MSPs support bankruptcy law proposals
The time is right to consolidate Scottish bankruptcy legislation as proposed in the bill now before Holyrood, a committee of MSPs has concluded.
In its report on the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Bill, published today, the Delegated Powers & Law Reform Committee accepts that the legislation in its present much amended form is unwieldy and presents challenges even to professionals and other regular users, which would be "almost insurmountable" to a member of the public.
"While the Scottish Government could wait for further developments before consolidating the legislation, this could run the risk of the work already done on the consolidation exercise becoming out of date. There is a pressing need for the legislation to be consolidated and accordingly the committee considers that now is an appropriate time for consolidation", it states.
The report is content with what has been included in the bill – the Debt Arrangement Scheme has been left out – and with the modifications proposed for the purpose of consolidation. Different views have been expressed in evidence about the preferred structure; the committee recognises that it is unlikely to be possible to accommodate everyone's wishes and does not support a radical restructuring at this stage.
Some more minor drafting points are suggested by way of amendment.
The bill is the first consolidation to be referred to the committee under the Parliament's streamlined procedure for uncontentious law reform measures.