Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Act 2025 (asp 8) - Explanatory Notes

Explanatory Notes

Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Act 2025

2025 asp 8

27 June 2025

Background

Schedule 3 — Minor and Consequential Modifications of Enactments

Part 5 – Miscellaneous modifications of other enactmentsFreedom of information

352. Paragraph 40 inserts new paragraph 61D into schedule 1 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. This change ensures that category 1 regulators (and for present purposes, the Law Society) are subject to the 2002 Act as respects the exercise of its regulatory functions.

Removal of special provision for confirmation agents and will writers etc.

353. Paragraphs 41 to 43 amend, respectively, the 2007 Act, the 2010 Act and the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (Scotland) Act 2013. Paragraph 41 repeals a special provision for confirmation agents and will writers, and paragraphs 42 and 43 make consequential changes to the 2010 Act and the 2013 Act respectively to remove references relating to such agents and writers in other enactments.

Civil enforcement of certain offences

354. Paragraphs 44 and 45 and the 1980 Act and 2010 Act respectively clarify that the civil remedy of interdict may be sought with a view to preventing the carrying out of an act that is subject to criminal law penalties under those Acts.

Disclosure requirements in connection with new offences

355. Paragraphs 46 and 47 amend, respectively, schedule 1 of the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020 (“the 2020 Act”) and schedule A1 of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exclusions and Exceptions) (Scotland) Order 2013. The changes made by paragraph 46 ensure that offences under the 1980 Act, sections 73 and 74 of the 2010 Act, and sections 32, 39, 40, 82, 83 and 84 of the Act are not non-disclosable offences under the 2020 Act. The changes made by paragraph 47 ensure that offences under the 1980 Act, sections 73 and 74 of the 2010 Act, and sections 31, 39, 40, 90, 91 and 92 of the Act must be disclosed in the circumstances required by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (as read with the 2013 Order).