Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Act 2025

54 Commission’s duty to investigate and determine services complaints

(1) The 2007 Act is amended as follows.

(2) In section 9 (services complaint: Commission’s duty to investigate and determine), after subsection (4) insert—

“(5) Where the practitioner (and, where subsection (3) applies, the employing practitioner) accepts a settlement proposed by the Commission under subsection (2) as respects the complaint but the complainer does not accept the settlement, the Commission may discontinue the investigation of the complaint and not determine it under subsection (1).

(6) If subsection (7) applies, the Commission may decide—

(a) not to initiate the investigation of a services complaint and determine it under subsection (1), or

(b) to discontinue the investigation of a services complaint and not to determine it under subsection (1).

(7) This subsection applies if—

(a) the Commission considers that the practitioner, the practitioner’s firm or the employing practitioner has offered the complainer a settlement as respects the complaint (“the proposed settlement”) which the Commission considers is fair and reasonable in the circumstances,

(b) the complainer has not accepted the proposed settlement, and

(c) the Commission is satisfied that the proposed settlement will remain available for acceptance by the complainer for a period of up to 28 days after the complainer receives notice of the Commission’s decision under subsection (6).”.