Stewart Duncan
Thesis title: How policy becomes law in devolved Scotland: the preparation of bills at Holyrood
PhD supervisors:
Address
- Street
-
Edinburgh Law School
Old College
South Bridge - City
- Edinburgh
- Post code
- EH8 9YL
Availability
Contactable via email
Background
Stewart Duncan is a PhD candidate in Law at the University of Edinburgh. His research examines how policy is developed into legislation in devolved Scotland, with particular attention to the pre-introduction preparation of Scottish Government Bills.
Prior to beginning this research, Stewart worked in The Scottish Parliament, where he undertook legislative scrutiny, amendments to primary legislation, stakeholder engagement and policy development. He has also worked in policy and external affairs roles in the trade union movement. This background informs his interest in the institutional processes through which political commitments, policy objectives and legal constraints are worked into legislative form.
Qualifications
PhD Law, University of Edinburgh (2025-present)
Thesis title: How policy becomes law in devolved Scotland: the preparation of Bills at Holyrood
Supervision by Scott Wortley and James Mitchell
MSc Public Policy with Distinction, University of Edinburgh (2024-25)
LLB (Hons) Law with First Class Honours, Edinburgh Napier University (2020-24)
Undergraduate teaching
Tutor, Politics of the Welfare State (SCPL08005)
School of Social and Political Science, Session 2025/26 - Semester 2
The 20 credit, level 8 course examines the politics of the welfare state in the UK in the context of major economic and political developments since 2008, including Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic, and considers the role of ideology, public opinion, political actors, interest groups and the media in shaping welfare reform. It also introduces students to key welfare benefits and services, how they are delivered and funded, and who benefits, supported through structured tutorial discussion and feedback.
Tutor, Understanding Public Policy (SCPL08012)
School of Social and Political Science, Session 2025/26 - Semester 1
The 20 credit, level 8 course introduces students to key theories and concepts in the study of public policy, with an emphasis on how policy is made by different actors and across multiple levels of government, using thematic teaching, case studies, and practitioner input. It also supports students to develop core analytical and academic writing skills through structured tutorial discussion and formative feedback.
Research summary
Stewart’s research interests sit at the intersection of legislation, public policy and devolved government. He is interested in how law is made as an institutional practice, particularly the stages of legislative development that occur before formal parliamentary scrutiny begins.
His work engages with legislative studies, public policy theory and institutional accounts of law. He is especially interested in the relationship between policy development and legal form; the role of legislative drafters and government lawyers; the use of legislation as a policy instrument; and the way institutional settings shape the preparation, scrutiny and enactment of Bills.
His wider interests include Scottish devolution, the Scottish Parliament, legislative drafting, parliamentary procedure, law reform, policy design and the relationship between executive government and legislative institutions.
Current research interests
Stewart’s current PhD project examines the pre-introduction preparation of Scottish Government Bills. The project asks how policy is developed and settled into legislative form before a Bill is introduced to the Scottish Parliament. The research focuses on the micro-level policy work through which officials, government lawyers, Parliamentary Counsel, ministers and other actors develop policy into a legislative proposal. It examines how decisions are made about whether legislation is needed, what legal mechanism should be used, how powers and duties should be framed, how existing law constrains new proposals, and how a Bill is prepared for the parliamentary process through which it must pass. The project considers how the role of the drafter has developed within the institutions of Holyrood and the Scottish Executive/Scottish Government since devolution, and how that role participates in the process by which policy is made into legislation. The thesis will use archival research, doctrinal analysis and interviews. It will examine selected case studies of Scottish Government Bills with different origins, through which the project aims to develop a sustained account of how legislative preparation operates in devolved Scotland, and how micro-level drafting and policy work may affect broader, macro policy development.Recent writing
Duncan SA, 'Reforming Holyrood's Committees: A Constitutional Perspective', U.K. Const. L. Blog (27th November 2025) (available at https://ukconstitutionallaw.org/)