Chamber and committees

A great deal of distress has been caused to victims, and, as the cabinet secretary said, what we say matters. She now says that she accepts that she should have corrected the record. Does she accept that she should have come to the chamber with a simple apology a number of months ago, rather than going through these weeks of prevarication? Did she consider making such a statement to Parliament following the discussions with Professor Jay on 3 October about what clarification should be made?

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how it plans to address CalMac’s ferry repair and maintenance costs, in light of reports that these costs have doubled over the past two years. (S6T-02824)

It is reported that more than £260 million has been spent on repairs in the past 11 years. The bill was £50.1 million in 2024-25, compared with £25 million two years earlier. Does the cabinet secretary agree with campaigners that costs are out of control?

The increase in costs is clearly a result of the ageing fleet and the failure of the Scottish Government to order new vessels over many years. Given the delays to the MV Glen Rosa and the two Turkish vessels that have been ordered coming into service, and given the number of vessels that keep being taken out of commission for repairs, how can CalMac realistically be expected to plan its annual deployment timetable with any degree of confidence?

The number of solicitors who are registered to provide legal aid in Scotland has fallen by 12 per cent in just three years.

Does the minister still want to make an intervention?

I understand that some key stakeholders are not willing to take part in that group. At this point in my speech, I am focused on legal aid rates and the reasons why solicitors have walked away from undertaking civil legal aid work in particular, but the issues are very similar with criminal legal aid.

The cuts in rates have been accompanied by an 18 per cent reduction in the number of firms that are registered for legal aid, and I have already spoken about the number of solicitors having reduced by 12 per cent in only three years. That is the very recent past—those are the figures that we are dealing with now, against the backdrop of historical cuts to civil legal aid, which the minister is aware of.

In a recent survey, the Law Society of Scotland found that nearly 41 per cent of respondents plan to stop offering legal aid within two years or are unsure whether they will continue.

I do not know whether I have more time, given that I have taken a couple of interventions.

Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. I am pleased to open the debate on behalf of Scottish Labour. We thank committee members, clerks and all others who contributed to the committee’s important report. We believe that the issues that are highlighted in the report go back over many decades. It is vital that we have a properly funded and accessible legal aid system.

As we have heard, cuts to legal aid rates over a number of years have led to what are called legal aid deserts, where it is impossible to find a lawyer to take on a civil legal aid case. Insufficient fees for civil legal aid have led to lawyers being unwilling to carry out such work, and low eligibility thresholds mean that fewer and fewer people qualify. There have also been cuts—again, over many years—to the types of cases in which it is possible to get legal aid.

We are all aware of many constituents who have been unable to get legal representation when they need it, and we agree with the committee convener that it is very disappointing that there will be no primary legislation on the issue in this parliamentary session. It is also very disappointing that there has been no other significant action, with the situation only getting worse—in that respect, I listened very carefully to what the minister said.

Scottish Labour has repeatedly warned about the deep and damaging cuts that the Scottish Government has made to the legal aid system. Scottish Government spending on legal aid has declined by 45 per cent over the past decade. We are clear that there must be an end to the cuts to legal aid and that the system must receive sustainable funding. The cuts that there have been have also clearly contributed to the growing issues with legal aid provision that we are seeing across Scotland.

Would the minister write to the committee in more detail as the bill progresses, outlining sector-specific areas where it is believed that guidance might be helpful?

I am pleased to open the debate on behalf of Scottish Labour, and I associate myself with the comments from the minister and the convener about Lady Paton.

Scottish Labour supports the general principles of the bill, while calling for the Government to work with stakeholders to consider how the bill could be improved ahead of stage 2. As a member of the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee, I was involved in the bill’s scrutiny. I thank my colleagues on the committee for the work that they have done in scrutinising the bill, and I thank all stakeholders who engaged with us in the evidence sessions for their involvement in the scrutiny process so far.

There has been a great deal of consensus on the provisions in the bill. It aims to implement recommendations that the Scottish Law Commission made in its 2018 review of contract law in order to codify the law in that area. As the minister said, it is an attempt to codify and simplify the law.

We do not accept that settled law always needs to be codified. However, we recognise the considerable work that the Scottish Law Commission has undertaken, and we support the contents of the bill. We also note that there is limited reform included in the bill. We hope that the bill does not lead to further litigation but, instead, clarifies the law and gives greater certainty.

As the minister said, the intention is that contract law should be clear. As she also stated, the bill deals with the postal acceptance rule, and there will be proposals in relation to the law of retention, which we welcome.

The bill seeks to implement the recommendations of the Scottish Law Commission by establishing default rules relating to the creation of contracts and aspects of the law on remedies for breach of contract, which we support. It does not intend to be a complete statutory codification of Scots common law on contract. Its provisions are intended as starting points or a default, as the minister outlined, always retaining the option for parties to contract out of them and provide their own rules by agreement.

The bill’s provisions might be particularly helpful in international and commercial contexts, in which clarity and predictability are central to maintaining standards. It will also allow the law to be modernised to reflect how the world has changed and, as the convener mentioned, how our postal services have changed, in that they have got far worse and seen no improvement in any sense. We have to deal with the fact that new technology will have an enhanced role and that there will be changes to how communication takes place, with less reliance on postal services.

I welcome the Scottish Government’s intention to introduce provisions on the law of retention. I invite ministers to consider the comments and drafting suggestions that have been made to the committee thus far and to engage with stakeholders on those suggestions ahead of stage 2. I hope that there will be consensus in that regard.

It would be helpful if the Scottish Government could provide a further update today on the outcome of any discussions that have taken place before the deadline for lodging stage 2 amendments, given that time will be limited between when we return after the Christmas break and the dissolution of Parliament.

We welcome the bill and the approach of having a simple piece of legislation that uses simple language so that parties know exactly what the rules are that govern them. We will be pleased to agree to the general principles of the bill, and we call on the Scottish Government to seek further views on its drafting and to prepare guidance that seeks to make the law as straightforward and usable as possible.

The number of new homes that North Ayrshire Council plans to build has not increased by a single house since the Scottish National Party took control of the council from Labour in 2022. Will the cabinet secretary advise whether that is the result of a lack of ambition on the part of the current North Ayrshire administration or due to cuts in funding for affordable housing by the Scottish Government?