Tag: call for views

Holyrood Committee to scrutinise amendment to Gender Representation on Public Boards Act

A change to the Gender Representation on Public Boards Act 2018 will be scrutinised by Holyrood’s Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee.

The Gender Representation on Public Boards Amendment (Scotland) (Bill) was introduced by the Scottish Government to amend the 2018 Act. The new Bill will remove the definition of “woman” in section 2 the 2018 Act, following a decision of the Court of Session made on 18 February 2023.

The specific definition that this short Bill will remove is: ““woman” includes a person who has the protected characteristic of gender reassignment (within the meaning of section 7 of the Equality Act 2010) if, and only if, the person is living as a woman and is proposing to undergo, is undergoing or has undergone a process (or part of a process) for the purpose of becoming female”.

The change will be scrutinised by the Committee, before it reports its findings to the Parliament as a whole.

The Committee has today opened a call for views to ensure people can share their views on the proposed change.

Kaukab Stewart MSP, Convener of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee, said: “This Bill aims to make change the Gender Representation on Public Boards act, ensuring that the Parliament’s statute book is in compliance with recent rulings of the Court of Session.

“We want to ensure that the Government’s approach in this Bill does what it intends to do.

“If you have views on the proposal in the Bill, please share them with us in our call for views.”

The call for views is open today, Monday 8 January 2024, and will close on Monday 29 January 2024: 

https://yourviews.parliament.scot/ehrcj/gender-representation-public-boards-bill

Cultural communities – is enough being done to support culture at community level?

What cultural activities are happening in communities across Scotland? This is just one question being asked by the Scottish Parliament’s Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee as it starts a new inquiry.

The inquiry will see the Committee look at the Scottish Government’s Cultural Strategy, which focuses on what it calls a ‘place-based’ approach. The Committee will look at what this means for communities up and down the country and what barriers are in the way to developing local cultural activities.

Now the Committee want to hear from those who participate, attend or organise cultural activities in their local areas. It wants to find out what more needs to be done to support these activities and what difference they make to people’s lives.

Speaking as the inquiry launched, Committee Convener Clare Adamson MSP said: “Scotland has a rich cultural heritage and the very heart of that lies within our local communities. From community choirs to book clubs, local galas to theatre groups, there are a huge range of activities taking place each and every day.

“But these activities are not always easy to access or indeed organise, so we want to find out what support is needed to make these events happen. And importantly, where this support should come from.

“Culture enriches us all and this is especially true for our communities. Which is why we want to hear directly from those at the very heart of Scotland’s local communities.”

Questions the Committee is asking include:

  • What are the key factors that support you to attend or participate in cultural activities?
  • What support has there been in place to develop and grow cultural activities or events in your local area?
  • What needs to be in place to enable or to support a variety of cultural activities or events being organised and delivered in your local area?

The Call for views can be found here: 

https://yourviews.parliament.scot/ceeac/culture-in-communities and is open to 31 March 2023.

How is Devolution Changing Post-EU?

How is devolution changing post Brexit? This is the key question being asked in a major new inquiry announced yesterday.

Following its recent report on the impact of Brexit on devolution, Holyrood’s Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee has begun work to engage businesses, civic society and the wider public on this fundamental constitutional issue.

In that report, the Committee concluded that there are fundamental concerns which need to be addressed in relation to how devolution works outside the EU.

The Committee’s view is that there is a need for a much wider public debate about where power lies within the devolution settlement following the UK’s departure from the EU.  This needs to address the extent of regulatory autonomy within the UK internal market.

The Committee highlighted substantive differences between the views of the UK Government and the Scottish and Welsh Governments regarding future alignment with EU law. Differences which raise vital constitutional questions including the extent the UK can accommodate four different regulatory environments within a cohesive internal market.

Now the Committee has launched a call for views asking four key questions and they want to hear from you.

Questions include:

  • How devolution is now working following the UK’s departure from the EU including your experience of the policy-making and legislative processes;
  •  How should devolution evolve post EU exit, to meet the challenges and opportunities of the new constitutional landscape;
  • How much scope there is for regulatory divergence in areas such as environmental standards, food standards and animal welfare between each of the four parts of the UK;
  • Are there sufficient safeguards to allow regulatory divergence across the four parts of the UK in areas where there are disagreements between governments?
  • Are there sufficient safeguards to ensure an open and transparent policy-making and legislative process in determining the post-EU exit regulatory environment?
  • Is there sufficient clarity regarding the post-EU exit regulatory environment within Scotland and how it relates to the rest of the UK?

Speaking as the inquiry launched, Committee Convener Clare Adamson MSP said: “The devolution landscape has undoubtedly changed as a result of Brexit. 

“There are now significant differences between the views of the UK Government and the views of the Scottish and Welsh Governments about alignment with EU law and these differences raise fundamental questions about the way devolution works outside of the EU.

“But these questions are far from theoretical. They will have significant impacts on business, communities and lives of people throughout Scotland. This is why we have today launched an inquiry to engage with a wide range of people to try and find answers to these most difficult of questions.”

The Committee’s call for views is open until 30 November 2022.

Read more about the inquiry

Deputy Convener Donald Cameron MSP said: “In our recent report we made clear our concern about how devolution is to evolve to address the serious issues identified. Our inquiry launched today is about trying to find answers to these questions.

“We want to hear from all sectors in Scotland to try and address the issues which are facing us all.”

Holyrood Committee launches call for evidence on female participation in sport and physical activity

An inquiry has been launched into female participation in sport and physical activity by the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee.

The Committee is seeking views from individuals and organisations about female participation in sport at both a community and elite level and how female sport is supported, reported, and promoted.

The Committee is keen to understand what barriers limit female participation in sport and physical activity and what can be done to remove these. This will include investigating additional barriers to participation, such as ethnicity and disability.

Launching the inquiry, Gillian Martin MSP, Convener of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, said: “During our inquiry into the health and wellbeing of children and young people, we heard evidence of a significant decline in participation in sport and physical activity by adolescent girls.

“This has prompted the Committee to launch a dedicated inquiry into barriers to female participation in sport and physical activity and how these might be overcome.

“Statistics show that female participation in sport and physical activity in Scotland is lower than that of males from the age of 11 years old, with typically a 10% gender gap in participation.

“This has clear negative repercussions on the long-term health and wellbeing of women and girls.

“Today, we are launching a call for views to find out more about the barriers women and girls of all ages face in participating in sport and physical activity. We are particularly keen to hear the experiences of those with a disability, from ethnic minority or economically deprived backgrounds or who may face other barriers to participation in sport and physical activity.

“Our aim is to identify actions that should be taken to help increase the numbers of women and girls participating in sport and physical activity, and crucially to make recommendations to ensure they are able to remain active throughout their lives.”

Let the Committee know your views

The inquiry’s call for views closes on 9th December.

MSPs seek views on difficult spending decisions ahead for justice sector

The publication of the Scottish Government’s Resource Spending Review Framework in May set out possible spending of £11.6 billion on the justice sector over the next four financial years.

However, independent research by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) has suggested that if current inflationary pressures persist, this settlement would represent a significant reduction in spending across the justice sector.

Speaking as the call for views was launched, Criminal Justice Committee Convener Audrey Nicoll MSP, said: “There is no doubt the Scottish Government and public services will face cost pressures in the upcoming years and the ongoing cost of living crisis is creating a real sense of uncertainty over what is to come.

“However, if the current trend of rapidly increasing inflation continues then those in the justice sector will have some difficult decisions to make in order to balance budgets. 

“We want to hear a range of views as part of our pre-budget scrutiny and are seeking views from those within the sector.

“But we also want to hear the views of ordinary people, any third sector organisations who may be impacted by these potential cuts in justice spending and groups who work to support those within the justice portfolio. This will help us to scrutinise the possible impact of cuts to key services such as the police, fire and rescue, courts and prosecution services and prisons.”

The call for views closes on Friday 21 October 2022.

MSPs investigate support for disabled people’s transition to adulthood

SHARE YOUR VIEWS WITH HOLYROOD COMMITTEE

MSPs are asking for the public to share their views on the support that is currently available for disabled children and young people as they grow into adulthood.

The findings will be considered by the Scottish Parliament’s Education, Children and Young People Committee as part of their scrutiny of a Bill which seeks to introduce more structured support for disabled children and young people in their transition to adulthood.

The Bill has been proposed by Pam Duncan-Glancy MSP, following on from work started by Johann Lamont in the last session of Parliament.

If passed, the Bill would make three main changes to the law:

  • the Scottish Government would need to have a strategy explaining how they are going to improve opportunities for disabled children and young people
  • a Scottish Government minister would be placed in charge of improving opportunities for disabled children and young people moving into adulthood
  • local authorities would need to have plans for each disabled child and young person as they move into adulthood

Sue Webber MSP, Convener of the Education, Children and Young People Committee said: “A young person’s transition to adulthood is a critical stage in their lives and our Committee wants to be sure that the right kind of support is available to help disabled children and young people as they embark on the next chapter of their lives.

“We want to hear the views of disabled children and young people, their parents and their carers on these proposals.

“We’re particularly keen to understand more about the how the support that is currently available is viewed.”

The Committee’s call for views and survey on the Bill opened on 1 September and people can share their views until 27 October 2022.

Holyrood commitee seeks views on UK’s Internal Market Bill

Holyrood’s Finance & Constitution Committee has launched a call for views on the UK Government’s controversial Internal Market Bill, which was was introduced at Westminster on 9 September.

According to its explanatory notes, the purpose of the Bill is to “preserve the UK internal market, providing continued certainty for people and businesses to work and trade freely across the whole of the UK.”

All parts of the Bill trigger the need for legislative consent from the Scottish Parliament – but the Scottish Government has indicated it will not recommend that consent be given.

The Finance & Constitution Committee is therefore seeking views from all interested organisations and individuals to help inform its parliamentary scrutiny of the Bill and of the Scottish Government’s legislative consent memorandum.

The deadline for submissions is 24 September 2020.

Finance & Constitution Committee Convener Bruce Crawford MSP said: “The creation of a UK internal market and how it operates will impact on a wide range of Scottish organisations, including Scottish businesses – especially food production and agriculture, environmental and consumer organisations, as well as the third and voluntary sector and the wider public.

“It is vital therefore that we hear from people who are going to be affected by this Bill, but we only have until 24 September to do so. This is time critical.”

The Committee is scrutinising the UK Internal Market Bill as well as the forthcoming Legislative Consent Memorandum.

In order to inform its scrutiny, the Committee is seeking views, especially in the following areas:

Oral evidence on the Bill will begin later this month.