§ 38. Lord Douglas-Hamiltonasked the Lord Advocate whether he will make a statement on his last meeting with representatives of the Scottish Law Commission and the Law Society of Scotland in Edinburgh.
§ The Lord Advocate (Mr. Ronald King Murray)I have had no formal meetings with representatives of the Scottish Law Commission or the Law Society of Scotland in recent months. I do, however, meet the chairman and president respectively of these bodies at frequent intervals and exchange views and information with them on a wide variety of subjects with which they are concerned.
§ Lord Douglas-HamiltonWill the right hon. and learned Gentleman say whether the Government will introduce legislation to make it unnecessary for Scots resident in Scotland to travel to London at great expense in order to complete formalities at Bow Street Magistrates' Court when they wish to seek employment abroad?
§ The Lord AdvocateThe hon. Gentleman was kind enough to give me notice of that supplementary question, which does not follow in an obvious way from the original Question. The introduction of legislation on this topic is not a matter for me, although I am very much concerned with the difficulty which the hon. Gentleman has rightly highlighted. I understand that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland has already assured the hon. Gentleman of his interest and concern in the matter, in a letter that he has written to him. I think that the hon. Gentleman can take it that the fact that he has highlighted this matter is very much appreciated by the Government.