SNP MSP calls for roll-back on 'legislation for legislation's sake'

Law-making in the Scottish Parliament should be scaled back to improve the quality of scrutiny, an SNP MSP has said.

In an interview with Holyrood, Fulton MacGregor said too much Scottish law-making is "legislation for legislation's sake" and committees need more time to examine the details.

MacGregor, a member of the criminal justice and local government, housing and planning committees, said: "In here, we have a tendency to over-legislate, it’s legislation for legislation’s sake. Hopefully I get back in [in 2026] and I will be making noises that we legislate less. The committees I’m on are piling through legislation and we’ve not even got these things enacted and we’re looking at the next thing."

The comments follow a string of bills which have been blocked from enactment, including those on gender reforms, the deposit return scheme and the incorporation of the UN Charter on the Rights of the Child.

And they come as the former social worker pushes the Scottish Government to bring in mandatory reporting rules for potential child abuse.

The UK Government is making such a move as part of its Crime and Policing Bill. The shift will make it a legal duty for those working with children in England to report concerns of child sexual abuse. Safeguarding minister Jess Phillips said that will "create a culture of openness and honesty rather than cover-ups and secrecy".

First Minister John Swinney has said professionals in Scotland already work under an obligation to report concerns and his administration will consider the position in England.

MacGregor, who worked in child protection and criminal justice, convenes the parliament's cross-party group (CPG) on adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse, which has taken evidence on the matter.

As many as 15 European nations have some form of reporting obligations in place, including Bulgaria, Cyprus, Ireland, Latvia and Sweden, and MacGregor said there is "a broad swelling of opinion now of almost everybody, apart from Scottish Government officials" that it is required here. 

He said: "It’s not to put pressure on already-stretched organisations, it’s to formalise the protection of children in these really scary situations of childhood sexual abuse. There’s a lot of examples of where it goes under the radar because people weren’t sure when to report. Making it mandatory takes that away."

He went on: "The thing that totally convinced me is survivors are asking for it and they are asking for it in their droves. The CPG has not found a single survivor who doesn’t want it, so it’s the least we can do."

Recalling the testimony of a former pupil abused in a residential school, MacGregor said: "He was crying. He was in his late 60s, early 70s. He felt that if mandatory reporting had been in place it would have made an impact for him."