News In Focus
29 April 2010
MSPs back introduction of “Tesco law”
MSPs have backed controversial plans to introduce the so-called "Tesco law" to Scotland.
The Legal Services (Scotland) Bill will now go to the Justice Committee for further scrutiny.
Its first reading at Holyrood on Wednesday afternoon saw MSPs back it by 92 votes to two.
Community Safety Minister Fergus Ewing said the proposals were a "necessary change" that would "benefit greatly the legal profession, the consumer and the wider Scottish economy".
He said some arguments against the bill have been "misinformed, exaggerated or just downright misleading".
Mr Ewing added: "The rather lurid accusations of a few risk turning a constructive discussion about the future of the legal profession in Scotland into an unedifying stramash."
The independence of the legal profession will not be threatened by the measures, he said, and the Scottish Government will drop measures which prompted concerns it could control membership of the Law Society of Scotland's Council.
Labour's Richard Baker MSP said there were still "important questions" over the legislation, but added he believed it could benefit consumers if change brought more legal and related services together in a "one-stop shop".
"We can use this legislative process to improve access to justice and give our law firms a competitive edge," he added.