Seòmar agus comataidhean

I have no further comments to make.

I can answer that. Although the fee increases are more than in previous years, they should be seen in the context of the soaring inflation that we have experienced over the past few years, and the increased associated costs, which Walter mentioned. In 2021, there was no fee increase due to the pandemic; in 2022 and 2023, the increase was 3 per cent; and in 2024, it was 2 per cent.

There are no plans for further increases until 1 April 2026. The total increases are considered over a five-year period, which would be in line with the post-pandemic inflation as measured by the consumer prices index. One other thing to highlight is that the fees that have been selected for the higher percentage increase were chosen because they are lower in nominal terms, thus minimising any impact to access to justice. Specific examples, which I mentioned in my letter to the committee last week, are fees for the sheriff court caveat, which are proposed to rise from £48 to £58, and the fee for lodging a motion, which is proposed to rise from £54 to £65.

I would like to respond to that point. That issue is one that has been raised. Legal aid is demand led. Last year, it had a budget of more than £141 million. If, during the course of a year, the level of legal aid goes over the budgeted level because of demand, the Scottish Government will have to pay for that.

I know that the Scottish Legal Aid Board is currently looking geographically at the areas that need legal aid and at how we can solve that. We are working with SLAB and the legal profession on how we can improve access to justice through legal aid.

I do not have that exact price at the moment. It would be useful to have the data that allows for the fee to be broken down in that form, but the cases differ depending on how much of the court’s time is used, so it is unique to each individual case. Many cases will settle without a hearing. Accordingly, the fee might be low. However, some cases might involve lengthy hearings in the Court of Session and multiple motions, which might make them more expensive. Therefore, it is very difficult to pinpoint an average cost.

I will bring in Walter Drummond-Murray on that, but it is my understanding that our court fees are lower than those in England and Wales. I note that, in England and Wales, the fee for a divorce is £593, but, in Scotland, it is only £150. That is a comparison for one of the fees.

Walter, do you have any further information?

As I said previously, it would be up to the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service to determine that, if the funding of £4 million a year was not raised on its behalf. As I set out in my letter to the committee, the expansion of the civil online service in the sheriff court is one example that it has been mentioned might have to be curtailed. Beyond all the examples that I have mentioned today and in my letter, there is simply a risk of delay and detriment to the court system.

Absolutely. It is right that the defender, whoever they are, meets the costs of the award. For catastrophic injury, regardless of whether the defender is a business or is publicly funded, it is important to note that, in cases where they are not properly compensated and they face the prospect of their money running out, pursuers will inevitably have to fall back on the NHS and other public social and care services, which places a burden on those services during their lifetime. That surely cannot be the right outcome.

The use of periodical payment orders can, of course, mitigate the impact of the discount rate. We are working to ensure that those provisions come into force so that the courts in Scotland may, for the first time, impose a periodical payment order, which would be helpful for bodies such as the NHS, which could be deemed to secure funding for the purposes of those provisions that relate to periodical payment orders.

I do not know whether Michael Paparakis or Scott Matheson have anything further to add to that.

Good morning, convener and committee. The two Scottish statutory instruments that you are considering are routine. They concern the application of the public sector equality duty and the Scotland-specific equality duties to two public authorities: Community Justice Scotland and the Patient Safety Commissioner for Scotland.

The office of the Patient Safety Commissioner for Scotland was established by legislation that was passed by the Parliament in September last year and came into effect at the start of this month. That legislation was introduced in response to a recommendation of the independent medicines and medical devices safety review, which followed a number of high-profile instances in which harm resulted from healthcare professionals not heeding concerns that were raised by patients about the safety of medical interventions.

The commissioner will be an independent public advocate for patients on issues of safety. They will champion the value of listening to patients and holding organisations to account for their responsibility to take patients’ concerns seriously. They will bring together evidence of patients’ experiences and concerns with wider patient safety data and use that to identify potential systemic patient safety issues. They will have powers to require information from healthcare organisations and to investigate patients’ safety concerns where they feel that there is a need to do so. I understand that the Parliament is currently in the process of recruiting the first commissioner.

Community Justice Scotland is a national body for community justice in Scotland. It was established in April 2017, when the new model for community justice was introduced. Community Justice Scotland’s aim is to promote and advance the national strategy for community justice, in order to create a more robust and effective community justice system based on local planning and delivery by a range of statutory and other partners, supported and guided by national leadership and oversight. It also monitors, promotes and supports improvement in performance in the provision of community justice across Scotland.

The Equality Act 2010 (Specification of Public Authorities) (Scotland) Order 2024 will add Community Justice Scotland and the Patient Safety Commissioner for Scotland to the list of public authorities that are required to comply with the public sector equality duty. That duty requires public authorities, when exercising their functions, to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation; the need to advance equality of opportunity; and the need to foster good relations between persons who share protected characteristics and persons who do not.

The Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2024 will apply the Scotland-specific equality duties by adding the bodies to the Equality Act 2010 (Specific) (Duties) Scotland Regulation 2012. Those regulations will, for example, require Community Justice Scotland and the Patient Safety Commissioner for Scotland to publish equality outcomes and report on progress towards achieving those outcomes; report on mainstreaming equality; and publish information on the gender pay gap and equal pay.

With regard to Community Justice Scotland, it is worth noting that, although the organisation has existed for a number of years, equality legislation was not updated when it was first established. The Equality and Human Rights Commission subsequently recommended that appropriate changes be made to include Community Justice Scotland. The Scottish Government agrees with that recommendation, and this legislation will ensure that Community Justice Scotland is fully subject to the provisions therein. The committee might wish to note, however, that, up to this point, Community Justice Scotland has considered itself to be under the general public sector equality duty from the outset, and it has acted accordingly.

In summary, I recognise the importance of ensuring that our public authorities have regard to their equality duties when exercising any functions. I consider these SSIs to be the best approach to ensure that that happens.

I hope that that provides a useful overview. I will be happy to take any questions that the committee might have.

The draft Scottish Tribunals (Listed Tribunals) Regulations 2024 are relatively straightforward regulations. They amend the Tribunals (Scotland) Act 2014 to include the transport tribunal in the list of tribunals listed at schedule 1 to that act, whose functions may then be transferred to the Scottish tribunals. The regulations also specify the appeal functions for the transport tribunal that may be transferred, namely the devolved appeals function.

The Tribunals (Scotland) Act 2014 created a new simplified statutory framework for tribunals in Scotland by establishing the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland and the Upper Tribunal for Scotland, known collectively as the Scottish tribunals. The act brought the existing tribunal jurisdictions together and provided a structure for new jurisdictions. Schedule 1 to the 2014 act sets out the bodies whose functions may transfer into the Scottish tribunals.

The draft regulations are part of a wider suite of regulations that are required to transfer certain appeal functions of the transport tribunal under section 39 of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2001 to the Upper Tribunal for Scotland, and to allocate new appeal functions in relation to bus service improvement partnerships under the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 to the Upper Tribunal for Scotland. It is intended that the respective transfer and allocation of these appeals functions to the Upper Tribunal occur at the same time. The Scottish Government is currently working towards a transfer and allocation date in December 2024. Further regulations to effect that transfer and allocation will follow.

The Scottish Tribunals (Listed Tribunals) Regulations 2024 support the Scottish Government’s policy intention to transfer devolved appeal functions into the Scottish Tribunals.

Finally, I understand that the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee considered the draft regulations on 23 April 2024, but raised no queries in respect of them.

I will be happy to answer any questions.

Yes. No issues or financial complications have been raised. Although Community Justice Scotland has not needed to demonstrate that it follows that duty until now, it has been doing so since it was established in 2017.

I do not know whether my officials have any insight on the concerns that have been raised.