Non-lawyer will writers to be regulated north of the border

The Scottish Parliament has passed amendments to the Legal Services (Scotland) Bill which will see a regulation body set up to control non-lawyer will writers.

Holyrood intends the move to provide consumers with the same protection from rogue will writers as they would get from using a solicitor.

Jamie Millar, president of the Law Society of Scotland, said: 'We welcome the opportunity to work with the Justice Committee and the government to further discussions on the compensation fund arrangements. It's an important and complicated issue and the society is committed to help find a solution which will meet the needs of traditional law firms and new licensed providers and also protect consumers.'

The society was one of various groups to lobby the Scottish Parliament for regulation following a series of incidents which left clients unable to seek compensation for what it referred to as "inaccurate, inadequate or overly expensive advice".

Holyrood heard communities safety minister Fergus Ewing describe the case of a non-lawyer will writer who had driven an elderly client to the bank to pay a £1,000 cash fee for a will, estimated to be up to ten times the usual price.

Speaking at the Justice Committee on Tuesday, SNP MSP for Inverness East, Mr Ewing, said: 'As for our dealings with the UK government, we are very happy to discuss this matter with it and, indeed, would like our friends and colleagues south of the border to follow happily the lead that we are giving in the UK on this issue.

'It would certainly be useful to have some exchange in this respect, because '“ to be quite candid and frank about this '“ I am sure that consumers south of the border are being ripped off by cowboys charging a fortune for a service that might well be defective.

'Such a practice is wrong, no matter whether it is happening in Paisley or Plymouth, and I am very happy to work with our UK government colleagues on the matter.'

MSPs agreed that those who seek legal advice from a new licensed legal service provider should have the same access to compensation as those who go to a traditional solicitors' firm.

The committee passed an amendment which would mean all legal services providers should contribute to and access the existing guarantee fund, with any individual claim on the fund capped at £1.25m.

The Fellowship of Professional Willwriters and Probate Practitioners, which has been lobbying for a similar system south of the boarder, has welcomed the committee's decision.

Gareth Richards, head of quality and membership services at the fellowship, said: 'We applaud the Scottish Government's decision to regulate will writing. Clearly, Scotland recognises that regulation is necessary to further protect consumers and that regulation is proportionate. We would hope that Westminster follows suit.'

He confirmed the fellowship will apply to become the regulator of non-solicitor will writers if a similar law is passed in England and Wales, explaining: 'We already have a sound independent regulatory structure, a strong and growing membership base and the support of the majority from within the industry.

'The message we are receiving from the reputable will writing companies is that they are not only pro regulation but are also supportive of our endeavours to become the regulator.'