The move of civil service jobs out of Edinburgh is being challenged under the new Nationalist administration, with 60 new posts being located in the capital by the Justice Minister.
Kenny MacAskill yesterday said the new Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) will be in Edinburgh, where he is an MSP, and that the Scottish Executive is keen to see such scrutiny bodies get together in one centre so that they can cut duplication and costs.
Officials are looking for office space, or a campus, where other watchdog bodies could join it, such as the public services ombudsman.
The relocation of civil service jobs out of Edinburgh has been highly controversial, particularly with the shift to Inverness for the headquarters of Scottish Natural Heritage.
The previous administration wanted to continue the move, so that other parts of the country benefited from government spending on jobs, with a presumption that new agencies would not be in Edinburgh.
Former First Minister Jack McConnell even said it was good for Edinburgh that it should lose these jobs.
But he faced growing criticism from Edinburgh MSPs, including his own party's, that jobs were not being widely dispersed and that most were going to Glasgow.
The largest planned relocation, of more than 1000 civil servants in the Registers of Scotland, was put on hold.
An executive spokeswoman said yesterday: "We are currently considering the future direction of the policy on public sector jobs location."
The SLCC office, intended to operate independently of the legal profession on some categories of complaints, will be operating by late next year.
With up to 60 staff, it is aimed at ensuring complaints against the profession are resolved quickly and effectively.
Mr MacAskill, the Edinburgh East and Musselburgh MSP, was one of those who was critical of the policy while in opposition, and yesterday placed the SLCC in the capital city, arguing that is the centre of Scotland's legal community. The decision was "finely balanced", according to Mr MacAskill.
"After detailed consideration, a number of factors tipped the balance in favour of siting the commission in Edinburgh. Scotland's capital city is widely recognised as Scotland's legal centre.
"This decision therefore places independent complaints handling at the heart of the civil and criminal justice system and close to the hub of the legal profession.
"Taken together with the government's desire that the SLCC should share accommodation with other scrutiny bodies in the future, it is clear that Edinburgh is the preferred and right location for this body."
The SLCC is to be funded by a levy on lawyers, and a further charge to those who are complained against.
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