The Scottish Parliament’s Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee has welcomed the proposals in the Judicial Factors (Scotland) Bill, which aims to consolidate and update laws related to judicial factors.
However, the opportunity for the Bill to clarify how judicial factors can work with the families of missing people cannot be missed, according to the Committee’s report.
A judicial factor is a person appointed by the court to gather in, hold, safeguard, and administer property, which is not being, or would not otherwise be, properly managed. At present, most judicial factors are solicitors or accountants.
The position has existed for hundreds of years, with the substantive law in the area currently dating back to 1849 and 1889. The Bill also repeals even older court rules, including an Act of Sederunt from 1690.
Through its consideration of the Bill, the Committee has come to appreciate the vital role that judicial factors are able to play in many circumstances including working with solicitors’ firms in certain circumstances, businesses, when partnerships which break down and the estates of deceased people, when needed.
In particular, the Committee has made recommendations which it believes would clarify how a judicial factor can help in cases of missing people. The ability of a judicial factor to step in and manage the affairs of a loved one is a key point raised in the Committee’s report.
To make it clear that judicial factors can be appointed in such cases, the Committee has recommended the inclusion of an explicit statement in the Bill that it is competent to appoint a judicial factor to the estate of a missing person.
The Committee’s report also supports work to improve advertising, guidance and advice to make the Bill more accessible for families and legal professionals who are looking after the estates of missing people.
Stuart McMillan MSP, Convener of the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee said:“Most people in Scotland may not be familiar with judicial factors or their work, but during our evidence sessions we were able to learn more about their vital role.
“We are broadly content with the proposals in the Bill, which will update the laws around judicial factors that date back hundreds of years and bring welcome clarity.
“However, we do believe that these updates present the Parliament with an opportunity to go further to really ensure that judicial factors work for the loved ones of people who go missing.”
The Judicial Factors (Scotland) Bill was introduced in response to recommendations made by the Scottish Law Commission.
It is anticipated that the Parliament will consider the Bill in a Stage 1 debate this autumn.
New 10-year plan to expand and improve the drug and alcohol workforce published
Police officers, probation workers, paramedics, nurses and other professionals will be able to provide take-home supplies of opioid overdose treatment to save lives.
New 10-year plan to expand and improve the drug and alcohol workforce published.
Part of government mission to reduce drug deaths and support people with recovery
More professionals such as nurses, paramedics, police officers and probation workers will be able to supply a life-saving opioid overdose antidote without a prescription to save the lives of the most vulnerable, the UK government has announced.
The government will shortly update legislation to enable more services and individuals to provide take-home supplies of naloxone, which almost immediately reverses the effects of an opioid overdose by reversing breathing difficulties.
This means the medicine can be given to a family member or friend of a person who is known to be using opiates – such as heroin or opioids including potent synthetic opioids like fentanyl or nitazenes – or to an outreach worker for a homelessness service working with people who use these drugs, to save lives in the event of an overdose.
Alongside this, the government is today publishing a new 10-year strategic plan to expand and improve the drug and alcohol treatment and recovery workforce.
This is the first national workforce plan for this specialist part of the health workforce in England and outlines key milestones to grow, train and develop staff. This will include bringing more new and experienced professionals into the sector and developing better training for roles that are currently unregulated such as drug and alcohol workers.
Health and Social Care Secretary Victoria Atkins said: “Opioid addiction can ruin lives and is responsible for the largest proportion of drug-related deaths across the UK.
“We are working hard to reduce those numbers by expanding access to naloxone to save the lives of the most vulnerable.
“Our 10-year workforce plan will expand and boost the training of the next generation of drug and alcohol workers to improve services and support people to get their lives back on track.”
The workforce plan builds on the government’s 10-year drugs strategy to combat illicit drug use and reduce drug deaths. Expanding access to naloxone will contribute to the government’s ambition to prevent nearly 1,000 drug-related deaths in England by the end of 2025, reversing the upward trend for the first time in a decade.
As part of the strategy, an additional £532 million is being invested between 2022 and 2025 to improve the capacity and quality of drug and alcohol treatment.
This additional funding is supporting the expansion of the workforce by the end of 2024/25 with:
800 more medical, mental health and other regulated professionals
950 additional drug and alcohol and criminal justice workers
more drug and alcohol commissioners in every local authority to commission services more effectively
More than 3,900 additional staff have already been recruited using drug strategy funding.
The new workforce plan, developed by the Office for Health and Improvement (OHID) and NHS England (NHSE), builds on this progress and maps out the next 10 years of workforce transformation with key 1-year, 3-year and 10-year milestones.
This includes:
New training curriculums for three currently unregulated roles by March 2025. These roles are drug and alcohol workers, children and young people’s drug and alcohol workers and peer support workers. Accredited training will be available for these roles by March 2027 and the first cohorts of trainees will complete their training by March 2029.
More addiction psychiatry training posts to expand the bank of posts currently available by March 2025.
More regulated professionals working in the sector will mean services have high-quality clinical governance and clinical supervision in place by March 2027.
Naloxone can currently be administered by anyone in an emergency but can only legally be supplied without prescription by a drug and alcohol treatment service to a person to take home for future use.
The government will update legislation via a statutory instrument to expand the number of services and professions which can supply the medicine over the next few weeks.
It follows a public consultation in which the responses were overwhelmingly supportive of proposals.
Opioid-related deaths make up the largest proportion of drug-related deaths across the UK, with an average of 40 deaths a week, and widening access to naloxone for those at risk of overdose will make a substantial difference.
In 2022, opioids were involved in:
73% of drug misuse deaths registered in England
60% of drug misuse deaths registered in Wales
82% of drug misuse deaths registered in Scotland
60% of drug misuse deaths registered in Northern Ireland
Bill to exonerate wrongly convicted sub-postmasters
Sub-postmasters wrongly convicted as a result of the faulty Horizon IT system will automatically be exonerated under proposed legislation introduced to the Scottish Parliament today.
Those whose convictions are quashed under the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences (Scotland) Bill will then be able to access the UK Government financial redress scheme.
The Bill’s passage through the Scottish Parliament will be expedited to allow justice and redress to be delivered to victims as swiftly as possible in line with the UK Bill, which was not extended to cover sub-postmasters in Scotland.
Justice Secretary Angela Constance said: “Innocent sub-postmasters had their lives ruined by being wrongly convicted of offences of dishonesty on the evidence of the faulty Post Office Horizon system.
“The quickest, easiest route to overturn these miscarriages of justice would have been for the UK Government to extend their Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Bill to cover sub-postmasters in Scotland.
“However, our repeated requests for this were refused. Our Bill, therefore, mirrors that of UK legislation to ensure parity for affected sub-postmasters in Scotland with those elsewhere in the UK and to ensure access to the UK Government’s compensation scheme.
“The scale of the scandal and the length of time that the victims have waited for justice means we are taking an unprecedented step of introducing legislation to right this terrible wrong and asking Parliament for it to be processed as an emergency Bill.
“The Scottish Government will not do anything to jeopardise equality and parity for victims, so the final stage of the Bill cannot be considered in the Scottish Parliament until after the UK legislation has been passed. This will ensure that MSPs can take account of any amendments made to the UK Bill.”
If passed, the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences (Scotland) Bill will mean relevant convictions are automatically quashed on the day the legislation comes into force and those exonerated will then be able to access the UK Government financial redress scheme, in line with its requirements.
The legislation will exonerate convicted sub-postmasters where the following criteria are met:
the conviction was for embezzlement, fraud, theft, uttering or an ancillary offence committed between 23 September 1996 and 31 December 2018
the person was carrying on a Post Office business, or working in a Post Office for the purpose of a Post Office business
the conviction was in connection with carrying on, or working for the purpose of the Post Office business
the Horizon system was being used for the purposes of the Post Office business in the relevant Post Office
the conviction has not been considered by the High Court in connection with an appeal.
Once a Scottish Government Bill is introduced, responsibility for the scrutiny process, including timescales, rests with the Parliament. The Stage 1 debate and vote on the general principles of the Bill is expected to take place in the Scottish Parliament on 21 May; Stage 2 amendments will be considered on 22 May.
MPs to vote on legislation to create first smoke-free generation, protecting young people turning 15 this year or younger from harms of smoking
MPs will vote today (16th April 2024) on world-leading legislation to protect future generations across the UK from the harmful effects of smoking.
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill would make it an offence to sell tobacco products to anyone born after 1 January 2009 – children aged 15 or younger today. Smoking itself would not be criminalised and anyone who can legally buy tobacco today will never be prevented from doing so in the future by the legislation.
If passed, the Bill will progress to the next stage, bringing the UK closer to creating the first smoke-free generation.
Responsible for around 80,000 deaths annually, smoking is the UK’s single biggest preventable killer and costs the NHS and economy an estimated £17 billion a year—far more than the £10 billion annual revenue from tobacco taxation.
It is also highly addictive – 4 in 5 smokers start before the age of 20 and remain addicted for the rest of their lives despite most smokers having tried to quit.
The legislation will cover all tobacco products, recognising that tobacco kills two-thirds of long-term users. In England alone, almost every minute someone with a smoking-related condition is admitted to hospital.
The Bill will help deliver the Prime Minister’s commitment of creating a smokefree generation which could prevent over 470,000 cases of heart disease, stroke, lung cancer and other deadly diseases by the turn of the century.
Alongside action to prevent creating future smokers, the government has already announced significant additional funding for stop smoking services over the next five years, effectively doubling the money available for local initiatives that can help existing smokers to quit. The government is also rolling out an innovative financial incentives scheme to help all pregnant smokers to quit.
Health and Social Care Secretary, Victoria Atkins, said: “Too many people know someone whose life has been tragically cut short or irreversibly changed because of smoking, which despite significant progress remains the UK’s biggest preventable killer.
“The truth is that there is no safe level of tobacco consumption. It is uniquely harmful and that is why we are taking this important action today to protect the next generation.
“This Bill will save thousands of lives, ease the strain on our NHS, and improve the UK’s productivity.”
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill would also give the government new powers to tackle youth vaping by restricting flavours and regulating the way that vapes are sold and packaged to make them less appealing to children.
While vaping can play a useful role in helping adult smokers to quit, non-smokers and children should never vape. The long-term health impacts of vaping are unknown and the nicotine contained within them can be highly addictive.
To ensure compliance with the new rules, trading standards officers will be given new powers to issue on-the-spot fines (fixed penalty notices) to retailers unlawfully selling tobacco or vapes to children. All the money raised would be used to fund further enforcement action.
The Bill follows the government’s previously stated commitment to ban the sale and supply of disposable vapes under existing environmental legislation, which have been a key factor behind the rise in youth vaping. The ban is planned to take effect from April 2025.
Public Health Minister, Andrea Leadsom, said: “Smoking is the number one preventable cause of disability, ill health and death in this country. Once it becomes a habit, its addictive nature means that it is extremely difficult to stop.
“Because the case against these harmful products is so strong, it’s not surprising that the majority of the British public—including those who smoke and those who sell tobacco—support plans to protect the next generation from the misery of smoking.
“Our plan will save lives, ease the strain on our NHS, and ensure a brighter future for our children.”
Professor Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer for England said: “Smoking kills and causes harm at all stages of life from stillbirths, asthma in children, stroke, cancer to heart attacks and dementia.
“This Bill, if passed, will have a substantial impact – preventing disease, disability and premature deaths long into the future.”
Deborah Arnott, Chief Executive of Action on Smoking and Health, said: “The Tobacco and Vapes Bill being voted on today is radical but, hard as it is now to believe, so were the smokefree laws when they were put before parliament. Parliamentarians can be reassured that the public they represent back the Bill.
“New research just published by ASH shows that the majority of tobacco retailers and the public, including smokers, support the legislation and the smokefree generation ambition it is designed to deliver. This historic legislation will consign smoking to the “ash heap of history.”
Dr Charmaine Griffiths, Chief Executive at the British Heart Foundation said: “Smoking continues to devastate the nation’s health, taking 15,000 UK lives every single year due to cardiovascular disease alone.
“Raising the age of sale for tobacco each year will be a game changer, meaning that future generations are protected from serious disease and death caused by smoking.
“Decisive action is needed to end this ongoing public health tragedy – we urge every MP to vote for this landmark legislation at the Bill’s Second Reading.”
Professor Steve Turner, Royal College for Paediatrics and Child Health President, said: “Without a doubt the introduction of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill will save lives.
“By stopping children and young people from becoming addicted to nicotine and tobacco we decrease their chances of developing preventable diseases later in life, and will protect children from the harms of nicotine addiction.
“As paediatricians, we strongly urge MPs to use the important responsibility they have and support this Bill to protect children’s and our nation’s current and future health.”
Dr Ian Walker, Executive Director of Policy at Cancer Research UK, said: “Today’s vote is a critical step towards the UK becoming a world leader in tobacco control. By voting in favour of the age of sale legislation, MPs will be putting us on the right side of history, and helping to create the first ever smokefree generation.
“Smoking is still the leading cause of cancer in the UK. Now is the time to take action, end cancers caused by smoking and save lives.”
New measures to tackle the harm caused by hatred and prejudice come into force today (1 April 2024).The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act will ‘provide greater protection for victims and communities’.
It introduces new offences for threatening or abusive behaviour which is intended to stir up hatred based on prejudice towards characteristics including age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity and variations in sex characteristics. These extra provisions will add to the long-standing stirring up racial hatred offences, which have been in place UK-wide since 1986.
The new laws were developed following Lord Bracadale’s Independent Review of Hate Crime Legislation which concluded that new specific offences relating to stirring up hatred were needed. The legislation, which was passed by a majority of MSPs in the Scottish Parliament in 2021, was also subject to extensive consultation and engagement throughout, including with communities affected by hate crime.
Minister for Victims and Community Safety Siobhian Brown said: “Nobody in our society should live in fear and we are committed to building safer communities that live free from hatred and prejudice.
“We know that the impact on those on the receiving end of physical, verbal or online attacks can be traumatic and life-changing. This legislation is an essential element of our wider approach to tackling that harm.
“Protections for freedom of expression are built into the legislation passed by Parliament and these new offences have a higher threshold for criminality than the long-standing offence of stirring up racial hatred, which has been in place since 1986.”
The Scottish Conservatives oppose the legislation: “Unfortunately, this is not an April Fool. Today, Humza Yousaf’s dangerous Hate Crime Act has come into force. This SNP law will have a chilling effect on free speech.
“We were the only party to oppose it every step of the way.”
The Scottish Government’s Hate Crime Strategy and Delivery Plan sets out Ministers’ strategic priorities for tackling hate crime in Scotland.
New measures to protect children and young people and reduce preventable deaths
Public Health Minister Jenni Minto has welcomed the introduction of proposed legislation to ban the sale of tobacco products to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009 and allow tougher measures on vaping.
All governments in the UK agreed to bring forward a UK-wide Tobacco and Vapes Bill as part of their response to the 4 Nations Creating a smokefree generation and tackling youth vaping consultation.
The UK-wide legislation, introduced in Parliament today (Wednesday 20 March) will gradually increase the age of sale, making it an offence to sell tobacco products to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009. This means that children born on or after this date – those turning 15 this year and younger – will never be able to buy cigarettes.
The Bill also includes new powers to regulate displays, contents, flavours and retail packaging of vapes and nicotine products, allowing restrictions to target flavours marketed at children and to move vapes out of sight of children and away from products like sweets.
It will also remove existing Scottish provisions which make it an offence for a person under 18 to purchase tobacco products.
The Scottish Government has already published proposals to ban the sale and supply of single-use vapes in Scotland using existing environmental powers. If agreed by the Scottish Parliament, this would come into effect on 1 April 2025.
Public Health Minister Jenni Minto said: “Scotland has been a world-leader on a range of tobacco control measures, and while there has been a steady reduction in the proportion of people smoking we know it still damages lives and kills more than 8,000 people a year in Scotland.
“Smoking is a huge burden on our NHS and social care services and contributes significantly to health inequalities, which is why our goal is for a tobacco-free Scotland by 2034.
“Research suggests that almost one in five young people have tried vaping and we’re particularly concerned about how flavours are used as an enticement to children and young people.
“We will now consider how to use these powers, if passed by Westminster, with the consent of the Scottish Parliament, to benefit public health. We will continue our four-nations approach to avoid any unnecessary regulatory divergence and to offer more certainty and for business and consistency for consumers. Powers on vapes will be taken forward following further consultation and engagement.
“In addition, we were the first government to commit to taking action on single-use vapes and have now fulfilled our 2023 Programme for Government commitment to consult on measures to tackle the environmental impact of single-use vapes.”
Plan for Drivers will ‘improve drivers’ lives, shorten journey times, and ensure traffic measures have buy-in from the people they impact‘
strengthened guidance to ensure low traffic neighbourhoods and 20mph speed limits have support of local people
research published today shows just 18% of people surveyed feel listened to on LTNs
latest step in delivering Plan for Drivers measures also include £50 million to upgrade traffic lights, speeding up journey times
consultations are launching to prevent local councils from turning drivers into ‘cash cows’ by enforcing unfair restrictions
Motorists in England are set to benefit from smoother journeys and reduced congestion, with local people getting a stronger voice on road schemes that affect them, thanks to a crackdown on anti-driver road schemes, over-zealous traffic enforcement, and strengthened guidance for councils on 20mph limits.
These are among the latest raft of measures to be announced from the Westminster government’s Plan for Drivers.
The Department for Transport has today (17 March 2024) published draft statutory guidance for councils on low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs), setting out that they must gain buy-in from local residents, businesses and emergency services when considering implementing new LTN schemes.
This could involve in-person events, online engagement, and leaflet drops to involve the whole community in the process and will mean that authorities must consider whether an LTN has local support before it is implemented.
The new guidance raises expected standards for LTNs and will come into force this summer when local authorities will be obliged to consider it when shaping new and existing schemes.
Local authorities are expected to follow the guidance and ensure local people support their plans. Recent examples where councils have implemented these schemes without public support have been shown to cause disruption and have unintended negative consequences.
If local authorities fail to deliver sensible road schemes that work for local people they could see future funding withdrawn, and under powers from the Traffic Management Act, the government could ultimately take control of an authority’s roads where they are deemed to be widely mismanaged.
A consultation will also be launched this summer on measures including the removal of local authorities’ access to Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) data to enforce such schemes by camera.
Separately, councils have received strengthened guidance on setting 20mph speed limits, reminding them to reserve them for sensible and appropriate areas only – such as outside schools – and with safety and local support at the heart of the decision. Local authorities are expected to consider this guidance, and as with the LTN guidance, this could have implications for the awarding of funding in the future.
The action taken today on LTNs is supported by a wide-ranging review that highlights only 13% of residents have responded to councils’ planning consultations on LTNs, and just 18% feel that their views have influenced council decisions.
The report also found that local authorities operating LTNs issue an average of 36,459 penalty charge notices per scheme, with the highest number of penalty charge notices issued for a single LTN scheme exceeding 170,000. That’s why the guidance embeds the need for local support and will ultimately save motorists money.
While the review showed only a quarter of people understood the benefits of LTNs, it also flagged concerns over the impact on disabled residents, high numbers of penalty charge notices, the cost of LTN schemes and even concerns from emergency services that delays to crews caught up in LTNs could “potentially risk lives”.
The new guidance aims to prevent councils having to reverse poorly-implemented or locally unpopular schemes – as with recently removed LTNs at Jesmond, Newcastle and Streatham Wells, London.
These measures from our 30-point Plan for Drivers will improve the lives of drivers, shortening journey times and ensuring traffic measures have buy-in from the people they are impacting.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper said: “We want local people to have their voices heard, and any traffic schemes to have the consent of those they impact.
“Well thought out schemes, like 20mph limits outside schools, can make our roads safer, but we are raising the bar to help ensure all traffic schemes work for everyone in the community.
“We’re on the side of drivers, and these latest measures show we’re getting on with delivering what we promised in our Plan for Drivers – making their lives better, fairer and cheaper, and helping people travel in the way that works best for them.”
Today’s announcement also sees a comprehensive package of other measures designed to put people back in the driving seat.
Traffic lights will be upgraded across the country thanks to £50 million – £30 million to replace outdated equipment, and £20 million to reduce poor traffic light performance through innovative technology that responds to live traffic conditions. From Devon to Durham, 80 highway authorities across England will benefit from funding, to improve journey times and reduce congestion caused by red lights.
Consultations are also launching focusing on preventing local councils from turning drivers into ‘cash cows’ by profiting from enforcing traffic restrictions. This includes fines for drivers going into yellow box junctions or parking restrictions. The 8-week call for evidence will seek views from residents and will also quiz local authorities on how money from fines is reinvested.
Local people will have their say on whether they think enforcement is currently fair or believe authorities should be restricted in their traffic enforcement powers, and the findings will inform future government decisions on restricting authorities. As with LTNs, the government will also look at restricting local authorities access to third-party data, such as the DVLA database, for enforcement purposes.
At the moment, restrictions on bus lane use are too rigid, creating delays and causing regular fines for drivers. New guidance on bus lanes has also been issued today, to make sure they only operate when it makes sense, like when traffic is heavy enough to delay buses. This will prevent drivers being hit with unfair fines.
A consultation will also be launched to look into whether motorcycle access to bus lanes should be standard, a further initiative to reduce congestion and speed up journey times.
Further measures announced today include publication of new guidance making it simpler and easier for councils to charge utility companies who slow down drivers with street works and a consultation aiming to shake up motor insurance will also be launched to prevent those caught without it from claiming property damage from the Motor Insurers’ Bureau.
Nuisance boy-racers who illegally modify their exhausts and disturb our streets are also being targeted. New research reveals the success of noise cameras in cracking down on illegally modified exhausts and anti-social drivers. The research will be used to encourage local authorities to install noise cameras after successful trials in Bradford, Birmingham, Bristol and Great Yarmouth.
The UK Government’s Plan for Drivers has already delivered measures to crackdown on disruptive streetworks, cutting traffic and anticipated to generate up to £100 million over the next 10 years.
It has also launched grants for schools to accelerate the rollout of electric vehicles chargepoints, making it easier for drivers to make the switch.
A record £8.3 billion has also been pledged over the next 10 years for road resurfacing, made possible by reallocated HS2 funding, to improve the condition of British roads and speed up journey times.
RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “We’re very pleased to see the government responding to our calls for clearer guidance on yellow box junctions with their consultation on the misuse of these measures.
“It’s also extremely positive to see progress made on the installation of noise cameras, after 6-in-10 drivers (58%) told us they would be in favour of these measures last year. Excessive noise pollution is not only extremely frustrating, it could also have a really serious impact on residents’ health and lives, and until this point there’s been very little anyone can do about it.
“We’re keen to see if this new technology goes some way towards resolving the issue and hope it can be rolled out quickly and efficiently.”
The Economic Secretary to the Treasury will today (12th March) publish draft legislation which announces new measures to “break the spell” of fraudsters, as part of the UK Government’s Global Fraud Summit.
Under draft legislation published today, payment service providers such as banks will be given more time to contact customers, police, and other relevant parties when they have reasonable grounds to suspect fraud or dishonesty before they send a payment. This gives them a better chance of stopping money being sent to fraudsters.
This legislation will apply to authorised push payments, subject to limited exceptions. The UK has seen an increase in authorised push payment fraud over the past few years – in 2022 victims lost £485m to these scams.
Push payment fraud involves the fraudster deceiving the victim into initiating and authorising a transaction, such as instances of romance fraud where fraudsters have convinced their victim of a romantic attachment, or investment fraud.
Until now, payment service providers, such as banks, have generally been required to process payments by the end of the following business day, giving a very limited timeline to investigate and alert relevant parties to possible fraud.
Today’s legislation will give payment service providers a further 72 hours to investigate payments, but only where there are reasonable grounds to suspect fraud or dishonesty and more time is needed to contact the customer or other parties like law enforcement. The legislation has been designed to minimise any impact on legitimate payments.
The government intends to lay this legislation before parliament so that it comes into force by October 7th 2024.
Economic Secretary to the Treasury Bim Afolami, said:“Fraudsters spin whole webs of lies and fabricate all sorts of things to convince people to send them money – this legislation will give banks, other payment service providers and law enforcement more time to get in touch with victims and break the fraudster’s spell before money is sent.
“The government is absolutely committed to tackling fraud and recognises the impact of this devastating crime on victims – this legislation is another tool in our arsenal to fight fraud.”
As part of the summit, yesterday (11 March) Home Secretary James Cleverly met with ministers from across the G7, Five Eyes, Singapore and South Korea for the first ever Global Fraud Summit.
Each attending nation agreed to a communique which has committed to more collaboration between law enforcement agencies, to protect the public and fight fraudsters.
The summit continues today, with a series of working level meetings between the private sector, civil society and government officials.
Edinburgh residents, visitors, and industry back plans for a visitor levy, an engagement exercise has revealed.
Generating close to 4,000 responses in total, a four-week survey conducted by the Council over Christmas and New Year found broad support for the aims and objectives of its Visitor Levy for Edinburgh proposals.
The survey found that Capital residents and community groups are particularly keen to see some of an Edinburgh levy reinvested towards enhancing essential public services, such as keeping the city clean and moving.
Business groups, who have largely fed back via focussed engagement sessions, express greater support for dedicated destination marketing and industry support, while everyone tends to agree a levy should be simple to administer and support the protection and enhancement of Edinburgh’s heritage and world-famous cultural offering.
The full findings – which echo evidence gathered by Council officers over the last six years – will be presented to Councillors on the Policy and Sustainability Committee on Tuesday (12 March).
Members of the Scottish Parliament’s Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee will also meet on the same day to debate amendments to the national Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill which, if set in legislation as the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act this Spring/Summer, will allow Scotland’s local authorities including Edinburgh to charge a levy on overnight accommodation.
With much of the Capital’s scheme already researched and developed, Edinburgh is well placed to formally consult on and finalise its plans and is likely to become the first city in the UK to formally adopt a city-wide visitor levy.
Cammy Day, City of Edinburgh Council Leader, said: “Edinburgh has been lobbying the Scottish Government for more than a decade for the local powers to introduce a visitor levy. Finally, we are edging closer to this long-called for legislation.
“Throughout the years, we have repeatedly and actively engaged with our tourism and hospitality industry, as well as with residents, seeking views at various stages on the type of visitor levy Edinburgh needs.
“At every turn, we’ve had overwhelming backing at a community level and have witnessed growing support from those in the tourism and hospitality industry. This is only building as we head towards the last Parliamentary hurdle.
“We’re very proud that Edinburgh is one of the world’s most popular visitor destinations, but we’re equally aware that this success comes at a cost. A small overnight charge is common practice in other major cities and destinations, so why not here?
“The introduction of a levy will provide a funding stream that would be reinvested in the city and our infrastructure, to the benefit of our visitors and, crucially, the people who live here in our great Capital city all year round.
“While I welcome how far the Bill has come, I also echo the concerns shared by COSLA last week that it needs to allow visitor levies to be more flexible and quicker for Councils to roll out.
“Now that Edinburgh is ready to lead the introduction, I hope to see these adopted in the amendments Members of Parliament debate next week.”
Legislation which will see the introduction of a National Care Service for Scotland (NCS) has passed Stage 1 in Parliament.
MSPs have voted for the general principles of the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill which will ensure greater transparency in the delivery of community health and social care, improve standards, strengthen the role of the workforce and provide better support for unpaid carers.
The proposals include establishing a National Care Service Charter, rights to breaks for carers and provisions to enact Anne’s Law so people in care homes have the right to be visited by their families.
Social Care Minister Maree Todd said: “We need long-term, widespread transformation to fix some of the ingrained issues within the system and ensure sustainability for the future.
“We have spent considerable time working with people with lived experience on how to reform social care for the better. I’m grateful to the thousands of people who have lent their voices and I am determined to ensure the Bill delivers the positive change needed.
“Today’s vote shows that the Scottish Parliament also recognises this and I am grateful to them for bringing us one step closer to this urgent reform.
“This Bill is the biggest public sector reform since devolution and it is our chance to make meaningful change that we all agree is needed to the social care system. I know the people of Scotland will see huge benefits.”
Scotland’s largest trade union bodies have condemned the Scottish Government’s proposed National Care Service Bill as ‘not fit for purpose’ as MSPs approve the legislation at Stage 1.
The Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) alongside the three biggest social care unions in Scotland – UNISON, GMB SCOTLAND and UNITE – have written to the Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care Neil Gray outlining their shared concerns on the Bill.
The letter states that social care workers’ concerns have been ‘widely ignored’ by the Scottish Government and that, at this stage of proceedings, the Bill as drafted remains ‘firmly unacceptable’.
Last week the Scottish Parliament’s Health, Social Care and Sport Committee’s report into Stage 1 drew criticism from trade unions who outlined the ‘glaring deficiencies’ of the proposals on costs and operation of the service.
Commenting, STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer said: “It beggars belief that, despite repeated warnings to the Scottish Government, Scotland’s social care workers are still in the dark on the basic fundamentals of the new National Care Service.
“Our social care sector already suffers from insecure conditions and low pay. We cannot risk those weaknesses being carried over into any new system of nationalised care.
“We must see the Scottish Government take seriously the recommendations of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee’s report into the Bill. This would include improving pay, terms and conditions for social care staff, including a £15 per hour minimum wage. We also need to see Scottish Government guarantees on Fair Work and sectoral bargaining in addition to full sick pay from day one of employment.
“Our social care staff are the lifeblood of our system. We value their work and it’s high time the Scottish Government does likewise.”
COSLA: “SIGNIFICANT CONCERNS” ON NATIONAL CARE SERVICE PLANS
Speaking ahead of the Stage 1 debate for the National Care Service Bill in the Scottish Parliament on Thursday 29th February, Councillor Paul Kelly, COSLA’s Health & Social Care Spokesperson, commented:“Councils have expressed significant concerns regarding current National Care Service plans and believe there is still work to do to ensure proposals can meet aspirations.
“In particular, Council Leaders are disappointed in the decision of the Scottish Government to continue to push through legislation where a power will be given to Ministers to delegate children and justice services, despite the potential disruption to services and extensive negotiations and concessions from Local Government.
“Council Leaders remain concerned that such a move risks excessive centralisation of decision-making away from local people and areas. Leaders did agree that COSLA should continue to work closely with Scottish Government to address these concerns.
“COSLA welcomes the progress which has been made in reforming some National Care Service proposals, including that local authorities will continue to play a central role in the delivery of, and accountability for care.
“There is a pressing need to improve people’s experiences of accessing and delivering care in Scotland. Although legislative and governance reform may be part of that, the reality is that national funding decisions – including the proposed council tax freeze which has not been fully funded – will further squeeze local care and social work services which are already under incredible pressure.
“Investment in social care must be seen as a priority which can enhance the wellbeing of people, of society and of Scotland.”
Having passed Stage One, the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill moves into Stage 2 where amendments will be considered by the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee before Stage 3, when the full Parliament makes a final vote on whether to pass the Bill.
