
Members indicated agreement.