Place/date of meeting agreeing ACA/Simple Procedure involvement: FOI release
Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
FOI reference: FOI/18/01523
Date received: 18 May 2018
Date responded: 8 June 2018
Information requested
The place and date of the meeting where it was allegedly agreed with the Scottish Government that the Association of Commercial Attorneys would restrict the revised Scheme to address Simple Procedure only as claimed by Denise Swanson.
Response
The proposed changes to the scheme were stimulated by expiry of the transitional period for the ACA draft scheme. The Lord President's office advised at that time that we should progress on the basis that the scheme had moved out of the transitional period but that it would benefit from some amendment to reflect the new Simple Procedure Rules. Officials have checked back through our records, we do not have a record of a meeting at that time to discuss the issues covered in your request. We do, however, have a record of a telephone call to you from an official within the Access to Justice Team, to relay that position. The official subsequently wrote to confirm the discussion in a letter to you dated 4 March 2016. I attach a copy of the letter. That letter references Simple Procedure Rules and sought revisions by 1 July 2016 to ensure that these were in place in time for the introduction of the new Rules. We were under the impression that a meeting had been held but we understand now that this was a telephone conversation and I am very sorry for any confusion caused.
As set out above, the letter of 4 March 2016 references both the telephone conversation and the link to impending Simple Procedure Rules.
Section 17(1) of FOISA (information not held) requires the Scottish Government to notify you if it does not have the information you requested. The Scottish Government does not have the information you have asked for because the matters were covered in a telephone conversation and subsequent letter rather than a meeting. A copy of the letter, referencing the telephone conversation, is attached.
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