Independent review of Legal Services regulation in Scotland panel members: FOI release

Information requested

The report details that there were 11 individuals on the review panel who supported the chair and I list these 11 panel members in the same order as they appear in the report – Dr Dame Denise Coia, Professor Lorne Crerar, Laura Dunlop QC, Ray Macfarlane, Jim Martin, Trisha McAuley, Christine McLintock, Nicolas Whyte, Alistair Morris, Derek Ogg QC & Neil Stevenson.

1. Please detail the total remuneration/expenses received by each of the 11 individuals listed above over the period of the review.

2. Please explain how remuneration/expenses were calculated.

3. Please list how many panel meetings each of the 11 individuals attended over the period of the review.

4. Please detail the number of written submissions each of the 11 individuals submitted for the review (if there were written submissions in addition to meetings).

5. Please explain any other services that each of the 11 individuals provided to the review.​​​​

Response

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have some of the information you have requested. The reasons why we don’t have the information are explained below.

1. Alistair Morris - £396
Trisha McAuley - £73.20
Lorne Crerar - £71.40
Nicholas Whyte - £192.95
Ray Macfarlane - £141.30

No other members of the panel claimed remuneration/expenses.

2. Members of the review team were entitled to be reimbursed by the Scottish Government for all reasonable travel and subsistence costs in addition to any expenses reasonably incurred in relation to the exercise of the functions.

3. The Review Panel met a total of 12 times between 9 May 2017 and 15 October 2018. I have provide the attendance for each member below:
Dr Dame Denise Coia – Our records indicate attended all but meeting number 8, 9 & 10.
Ray Macfarlane – Our records indicate attended all but meeting number 4.
Jim Martin – Our records indicate attended all meetings.
Trisha McAuley OBE – Our records indicate attended all but meeting number 2, 3, 6 & 12.
Professor Lorne Crerar – Our records indicate attended all but meeting number 3, 5 & 6.
Laura Dunlop QC – Our records indicate attended all but meeting number 3.
Christine McLintock – Our records indicate attended all but meeting number 2 & 8.
Nicholas Whyte – Our records indicate attended all but meeting number 1 & 11
Alistair Morris – Resigned January 2018. Our records indicate attended all but meeting number 4 prior to this.
Derek Ogg QC – Resigned March 2018. Our records indicate attended all but meeting number 1 & 3 prior to this.
Neil Stevenson - Resigned January 2018 when Jim Martin became Chair of the SLCC. Our records indicate attended all prior to this.

4. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested.

This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested. Such information would be held on behalf of the independent review, and not the Scottish Government.

5. The Panel did not provide any other services with regard to the review outwith the review’s remit. The remit for the Independent Review of the Regulation of Legal Services was to review the regulation of legal services in Scotland and in undertaking this review, to:

• consider what regulatory framework would best promote competition, innovation and the public and consumer interest in an efficient, effective and independent legal sector;
• recommend a framework which will protect the public and consumer interest, promote the principles of accountability, consistency, flexibility, transparency, cost-effectiveness and proportionality;
• ensure that the regulatory framework retains the confidence of the profession and the general public;
• undertake specific research into the extent of the unregulated legal services market in Scotland and investigate any impacts on consumers, as well as developing a better understanding of the structure of the legal services market.

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