Question reference: S6W-12592
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 28 November 2022
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Current status: Answered by Keith Brown on 7 December 2022
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the current (a) timescales, (b) plans and (c) legislative changes it plans to propose to reform the dual role of the Lord Advocate, in their capacity as head of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and as a minister in the Scottish Government and its principal legal adviser, in line with its commitments to do so.
Answer
The Programme for Government published in September 2021 covered this Parliamentary session running up to March 2026. Within it, there is a commitment as follows:
'The Scottish Government’s law officers, amongst other roles, act as the head of the independent prosecution service and as members of the Scottish Government. We will consult on whether the prosecution and government functions of the law officers should be separated.'
Work is continuing to progress towards a Scottish Government consultation. Development of the consultation will be informed by an initial phase of expert research, which is currently underway. This research will ensure a detailed baseline understanding of the many distinct roles and functions of the Law Officers and will provide information on how the functions of Law Officers operate in other countries.