Draft regulations to be laid at Holyrood in autumn
Views are being sought on the implementation of the ban on MSPs from also serving as MPs or in the House of Lords.
Following the Scottish Elections (Representation and Reform) Bill being passed unanimously by the Scottish Parliament in December, a consultation seeking views on the principles and practical issues of ending dual mandates has launched.
The consultation, which runs until 23 March, looks at issues such as grace periods once elected and salary or parliamentary limitations during this period.
The Bill places a duty on Scottish Ministers to bring forward regulations which prohibit MSPs from also serving in the House of Commons or the House of Lords, and may additionally prohibit MSPs from also serving as councillors.
The regulations will be laid in autumn 2025 so they are in place for the 2026 Scottish Parliament election, and will be subject to scrutiny and a vote by MSPs.
Minister for Parliamentary Business Jamie Hepburn said: “Following the unanimous passage of the Scottish Elections (Representation and Reform) Bill in December, MSPs will be barred from also being an MP or Peer through regulations to be brought forward in autumn 2025.
“This consultation on the issue will allow political parties, local government and most importantly the public to comment on the details of how that will work in practice, ahead of the practice being ended before the 2026 Scottish Parliament election.”
A cultural change and “brave and bold action” are required to tackle a “public health emergency” created by drug use in Scotland, according to a report sent to MSPs by a people’s panel.
The panellists’ report recognises that progress has been made, but says that further action is needed. It calls for public campaigns to raise awareness of drug harm and drug use, recommends funding should be ring fenced and prioritised on prevention and seeks improvements in information shared between government agencies.
However, the introduction of the Naloxone programme to prevent fatal drug overdoses, and the opening of the safer drug consumption room, The Thistle, are welcomed in the report.
The panel’s report also calls for greater involvement of the third sector and people with lived experience. It concludes that a lack of urgency in responding to drug harm and use reinforces the stigma already associated with these issues.
The creation of the people’s panel, formed of 23 people, was requested by the Cross-Committee on tackling drug deaths and drug harms. Members of the Criminal Justice Committee, Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, and Social Justice and Social Security Committee commissioned the panel to gather public views on the question, ‘What does Scotland need to do differently to reduce drug related harms?’. The panel met at the Parliament in October and November 2024.
Over the course of two weekends, members of the panel heard evidence from people with lived experience of drug harms, from academics and researchers, and from stakeholders who work in this area, before developing their report.
The panel’s report will help inform the cross-Committee’s scrutiny of matters related to reducing drug deaths and tackling problem drug use. It’s 19 recommendations cover rights and people’s lived experience, justice, access to treatment, care and support, prevention and harm reduction.
Mairi McIntosh, from the Highlands and Islands region, was one of the members of the People’s Panel. She said:“I found participating in the People’s Panel humbling.
“The team at the Scottish Parliament organised a diverse range of experts and worked hard to lay out the worrying and rapid escalation in drug related deaths and harms in Scotland. The wide range of speakers gave us great insight into the data and evidence about the complexity of the issue including the causes, impacts and ways they believed the Scottish government could help.
“Hearing from those such as Steph McCutcheon about having success with service users through the East Ayrshire Recovery Hub, matches up with what we heard from others about the importance not only of the third sector’s role in local based solutions but how it is imperative those with lived experiences are valued and involved in every stage of the planning and implementing of measures being taken.
“All the evidence we heard highlighted the urgency for action from the Scottish government to implement brave and lasting change. Change needed to seriously reduce the deaths, impacts of harms to individuals, their families and communities and the pressure this puts on health, care, police, justice, other services and the people who are working to help those suffering.
“I feel it would be a poor reflection on our country to allow this issue to further impact some of the most vulnerable groups in our society.
“I am hopeful that our report shows that as voices from across Scotland, representing different backgrounds and lives, some directly affected by the issues of drug harm and death and others not, that we want the Scottish government to acknowledge the causes and barriers like stigma and discrimination and realise that we cannot afford to not take bold action now.”
Reflecting on the publication of the panel’s findings Audrey Nicoll MSP, Convener of the Criminal Justice Committee said:“We would like to thank the panel for their focused and determined work in delivering this serious and well considered report.
“Our Committees look forward to thoroughly considering the panel’s findings and putting its report’s recommendations to the Scottish Government.”
The Scottish Parliament has published its British Sign Language Plan, setting out the actions it will take over the next six years to improve access to parliamentary information and services for BSL users in the Deaf and Deafblind communities.
This follows a consultation on the proposed Plan, in which over 120 people took part in a series of in-person events across Scotland, as well as online. Contributions from these participants have helped to shape the 20 actions that will be taken between 2025 and 2031.
Some of these actions include continuing to provide BSL interpretation for First Minister’s Question Time, offering educational materials in BSL, and encouraging the use of BSL among Scottish Parliament staff.
“As an official language of Scotland with its own rich cultural heritage and history, BSL is central to the interests of Deaf and Deafblind people and the wider BSL community across the country,” said Presiding Officer, Rt Hon Alison Johnstone MSP.
“I am proud to present it, reaffirming our commitment to British Sign Language and its communities across our work.
Mark McMillan, BSL Communities Officer for the Scottish Parliament, said: “I am really pleased with how the new BSL Plan has been shaped by feedback from over 120 people, and importantly with many of them being Deaf BSL users sharing their lived experiences.
“I think this will really help to ensure that the Parliament continues to improve access to parliamentary information and services to BSL users in the Deaf and Deafblind communities, and the wider BSL community in the years to come.”
Since passing the British Sign Language (Scotland) Act 2015, all public institutions must commit to producing a BSL Plan, laying out how they will promote the use and understanding of British Sign Language.
These individual plans should aim for consistency between their own plan and the Scottish Government’s National Plan, which seeks to make Scotland the best place in the world for BSL users to live, work, visit and learn.
The Presiding Officer is visiting Sauchie and Alloa in the Mid Scotland and Fife region this month to meet local people to talk about their Scottish Parliament.
The visits continue a series of events in each of the eight Scottish parliamentary regions to mark the Scottish Parliament’s 25th anniversary. The events are to hear people’s reflections on the Parliament and to understand more about what they want from their Parliament in the future. They will also reflect on 25 years of devolution and the impact of the Parliament on local communities.
Taking place on Monday 20 January, the visits have been set up in collaboration with community partners Wimpy Park Community Group, Sauchie Community Group, Scottish Rural Action and Forth Valley & Lomond Youth Local Action.
The morning will see the Presiding Officer and Mid Scotland and Fife MSPs join the Chatty Latte Café at Sauchie Resource Centre, which started to encourage socialising after the pandemic and provide a free warm space for the community. MSPs will then get a tour of Wimpy Park in Alloa from volunteers and residents to hear more about their work to re-establish the space as a resource for the community, reinstating the gardens and play area.
In the afternoon, the Presiding Officer and MSPs will visit the Bowmar Centre in Alloa for a community conversation with local groups. There will be opportunities for MSPs to hear about local projects and for local people to share their views about the issues that matter to them about the role, purpose and future of the Scottish Parliament.
Speaking ahead of the visit, Presiding Officer Rt Hon Alison Johnstone MSP said:“I’m excited to continue our visits across Scotland to meet with local people and to hear their views on the Parliament and their aspirations for its future.
“I’ve so far visited four regions across the country from Shetland to Hawick and what has struck me with every visit is the passion and drive of the work that is going on the length and breadth of the country to improve the lives of those who live and work in our communities.
“I’m really pleased we’ve partnered with four local groups on this visit to Sauchie and Alloa and I’m looking forward to hearing more about how the Parliament can best represent people in Mid Scotland and Fife and to hear more about the exciting community projects that are taking place here.
“Scotland’s Parliament belongs to its people and it’s vital their voices are heard and help shape the Parliament’s future.”
Kate Turner, from Sauchie Community Group said:“Sauchie Community Group is delighted to have this opportunity for our members and users to speak to and get to know our Holyrood parliamentarians.
“Chatty Latte is a weekly coffee morning-style event, started to encourage socialising after lockdown and provide a free warm space for people to come and enjoy a cuppa and camaraderie.
“It’s one of our favourite events that has grown from strength to strength. It’s a great group of people to meet and learn about our group and community from.”
Mary Fox, from Wimpy Park said:“The Wimpy Park Community Group was established in 2017 with an aim to take over the wasted land within the walled garden. The community group secured a 19-year lease from the Council and have since reinstated the gardens and play area and host 4 community events each year in the park and local Bowmar Centre.
“Volunteers of the Wimpy Park Community Group alongside partners who have supported our work including members of Neils Hugs (supporting families affected by suicide), Play Alloa (supporting children and young people with additional support needs) and Community House (supporting local residents of all ages through group work sessions) all look forward to this event.”
Michaela Scott, member of Forth Valley and Lomond Youth Local Action Group, said:“Along with our fellow youth groups, the Youth Local Action Group is very excited to meet the Presiding Officer and our regional MSPs.
“We are looking forward to the two-way conversation between the Parliament teams and the young people we’ve invited along to this event, including the youth members and volunteers from the Clackmannanshire Council Youth Forum, the Stirling High School Climate Ambassadors, the Hawkhill Community Centre, Active 8 Sauchie, and The Gate, as well as our friends from the Fife Youth Local Action Group.
“We hope this is the start of a long-lasting collaboration between the Scottish Parliament and the youth voices in our region.”
Mia Lalanne, Rural Youth Action Network lead at Scottish Rural Action, said:“The enthusiasm from rural young people and community-led groups across the Mid Scotland and Fife region to participate in this event and engage directly with the Presiding Officer, the MSPs, and the Scottish Parliament teams has been remarkable.
“Rural and island areas are the worst hit by today’s cost of living, climate, biodiversity, and housing crises, and those residents innately understand the needs and opportunities to address those challenges.
“The run-up to this Community Conversation has clearly demonstrated that rural young people and their communities are keen to share and engage with decision-makers, and greatly welcome any opportunities to help shape the Scottish Parliament.”
The Mid Scotland and Fife visit is the fifth of eight planned events across Scotland for the Presiding Officer to meet communities to hear about the issues they care about and encourage more people to join in with the work of the Scottish Parliament, as it marks 25 years.
“TYPE 1 DIABETES DOES NOT CHANGE ONCE YOU CROSS THE BORDER, WHY SHOULD TYPE 1s IN SCOTLAND MISS OUT AND RECEIVE WORSE CARE BASED ON WHERE THEY LIVE?”
Scottish Labour MSP for Lothian Region, Foysol Choudhury, led the Scottish Parliament’s first Member’s Business of 2025 on one of Scotland’s most pressing healthcare technology issues – access to medical technology for diabetic patients.
This debate comes after much campaigning from both in and outside of parliament, including groups like iPAG (Insulin Pump Awareness Group), Diabetes Scotland, and MSPs like Mr. Choudhury, fellow Lothian MSP Sarah Boyack and Labour’s health spokesperson, Jackie Baillie.
Access to diabetes technology is crucial for people with Type 1 diabetes (T1D), an incurable autoimmune condition that requires lifelong insulin therapy and constant management, including making up to 180 more daily decisions about their health to balance blood glucose levels.
Access to diabetes technologies is essential to reducing the physical and mental burden of type 1 diabetes and preventing serious complications like seizures, heart disease, blindness, kidney failure, and death.
The physical and mental toll of T1D is immense, often causing symptoms like lethargy, nausea, and anxiety, as well as diabetes distress, but tailored treatments and access to current technologies are critical to easing this burden and improving quality of life.
This push for access to technology comes not only from campaign groups and politicians but also from those suffering long wait times to access HCL systems, with Scottish Labour figures showing about 3,000 patients waiting across Scottish health boards. Nearly 1,000 are waiting in Lothian alone, with some in Scotland waiting over five years for an insulin pump.
In June 2024, the Scottish Government announced “up to” £8.8 million to improve access to diabetes technology, including pumps and continuous glucose monitors. Yet health boards are still facing significant pressures to fund diabetes technology with the ongoing cost of managing and replacing these devices.
Some have stated that patients outside the identified priority groups will not have access to this technology for the foreseeable future. As of November, NHS Lothian has stated that there has been no additional funding for dieticians, diabetes nursing, and administrative costs from the Scottish Government.
As a result, these constraints are driving a shift toward less suitable options, such as systems that prevent carers from monitoring glucose levels remotely. Families report being offered Freestyle Libre 2+ or Freestyle Libre 3 as standard, with little consideration for individual needs.
This approach poses significant safety risks, particularly for young children and individuals unable to manage their own systems. This goes against SIGN 170, a toolkit published by NHS Health Improvement Scotland and the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network.
During the debate, MSP Choudhury emphasised: “Type 1 diabetes does not change once you cross the border, why should type 1s in Scotland miss out and receive worse care based on where they live?
“Diabetes technology is genuinely preventative care which will save the NHS money in the long term.”
Mr. Choudhury concluded: ““I want to finish by asking members to place themselves in the shoes of a type 1. Knowing the technology to change your life is available, but there is no political will to ensure you get it soon. Imagine the frustration you would feel day by day. We cannot just tell people to wait.”
Online activist and T1 diabetic, Lesley Ross, contributed online: “We shouldn’t have to fight for the best possible care when we are struggling to manage our condition.”
Chair of iPAG Scotland, Mary Moody contributed online: “We know that diabetes teams across Scotland want to do the best for their patients but are restricted by administrative and budgetary constraints.
A toolkit to assist decision-making is published by NHS Health Improvement Scotland and the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network,
but may be disregarded with people being given equipment that does not meet their exact needs and may put them at risk. This has got to improve. Patient safety has to come first.”
Following the debate, MSP Choudhury concluded: ““I want to thank the campaigners and type 1s who have been advocating and contributing to this discussion and thank them for their hard work.”
Victims of domestic abuse are among those invited to share their views as part of a Scottish Parliament inquiry into the financial implications of leaving an abusive relationship.
The Social Justice and Social Security Committee is running the inquiry to find out what support women leaving abusive relationships can access, how public sector and social security rules and practices take account of financial issues in these circumstances and how much information and advice women have access to.
Since 2018-19, Police Scotland has recorded over 60,000 incidents of domestic abuse each year, however, research from Scottish Women’s Aid suggests that the actual figure is much higher as not all incidents are reported to the police.
Reports of domestic abuse can rise substantially over the Christmas period, a time when family finances can be at their most stretched. Research from charities including Refuge and Women’s Aid has found that this, alongside the pressures caused by the cost-of-living crisis, can effectively trap victims of domestic abuse.
The Committee’s inquiry will explore economic abuse, a form of coercive control where an abuser restricts a person’s ability to get, use and keep money or other economic resources.
It is also likely to cover the Scottish Government’s work on violence against women and girls, including its Fund to Leave pilot project and its Equally Safe strategy. The Fund to Leave offered women up to £1,000 to pay for the essentials they need when leaving a relationship with an abusive partner and was delivered by Women’s Aid groups.
Collette Stevenson, Convener of the Social Justice and Social Security Committee, said: “The Christmas period should be a time where women can get together with their families. But sadly for many women suffering from abuse Christmas can be a lonely and terrible time, with economic abuse trapping them in abusive relationships.
“We know that over 60,000 incidents of domestic abuse are reported to the Police in Scotland each year, and we want to use this inquiry to learn about the support available to women in this awful situation and get an idea of what else can be done.
“If you have any experience of this issue, or work for a charity or public body that supports women in this situation we want to hear from you. Share your views with us by responding to our call for views.”
The call for views opened on Friday 13 December, and will close on Thursday 20 February.
To ensure that people can respond in full, the Committee welcomes receiving anonymous responses, where appropriate.
The Scottish Government should take strong and positive action to address the barriers that disabled people continue to face in realising their rights, according to a new report from the Scottish Parliament’s Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee.
The Committee has been considering a Bill proposed by Jeremy Balfour MSP which calls for the creation of a Disability Commissioner. The Commissioner would be expected to promote and safeguard the rights of disabled people.
Following the Parliament’s recent support for a moratorium on creating any new SPCB supported bodies, the Committee has not made recommendations on the principle of creating a Disability Commissioner. Instead, it invites the Parliament to have a full and focused debate on the findings in its report and calls for the Scottish Government to ensure disabled people can realise their rights.
During evidence sessions, disabled people expressed their frustrations at a system that left them feeling desperate, dehumanised and deprioritised. The report explains that these feelings grew following the Scottish Government’s decisions to delay the Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill and Human Rights Bill.
While people who gave evidence were generally supportive of the proposal to establish a Disability Commissioner, there were concerns about duplication and overlap with other commissions and commissioners in what was characterised as ‘an already complicated and fragmented landscape’.
However, witnesses representing disabled people pointed to the challenges they faced as evidence that their rights were not the priority of the existing public bodies.
The Committee’s report also identifies the critical importance of the involvement of disabled people in the development of policies related to the lives of disabled people to gain trust and respect.
Karen Adam MSP, Convener of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee said: “We heard upsetting evidence about the challenges experienced by disabled people and their advocates during this inquiry. Their feedback was clear, disabled people too often feel let down and abandoned by public bodies.
“While we have not made a recommendation on the Bill, we do believe that the Scottish Government must take strong and positive action to address the barriers that disabled people continue to face in realising their rights.
“It is crucial that disabled people and disabled people’s organisations, who frustratedly told us that any trust they had in the current system has been lost, are able to play an active role in the development of the policies and approaches that are required to overcome these barriers.”
Strengthening tenants’ rights and preventing homelessness
Legislation to strengthen tenants’ rights and prevent homelessness has passed stage 1 in the Scottish Parliament.
The Housing (Scotland) Bill aims to tackle poverty across Scotland by improving the renting experience for tenants, through a range of new rights and a system of rent controls, in a way that maintains investment.
The Bill will also place a stronger emphasis on homelessness prevention based on better coordination across services and providing support earlier.
Housing Minister Paul McLennan said: “The Housing (Scotland) Bill will play an important role in helping to tackle poverty by keeping rents affordable and ensuring people can stay in their homes.
“Ensuring everyone has the right to a safe and stable home is essential to the Scottish Government’s priority of ending child poverty and the Bill will play a role in reaching that goal.
“Scotland has led the way in protecting tenants and providing rights for homeless people. The Housing (Scotland) Bill aims to create a rental system that improves the rights of tenants while maintaining investment and provides greater support for people threatened with homelessness.
“I am pleased Parliament has supported the general principles of the legislation, especially on our proposals for a system of rent controls that keep costs lower for tenants.”
Living Rent campaigners said: “Make no mistake this would not have happened without the work of Scotland’s tenants union.
“Right now we need to celebrate the vote bringing rent controls one step closer. But landlords are fighting hard and it’s clear there is a lot of work to be done.”
The wholesale reform of the criminal justice sector required to tackle increasing financial pressures has been too slow, say the Criminal Justice Committee.
The Committee say organisations across the sector have said they are looking for increases in their resource funding and significant investments in capital budgets for 2025/26 but there is ‘a stark gap’ between what these organisations say they need for 2025/26 and what they may be given.
The Committee say that the wholesale reform of the sector which is required can only be achieved by adopting a new strategy, moving away from short term fixes of a few years or a single parliamentary term. It recommends that the Scottish Government explores moving to a system of multi-year funding cycles to help aid this reform.
Whilst a range of current reform work is welcomed, such as the pilot of the Summary Case Management system, there are other areas where progress on reform has been too slow.
The Committee again highlight the inefficiencies and wasted cost of citing police officers to attend courts, only for them not be called, and the time that the officers spend on calls with vulnerable people experiencing poor mental health due to a lack of wider support services.
The Committee welcome in-year investments by the Scottish Government in various parts of the criminal justice system, but call for increased transparency about these payments to ensure adequate scrutiny.
Issues around underestimating the costs of implementing new legislation impacting the sector are also highlighted in the report. The Committee call for financial memorandums to be as accurate as possible and say proposed legislation must be accompanied by appropriate resources.
The Criminal Justice Committee Convener, Audrey Nicoll MSP, said:“Right across the sector we are seeing increasing cost pressures, and it’s clear there is a stark gap between what these organisations say they need for 2025/26 and what they may be given.
“Last year we emphasised the need for change in how the Scottish Government fund and support the justice sector and that the status quo could not continue. However, progress still needs to be made to implement the wholesale reform required, which takes the long-term view.
“The evidence we have gathered has made clear that multi-year funding could be hugely beneficial for the sector, help them manage resources and plan for the future, and we’re calling for the Scottish Government to explore this route further.”
The introduction of rent controls has received support from the majority of the Scottish Parliament’s Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee.
The Housing (Scotland) Bill aims to improve housing outcomes for people who live in private rented accommodation and ensure a fair balance between protection for tenants and the rights of landlords. It comes as the Scottish Government and an increasing number of councils have declared housing emergencies.
In its report, the majority of the Committee welcomes the ambition in the provisions to re-balance the private rental sector and improve affordability for tenants. However, despite recent announcements from the Scottish Government about how the rent cap would operate in practice, the Committee has called for further clarity noting that continued uncertainty could impact investment within the sector, in turn impacting on choice and affordability for tenants.
The report also recognises that, in isolation, the Bill in itself is not the answer to the housing emergency, which has been caused by a range of factors, including the shortage of affordable and social housing, increased rents in the private sector, high inflation, freeze of housing allowance rates, labour shortages linked to Brexit, and cuts in Scotland’s capital funding settlement from the UK Government.
However, the Bill does have a role to play in better balancing tenants’ rights with landlords’ needs.
Speaking as the report launched yesterday, Committee Convener Ariane Burgess MSP said:“We are currently in the midst of a housing emergency and this Bill is an important part of the solution to address that by redressing the imbalance in the relationship between tenants and landlords.
“For rent controls to be effective, however, there is a need for certainty for both tenants and landlords about measures within the Bill and how the proposals will work. It’s disappointing that it was only last week that the Housing Minister made an announcement about how rent controls might work.
“The Bill before us does not provide detail on many aspects of how the legislation will operate, and with consultation on some aspects of the Bill continuing until 2025, there will be little room for parliamentary scrutiny in an area which is critical to get right for the long-term sustainability of the private rental sector.”
https://twitter.com/i/status/1857000722153214066
The Bill also puts in place requirements for the collection of data from private landlords in order to make a case for the creation of local rent control area . But with the onus on local authorities to collect and monitor the data, the Committee is concerned that there is a lack of resource to deliver that requirement which could hinder the effective use of rent control areas.
The Convener continued:“For rent controls to work, there must be accurate data but the Bill before us has no clear plans for robust data collection. This is why our report recommends that there is a national approach to data collection to help assess rental markets.
“We would also like to see the onus put on landlords by creating a requirement for them to routinely provide data rather than only respond to requests from local authorities.”
The Committee also welcomed measures within the Bill which support tenants’ rights to personalise their homes and their right to own pets.
It also makes recommendations for there to be more support for tenants in exercising their rights, and for landlords too to help them better understand their duties, saying that legislation is not enough on its own to achieve the necessary balance between tenants and landlords’ rights.
