Legislation which will enhance Scotland’s democratic processes has been backed unanimously by the Scottish Parliament.
The Scottish Elections (Representation and Reform) Bill has passed its final stage, maintaining and improving Scotland’s robust electoral system.
The Bill contains a mix of technical and other improvements such as improving candidate and campaigner safety and advancing candidacy rights.
The new law introduces a ban on people from being MSPs if they are convicted of a sexual offence or subject to a sexual offence order.
In addition, MSPs will be barred from also being an MP or Peer through regulations to be brought forward in 2025 so they can be in place in time for the 2026 Scottish elections. The details of the regulations will be informed through a consultation beginning next month.
Parliamentary Business Minister Jamie Hepburn said: “Since 1999 the Scottish Parliament has improved participation, extended voting rights, and enabled more people to stand for election and this legislation seeks to continue the evolution of our democracy.
“It will modernise Scottish elections and take important steps to safeguard our democracy for voters, candidates and administrators.
“Through positive cross-party working, we have agreed a robust set of improvements to the law, which will deliver real benefits to voters and prospective candidates.”
Justice Secretary Angela Constance has updated Parliament on proposed amendments to the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform Bill.
The Justice Secretary told MSPs that, having listened to the cross-party Criminal Justice Committee and a wide range of other views, a plan to enable a time-limited pilot of single-judge trials for rape and attempted rape cases will not be pursued.
The Government also plans to amend the Bill, subject to MSPs’ approval, to enable more detailed research into jury deliberations, including how rape myths may affect verdicts.
The Bill includes measures to remove Scotland’s ‘not proven’ verdict and to increase the current simple majority required for a criminal conviction to a two-thirds majority of jurors. However, in line with committee recommendations, proposals to cut the jury size from 15 to 12 will be dropped.
Victims of crime are to receive improved support, advice and information as part of planned reforms to the Victim Notification Scheme – to be delivered through the Bill – as announced earlier this month.
Ms Constance said: “This Bill proposes a significant package of reforms to ensure victims are placed at the heart of Scotland’s justice system, such as creating a specialist Sexual Offences Court, establishing a Victims & Witnesses Commissioner and abolishing the ‘not proven’ verdict.
“I want to build as much consensus as possible for this important legislation. Clearly there is not enough parliamentary support at this time for the proposal to enable a time-limited pilot of single-judge trials for cases of rape and attempted rape, so we will no longer pursue this.
“I remain concerned by the substantial evidence that juries may be influenced by rape myths and I will introduce amendments to the Bill to allow for more detailed research into jury deliberations. We will undertake further work with justice partners to agree how to challenge and reduce the impact of rape myths. This might include, for example, further interventions or educational resources for jurors and the wider public.
“I believe that the most prudent approach to jury reform, including the abolition of the ‘not proven’ verdict, is to seek support for a model with two verdicts – ‘guilty’ and ‘not guilty’ – 15 jurors, and a two-thirds majority requirement for conviction.
“I look forward to working with partners and colleagues across Parliament to deliver what I believe is a shared ambition to ensure victims and witnesses are placed at the heart of the justice system and treated with compassion.”
Employers now have a legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment and create a safe working environment
New duty under the Equality Act 2010 will require employers to take “reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment of their employees.
New guidance for employers on how they can protect their staff.
New measure comes into force as further legislation goes through Parliament to boost economic growth by tackling poor productivity, insecure work and broken industrial relations.
From Saturday 26 October, employees can expect their employers to take reasonable steps to protect them from sexual harassment as a new duty comes into force.
Employers now have a duty to anticipate when sexual harassment may occur and take reasonable steps to prevent it. If sexual harassment has taken place, an employer should take action to stop it from happening again. This sends a clear signal to all employers that they must take reasonable preventative steps against sexual harassment, encourage cultural change where necessary, and reduce the likelihood of sexual harassment occurring.
Anneliese Dodds, Minister for Women and Equalities, said: “This government is determined to ensure that we not only Make Work Pay; we also make work safe.
“Too many people feel uncomfortable or unsafe at work due to sexual harassment and we are putting every effort into putting a stop to it. The preventative duty is an important step on the journey, and we will continue to improve protections for workers until everyone can thrive.
“The Equality Act provides legal protections against sexual harassment in the workplace. Despite this, persistent reports and revelations in recent years indicate that it remains a problem. So from today employers will be required to take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment of their employees.
“We will strengthen this duty through our Employment Rights Bill, which had its Second Reading this week, and will boost economic growth by tackling poor productivity, insecure work and broken industrial relations.”
Guidance for employers on developing appropriate plans and policies has been published by the Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) and the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
This includes what behaviour needs to be addressed and how complaints should be handled, to help employers protect their staff and avoid tribunals.
Protected zones of 200 meters around all abortion services in Scotland are now in place.
Within these zones, it is now a criminal offence to intentionally or recklessly behave in ways that could influence the decisions of women and staff to access services; impede their access; or otherwise cause alarm, harassment or distress.
Police Scotland are responsible for enforcing the legislation. People who break the law can be fined up to £10,000, or be given an unlimited fine, depending on the court procedure.
Determining whether an offence has been committed will be a matter for Police Scotland, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and the Courts.
Depending on the facts and circumstances of each case, some examples of criminal behaviour may include: approaching someone to try and persuade them not to access abortion services, surrounding people as they try to go in or out of the clinic or hospital, handing out leaflets, religious preaching and silent vigils.
Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health Jenni Minto said: “The introduction of Safe Access Zones is a crucial milestone in protecting women’s abortion rights – no one has the right to interfere in women’s personal medical decisions and the law now makes that abundantly clear.
“I thank Gillian Mackay (pictured below) and all those involved for their work to progress this legislation.
“I would like to especially recognise the women who showed incredible courage in speaking up and sharing their experiences during the Bill process.
“The new zones of 200 meters around all abortion services will help ensure women have safe access to healthcare – free from intimidation. This law is about protection for women at a time when many will feel incredibly vulnerable around taking a deeply personal and difficult decision.”
Full details of the penalties that apply for committing an offence.
We are protecting access to abortion services.
From Tuesday 24th September, The Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Act 2024 comes into force. It will create protected zones of 200 metres around all premises providing abortion services.
A new report by the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee has found that implementation of the Social Care (Self-directed Support) (Scotland) Act 2013 has been hampered by a range of factors.
The legislation was introduced to ensure that care and support is arranged, managed, and delivered in a way that supports choice and control for individuals. Although the Committee has heard that Self-Directed Support (SDS) has been implemented well and is transformational for individuals in some areas, the report highlights a number of challenges that have meant the legislation is not always implemented in a fair and equitable way across the country.
The Committee say that restrictions on available providers, how services are commissioned and procured, and the financial systems and models of care currently in place mean that, in many parts of the country, SDS has not been delivered in the way intended by the legislation.
The post-legislative scrutiny report concludes that a lack of knowledge and understanding of the principles of the Act among key staff is also limiting effective implementation of SDS. The Committee says social workers face a number of constraints which prevent them from taking a relationship-based approach to their work in a way that would enable them to fully implement the principles of SDS.
Other issues highlighted by the Committee include inconsistent application of eligibility criteria by Health and Social Care Partnerships. The Committee concludes that, in many instances, the way current eligibility criteria are applied contradicts the aims and principles of SDS.
While the Committee heard examples of good practice from certain local authority areas, which are offering those in receipt of care more choice using a range of different collaborative initiatives, they say there have been challenges in applying this good practice across the country.
The Committee also concludes that there is an urgent need to establish a process of national oversight and clear lines of accountability across all levels of decision-making to ensure a significantly improved approach to monitoring and evaluation of SDS.
On the report’s publication, Clare Haughey MSP, Convener of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, said:“While it’s clear from our evidence that stakeholders strongly support this legislation, its implementation has not been consistent across the country.
“During our scrutiny, the Committee has heard that there is a lack of national consistency in relation to information, advice and support to ensure fair and equitable access to social care through SDS.
“We also have concerns over recruitment and retention of the social care and social work workforce, the continued impact of Covid-19 and wider funding constraints across the social care system that are affecting proper implementation of the Act.
“Our conclusion is that the current underlying system of social care delivery based on individual assessment, eligibility and transactional care contracts is incompatible with the principles of SDS.
“The Social Care (Self-directed Support) Act was introduced ten years ago with the intention of empowering individuals to have greater choice and control over the care they receive. However, in too many cases, the principles of SDS are not being observed, meaning individuals are not receiving the care they want or deserve.
“We are calling on the Scottish Government, Local Authorities and Health and Social Care Partnerships to ensure proper implementation of the legislation through greater national consistency, by improving local authority practice and processes, addressing issues around commissioning and tendering, and significantly improving processes for ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the policy.
“We would like to thank all of those who contributed to our post-legislative scrutiny of SDS.”
UPDATE: DEADLINE HAS BEEN EXTENDED UNTIL 30 SEPTEMBER
· Alba MSP has formally proposed new law to bring in Nordic Model, but has failed to seek public and stakeholder views, in line with Scottish Parliament guidance
· Leading sex worker safety service National Ugly Mugs labels Regan’s consultation a “sham”, as it fails to mention international evidence showing Nordic Model makes sex workers less safe
· Proposed new law comes after YouGov polling showing Scots oppose Nordic Model, instead favouring more support for sex workers, alongside leading NGOs such as Amnesty International
Ash Regan has been accused of trying to “sneak through” a controversial new law to ban the purchase of sex in Scotland, having formally submitted a proposed new Bill to Parliament, while failing to notify sex worker support groups or seek views from those opposed to the measures.
The Prostitution (Offences and Support) (Scotland) Bill, a Member’s Bill formally proposed to the Scottish Parliament by Regan on June 18, would enact the so-called “Nordic Model” in Scotland – making it a criminal offence to purchase sex – a move that is opposed by the Scottish public as well as a host of leading international NGOs.
The consultation document has been labelled a “sham” by National Ugly Mugs, the UK’s national sex worker safety service, as it fails to include any of the wealth of international evidence showing that banning the purchase of sex only serves to increase violence against sex workers, by making their lives more difficult and dangerous.
An official government review of similar legislation in Northern Ireland – the only nation in the UK to enact the Nordic Model – found that there was “no evidence that the offence of purchasing sexual services has produced a downward pressure on the demand for, or supply of, sexual services”.
It also found that “the legislation has contributed to a climate whereby sex workers feel further marginalised and stigmatised”. Regan’s consultation fails to mention this.
The Scottish Parliament’s official Guidance on Public Bills says that the consultation process on a proposed Member’s Bill should allow the policy “to be tested against, and informed by, stakeholder and public opinion”.
The guidance says that seeking such views “usually proves valuable in refining and developing the policy and in equipping the member for the challenges involved in explaining and defending that policy during the passage of the Bill.”
However, despite previously pledging to share the proposal with the public for feedback, the Alba MSP has not made any move to publicise the consultation – either via her Twitter account, her Nordic Model campaign website, or via the press – before it closes on September 12.
A YouGov poll of 1,088 Scottish adults, carried out for National Ugly Mugs in May this year, showed that Scots firmly oppose the Nordic Model, with 47% saying it should be legal for a person to pay someone to have sex with them, versus 32% who think it should not be legal.
The poll showed that 69% of Scots say the Scottish Government should focus on protecting the health and safety of sex workers, and providing support to people who want to leave the industry, compared to just 14% who support the government passing new laws to prevent people exchanging sexual services for money.
Dr Raven Bowen, chief executive of National Ugly Mugs, said: “Ash Regan is clearly trying to sneak through this controversial proposed Member’s Bill, by slipping out a consultation just before recess, timed to run over the summer break, and then failing to notify affected stakeholders like NUM, presumably in the hope that they wouldn’t notice.
“Her sham consultation fails to acknowledge the wealth of international evidence showing that the Nordic Model only serves to increase violence against sex workers, by eliminating their revenue streams, making them desperate and destitute. The official government review of the Nordic Model in Northern Ireland – the only UK nation to enact this approach – showed it has failed there too.
“The evidence shows that Scots side with charities, researchers and international organisations such as Amnesty International, UN Aids and the World Health Organisation in opposing the Nordic Model.
“The Scottish Parliament must now do what Regan has failed to do, and consider the actual evidence showing that the Nordic Model would be a disaster for Scottish sex workers, before rejecting this proposed new law.”
UPDATE +++ UPDATE +++ UPDATE +++
The deadline for responding to @AshReganALBA‘s consultation on a proposed Prostitution (Offences and Support) (Scotland) Bill has been extended to 30 September.
Starmer prepares for The King’s Speech at the State Opening of Parliament on Wednesday 17 July
New laws will prioritise growth, the Government’s overarching mission for the year ahead
Legislative programme will support delivery of the Government’s first steps and missions to rebuild Britain
Focus on improving the prosperity of the country and living standards of working people
The Government will use its mandate for change to put economic growth at the heart of its legislative agenda as it prepares for The King’s Speech at the State Opening of Parliament on Wednesday (17 July).
Departments are working on more than 35 bills to deliver an ambitious parliamentary session that will be built on a bedrock of economic security, to enable growth that will improve the prosperity of our country and the living standards of working people.
Legislation will include a bill to enforce tough new spending rules, designed to ensure economic growth, while avoiding the chaos which left families with spiralling bills and wreaked misery on people’s lives.
To ensure nobody can play fast and loose with the public finances ever again, this new bill will strengthen the role of the Office of Budget Responsibility, meaning significant fiscal announcements must be properly scrutinised and that taxpayers’ money is respected.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “Our work is urgent. There is no time to waste. We are hitting the ground running by bringing forward the laws we will need to rebuild our country for the long-term – and our ambitious, fully costed agenda is the downpayment on that change.
“From energy, to planning, to unbreakable fiscal rules, my government is serious about delivering the stability that is going to turbo charge growth that will create wealth in every corner of the UK.
“The task of national renewal will not be easy, and this is just the down payment on our plans for the next five years, but the legislation set out at the King’s Speech will build on the momentum of our first days in office and make a difference to the lives of working people.”
‘His Majesty’s Most Gracious Speech’ will build on the momentum of the Government’s first week in office which saw the Prime Minister and his ministerial team roll up their sleeves and get to work.
Legislation to enact announcements made this week, including the launch of a National Wealth Fund to drive investment into the UK, to a new Mission Control tasked with turbocharging UK to clean power by 2030, to opening the recruitment of a new border security command, show that the Government is getting on with the job.
The package of bills will focus on growing the economy through ‘turbocharging’ building of houses and infrastructure, better transport, more jobs and securing clean energy – helping to make every part of the country better off.
As part of the Government’s plans to empower regions to deliver change for their communities, new legislation will also help to create wealth in every community and hand the power back to local leaders who know what is best for their areas.
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.
