One item is being considered by the Committee on Amendments, that item being the Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Bill, SB254, in the name of the Scottish Green Party. Two amendments have been submitted in the Chamber, and one of them having been considered SPaG, one amendment will now be voted on by members of the Committee.

Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Bill

An Act of the Scottish Parliament to make provision about the prohibition of hunting wild mammals using dogs; to make provision about the prohibition of trail hunting; and for connected purposes.

PART 1

HUNTING A WILD MAMMAL USING A DOG

Offences

1 Offence of hunting a wild mammal using a dog

(1) A person commits an offence if—

(a) they hunt a wild mammal using a dog, and

(b) none of the exceptions in sections 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9 apply.

(2) A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) is liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or a fine not exceeding £40,000, or level 5 on the standard scale, whichever would be higher for the person, or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or a fine (or both).

(3) In this Act—

“hunting” includes, in particular, searching for and coursing (and related expressions are to be construed accordingly),

“wild mammal” means any mammal (other than a human)—

(a) which—

(i) is living in a wild state,

(ii) is of a species recognised as living in a wild state in the British Islands (as defined in schedule 1 of the Interpretation Act 1978), or

(iii) has been deliberately released from temporary or permanent human control, and

(b) which is not—

(i) a rat,

(ii) a mouse, or

(iii) living under temporary or permanent human control.

(4) In this Part, a person is “using a dog” when the hunting of a wild mammal by the person involves the use of a dog, even if the dog is not under that person’s control or direction (and related expressions are to be construed accordingly).

2 Offences of knowingly causing or permitting another person to hunt using a dog

(1) A person commits an offence if—

(a) they—

(i) are an owner or occupier of land, and

(ii) knowingly cause or permit another person to hunt a wild mammal using a dog on that land, and

(b) none of the exceptions in sections 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9 apply to the hunting.

(2) A person commits an offence if—

(a) they—

(i) own or are responsible for a dog, and

(ii) knowingly cause or permit another person to hunt a wild mammal using that dog, and

(b) none of the exceptions in sections 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9 apply to the hunting.

(3) A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) or (2) is liable on summary conviction, to—

(a) imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months,

(b) a fine not exceeding £40,000, or level 5 on the standard scale, whichever would be higher for the person, or

(c) both of the penalties under paragraphs (a) and (b).

(4) In this Part, an “owner” of land includes a person who—

(a) manages or controls that land, or

(b) is authorised to give permission for that land to be used for hunting.

(5) In this Act, a person “is responsible for” a dog where the person—

(a) is responsible for the dog on a temporary or permanent basis,

(b) is in charge of the dog, or

(c) has actual care and control of a person under the age of 16 years who is responsible for the dog under paragraph (a) or (b).

Exceptions to the offences

3 Exception: management of wild mammals above ground

(1) This section applies if—

(a) a person is using a dog above ground to—

(i) search for, stalk or flush from cover a wild mammal, with the intention of killing it for one or more of the purposes set out in subsection (2),

(ii) search for and retrieve a wild mammal which has been killed as a result of the activity mentioned in sub-paragraph (i), and

(b) the conditions set out in subsection (3) are met.

(2) The purposes referred to in subsection (1)(a)(i) are—

(a) preventing serious damage to livestock, woodland or crops,

(b) preventing the spread of disease,

(c) protecting human health.

(3) The conditions referred to in subsection (1)(b) are that—

(a) either—

(i) the activity mentioned in subsection (1)(a) does not involve the use of more than two dogs, or

(ii) the activity is carried out in accordance with a licence granted under section 4,

(b) any dog used in the activity is under control,

(c) unless paragraph (a)(ii) applies, reasonable steps are taken to ensure that any dog used in the activity does not join with others to form a pack of more than two dogs,

(d) permission for the activity has been given by the owner of the land on which the activity takes place,

(e) the wild mammal which is being searched for, stalked or flushed is shot dead, or killed by a bird of prey, as soon as reasonably possible,

(f) if an attempt to kill the wild mammal, as mentioned in paragraph (e), results in it being injured but not killed, reasonable steps are taken to kill it in a way (other than by using a dog) that causes it the minimum possible suffering.

4 Licence for use of more than two dogs in connection with section 3

(1) A person may apply for a licence permitting the use of more than two dogs for the activity mentioned in section 3(1)(a).

(2) An application for a licence under subsection (1) must be made to the relevant authority.

(3) A licence under subsection (1)—

(a) may be granted to a particular person or to a category of persons,

(b) must relate to a particular species of wild mammal,

(c) must not be granted unless the relevant authority is satisfied that there is no other solution which would be effective in achieving the purpose set out in section 3(2) in relation to which the application for a licence is being made,

(d) may only permit the use of the minimum number of dogs which the relevant authority is satisfied would be effective in achieving the purpose set out in section 3(2) in relation to which the application for a licence is being made,

(e) must require the deployment of the minimum number of guns which the relevant authority is satisfied would be effective for compliance with the conditions set out in section 3(3)(e) and (f) in relation to the activity for which the application for a licence is being made,

(f) may be subject to compliance with such conditions as the relevant authority considers appropriate, which may include, in particular, reporting requirements in relation to activities carried out under the licence,

(g) may be granted for a maximum period of 14 days, which must fall within a period of 6 consecutive months,

(h) may be modified or revoked by the relevant authority at any time.

(5) A licence under this section must specify—

(a) the person or category of persons to whom it is granted,

(b) the species of wild mammal to which it relates,

(c) the area within which the searching for, stalking or flushing of that species of wild mammal may take place under the licence,

(d) the maximum number of dogs which are permitted to be used,

(e) the minimum number of guns (if any) which are required to be deployed,

(f) any conditions to which the licence is subject.

5 Exception: management of foxes below ground

(1) This section applies if—

(a) a person is using a dog to—

(i) search for a fox below ground, or

(ii) flush a fox from below ground,

with the intention of killing it for one or more of the purposes set out in subsection (2), and

(b) the conditions set out in subsection (3) are met.

(2) The purposes referred to in subsection (1)(a) are—

(a) preventing serious damage to livestock, woodland or crops,

(b) preventing the spread of disease,

(c) protecting human health,

(d) relieving the suffering of an injured or dependent fox.

(3) The conditions referred to in subsection (1)(b) are that—

(a) the activity mentioned in subsection (1)(a) does not involve the use of more than one dog,

(b) the dog used in the activity is—

(i) under control,

(ii) fitted with a device to allow tracking of the position of the dog below ground,

(c) reasonable steps are taken—

(i) to prevent the dog becoming trapped below ground, and

(ii) if the dog becomes trapped below ground, to ensure that it is rescued as soon as reasonably possible,

(d) permission for the activity has been given by the owner of the land on which the activity takes place,

(e) no steps are taken to prevent the fox from being flushed or emerging from below ground,

(f) if the fox which is being searched for or flushed is found or emerges from below ground, it is shot dead, or killed by a bird of prey, as soon as reasonably possible,

(g) if an attempt to kill the fox, as mentioned in paragraph (f), results in it being injured but not killed, reasonable steps are taken to kill it in a way (other than by using a dog) that causes it the minimum possible suffering.

(4) In this section, “dependent” means that the mother of a fox is dead and it is too young to survive on its own.

6 Exception: falconry, game shooting and deer stalking

(1) This section applies if—

(a) a person is using a dog above ground to—

(i) search for, stalk or flush from cover a wild mammal, with the intention of providing quarry for falconry, game shooting or deer stalking,

(ii) search for and retrieve a wild mammal which has been killed as a result of the activity mentioned in sub-paragraph (i), and

(b) the conditions set out in subsection (2) are met.

(2) The conditions referred to in subsection (1)(b) are that—

(a) the activity mentioned in subsection (1)(a) does not involve the use of more than two dogs,

(b) any dog used in the activity is under control,

(c) reasonable steps are taken to ensure that any dog used in the activity does not join with others to form a pack of more than two dogs,

(d) permission for the activity has been given by the owner of the land on which the activity takes place,

(e) the wild mammal which is being searched for, stalked or flushed is shot dead, or killed by a bird of prey, as soon as reasonably possible,

(f) if an attempt to kill the wild mammal, as mentioned in paragraph (e), results in it being injured but not killed, reasonable steps are taken to kill it in a way (other than by using a dog) that causes it the minimum possible suffering.

(3) In this section—

“deer stalking” means the stealthy approach of a deer in order to shoot it for sport,

“falconry” means the use of a bird of prey to hunt for sport,

“game shooting” means shooting wild mammals for sport,

“quarry” means the wild mammal intended to be killed by a bird of prey or shot.

7 Exception: relieving the suffering of injured wild mammals

(1) This section applies if—

(a) a person is using a dog above ground to search for, stalk or flush from cover a wild mammal which the person has reasonable grounds for believing is injured, with the intention of treating, capturing or killing it for the purpose of relieving its suffering,

(b) the wild mammal was not deliberately injured for the purpose of allowing the activity mentioned in paragraph (a) to take place, and

(c) the conditions set out in subsection (2) are met.

(2) The conditions referred to in subsection (1)(c) are that—

(a) the activity mentioned in subsection (1)(a) does not involve the use of more than two dogs,

(b) any dog used in the activity is under control,

(c) reasonable steps are taken to ensure that any dog used in the activity does not join with others to form a pack of more than two dogs,

(d) either—

(i) permission for the activity has been given by the owner of the land on which the activity takes place,

(ii) the person carrying out the activity is a constable exercising a power of entry,

(iii) the person carrying out the activity is exercising a power of entry under section 14M or 14N of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, or

(iv) the person carrying out the activity is exercising a power of entry under section 15 of the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996,

(e) the wild mammal which is being searched for, stalked or flushed is, as soon as reasonably possible, either—

(i) given treatment to reduce or alleviate its pain or discomfort before being allowed to escape without being pursued or killed,

(ii) captured for the purpose of being given treatment to reduce or alleviate its pain or discomfort (whether at that place or at another place),

(iii) shot dead, or

(iv) observed and allowed to escape without being pursued or killed,

(f) if an attempt to kill the wild mammal, as mentioned in paragraph (e)(iii), results in it being injured but not killed, reasonable steps are taken to kill it in a way (other than by using a dog) that causes it the minimum possible suffering.

8 Exception: searching for dead wild mammals

(1) This section applies if—

(a) a person is using a dog above ground to search for and retrieve a dead wild mammal, and

(b) the conditions set out in subsection (2) are met.

(2) The conditions referred to in subsection (1)(b) are that—

(a) the activity mentioned in subsection (1)(a) does not involve the use of more than two dogs,

(b) any dog used in the activity is under control,

(c) reasonable steps are taken to ensure that any dog used in the activity does not join with others to form a pack of more than two dogs,

(d) either—

(i) permission for the activity has been given by the owner of the land on which the activity takes place,

(ii) the person carrying out the activity is a constable exercising a power of entry,

(iii) the person carrying out the activity is exercising a power of entry under section 14M or 14N of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, or

(iv) the person carrying out the activity is exercising a power of entry under section 15 of the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996,

(e) reasonable steps are taken to ensure that no wild mammal is pursued, injured or killed.

9 Exception: environmental benefit

(1) This section applies if—

(a) the person is using a dog above ground to—

(i) search for, stalk or flush from cover a wild mammal, with the intention of killing, capturing or observing it as part of a scheme or plan for one or more of the purposes set out in subsection (2),

(ii) search for and retrieve a wild mammal which has been killed as a result of the activity referred to in sub-paragraph (i), and

(b) the conditions set out in subsection (3) are met.

(2) The purposes referred to in subsection (1)(a)(i) are—

(a) preserving, protecting or restoring a particular species (which may include controlling the number of a species for its welfare) for environmental benefit,

(b) preserving, protecting or restoring the diversity of animal or plant life,

(c) eradicating an invasive non-native species of wild mammal from an area.

(3) The conditions referred to in subsection (1)(b) are that—

(a) either—

(i) the activity mentioned in subsection (1)(a) does not involve the use of more than two dogs, or

(ii) the activity is carried out in accordance with a licence granted under section 10,

(b) any dog used in the activity is under control,

(c) unless paragraph (a)(ii) applies, reasonable steps are taken to ensure that any dog used in the activity does not join with others to form a pack of more than two dogs,

(d) either—

(i) permission for the activity has been given by the owner of the land on which the activity takes place,

(ii) the person carrying out the activity is exercising a power of entry under section 14M or 14N of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, or

(iii) the person carrying out the activity is exercising a power of entry under section 15 of the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996,

(e) the wild mammal which is being searched for, stalked or flushed is either—

(i) captured (whether or not with the intention of subsequently releasing or relocating it) as soon as reasonably possible,

(ii) shot dead, or killed by a bird of prey, as soon as reasonably possible, or

(iii) observed and allowed to escape without being pursued, injured or killed,

(f) if an attempt to kill the wild mammal, as mentioned in paragraph (e)(ii), results in it being injured but not killed, reasonable steps are taken to kill it in a way (other than by using a dog) that causes it the minimum possible suffering.

(4) In this section—

“invasive non-native species” means a species—

(a) which is included on the Scottish list of species of special concern, or

(b) which is—

(i) not native to the area in which the activity mentioned in subsection (1)(a) takes place, and

(ii) having or likely to have a significant adverse impact on biodiversity, the environment, social or economic interests or human or animal health,

“Scottish list of species of special concern” means the list of species in the Annex to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1141 adopting a list of invasive alien species of Union concern pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 1143/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council, as amended from time to time.

10 Licence for use of more than two dogs in connection with section 9

(1) A person may apply for a licence permitting the use of more than two dogs for the activity mentioned in section 9(1)(a).

(2) An application for a licence under subsection (1) must be made to the relevant authority.

(3) A licence under subsection (1)—

(a) may be granted to a particular person or to a category of persons,

(b) must relate to a particular species of wild mammal,

(c) must not be granted unless the relevant authority is satisfied—

(i) that killing, capturing or observing the wild mammal will contribute towards a significant or long-term environmental benefit, and

(ii) that there is no other solution which would be effective in achieving the purpose set out in section 9(2) in relation to which the application for a licence is being made,

(d) may only permit the use of the minimum number of dogs which the relevant authority is satisfied would be effective in achieving the purpose set out in section 9(2) in relation to which the application for a licence is being made,

(e) must require the deployment of the minimum number of guns which the relevant authority is satisfied would be effective for compliance with the conditions set out in section 9(3)(e) and (f) in relation to the activity for which the application for a licence is being made,

(f) may be subject to compliance with such conditions as the relevant authority considers appropriate, which may include, in particular, reporting requirements in relation to activities carried out under the licence,

(g) may be granted for a maximum period of two years, which must fall within a period of two consecutive years,

(h) may be modified or revoked by the relevant authority at any time.

(5) A licence under this section must specify—

(a) the person or category of persons to whom it is granted,

(b) the species of wild mammal to which it relates,

(c) the area within which the searching for, stalking or flushing of that species of wild mammal may take place under the licence,

(d) the maximum number of dogs which are permitted to be used,

(e) the minimum number of guns (if any) which are required to be deployed,

(f) any conditions to which the licence is subject.

11 Regulations: licences

(1) The Scottish Ministers may, by regulations—

(a) make provision for—

(i) the form of applications for licences under subsection (1) of sections 4 and 10,

(ii) a reasonable fee to be paid to the relevant authority for the application of licences under sections 4 and 10,

(b) appoint the relevant authority under sections 4 and 10 or

(c) make such other provision as they see fit in relation to licences under this section and section (10)

(2) Regulations—

(a) when made under paragraphs (1)(a) and (1)(b), are subject to the negative procedure,

(b) when made under paragraph (1)(c), are subject to the affirmative procedure.

(3) Regulations under paragraphs (1)(a) and (1)(b) may not amend the text of any Act.

(4) Until and unless the Scottish Ministers appoint a relevant authority under paragraph (1)(b), the Scottish Ministers shall be the relevant authority.

(5) For greater clarity, nothing in this section prevents the Scottish Ministers appointing themselves as the relevant authority.

PART 2

TRAIL HUNTING

Offences

12 Offences relating to trail hunting

(1) A person commits an offence if—

(a) the person engages or participates in trail hunting, and

(b) the exception in section 13 does not apply.

(2) In this Part—

“trail hunting” is the activity in which a dog is directed to find and follow an animal-based scent which has been laid for that purpose,

“animal-based scent” means—

(a) a scent which is derived from a wild mammal, or

(b) a scent which mimics, replicates or resembles the scent of a wild mammal (or which is designed to do so), whether or not that scent is derived wholly or in part from artificial ingredients.

(3) A person commits an offence if—

(a) the person—

(i) is an owner or occupier of land, and

(ii) knowingly causes or permits another person to engage or participate in trail hunting on that land, and

(b) the exception in section 13 does not apply to the trail hunting.

(4) A person commits an offence if—

(a) the person—

(i) owns or is responsible for a dog, and

(ii) knowingly causes or permits another person to use the dog for trail hunting, and

(b) the exception in section 13 does not apply to the trail hunting.

(5) A person who commits an offence under subsection (1), (3) or (4) is liable on summary conviction to—

(a) imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months,

(b) a fine not exceeding £40,000, or level 5 on the standard scale, whichever would be higher for the person, or

(c) both of the penalties under paragraphs (a) and (b).

(6) It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under subsection (3) or (4) to show that the person reasonably believed that the exception in section 13 applied to the trail hunting.

(7) In this Part, an “owner” of land includes, in particular, a person who—

(a) manages or controls that land, or

(b) is authorised to give permission for that land to be used for trail hunting.

Exception to the offences

13 Exception: training dogs to follow an animal-based scent

(1) This section applies if—

(a) a person—

(i) directs a dog to find and follow an animal-based scent which has been laid for that purpose, or

(ii) lays an animal-based scent for a dog to find and follow,

in order to train a dog for a lawful purpose, and

(b) all of the conditions set out in subsection (2) are met.

(2) The conditions are that—

(a) the activity mentioned in subsection (1)(a) does not involve more than two dogs,

(b) any dog involved in the activity is under control,

(c) reasonable steps are taken to ensure that any dog involved in the activity does not join with others to form a pack of more than two dogs,

(d) permission for the activity has been given by the owner of the land on which the activity takes place,

(e) reasonable steps are taken to ensure that no wild mammal is pursued, injured or killed.

PART 3

GENERAL PROVISIONS

14 Ancillary provision

(1) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations make any incidental, supplementary, consequential, transitional, transitory or saving provision they consider appropriate for the purposes of, in connection with or for giving full effect to this Act.

(2) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations make such provision as they see fit regarding the enforcement of this Act.

(3) Regulations under this section may—

(a) make different provision for different purposes,

(b) modify any enactment (including this Act).

(4) Regulations under this section—

(a) are subject to the affirmative procedure if they—

(i) add to, replace or omit any part of the text of this or any other Act; or

(ii) are made under subsection (2);

(b) otherwise, are subject to the negative procedure.

(5) Before making regulations under subsection (2), the Scottish Ministers must consult such people as they see fit.

15 Interpretation

In this Act—

“animal” means a vertebrate (other than a human) or an invertebrate,

“constable” has the meaning given by section 99(1) of the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012,

“cover” means a place above ground in which a wild mammal may be concealed from sight, but does not include an enclosed place from which a wild mammal could not be flushed,

“hunting” is to be construed in accordance with section 1(3),

“livestock” means cattle, sheep, goats, swine, horses, camelids, ratites, farmed deer, enclosed game birds or poultry, and for the purposes of this definition—

(a) “cattle” means bulls, cows, oxen, buffalo, heifers or calves,

(b) “horses” includes donkeys and mules,

(c) “farmed deer” means deer of any species which are on agricultural land enclosed by a deer-proof barrier and kept by way of business for the primary purpose of meat production,

(d) “enclosed game birds” means any pheasant, partridge, grouse (or moor game), black (or heath) game or ptarmigan that are being kept enclosed prior to their release for sporting purposes,

(e) “poultry” means domestic fowls, turkeys, geese or ducks,

“relevant authority” is to be construed in accordance with sections 4, 10, and 11,

“responsible for”, in relation to a dog, is to be construed in accordance with section 2(6),

“under control”, in relation to a dog, means that a person who is responsible for the dog is able to direct the dog’s activity by physical contact or verbal or audible command,

“wild mammal” has the meaning given by section 1(3),

“woodland” means land on which trees are grown, whether or not commercially, and includes any such trees and any vegetation planted or growing naturally among such trees on that land.

15 Repeal of the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002

The Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002 is repealed.

16 Crown application: criminal offences

(1) Nothing in this Act makes the Crown criminally liable.

(2) The Court of Session may, on an application by the Lord Advocate, declare unlawful any act or omission for which the Crown would be criminally liable if it were not for subsection (1).

(3) Subsection (1) does not affect the criminal liability of persons in the service of the Crown.

17 Commencement

This Act comes into force 6 months after Royal Assent.

18 Short title

ThIs Act may be cited as the Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Act 2024.

Enactments cited:

• Interpretation Act 1978 (c. 30)

• Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (c.69)

• Deer (Scotland) Act 1996 (c. 58)

• Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 (asp 8)

• Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act 2002 (asp 6)

• Commission Implementing Regulation adopting a list of invasive alien species of Union concern (EU 2016/1141)

• Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2014 on the prevention and management of the introduction and spread of invasive alien species (EU No 1143/2014)

This Act was written by the Most Honourable /u/model-avtron, Marchioness Hebrides LT OM CT PC MP MSP MS, Leader of the Opposition and the Scottish Green Party, on behalf of the Scottish Green Party.

This Act draws heavily from the IRL Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Act 2023.

Opening Speech

Oifigear-riaghlaidh,

Hunting with dogs is a unique killer. The numbers aren't precise, but about one fifth of foxes disturbed by hunts are killed by dogs, despite the fact that a large majority of hunts go on without dogs.

This bill bans this killer. It bans hunting with dogs. This will save the lives of mammals like foxes.

Now, there are some legitimate uses for hunting with dogs, I don't dispute that. For example, to relieve the suffering of dying mammals. This bill ensures that farmers and rural communities can continue to hunt for legitimate reasons.

This bill will reduce suffering for mammals and will make it easier to convict people for unlawfully using dogs in hunting. I commend this bill to the Pàrlamaid.

Oifigear-riaghlaidh, I move,

That the Pàrlamaid agrees to the general principles of the Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Bill.

Amendments

A01 (/u/Frost_Walker2017)

In Section 17, replace "six months" with "one year".

Voting on this amendment will end with the close of business at 10pm GMT on the 3rd of May 2024.

Members are to vote 'for', 'against', or 'abstain' only.

Order!

Our first item of business today is a debate on bill SB253, in the name of Forward. The question is that the Parliament agrees to the general principles of the Anti-Radicalisation (Education) Bill.

###Anti-Radicalisation (Education) Bill

An Act of the Scottish Parliament to mandate the teaching of the Fundamental British Values, to codify anti-radicalisation guidance into statute, and for connected purposes.

Section 1: Definitions

(1) In this Act, unless specified otherwise;

(2) The ‘Fundamental British Values’ refers to the values set out as part of the anti-terror Prevent strategy, as below:

(a) Democracy

(b) Rule of Law

(c) Individual Liberty

(d) Tolerance

(e) Mutual Respect

(3) ‘School’ or derivatives refers to any education institution in Scotland.

(4) ‘Secondary School’ or derivatives refers to institutions that teach the years S1 to S6

Section 2: Requirement to teach the Fundamental British Values

(1) Secondary schools in Scotland must ensure that pupils are aware of the Fundamental British Values

(2) Secondary schools must develop a comprehensive and age-appropriate strategy to teach the Fundamental British Values, including (but not limited to):

(a) The strengths and limitations of democracy, including;

(i) The national British democracy

(ii) The Scottish democracy

(iii) International democracy

(iv) International non-democratic processes for governance

(b) How the rule of law operates in Scotland, including;

(i) The functions of the police in investigating and deterring crime

(ii) How the rule of law protects citizens equally

(iii) The implicit separation of powers and how institutions are kept accountable

(3) Schools are to promote individual liberty and independence inside and outside of school as part of their normal functions

(4) Schools are to encourage and develop free thinking and the autonomous development of ideas in their students, including;

(a) How to effectively debate ideas

(b) How to determine right from wrong

(c) How to show responsibility for their actions

(5) Schools are to promote mutual respect and tolerance of different values and ideas.

Section 3: Anti-Radicalisation Measures

(1) Schools are to take appropriate action against a student when they display such values that:

(a) Directly and seriously go against one or more of the Fundamental British Values, including;

(i) Seeking to promote ideologies that would overturn democracy

(ii) Seeking to promote ideologies that would undermine the rule of law in Scotland and the United Kingdom

(iii) Obsessive or extreme disregard for tolerating those with differing views to them

(iv) Constraining the development of individual liberty to such a degree that legitimate debate is unable to occur

(b) Suggest the student is at risk of radicalisation

(c) Suggest that the student has been radicalised

(2) Secondary schools are to take measures to educate students on radicalisation, including but not limited to;

(a) How people may be radicalised, including;

(i) The common signs that place people at risk of radicalisation

(ii) The common backgrounds of those at risk of radicalisation

(iii) Who is considered a person vulnerable to radicalisation

(b) The risks associated with radicalisation

(c) Recognising the signs of radicalisation in yourself and in others

(d) Who to report any concerns to

(e) How to support those who may be undergoing radicalisation

(3) Secondary schools must, where possible, ensure that the most up-to-date information on radicalisation and anti-radicalisation processes is delivered to students and that this knowledge is regularly disseminated to students.

(4) Schools must ensure that their staff are aware of all of the criteria in Section 3(2) and that training is regularly given to refresh this knowledge.

(a) The maximum gap between training may be no more than four years

Section 4: Short Title and Commencement

(1) This Bill may be cited as the Anti-Radicalisation (Education) Act 2024

(2) This Bill shall come into force on the 1st August 2025

This Bill was written by the Rt. Hon. Sir Frost_Walker2017, Duke of the Suffolk Coasts, as a member of Forward.

###A01, moved by /u/model-avtron:

For "British" wherever occurring (except in 2(a)(i)), substitute "Scottish".

###A02, moved by /u/model-avtron:

For "British" wherever occurring (except in 2(a)(i)), substitute "Scottish and British".

###A02, moved by /u/model-avtron:

In 3(4)(a), for “four”, substitute “two”.

Amendments A01 and A02 are noted as being incompatible.

Voting on this bill will end with the close of business at 10pm BST on the 27th of April 2024.

Housing (Scotland) Bill

An Act of the Scottish Parliament to repeal the right to buy, make provision about planning authorities, make provision about homelessness, and for connected purposes.

The right to buy

1 Repeal of the right to buy

(1) The Right to Buy (Revival) (Scotland) Act 2020 is repealed.

(2) Sections 61 to 81, 84 and 84A of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 are repealed.

(3) Sections 42 to 52 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 are repealed.

The Scottish Planning and Housing Agency

2 The Scottish Planning and Housing Agency

(1) The Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 is amended as follows.

(2) For sections 1 to 1A, substitute—

"1 Planning authorities

(1) The planning authority for the purposes of this Act shall be the regional committee of the Scottish Housing and Planning Agency established for the district and the district of the planning authority shall be the area of the regional committee.

(2) In any enactment or instrument made under or by virtue of an enactment, a reference to a planning authority shall, unless otherwise provided, or unless the context otherwise requires, be construed as a reference to a regional committee of the Scottish Housing and Planning Agency.

1A Scottish Housing and Planning Agency

(1) The Scottish Housing Agency is continued into force as the Scottish Housing and Planning Agency.

(2) It is a body corporate.

(3) Schedule 19 makes further provision about the Scottish Housing and Planning Agency.

1B Regional planning committees

(1) The Scottish Housing and Planning Agency must establish bodies called regional committees in accordance with this section.

(2) There must be one regional committee for the area of each local authority.

(3) Each regional committee is to be established by order made by the Scottish Housing and Planning Agency for an area within Scotland.

(4) The area for which a regional committee is established must not coincide or overlap with the area of any other regional committee.

(5) The Scottish Housing and Planning Agency must ensure that, at all times on and after the appointed day, the areas of regional committees together cover the whole of Scotland.

(6) An order establishing a regional committee must provide for the constitution of the body, either by setting out the constitution or by making provision by reference to a published document where it is set out.

(7) The Scottish Housing and Planning Agency must publish orders under this section.

(8) In this section “the appointed day” means a day appointed under this subsection by regulations subject to the negative procedure made by the Scottish Ministers.

(9) Schedule 20 makes further provision about regional committees.".

(2) After Schedule 18, insert—

"SCHEDULE 18

Scottish Housing and Planning Agency

(introduced by section 1A(3))

Independence from Ministers

1 (1) In performing its functions, the Scottish Housing and Planning Agency is not subject to the direction or control of any member of the Scottish Government.

(2) Sub-paragraph (1) is subject to any contrary provision in this or any other enactment.

Appointment of members

2 (1) The Scottish Housing and Planning Agency is to consist of—

(a) a member appointed by the Scottish Ministers to chair the Scottish Housing and Planning Agency, and

(b) at least 4 but no more than 6 other members appointed by the Scottish Ministers.

(2) The Scottish Ministers may appoint a person as a member only if the Scottish Parliament has approved the appointment.

(3) In appointing members, the Scottish Ministers must have regard, among other things, to the desirability of ensuring that the membership (taken as a whole) has expertise or experience in—

(a) law relating to planning,

(b) housing policy,

(c) planning policy, and

(d) other matters which the Scottish Ministers consider relevant to planning and housing.

(4) A member is appointed for such period not exceeding 4 years as the Scottish Ministers determine.

(5) The Scottish Ministers may reappoint a person as a member if—

(a) the person—

(i) is a member at the time of reappointment, or

(ii) ceased to be a member not more than 3 months before the date of reappointment, and

(b) the person has not previously been reappointed.

(6) Sub-paragraphs (2) and (4) apply to the reappointment of a person as a member as they apply to the appointment of a person as a member.

(7) The Scottish Ministers may determine other terms and conditions of membership in relation to matters not covered by this Act.

Persons who may not be members

2 (1) The Scottish Ministers may not appoint a person as a member if sub-paragraph (2) or (4) applies to the person.

(2) This sub-paragraph applies to a person who is—

(a) a member of—

(i) the Scottish Parliament,

(ii) the House of Commons,

(iii) the House of Lords,

(iv) Senedd Cymru, or

(v) the Northern Ireland Assembly,

(b) a member of the Scottish Government,

(c) a Minister of the Crown,

(d) an office-holder in the Scottish Administration,

(e) an office-holder of the Crown in right of Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom,

(f) the holder of any other relevant elective office as defined by paragraph 1(8) of schedule 7 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000,

(g) a civil servant.

(3) Sub-paragraph (2) does not apply to a person who is a councillor or an employee of a local authority.

(4) This sub-paragraph applies to a person who is or has been—

(a) insolvent,

(b) disqualified as a company director under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986,

(c) disqualified as a charity trustee under the Charities Act 2011,

(d) disqualified under a disqualification provision analogous to either of those mentioned in paragraphs (b) and (c) anywhere in the world.

(4) For the purpose of sub-paragraph (3)(a), a person is or has been insolvent if—

(a) the person’s estate is or has been sequestrated,

(b) the person has granted a trust deed for creditors or has made a composition or arrangement with creditors,

(c) the person is or has been the subject of any other kind of arrangement analogous to either of those mentioned in paragraphs (a) and (b) anywhere in the world.

Members’ remuneration and expenses

3 (1) The Scottish Housing and Planning Agency may pay—

(a) its members, and

(b) the members of any regional committee established by it

such remuneration as it may, with the approval of the Scottish Ministers, determine.

(2) The Scottish Housing and Planning Agency may pay—

(a) its members, and

(b) the members of any regional committee established by it,

such sums as it may, with the approval of the Scottish Ministers, determine in respect of expenses incurred by them in performing their functions.

Early termination of membership

4 (1) A person’s membership of the Scottish Housing and Planning Agency ends if—

(a) the person gives notice in writing to the Scottish Ministers and the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament that the person resigns,

(b) the person becomes disqualified from being a member,

(c) the Scottish Ministers give the person notice in writing that the person is removed from being a member.

(2) The Scottish Ministers may remove a member under sub-paragraph (1)(c) only if—

(a) the member has been absent, without permission or reasonable excuse, from meetings of the Scottish Housing and Planning Agency for a period of longer than 3 consecutive months,

(b) the member has been convicted of a criminal offence, or

(c) the Scottish Ministers consider that the member is—

(i) unable to perform the member’s functions, or

(ii) unsuitable to continue as a member.

(3) Where they propose to give a person, other than the person who is the member appointed to chair the Scottish Housing and Planning Agency, notice under sub-paragraph (1)(c) that the person is to be removed from being a member, the Scottish Ministers must consult the member appointed to chair the Scottish Housing and Planning Agency.

(4) The Scottish Ministers may remove a member under sub-paragraph (1)(c) only with the approval of the Scottish Parliament.

(5) For the purpose of sub-paragraph (1)(b), a person becomes disqualified from being a member if paragraph 3(2) or (4) applies to the person.

Chief executive and other staff

5 (1) The Scottish Housing and Planning Agency is to have, as a member of staff, a chief executive.

(2) The chief executive may not be a member of the Scottish Housing and Planning Agency.

(3) The Scottish Ministers are to appoint the first chief executive with the approval of the Scottish Parliament.

(4) The Scottish Housing and Planning Agency is to appoint each subsequent chief executive.

(5) The Scottish Housing and Planning Agency may appoint other staff.

(6) The chief executive and other staff are to be appointed on such terms and conditions as the Scottish Housing and Planning Agency, with the approval of the Scottish Ministers, determines.

Authority to perform functions

6 (1) The Scottish Housing and Planning Agency may authorise—

(a) any of its members,

(b) any regional committee established by it,

(c) its chief executive, or

(d) any other member of its staff,

to perform such of its functions (and to such extent) as it may determine.

(2) The giving of authority under sub-paragraph (1) to perform a function does not—

(a) affect the Scottish Housing and Planning Agency’s responsibility for the performance of the function, or

(b) prevent the Scottish Housing and Planning Agency from performing the function itself.

Regulation of procedure

7 The Scottish Housing and Planning Agency may regulate its own procedure (including quorum) and that of any regional committee.

Validity of things done

8 The validity of anything done by the Scottish Housing and Planning Agency or a regional committee is not affected by—

(a) a vacancy in membership,

(b) a defect in the appointment of a member,

(c) the disqualification of a person from being a member after appointment.

General powers

10 The Scottish Housing and Planning Agency may do anything which appears to it—

(a) to be necessary or expedient for the purposes of, or in connection with, the performance of its functions, or

(b) to be otherwise conducive to the performance of its functions.

Ministerial direction

11 (1) The Scottish Ministers may direct the Scottish Housing and Planning Agency to exercise its powers in a specified way.

(2) A direction under sub-paragraph (1) must—

(a) be in writing, and

(b) be published (as soon as practicable after it is communicated to the Scottish Housing and Planning Agency), and

(c) set out the Scottish Ministers’ reasons for making it.

(3) The Scottish Ministers may revise or revoke a direction under sub-paragraph (1).

(4) Sub-paragraph (3) applies to the revision or revocation of a direction under sub-paragraph (1) as it applies to such a direction.

Directions from the Scottish Parliament

12 (1) The Scottish Parliament may direct the Scottish Housing and Planning Agency to exercise its powers in a specified way by passing a motion resolving as such.

(2) The Scottish Parliament may revise or revoke a direction under sub-paragraph (1) by passing a motion resolving as such.

Directions to regional committees

13 (1) The Scottish Housing and Planning Agency may direct a regional committee to exercise its powers in a specified way.

(2) The Scottish Housing and Planning Agency must ensure that regional committees exercise their powers in a way which meets the National Outcomes.

(3) A direction under sub-paragraph (1) must—

(a) be in writing, and

(b) be published (as soon as practicable after it is communicated to the regional committee), and

(c) set out the Scottish Housing and Planning Agency’s reasons for making it.

(4) The Scottish Housing and Planning Agency may revise or revoke a direction under sub-paragraph (1).

(5) Sub-paragraph (4) applies to the revision or revocation of a direction under sub-paragraph (1) as it applies to such a direction.

Annual report

14 (1) The Scottish Housing and Planning Agency must, as soon as practicable after the end of each financial year—

(a) prepare and publish a report on its activities during that year,

(b) send a copy of the report to the Scottish Ministers, and

(c) lay a copy of the report before the Scottish Parliament.

(2) It is for the Scottish Housing and Planning Agency to determine the form and content of each report.

Resources

15 (1) The Scottish Ministers must seek to ensure that the amount of resources allocated for use by the Scottish Housing and Planning Agency is reasonably sufficient to enable it to perform its functions.

(2) Each report prepared under paragraph 14 must include an assessment by the Scottish Housing and Planning Agency of whether the amount of resources allocated for use by it in the financial year to which the report relates was sufficient to enable it to perform its functions.

(3) Sub-paragraph (2) does not affect the generality of paragraph 14(2).

SCHEDULE 20

REGIONAL COMMITTEES

Appointment of members

1 (1) Regional committees are to consist of members appointed by the local authority (“the council”) which the regional committee’s area covers.

(2) The council is to appoint one of the members of the regional committee the chair.

(3) The council may appoint a person as a member only if the Scottish Housing and Planning Agency has approved the appointment.

(4) In appointing members, the council must have regard, among other things, to the desirability of ensuring that the membership (taken as a whole) has expertise or experience in—

(a) law relating to planning,

(b) housing policy,

(c) planning policy, and

(d) other matters which the Scottish Housing and Planning Agency consider relevant to planning and housing.

(5) A member is appointed for such period not exceeding 4 years as the council determine.

(6) The council may reappoint a person as a member if—

(a) the person—

(i) is a member at the time of reappointment, or

(ii) ceased to be a member not more than 3 months before the date of reappointment, and

(b) the person has not previously been reappointed.

(7) Sub-paragraphs (3) and (5) apply to the reappointment of a person as a member as they apply to the appointment of a person as a member.

(8) The Scottish Housing and Planning Agency may determine other terms and conditions of membership in relation to matters not covered by this Act.

Persons who may not be members

2 (1) The council may not appoint a person as a member if sub-paragraph (2) or (4) applies to the person.

(2) This sub-paragraph applies to a person who is—

(a) a member of—

(i) the Scottish Parliament,

(ii) the House of Commons,

(iii) the House of Lords,

(iv) Senedd Cymru, or

(v) the Northern Ireland Assembly,

(b) a member of the Scottish Government,

(c) a Minister of the Crown,

(d) an office-holder in the Scottish Administration,

(e) an office-holder of the Crown in right of Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom,

(f) the holder of any other relevant elective office as defined by paragraph 1(8) of schedule 7 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000,

(g) a civil servant, or

(h) a member of the Scottish Housing and Planning Agency

(3) Sub-paragraph (2) does not apply to a person who is a councillor or an employee of a local authority.

(4) This sub-paragraph applies to a person who is or has been—

(a) insolvent,

(b) disqualified as a company director under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986,

(c) disqualified as a charity trustee under the Charities Act 2011,

(d) disqualified under a disqualification provision analogous to either of those mentioned in paragraphs (b) and (c) anywhere in the world.

(4) For the purpose of sub-paragraph (3)(a), a person is or has been insolvent if—

(a) the person’s estate is or has been sequestrated,

(b) the person has granted a trust deed for creditors or has made a composition or arrangement with creditors,

(c) the person is or has been the subject of any other kind of arrangement analogous to either of those mentioned in paragraphs (a) and (b) anywhere in the world.

Early termination of membership

3 (1) A person’s membership of a regional committee ends if—

(a) the person gives notice in writing to the chair of the regional committee and the Scottish Housing and Planning Agency that the person resigns,

(b) the person becomes disqualified from being a member,

(c) the Scottish Housing and Planning Agency give the person notice in writing that the person is removed from being a member.

(2) The Scottish Housing and Planning Agency may remove a member under sub-paragraph (1)(c) only if—

(a) the member has been absent, without permission or reasonable excuse, from meetings of the regional committee for a period of longer than 3 consecutive months,

(b) the member has been convicted of a criminal offence, or

(c) the Scottish Housing and Planning Agency consider that the member is—

(i) unable to perform the member’s functions, or

(ii) unsuitable to continue as a member.

(3) For the purpose of sub-paragraph (1)(b), a person becomes disqualified from being a member if paragraph 2(2) or (4) applies to the person.

General Powers

4 (1) A regional committee may do anything which appears to it—

(a) to be necessary or expedient for the purposes of, or in connection with, the performance of its functions, or

(b) to be otherwise conducive to the performance of its functions.

(2) In exercising its powers, a local planning board must have regard to—

(a) the National Planning Framework, and

(b) the National Outcomes.".

3 Transitional provision

The Scottish Housing Agency may make any transitional provision connected to the coming into force of this Act.

Homelessness

4 Homelessness

(1) In section 20 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 (persons to have priority on housing list and allocation of housing), for subsection (1) substitute—

“(1) A social landlord must, in relation to all houses held by it for housing purposes, secure that in the selection of its tenants a reasonable preference is given to the persons mentioned in subsection (1ZA).

(1ZA) The persons are—

(a) persons who, subject to subsection (1A), are homeless persons and persons threatened with homelessness (within the meaning of Part 2), and

(b) persons who—

(i) are living under unsatisfactory housing conditions, and

(ii) have unmet housing needs, and

(c) tenants of houses which—

(i) are held by a social landlord, and

(ii) the social landlord selecting its tenants considers to be under-occupied.

(1ZB) For the purposes of subsection (1ZA), persons have unmet housing needs where the social landlord considers the persons to have housing needs which are not capable of being met by housing options which are available.”.

(2) In section 338(1) of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987, immediately after the definition of “the year 1986-87”, insert–

""unsatisfactory housing conditions" means–

(a) overcrowded housing conditions,

(b) housing conditions which do not meet the tolerable standard, or

(c) housing conditions which are otherwise unsatisfactory.".

(3) In section 86(1) of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 (definition of house meeting tolerable standard), after paragraph (i) insert—

“(j) has satisfactory equipment installed for detecting, and for giving warning of, fire or suspected fire;

(k) has satisfactory equipment installed for detecting, and for giving warning of, carbon monoxide present in a concentration that is hazardous to health,”.

(4) Section 4 of the Armed Forces Covenant (Scotland) Act 2023 is repealed.

(5) After section 2(1) of the Armed Forces Covenant (Scotland) Act 2023, insert—

"(2) This section does not apply to the powers of local authorities to provide housing accommodation under section 2 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987.".

Final provisions

5 Regulations

(1) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations make any incidental, supplementary, consequential, transitional, transitory or saving provision they consider appropriate for the purposes of, in connection with or for giving full effect to this Act or any provision made under it.

(2) Regulations under subsection (1) may modify any enactment (including this Act).

(3 Regulations under this section—

(a) which add to, replace or omit any part of the text of an Act are subject to the affirmative procedure,

(b) otherwise, are subject to the negative procedure.

6 Commencement

(1) This section and sections 3, 5 and 7 come into force on the day after Royal Assent.

(2) Sections 1 and 4 come into force 3 months after the date of Royal Assent.

(3) Section 2 comes into force one month after the date of Royal Assent.

7 Short title

The short tile of this Act is the Housing (Scotland) Act 2024.

This bill was written by First Minister the Rt. Hon. Sir LightningMinion KT OM OM CT CT CBE, Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Affairs and leader of Scottish Labour, on behalf of the 22nd Scottish Government. It has been co-sponsored by the Scottish Green Party.

A formatted version of the bill may be accessed here.

The bill borrows language from the following real-life legislation: UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2021, The Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 (Tolerable Standard) (Extension of Criteria) Order 2019 and Health and Care Act 2022

Opening Speech:

Presiding Officer,

This legislation implements the government's policies with regards to planning, homelessness, and the housing market.

Section 1 abolishes the right to buy. Right to buy policies have led to council homes being sold-off without replacement council houses built, leading to a depletion of social housing stock. The repeal of the right to buy now will ensure that social housing stock cannot be depleted.

Section 2 makes a number of changes to the Scottish Housing Agency. It renames it to the Scottish Housing and Planning Agency, in recognition of the fact it also deals with planning for non-residential land and properties in addition to housing developments. Section 2 also lays out the rules regulating this Agency in more detail than the Planning (Scotland) Act 2022 which originally established it did. It also explicitly allows the government to give directions to the Agency. The government plans to exercise this power to direct the Agency to identify what land currently on the green-belt should be identified as a National Scenic Area or should be protected from development, following which the government will then be able to abolish the green belt system as promised. The government also plans to exercise this power to direct the Agency to ensure that Scotland meets its target of building 240 thousand houses between 2021 and 2031, to take over control of the construction of social housing and ensure that Scotland meets its target of building 70 thousand social houses between 2021 and 2031, and to take over the administration of housing construction-related funds, such as the Affordable Housing Fund.

Section 3 ensures that the Scottish Housing Agency can make any necessary transitional provision to ensure that the coming into force of section 2 doesn't inadvertently disrupt its activities.

Section 4 amends legislation relating to housing priority lists. It ensures that those who are homeless or are at risk of homelessness, those who live in overcrowded, unsafe or otherwise poor housing conditions, and those who are already social tenants get priority when a social landlord selects a new tenant. It repeals provisions giving those who served in the armed forces priority allocation for social housing, as I do not believe that someone having served in the armed forces alone should give them priority for accessing social housing. If they are homeless or are at risk of becoming homeless, or if they live in bad housing conditions, then they will have priority; but someone who doesn't need social housing but happened to serve in the armed forces should not get priority due to that. Section 4 also defines houses without a fire detector and alarm, and houses without a carbon monoxide detector and alarm, as houses of a poor condition.

Presiding Officer, this bill will help build more affordable and social housing, and helps tackle homelessness. I commend this bill to Parliament.

###A01, moved by /u/lightningminion:

At the end of section 2 add:

(3) The Schedule makes further provision regarding the Scottish Housing and Planning Agency.

At the end of the bill add:

SCHEDULE

SCOTTISH HOUSING AND PLANNING AGENCY: LEGISLATION RELATING TO PUBLIC BODIES

(introduced by section 2(3))

(1) In schedule 3 of the Ethical Standards in Public Life etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 (devolved public bodies), before the entry relating to The Scottish Housing Regulator insert— “Scottish Housing and Planning Agency”.

(2) In schedule 1 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (Scottish public authorities: non ministerial office holders in the Scottish Administration), after paragraph 18B insert—

“18C Scottish Housing and Planning Agency.”.

(3) In schedule 2 of the Public Appointments and Public Bodies etc. (Scotland) Act 2003 (specified authorities), under the heading “Executive bodies”, before the entry relating to the Scottish Housing Regulator insert— “Scottish Housing and Planning Agency”.

(4) In schedule 8 of the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 (information on exercise of public functions: listed public bodies), before the entry relating to the Scottish Housing Regulator insert— “Scottish Housing and Planning Agency”.

(5) In the schedule of the Public Records (Scotland) Act 2011 (authorities to which Part 1 applies), under the heading “Scottish Administration”, before the entry relating to the Scottish Housing Regulator insert— “Scottish Housing and Planning Agency”.

(6) In the schedule of the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 (contracting authorities: Scottish Administration and Scottish Parliament), after paragraph 13 insert—

“13AA Scottish Housing and Planning Agency.”.

Explanatory note: applies legislation relating to public bodies to the agency. Based on this.

Voting on these amendments will end with the close of business at 10pm BST on the 20th of April 2024.

###Nuclear Power (Consent) (Scotland) Bill

An Act of the Scottish Parliament to automatically give consent to the construction of Nuclear Power Stations, and for connected purposes.

Section 1: Automatic Consent

(1) Any authority in Scotland with power over granting planning permission must give consent to any proposal to build nuclear power stations within Scotland, subject to section 1(3).

(2) A nuclear power station is a facility that produces electricity for public or private consumption or sale which is generated by use of a nuclear reactor.

(3) A planning authority may only withhold consent in one of the following situations:

(a) The proposed site is of significant natural, environmental, or cultural importance

(b) Granting consent to the proposed site would violate national security.

(i) This applies to both the UK’s national security and to Scotland’s national security.

(4) The Scottish Ministers may, by order in the positive procedure, add or remove exceptions to automatic consent in section 1(3).

Section 2: Short Title and Commencement

(1) This Act may be cited as the Nuclear Power (Consent) (Scotland) Act 2024

(2) This Act shall come into force immediately upon Royal Assent.

This Act was written by the Rt. Hon. Sir Frost_Walker2017, Duke of the Suffolk Coasts, as a member of Forward.

Opening Speech:

Presiding Officer,

I rise in support of this bill. As we move forward to meet our net zero goals, it is important that we decarbonise our energy network. A large portion of this will come from renewable sources, like wind, solar, or tidal generation, but I believe that this alone cannot make up for the loss of fossil fuels in our energy network.

That is where nuclear power comes in. It produces a significant amount of clean energy with a relatively limited fuel input, and in operation produces minimal carbon emissions. Nuclear energy can be used as a base for our energy network, topped up by renewables as demand rises. While this Parliament rightly does not have powers over our energy network, we are in a position where we can choose to give consent to the planning permission required to build power stations. This bill would require the relevant authorities to give consent to such construction to speed up the process and assist with the decarbonisation of the UK - and, by extension, of Scotland.

This bill is common sense. I urge members to pass it into statute.

###A01, moved by /u/lightningminion:

Omit Section 1 and replace as follows:

(1) The Electricity Act 1989 is amended as follows.

(2) In section 36(1), for “(1A) to (2) and (4)”, substitute “(1A) to (2), (4) and (10)”.

(3) After section 36(9), insert—

“(10) The Scottish Ministers must give consent to proposals to construct a nuclear installation in Scotland, unless—

(a) one of the conditions in subsection (11) applies to the proposal, and

(b) the Scottish Ministers are of the view that consent should not be granted to the proposal.

(11) The conditions are that—

(a) the Scottish Ministers are of the view that the site of the proposed nuclear installation has significant—

(i) cultural,

(ii) natural, or

(iii) environmental

importance;

(b) the Scottish Ministers are of the view that the proposed nuclear installation would damage the national security of Scotland or the United Kingdom.

(12) The Scottish Ministers may, by regulations subject to the affirmative procedure, amend subsection (11) to add, vary or remove conditions.

(13) In subsections (10) to (12), "nuclear installation" has the same meaning as in the Nuclear Installations Act 1965.”.

Explanatory note: consent for power stations is given under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 by the Scottish Ministers (not by a local planning authority under planning law). This amendment accordingly amends the bill.

###A02, moved by /u/model-avtron

Insert after 1(4):

(5) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations deny consent to build nuclear power stations.

(6) Regulations under subsection (5) are to be made in the negative procedure.

Voting on this bill will end with the close of business at 10pm GMT on the 12th of April 2024.

Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Bill

An Act of the Scottish Parliament to make provision about the price at which alcohol may be sold from licensed premises; and for connected purposes.

Minimum price of alcohol

1 Minimum price of alcohol

(1) Alcohol must not be sold at a price below its minimum price.

(2) Where alcohol is supplied together with other products or services for a single price, subsection (1) applies as if the alcohol were supplied on its own for that price.

(3) The minimum price of alcohol is to be calculated according to the following formula—

M × S × V × 100

where—

M is the minimum price per unit,

S is the strength of the alcohol by volume, and

V is the volume of the alcohol in litres.

(4) For the purposes of subsection (3), the minimum price per unit is 65 pence.

(5) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations made in the affirmative procedure amend subsection (4) to change the minimum price per unit.

(6) In this section, "alcohol" has the same meaning as in the 2005 Act.

2 Licensing

(1) The 2005 Act is amended as follows.

(2) After paragraph 7A in schedule 3 of the 2005 Act, insert—

7B (1) Alcohol is not to be sold at a price below its minimum price.

(2) "Minimum price" is to be construed in accordance with the Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) Act 2024.

(2) After paragraph 6A in schedule 4 of the 2005 Act, insert—

6B (1) Alcohol is not to be sold at a price below its minimum price.

(2) "Minimum price" is to be construed in accordance with the Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) Act 2024.

3 Repeal

(1) The 2018 Act is repealed.

(2) For greater clarity, the enactments repealed by the 2018 Act remain repealed.

(3) In this section, "the 2018 Act" means the Abolition of Alcohol Minimum Pricing (Scotland) Act 2018 (asp 4).

Supplementary and general

4 Interpretation

In this Act, "the 2005 Act" means the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 (asp 16).

5 Short title

This Act may be cited as the Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) Act 2024.

6 Commencement

This Act comes into force 90 days after Royal Assent.

Legislation referenced:

• Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 (asp 16)
• Abolition of Alcohol Minimum Pricing (Scotland) Act 2018 (asp 4)

Illustration:

• Minimum price for a standard sized (700ml) bottle of spirits at 37.5% ABV = £17.06
• Minimum price for a standard sized (750ml) bottle of wine at 12.5% ABV = £6.09
• Minimum price for a strong pint (568ml) of lager at 5% ABV = £1.85

This bill was written by the Most Hon. Lady /u/model-avtron, Marchioness Hebrides, Countess Kintyre, Baroness Tiree LT OM CT PC MSP MS MLA, Leader of the Scottish Green Party and Leader of the Opposition, on behalf of the Scottish Green Party. This bill was partially based on the Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Act 2012 (asp 4).

Opening speech

Oifigear-riaghlaidh,

I move, That the Pàrlamaid agrees to the general principles of the bill.

Minimum unit pricing has never existed in Scotland. It was legislated for by the Alex Salmond government, but required a statutory instrument to come into force; no such statutory instrument was ever introduced. Indeed, the Act that legislated for MUP was repealed in 2018 by the Scottish Libertarians. Even though, generally, repealing a bill has no effect on the amendments it makes, the amendments were not put into effect because the bill making said amendments hadn't come into force.

That's why I've introduced this bill. It is textually quite similar to the repealed 2012 bill, albeit it specifies a minimum price per unit rather than getting the Scottish Ministers to do it by order.

Minimum unit pricing works. It saves lives, and stops people from falling into alcoholism. As the illustration shows, 65 pence per unit of alcohol is a fair rate that is not overly burdensome but still has effect.

I commend this bill to the Pàrlamaid.

#Amendments

###A01 (in the name of /u/frost_walker2017)

In Section 1(4), amend to read:

(4) For the purposes of subsection (3), the minimum price per unit is 20 pence.

EN: Lowers the minimum price per unit to 20 pence.

###A02 (in the name of /u/frost_walker2017)

In Section 1(4), amend to read:

(4) For the purposes of subsection (3), the minimum price per unit is 30 pence.

EN: Lowers the minimum price per unit to 30 pence.

###A03 (in the name of /u/frost_walker2017)

In Section 1(4), amend to read:

(4) For the purposes of subsection (3), the minimum price per unit is 40 pence.

EN: Lowers the minimum price per unit to 40 pence.

###A04 (in the name of /u/frost_walker2017)

In Section 1(4), amend to read:

(4) For the purposes of subsection (3), the minimum price per unit is 50 pence.

EN: Lowers the minimum price per unit to 50 pence.

As all four amendments conflict with each other, all approved amendments shall go to a run-off, if necessary.

Voting of these amendments will end on the 5th of April 2024.

Order!

Our only item of business today is a debate on bill SB247, in the name of the 22nd Scottish Government. The question is whether the Parliament approves the general principles of the Minimum National Standards for Prisons (Scotland) Bill.

##Minimum National Standards for Prisons (Scotland) Bill

An Act of the Scottish Parliament to make minimum national standards for Scottish prisons.

Section 1: Requirements for governors

(1) In making decisions about the operation of the prison the governor must uphold the minimum national standards set out in regulations under section 2.

Section 2: Minimum National Standards

(1) The Scottish Ministers may make regulations on the Minimum National Standards as set out in subsection 3.

(2) The regulations may amend this section of this Act.

(3) The regulations shall contain provisions related to—

(a) the actual surface area per prisoner; and

(b) the total capacity of a prison; and

(c) religious observance; and

(d) gender; and

(e) work; and

(f) education; and

(g) libraries; and

(h) communications; and

(i) physical welfare; and

(j) mental welfare; and

(k) medical services.

(4) Regulations under subsection 3 shall be subject to negative procedure.

Section 3: Commencement

(1) This act shall come into force upon receiving Royal Assent.

Section 4: Short Title

(1) This act may be cited as the Minimum National Standards for Prisons (Scotland) Act.

This bill was written by The Most Honourable u/model-willem KD KT KP OM KCT KCB CMG CBE PC MP MS MSP, MSP for Moray, Cabinet Secretary for Justice, on behalf of the 22nd Scottish Government. Based on the Prisons Act 2019 by u/LeChevalierMal-Fait.

Presiding Officer,

The Act that this bill is based on ensured that the UK Secretary of State is able to create minimum national standards for the way that prisons in England are run, but Scotland did not follow this creation when it was done in England in 2019. By putting this Act forward the Scottish Government can make regulations about the standards that we feel are necessary for Scottish prisons to provide the best possible care for its inmates. The eleven subjects that the standards can be about can improve the lives of inmates in Scottish prisons for the better and therefore I urge all members to support these measures.

This Bill is the first step in this Government’s Plan for Prisoners, which is all about making sure that the people who are in Scottish prisons are protected better, have better access to educational and healthcare facilities, that we take their parole more seriously than before. Our plan means that there’s a better future for Scottish inmates than there was before.

Link to S1 Debate

##Amendments

###A01 (in the name of /u/model-avtron)

Amend "negative" in 2(4) to read "affirmative".

This vote will end with the close of business at 10pm GMT on the 16th of February 2024.

Order!

We turn now to vote on SB243, in the name of the 21st Scottish Government. The question is whether this Parliament approves of the general principles of the Education (Scotland) Bill.

Education (Scotland) Bill

An Act of the Scottish Parliament to make provision for the integration of independent schools into the state education system; to reinstate the recognition of and provide a right to education in the Gaelic language; to prohibit police from being stationed in schools; to introduce financial education and life skills education to Personal and Social Education; to introduce a new qualification in filmmaking; to introduce a right to careers advice for school leavers and for candidates; and for connected purposes.

PART 1

INTEGRATION OF INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS

1 Interpretation in Part 1

In this Part—

(1) "the 1980 Act" means the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 (c. 44)](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1980/44/section/135).

(2) "independent school" has the same meaning as in the 1980 Act.

2 Integration of independent schools into the state education system

(1) The Scottish Ministers shall set out a timetable for all independent schools to be converted into schools run by local authorities.

(a) No primary or secondary school in Scotland, including but not limited to converted schools, shall charge for tuition

(2) All independent schools must have been converted before the beginning of the 2028/29 academic year.

(3) The Scottish Ministers shall issue funds to independent schools with which to reimburse families who had previously paid fees.

(4) The Scottish Ministers shall increase the block grant given to councils in order to pay for converted schools.

3 Individual curriculae

(1) Notwithstanding subsection 3 of section 1, and subject to the other terms of the Individual Curriculae (Scotland) Act 2023 (asp 8), converted schools may apply for plans for individual curriculae.

(2) Should an individual curriculum not be arranged, converted schools shall follow the Curriculum for Excellence.

PART 2

GAELIC MEDIUM EDUCATION

4 Reinstatement of Gaelic Medium Education

(1) Subsection 3 of section 3 of the Languages (Official Status) and Gaelicisation (Repeal) (Scotland) Act 2020 (asp 23) is hereby repealed, and section 1(5), sub-paragraphs (a)(iii) of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 (1980 c. 44 are hereby reinstated.

5 Right to Gaelic Medium Education

(1) Each child enrolled or to be enrolled as a primary or secondary student with a local authority shall have a right to GME/FTMG by the date the relevant provisions of this Act come into force.

(2) Should a local authority not be able to provide GME/FTMG, it shall provide free transport services, such as but not limited to minibuses, to ensure that GME/FTMG students are able to get to and from their schools in a timely manner.

(3) In this Section, "GME/FTMG" means education in the Gaelic language.

PART 3

POLICE OFFICERS IN SCHOOLS

6 Police Officers in Schools

(1) Police Scotland shall not station any more police officers in schools in Scotland after this Act comes into force.

(2) Police Scotland and local authorities as defined in section 2 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 (1994 c. 39) shall remove all police officers currently stationed in schools in Scotland by one month after this Act comes into force.

(3) This Section does not affect the power of Police Scotland to have police officers in schools for a time not extending a week, or to have police officers respond to events in schools.

(4) In this Section, “stationed” and derivatives are defined as police officers being assigned to work in a school for a period longer than one week.

PART 4

NEW QUALIFICATION IN FILMMAKING, AND REFORM TO PSE

7 Filmmaking Qualification

(1) There shall be a qualification available at National 4, National 5, and Higher levels in filmmaking.

(2) The Scottish Qualifications Authority shall lay a plan of the exact provision for this course, including the method of examination, before one year after this Act comes into force.

(3) Notwithstanding subsection (2), the Course shall cover—

(a) how films are created,

(b) cinematic techniques,

(c) basic techniques for screenwriting, and

(d) basic critical analysis skills, relating to films, including the skill of criticising candidates' own.

8 Financial Education and Life Skills in PSE

(1) PSE, both at BGE and post-BGE levels, shall cover the following, in addition to what is already covered—

(a) financial matters, including

(i) debit and credit cards,

(ii) effective budgeting,

(iii) debt,

(iv) benefits and pay, and

(v) taxation,

(b) motoring law and safe usage and navigation of public transport,

(c) human rights and rights of children,

(d) metacognition, i.e. information on how students can tailor their learning to work for them,

(e) tenant rights, and

(f) trade unions and workers' rights.

(2) In this section—

(a) "PSE" refers to personal and social education, and

(b) "BGE" and "post-BGE" refer to Broad General Education in secondary schools, i.e. S1 and S2; and the period of secondary education after that, respectively.

PART 5

CAREERS AND QUALIFICATIONS ADVICE

9 Qualifications Advice

(1) Each school shall, with assistance from the Body, provide advice to candidates for examinations at the following stages—

(a) no later than 1 month before courses are picked for National 4 and National 5 examinations, and

(b) no later than 1 month before courses are picked for Higher and Advanced Higher examinations.

10 Careers advice

(1) Every student in secondary education must receive adequate support from the Body in choosing careers pathways before they leave school.

(2) This advice shall be available from 1 year before the student intends to leave school, and until the student is 21 years of age, unless they are enrolled in a course at a university and college, or employed in full-time employment.

(3) Should a former student leave their course or job, the advice shall resume under the other conditions set out in subsection (2).

(4) The time period where careers advice may be received may be altered by the Scottish Ministers using regulations in the affirmative procedure.

11 Interpretation in Part 5

In this Part, "the Body" refers to Skills Development Scotland, a company registered in Scotland with company number SC202659, or any successors to this company.

PART 6

GENERAL

12 Commencement

This Act comes into force upon Royal Assent, with the exceptions of—

(1) Section 5, which comes into force at the beginning of the 2029/30 academic year, however it shall not apply to schooling in Orkney and Shetland, where it comes into force at the beginning of the 2031/32 academic year, and

(2) Part 4, which comes into force at the beginning of the 2024/25 academic year.

This bill was written by the Most Honourable Lady /u/model-avtron, Marchioness Hebrides LT CT PC MSP MLA MS, Tòiseach na h-Alba, on behalf of the 21st Scottish Government. Part 1 was inspired by the Integration of Education (Academies and Private Schools) Act 2022, and the list in section 7 was based off the list from the Integration of Education (Academies and Private Schools) Act 2022.

Link to S1 Debate

##Amendments

###A01 (in the name of /u/model-avtron)

Add in Part 6:

13 Short title

This Act may be cited as the Education (Scotland) Act.

SPaG.

###A02 (in the name of /u/model-avtron)

Replace 3(1) with:

(1) Converted schools may apply for plans for individual curriculae, subject to the terms of the Individual Curriculae (Scotland) Act 2023 (asp 8).

EN: cleans it up a bit, the "notwithstanding 1(3) of that bill" part is unneeded as converted schools are by definition state-maintained

This vote will end with the close of business at 10pm GMT on the 17th of November.

Order! We turn now to a vote on SB240, in the name of the Scottish Labour Party. The question is that this Committee approves the amendments of the Public Transport (Fares and Ticketing) (Scotland) Bill.

###Public Transport (Fares and Ticketing) (Scotland) Bill 2023*

An Act of the Scottish Parliament to make provision about arrangements under which persons may be entitled to travel on transport services; to make provision about the fare payable for transport services; and for connected purposes.

PART 1 TICKETING ARRANGEMENTS AND SCHEMES

CHAPTER 1

Ticketing arrangements and schemes made by local transport authorities

Meaning of ticketing arrangements

1 Ticketing arrangements (1) The Transport (Scotland) Act 2001 is amended as follows. (2) After section 27 insert—

“CHAPTER 4

TICKETING ARRANGEMENTS AND TICKETING SCHEMES

Meaning of “ticketing arrangements” etc.

27A Meaning of “ticketing arrangements” etc.

(1) In this Chapter, “ticketing arrangements” means arrangements under which persons may become entitled—

(a) to make more than one journey on particular local services (whether or not operated by the same person),

(b) to make a particular journey on two or more local services (whether or not operated by the same person),

(c) where a particular journey could be made on local services provided by either (or any) of two or more operators, to make the journey on whichever service the entitled person chooses, or

(d) to make a journey on one or more local services (whether or not operated by the same person) and one or more connecting rail or ferry services or to make more than one such journey, by entering into a single transaction of such description as the operator or operators of such services may require.

(2) In this Chapter, ticketing arrangements are “smart ticketing arrangements” if they include provision to the effect that evidence of a person’s entitlement to travel may be held or produced by the person in electronic form (whether or not it may also be held or produced in another form).

(3) In this Chapter, “connecting rail or ferry service” means a service for the carriage of passengers by railway or ferry which runs between—

(a) a station, port or stopping place at or in the vicinity of which local services stop and which serves any part of the area to which the arrangement relates, and

(b) any other place.

(4) In subsection (3), “railway” has the same meaning as in section 67(1) of the Transport and Works Act 1992.

(5) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations amend the definition of “ticketing arrangements” in subsection (1) so that it includes arrangements under which persons may become entitled to make a journey on one or more local services (whether or not operated by the same person) and by means of such other service or class of service as may be specified in the regulations.

(6) Regulations under subsection (5) may also amend sections 28 to 31 in their application to services specified in the regulations as the Scottish Ministers consider appropriate.”.

(3) Section 28(5) is repealed.

(4) The italic heading immediately preceding section 28 becomes “Ticketing arrangements”.

(5) In section 81(4)(b) (regulations subject to the affirmative procedure), before “41(1)” insert “27A(5),”.

National standard and advisory board for smart ticketing

2 National technological standard for smart ticketing

(1) The Transport (Scotland) Act 2001 is amended as follows.

(2) After section 27A insert—

“National standard and advisory board for smart ticketing

27B National technological standard for smart ticketing

(1) The Scottish Ministers may specify a technical standard for the implementation and operation of smart ticketing arrangements.

(2) A standard may be specified under subsection (1) by reference to a standard published by another person or for another purpose.

(3) The power in subsection (1) to specify a standard includes the power to vary and revoke a specification.

(4) Before specifying a standard under subsection (1) (or varying or revoking a specification) the Scottish Ministers must consult the National Smart Ticketing Advisory Board.

(5) The Scottish Ministers must publish any specification made under subsection (1) (including any variation or revocation of a specification).

(6) In this Chapter, “national technological standard for smart ticketing” means the standard for the time being specified under subsection (1) and published under subsection (5).”.

3 National Smart Ticketing Advisory Board

(1) The Transport (Scotland) Act 2001 is amended as follows.

(2) After section 27B insert—

“”27C National Smart Ticketing Advisory Board

(1) The Scottish Ministers must establish an advisory committee to be known as the National Smart Ticketing Advisory Board (“the Board”).

(2) The function of the Board is to advise the Scottish Ministers in relation to their functions insofar as they relate to—

(a) smart ticketing arrangements, and

(b) the national technological standard for smart ticketing.

(3) The Board also has the function of issuing advice and recommendations to the Scottish Ministers in relation to the strategic development of smart ticketing in Scotland, including the development of a national smart ticketing scheme.

(4) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations make provision about the Board, including provision about—

(a) the appointment, removal and replacement of members,

(b) the remuneration of members (including as to payment of a member’s expenses),

(c) the process by which the Board makes decisions.

(5) Before making regulations under subsection (4), the Scottish Ministers must consult—

(a) all local transport authorities,

(b) such organisations appearing to Scottish Ministers to be representative of users of local services and rail or ferry services as they think fit,

(c) such organisations appearing to Scottish Ministers to be representative of operators of local services and rail or ferry services as they think fit,

(d) such other persons as they think fit.”

Ticketing arrangements and schemes

4 Ticketing schemes

(1) The Transport (Scotland) Act 2001 is amended as follows.

(2) After section 29 (ticketing schemes)—

(a) after subsection (3) insert—

“(3A) A ticketing scheme must require the ticketing arrangements——

(a) to be smart ticketing arrangements, and

(b) to comply with the national technological standard for smart ticketing (to the extent it is relevant to the arrangements).

(3B) A ticketing scheme may require the ticketing arrangements to include provision—

(a) enabling payment in particular ways, including—

(i) contactless payments (within the meaning of section 20 of the Public Transport (Fares and Ticketing) (Scotland) Act 2023),

(b) about the persons to whom payment may be made,

(c) about enabling entitlement to travel to be evidenced in particular ways,

(d) about providing information about the arrangements to the public,

(e) about publicising local services, fares or ticketing arrangements provided or made available by any operator of a local service of a class specified in the scheme, and

(f) as to the appearance of tickets.

(3C) A ticketing scheme may make provision for ticketing arrangements giving rise to different kinds of entitlement to travel including, in particular—

(a) an entitlement that is valid for a specified period, and

(b) an entitlement that is valid only in a specified area.”,

(b) in subsection (5), for “28(5)” substitute “27A(1)”,

(c) after subsection (6) insert—

“(7) In carrying out their functions under this section and sections 30 and 31 in relation to ticketing schemes, local transport authorities must co-operate with one another.

(8) In carrying out their functions under this section and sections 30 and 31 in relation to ticketing schemes, local transport authorities must have regard to the desirability, in appropriate cases, of having a ticketing scheme that—

(a) facilitates journeys between the area to which the ticketing scheme applies and adjoining areas of Scotland, or

(b) facilitates the adoption of ticketing arrangements similar to those specified in the ticketing scheme in adjoining areas of Scotland.”.

(3) In section 30 (consultation as to proposed ticketing scheme)—

(a) in subsection (1), for “at least one local newspaper circulating” substitute “such manner as they consider appropriate for bringing it to the attention of persons”,

(b) in subsection (3), after paragraph (c) insert—

“(ca) any—

(i) local authority,

(ii) National Park authority (as established by virtue of the National Parks (Scotland) Act 2000), and

(iii) Transport Partnership, any part of whose area or region would, in the opinion of the authority, be affected by the proposed scheme,

(cb) where the proposed scheme specifies arrangements of a kind mentioned in section 27A(1)(d)—

(i) the Scottish Ministers,

(ii) all operators of connecting rail or ferry services who are, in the opinion of the authority, likely to be affected by it,

(iii) such organisations appearing to the authority to be representative of users of connecting rail or ferry services as they think fit,

(cc) the Competition and Markets Authority,

(cd) the National Smart Ticketing Advisory Board”.

(4) In section 31 (making of ticketing scheme)—

(a) after subsection (1) insert—

“(1A) If the scheme specifies arrangements of a kind mentioned in section 27A(1)(d), it may only be made with the agreement of the operator of the connecting rail or ferry service concerned.”,

(b) in subsection (3)—

(i) in paragraph (a), for “at least one local newspaper circulating” substitute “such manner as they consider appropriate for bringing it to the attention of persons”,

(ii) in paragraph (b), after “services” insert “or connecting rail or ferry services”,

(iii) after paragraph (c) insert—

“(ca) to every other person consulted in relation to the scheme under section 30(3),”.

(c) in subsection (4)(b), after “service” insert “and the connecting rail or ferry services (if any)”,

(d) after subsection (4) insert—

“(5) The authority may vary or revoke the scheme.

(6) If the proposed variation would result in the scheme relating to all or part of the area of another local transport authority, the reference in subsection (5) to the authority includes that other authority.

(7) The variation or revocation is subject to the same procedure as the making of the scheme and in the application of that procedure—

(a) a reference in sections 29 and 30 and subsections (1) to (4) to making a scheme is to be treated as a reference to varying or revoking the scheme,

(b) a reference in those provisions to the proposed scheme is to be treated as a reference to the scheme as proposed to be varied or the proposed revocation of the scheme,

(c) a reference in those provisions to the date on which the scheme comes into operation is to be treated as a reference to the date on which the scheme as varied comes into operation or the date on which the scheme comes to an end.”.

(5) In section 47—

(a) in subsection (1), the words “or ticketing scheme” are repealed,

(b) in subsection (3)(a), the words “and ticketing schemes” are repealed.

(6) Before section 29 insert—

“Ticketing schemes”.

5 Directions about ticketing schemes

(1) The Transport (Scotland) Act 2001 is amended as follows.

(2)After section 32 insert—

“32A Directions about ticketing schemes

(1) The Scottish Ministers may direct a local transport authority, or two or more such authorities, to exercise their power—

(a) under section 29(1) to make a ticketing scheme, or

(b) under section 31(5) to vary a ticketing scheme.

(2) A direction under subsection (1) may specify—

(a) ticketing arrangements or kinds of ticketing arrangements that operators of local services must be required to make and implement under the ticketing scheme,

(b) provision of the kind mentioned in section 29A(1) that the ticketing arrangements must include,

(c) the class of local services to which the scheme is to apply.

(3) The Scottish Ministers may direct a local transport authority, or two or more such authorities, to adopt a ticketing scheme made by the Scottish Ministers.

(4) Before making a direction under subsection (1) or (3), the Scottish Ministers must consult the National Smart Ticketing Advisory Board.

(5) A direction under subsection (1) or (3) must—

(a) be in writing, and

(b) be published (as soon as practicable after it is communicated to the local transport authority or authorities), and

(c) set out the Scottish Ministers’ reasons for making it.

(5) The Scottish Ministers may revise or revoke a direction made under subsection (1) or (3).

(6) Subsection (5) applies to the revision or revocation of a direction under subsection (1) or (3) as it applies to such a direction.”.

6 Reports on ticketing arrangements and schemes

(1) The Transport (Scotland) Act 2001 is amended as follows.

(2) After section 32A insert—

“Reports on ticketing arrangements and schemes

32B Reports on ticketing arrangements and schemes

(1) A local transport authority must, as soon as practicable after the end of each financial year, prepare and publish a report on the performance of their functions under sections 28 and 29.

(2) The report is to include information on—

(a) any determination made by the authority under section 28(1) during the year,

(b) any arrangements the authority has made under section 28(4) during the year, including, in relation to the required ticketing arrangements to which those arrangements relate—

(i) whether or not they are smart ticketing arrangements,

(ii) the extent to which they comply with the national technological standard for smart ticketing, and

(iii) where they are not smart ticketing arrangements or do not comply with the national technological standard for smart ticketing, the reasons for this, and

(c) any ticketing schemes the authority has made, varied or revoked during the year.

(3) The reference in subsection (2)(c) to ticketing schemes made, varied or revoked by the authority includes ticketing schemes made, varied or revoked by the authority and one or more other local transport authorities acting jointly.”.

7 Application of ticketing arrangements and schemes to trams

(1) Subject to the modification contained in subsection (2), the provisions of Chapter 4 of Part 2 of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2001 apply to any service for the carriage of passengers by tramway as they apply to the provision of a local service.

(2) Section 32(2) of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2001 does not apply.

(3) In subsection (1), “tramway” has the same meaning as in section 67(1) of the Transport and Works Act 1992.

(4) Section 54(2) of the Edinburgh Tram (Line One) Act 2006 is repealed.

(5) Section 54(2) of the Edinburgh Tram (Line Two) Act 2006 is repealed.

8 Guidance

(1) The Transport (Scotland) Act 2001 is modified as follows.

(2) In section 79(1) (guidance)—

(a) in paragraph (c), the words “ticketing schemes,” are repealed,

(b) after paragraph (c) insert—

“(ca) local transport authorities in relation to—

(i) their functions under section 28,

(ii) ticketing schemes, and

(iii) the preparation of reports under section 32B,”.

CHAPTER 2

Ticketing arrangements and schemes made by the Scottish Ministers

9 Scottish Ministers may designate ticketing schemes

(1) The Scottish Ministers may make a ticketing scheme.

(2) The ticketing scheme may not be made unless the Scottish Ministers have complied with the notice and consultation requirements imposed by section 10 of this Act.

(3) A ticketing scheme may specify different arrangements in respect of different classes of transport services.

(4) The ticketing scheme must require the ticketing arrangements—

(a) to be smart ticketing arrangements, and

(b) to comply with the national technological standard for smart ticketing (to the extent it is relevant to the arrangements).

(5) The ticketing scheme may require the ticketing arrangements to include provision—

(a) enabling payment in particular ways, including—

(i) contactless payments,

(b) about the persons to whom payment may be made,

(c) about enabling entitlement to travel to be evidenced in particular ways,

(d) about providing information about the arrangements to the public,

(e) about publicising services, fares or ticketing arrangements provided or made available by any operator of a transport service of a class specified in the scheme,

(f) as to the appearance of tickets,

(g) as to which public passenger transport services the ticketing arrangements entitle persons to make journeys using, and

(h) about the fare payable for journeys on such services.

(6) The ticketing scheme may make provision for ticketing arrangements giving rise to different kinds of entitlement to travel including, in particular—

(a) an entitlement that is valid for a specified period, and

(b) an entitlement that is valid only in a specified area.

10 Consultation as to proposed ticketing scheme

(1) If the Scottish Ministers propose to make a ticketing scheme under section 9(1), they shall give notice of the proposed scheme in such manner as they consider appropriate for bringing it to the attention of persons in the area to which it relates.

(2) The notice shall specify the date on which it is proposed that the proposed scheme will come into operation.

(3) After giving notice of the proposed scheme, the Scottish Ministers shall consult—

(a) all operators of transport services who are, in the opinion of the Scottish Ministers, likely to be affected by it;

(b) such organisations appearing to the Scottish Ministers to be representative of users of transport services as they think fit;

(c) the traffic commissioner;

(d) any—

(i) local authority,

(ii) National Park authority (as established by virtue of the National Parks (Scotland) Act 2000), and

(iii) Transport Partnership created by order under section 1 of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2005,

any part of whose area or region would, in the opinion of the Scottish Ministers, be affected by the proposed scheme,

(e) the Competition and Markets Authority;

(f) the National Smart Ticketing Advisory Board; and

(f) such other persons as the Scottish Ministers think fit.

**11 Making of ticketing scheme

(1) If, having complied with section 10 of this Act, the Scottish Ministers decide that it is appropriate to make a ticketing scheme, they may make it—

(a) in the form proposed; or

(b) subject to such modifications as they may specify.

(2) The scheme shall specify the date (being a date not earlier than 3 months after the date on which the scheme is made) on which it is to come into operation.

(3) Not later than 14 days after the date on which a scheme is made, the Scottish Ministers shall give notice of it—

(a) in such manner as they consider appropriate for bringing it to the attention of persons in the area to which the scheme relates;

(b) to all operators of transport services who are, in the opinion of the Scottish Ministers, likely to be affected by it;

(c) to every other person consulted in relation to the scheme under section 10(3); and

(d) to such other persons as the Scottish Ministers see fit.

(4) The notice shall—

(a) set out the scheme and the date on which it is to come into operation; and

(b) identify the classes of transport services which will be affected by it.

12 Effect of ticketing scheme

During any period in which a ticketing scheme made under section 9(1) is in operation, operators of public passenger transport services to which the scheme relates shall make and implement the arrangements required by the scheme.

PART 2

FARES

Determination of fares

13 Determination of fares

(1) Schedule 1 makes provision about the determination of fares.

(2) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations amend paragraphs 2(3) and 2(5) of Schedule 1.

Cap on fares

14 Definition of fare cap

(1) Subject to this section, the Scottish Ministers may determine the daily fare cap.

(2) The Scottish Ministers may not change the daily fare cap unless they have complied with the notice and consultation requirements imposed by section 15 of this Act.

(3) The daily fare cap may not be more than the maximum daily fare cap.

(4) In this section, the “maximum daily fare cap” means—

wp

where—

w is the national minimum wage,

p is 1.6.

(5) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations amend the value of p.

(6) The Scottish Ministers may not make regulations under subsection (5) unless they have complied with the notice and consultation requirements imposed by section 15 of this Act.

15 Change of fare cap: notice and consultation requirements

(1) If the Scottish Ministers propose to change the daily fare cap under section 14(1), they shall give notice of the proposed new daily fare cap in such manner as they consider appropriate for bringing it to the attention of persons who use transport services which the fare cap applies to.

(2) The notice shall specify the date on which it is proposed that the proposed new daily fare cap will come into force.

(3) After giving notice of the proposed new daily fare cap, the Scottish Ministers shall consult—

(a) all operators of transport services to which the fare cap applies;

(b) all local transport authorities;

(c) such organisations appearing to the Scottish Ministers to be representative of users of transport services as they think fit; and

(d) such other persons as the Scottish Ministers think fit.

16 Change of the daily fare cap

(1) If, having complied with section 15 of this Act, the Scottish Ministers decide that it is appropriate to change the daily fare cap, they may change it—

(a) to the value proposed; or

(b) to some other value.

(2) The Scottish Ministers shall specify the date (being a date not earlier than 1 month after the date on which they proposed to change the daily fare cap under subsection (1)) on which the new daily fare cap is to come into force.

(3) Not later than 7 days after the date on which the Scottish Ministers have proposed to change the daily fare cap under subsection (1), they shall give notice of it—

(a) in such manner as they consider appropriate for bringing it to the attention of persons who use transport services which the fare cap applies to;

(b) to all operators of transport services to which the fare cap applies;

(c) to every other person consulted in relation to the change under section 15(3); and

(d) to such other persons as the Scottish Ministers see fit.

(4) The notice shall—

(a) set out the proposed new daily fare cap and the date on which it is to come into force; and

(b) identify the transport services which will be affected by it.

17 When the fare cap applies

(1) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations determine what transport services section 16 of this Act applies to.

(2) If no regulation has been made under subsection (1) applying section 17 of this Act to a particular transport service, then section 17 of this Act does not apply to the transport service.

18 Application of fare cap

(1) A fare may not exceed the period of time it is valid for multiplied by the daily fare cap.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the period of time a fare is valid for is the scheduled duration of the journey the fare entitles travel for rounded up to the nearest day.

(3) The price of a season fare is the maximum allowed by this section.

(4) During any day, a person paying for fares by contactless payment may not pay more than the daily fare cap.

Travel concession schemes

19 Travel concession schemes

(1) The Transport Act 1985 is amended as follows.

(2) In section 93 (travel concession schemes)—

(a) after subsection (7) insert—

“(7A) Not later than 12 months after the Public Transport (Fares and Ticketing) (Scotland) Act 2023 receives Royal Assent, the Scottish Ministers must publish a report setting out their assessment of the costs and benefits of extending travel concession schemes established under this section to—

(a) community bus services within the meaning of section 22(1) of this Act, and

(b) such other transport services as the Scottish Ministers consider appropriate.

(7B) In preparing a report under subsection (7A), the Scottish Ministers must consult—

(a) each local authority,

(b) each regional transport partnership, and

(c) such persons as the Scottish Ministers consider to be representative of community transport users.

(7C) A report under subsection (7A)—

(a) may be published in such format as the Scottish Ministers consider appropriate, and

(b) must be laid before the Scottish Parliament.”,

(b) in subsection (7)(b), for “sixteen” substitute “twenty five”,

(c) for subsection (7)(c), substitute—

“(cc) persons who are undergoing education”.

PART 3

MISCELLANEOUS AND GENERAL

Repeals

20 Repeals

(1) The Public Transport (Ticketing) (Scotland) Act 2022 is repealed.

General provisions

21 Regulations

(1) Any power of the Scottish Ministers to make regulations under this Act includes power to make—

(a) incidental, supplementary, consequential, transitional, transitory or saving provision,

(b) different provision for different purposes or areas.

(2) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations make any incidental, supplementary, consequential, transitional, transitory or saving provision they consider appropriate for the purposes of, in connection with or for giving full effect to this Act or any provision made under it.

(3) Regulations under subsection (2) may modify any enactment (including this Act).

(4) Regulations under subsection (2)—

(a) which add to, replace or omit any part of the text of an Act are subject to the affirmative procedure,

(b) otherwise, are subject to the negative procedure.

(5) Regulations under section 13(2) and 15(1) are subject to the affirmative procedure.

(6) Otherwise regulations under this Act are subject to the negative procedure.

(7) Subsection (6) doesn’t apply to regulations made under section 21(2).

22 Interpretations

In this Act—

“season fare” means a fare which entitles its user to make an unlimited number of journeys on—

(a) a specific transport service specified by the fare,

(b) a class of transport service specified by the fare, or

(c) on a group of different classes of transport service specified by the fare

during a specific time period;

“transport service” has the same meaning as “public passenger transport service” in the Transport Act 1985;

“local transport authority” has the same meaning as in section 82 of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2001;

“railway” has the same meaning as in section 67(1) of the Transport and Works Act 1992;

“travel concession” has the same meaning as in section 68(7) of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2001;

“fare” has the same meaning as in the Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981;

“transport authority” means the Scottish Ministers or a local transport authority;

“first class fare” means a Fare which has been designated as having “first class” as its National Class of Accommodation;

“ticketing scheme” means a scheme under which operators of public passenger transport services of a class specified in the scheme are required to make and implement ticketing arrangements;

“ticketing arrangements” means arrangements under which persons may become entitled to make journeys on public passenger transport services by entering into a single transaction of such description as the operator or operators of such services may require;

ticketing arrangements are “smart ticketing arrangements” if they include provision to the effect that evidence of a person’s entitlement to travel may be held or produced by the person in electronic form (whether or not it may also be held or produced in another form);

“contactless payment” means a payment made for a fare at a contactless payment terminal using the contactless payment facility of a card, mobile telephone or other device (“payment device”), wherein the payment device makes the payment by communicating with the contactless payment terminal through Near Field Communication, Radio-Frequency Identification or another technology which doesn’t require the device to be in physical contact with the contactless payment terminal, and includes—

(a) payments made at a contactless payment terminal at a facility where persons can pay for fares for a public passenger transport service in advance of travelling on the service, and

(b) payments made at a contactless payment terminal on a public passenger transport service

but does not include payments made for a fare where evidence of a person’s entitlement to travel cannot be held or reproduced by the person in electronic form (whether or not it may also be held or produced in another form)

23 Commencement

(1) Chapter 1 of Part 1 of this Act comes into force three months after Royal Assent.

(2) Section 13 comes into force on such day as the Scottish Ministers may by regulations appoint.

(2) The other provisions of this Act come into force on the day after Royal Assent.

24 Short title

(1) The short title of this Act is the Public Transport (Fares and Ticketing) (Scotland) Act 2023.

SCHEDULES

SCHEDULE 1

DETERMINATION OF FARES

(introduced by section 13(1))

Interpretation

1 In this Schedule—

Fares for specific journeys

2 (1) The base fare for a journey taken on a transport service is the unit fare price multiplied by the total distance travelled on the journey.

(2) An additional fare may be charged for a journey taken on a transport service if any of the conditions in paragraph (4) is met.

(3) An additional fare may—

(a) be greater than zero pounds in value such that the price of a fare would be lower if no additional fare was charged for the journey, or

(b) be less than zero pounds in value such that the price of a fare would be higher if no additional fare was charged for the journey.

(4) The conditions are that—

(a) the transport service is an express transport service,

(b) the transport authority believes that the number of persons intending to take a journey on the transport service is too high or too low compared to other similar transport services, or

(c) the fare is a first class fare (if applicable).

(5) A transport service is an express transport service if both conditions in paragraph (6) are met.

(6) The conditions are that—

(a) The transport service stops at significantly less stations, and

(b) where possible, travels at a significantly higher speed

than other transport services operating on the same or a similar route.

(7) Where a service consists of one or more parts with respect to which all of the conditions in paragraph (6) are met, and one or more parts with respect to which not all of the conditions are met, each of those parts shall be treated as a separate service for the purposes of paragraph (5).

(8) The transport authority may determine the additional fare, and, in any case, may provide differently for different journeys.

(9) The Scottish Ministers may determine the unit fare price, and, in any case, may provide differently for different classes of transport service.

(10) Subject to subsection (11), the price of a fare is the sum of the base fare and the additional fare, rounded to the nearest penny.

(11) If a transport service picks up passengers at locations A and B, and drops off passengers at locations B and C, with the transport service stopping at A before B and at B before C, then the price of a fare between A and C on the transport service is to be the lower of—

(a) the ordinary price of a fare between A and C on the transport service, or

(b) the combined price of a fare between A and B and a fare between B and C on the same transport service.

(12) Paragraph (11) applies to a journey taken on multiple transport services as it does to a journey taken on just one transport service.

Season fares

3 (1) The provisions of this paragraph apply only to transport services to which the fare cap applies.

(2) The season fare for a journey is the maximum allowed by section 18 of this Act.

(3) The season fare entitles a person to make a journey on any transport services to which the fare cap applies any number of times during the period when the season fare entitles a person to travel.

Flexible fares

4 (1) The flexible fare for a journey entitles a person to make a journey on

(2) The flexible fare for a journey is the highest fare for that journey during the period the flexible fare entitles a person to travel.

Break of journey

5

When this Schedule does not apply

6 (1) Nothing in this schedule affects any travel concession schemes.

(2) Nothing in this schedule affects any fares which are not determined by a transport authority.

This bill was submitted by Sir LightningMinion MSP MP MLA CT KT CBE OM, leader of the Scottish Labour Party, on behalf of the Scottish Labour Party. Some sections of this bill were inspired by real-life legislation (see the explanatory notes).

Link to Stage 1 Debate

#Amendments

##A01 (in the name of /u/LightningMinion)

Section 4(2) introduces a new subsection (3B)(a)(i). In this, delete "of section 20 "

EN: section 20 doesn't contain the interpretations

##A02(in the name of /u/LightningMinion)

Amend section 13(2) to read:

The Scottish Ministers may by regulations amend paragraphs 2(4) and 2(6) of Schedule 1.

EN: the current text points to the wrong sub-paragraphs

##A03(in the name of /u/LightningMinion)

In Schedule 1, delete paragraph 1 and renumber the subsequent paragraphs accordingly.

EN: not needed.

##A04 (in the name of /u/LightningMinion)

In Schedule 1, for paragraph 4 substitute the following:

4 (1) The flexible fare for a journey entitles a person to make a journey on any service travelling between two specified locations during a specified period of time.

(2) Subject to sub-paragraph (3), for the purposes of sub-paragraph (1), “journey on any service” includes a journey taken on multiple transport services.

(3) A transport authority may make provision about what combinations of services the fare entitles a person to make a journey on.

(4) The flexible fare for a journey is the highest fare for that journey during the period the flexible fare entitles a person to travel.

EN: finishes this paragraph on flexible fares

##A05(in the name of /u/LightningMinion)

In Schedule 1, change the italicised sub-heading which currently reads "Break of journey" to "Other conditions of travel". In Schedule 1, for paragraph 5 substitute the following: 5 Subject to this Act, a transport authority may make other provision about fares.

EN: allows the authority setting the fare to make other terms and conditions about fares

This debate will end with the close of business at 10pm BST on the 20th of October.

First off, an apology for the ever so slight late posting of this business, I was busy, and I truly hope it won't happen again.

Order, Order!

We turn now to a vote SB231, in the name of Alba Còmhla. The question is that this Committee approves the amendment of the Nepali Language and Culture (Scotland) Bill.

Members are reminded to vote For/Against/Abstain. Attempts to stylise a vote may result in it not being counted. Where there is mix-up with an alternative voting style, this shall also be accepted.

Nepali Language and Culture (Scotland) Bill

A

BILL

TO

make provision for the promotion of learning and teaching of Nepali language and culture in Scottish schools and universities, and to facilitate the mobility of students, teachers, researchers, and professionals between Scotland and Nepal..

BE IT ENACTED by being passed by the Scotland Parliament and assented to by His Majesty as follows:

Part 1: General Provisions

Section 1: Definitions

In this Act–

(1) “the Scottish Ministers” means the members of the Scottish Government who are appointed under section 44(1) of the Scotland Act 1998;

(2) “Nepali” means the Indo-Aryan language native to the Himalayas region of South Asia, which is the official language of Nepal and has official status in some parts of India;

(3) “Nepalese” means relating to or originating from Nepal;

(4) “Nepal” means the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal;

(5) “Scottish Qualifications Authority” means the body corporate established under section 1(1) of the Education (Scotland) Act 1996

Part 2: Learning and teaching of Nepali

Section 3: Curriculum for Excellence

(1) The Scottish Ministers must ensure that Nepali is included as an option in the curriculum for excellence for learners in secondary and post-secondary education.

(2) The Scottish Ministers must issue guidance to education authorities on how to implement Nepali as an option in the curriculum for excellence.

(3) The guidance issued under subsection (2) must include:

(a) advice on how to provide appropriate learning materials, resources, and support for Nepali;

(b) advice on how to assess the progress and attainment of learners in Nepali;

(c) advice on how to promote Nepali as a subject of choice among learners, parents, carers, and educators; and

(d) advice on how to encourage learners to continue studying Nepali beyond compulsory education.

Section 4: National qualifications

(1) The Scottish Qualifications Authority must develop national qualifications in Nepali for learners in secondary education.

(2) The national qualifications developed under subsection (1) must include:

(a) National 3, National 4, National 5, Higher, and Advanced Higher qualifications;

(b) qualifications that are compatible with the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework;

(c) qualifications that are recognised by higher education institutions, employers, and other relevant bodies.

(3) The Scottish Qualifications Authority must consult with relevant stakeholders before developing national qualifications under subsection (1).

(4) The Scottish Qualifications Authority must publish the national qualifications developed under subsection (1) on its website.

Section 5: Higher education

(1) The Scottish Ministers must encourage higher education institutions to offer courses in Nepali language and culture at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

(2) The Scottish Ministers may provide funding or other support to higher education institutions for the purposes of subsection (1).

(3) The Scottish Ministers must consult with relevant stakeholders before providing funding or other support under subsection (2).

Part 3: Mobility between Scotland and Nepal

Section 6: Student exchange programmes

(1) The Scottish Ministers must establish student exchange programmes between schools and universities in Scotland and Nepal.

(2) The student exchange programmes established under subsection (1) must aim to:

(a) provide opportunities for Scottish students to study Nepali language and culture in Nepal;

(b) provide opportunities for Nepalese students to study English language and culture in Scotland;

(c) enhance the intercultural competence and global citizenship skills of Scottish and Nepalese students;

(d) foster long-term academic partnerships and friendships between Scottish and Nepalese institutions.

Section 7: Teacher exchange programmes

(1) The Scottish Ministers must establish teacher exchange programmes between schools and universities in Scotland and Nepal.

(2) The teacher exchange programmes established under subsection (1) must aim to:

(a) provide opportunities for Scottish teachers to teach English language and culture in Nepal;

(b) provide opportunities for Nepalese teachers to teach Nepali language and culture in Scotland;

(c) enhance the professional development and intercultural competence of Scottish and Nepalese teachers;

(d) foster long-term educational partnerships and collaborations between Scottish and Nepalese schools and universities.

(3) The Scottish Ministers may provide funding or other support to schools and universities for the purposes of subsection (1).

(4) The Scottish Ministers must consult with relevant stakeholders before providing funding or other support under subsection (3).

Section 8: Research exchange programmes

(1) The Scottish Ministers must establish research exchange programmes between research institutions and organisations in Scotland and Nepal..

(2) The research exchange programmes established under subsection (1) must aim to:

(a) provide opportunities for Scottish researchers to conduct research on Nepali language, culture, society, environment, and development in Nepal;

(b) provide opportunities for Nepalese researchers to conduct research on Scottish language, culture, society, environment, and development in Scotland;

(c) enhance the academic excellence and innovation of Scottish and Nepalese research;

(d) foster long-term research partnerships and networks between Scottish and Nepalese research institutions and organisations.

(3) The Scottish Ministers may provide funding or other support to research institutions and organisations for the purposes of subsection (1).

(4) The Scottish Ministers must consult with relevant stakeholders before providing funding or other support under subsection (3).

Section 9: Professional exchange programmes

(1) The Scottish Ministers must establish professional exchange programmes between public and private sector organisations in Scotland and Nepal.

(2) The professional exchange programmes established under subsection (1) must aim to:

(a) provide opportunities for Scottish professionals to work in Nepali language, culture, trade, tourism, and development sectors in Nepal;

(b) provide opportunities for Nepalese professionals to work in Scottish language, culture, trade, tourism, and development sectors in Scotland;

(c) enhance the skills, knowledge, and employability of Scottish and Nepalese professionals;

(d) foster long-term business partnerships and cooperation between Scottish and Nepalese public and private sector organisations.

(3) The Scottish Ministers may provide funding or other support to public and private sector organisations for the purposes of subsection (1).

(4) The Scottish Ministers must consult with relevant stakeholders before providing funding or other support under subsection (3).

Part 4: Miscellaneous

Section 10: Short title and commencement

(1) This Act may be cited as the Nepali Language and Culture (Scotland) Act 2023.

(2) This Act shall come into force 3 months after Royal Assent.

Section 11: Extent

(1) This Act extends to Scotland only.

This Bill was written by /u/eKyogre, on behalf of Alba Còmhla.

Opening Speech

Ofigear-riaghlaidh, I am honoured to introduce the Nepali Language and Culture (Scotland) Bill to this Parliament. This bill is a landmark legislation that seeks to recognise and celebrate the rich and diverse heritage of Nepali language and culture in Scotland, and will strengthen the ties of friendship and cooperation between our two nations. Nepali is a language of historical, cultural, and linguistic significance in Scotland. It is spoken by over 10,000 people in Scotland, mainly from the Gurkha community, who have made invaluable contributions to our society in various fields, such as the military, health, education, and business. Nepali is also a language of global importance, as it is the official language of Nepal, a country of over 30 million people, and a key partner of Scotland in trade, tourism, and development. Learning Nepali language and culture will bring many educational, social, economic, and cultural benefits to Scottish learners, educators, and citizens. It will enhance their communication skills, intercultural competence, and global citizenship. It will open up new opportunities for academic exchange, professional development, and business collaboration. It will also enrich their appreciation of the diversity and beauty of the world. This bill will promote the learning and teaching of Nepali language and culture in Scottish schools and universities, by ensuring that Nepali is included as an option in the curriculum for excellence, by developing national qualifications in Nepali for secondary education, and by encouraging higher education institutions to offer courses in Nepali at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. This bill will also facilitate the mobility of students, teachers, researchers, and professionals between Scotland and Nepal, by establishing exchange programmes between schools, universities, research institutions, and public and private sector organisations in both countries. These exchange programmes will provide opportunities for mutual learning, collaboration, and friendship between Scottish and Nepalese people. This bill is a testament to our commitment to support linguistic diversity and intercultural dialogue in Scotland. It is also a reflection of our vision to foster a more inclusive, prosperous, and sustainable society for all. I urge this Parliament to support this bill and to join us in celebrating the Nepali language and culture in Scotland.

Amendments

A01 (in the name of /u/Frost_Walker2017)

Strike Section 1 and renumber subsequent sections

EN: We don't need 'general provisions' in legislation. The legislation should reflect that in its contents.

A02 (in the name of /u/Frost_Walker2017)

Amend Section 8(2) to read:

(2) This Act shall come into force upon the commencement of the 2024/2025 academic year

EN: Changes to the education system ought to be done by academic years to allow schools the time to prepare rather than having to change things midway through the year and risk creating problems with pre-planned curriculae.

A03 (in the name of /u/model-avtron)

Amend Part 4 to be named "Miscellaneous"

Link to Stage 1 Debate

Voting on this bill will end at the close of business on the 14th of July at 10pm BST

Order, Order!

We turn now to a vote on SB230, in the name of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party. The question is that this Committee approves the amendments of the Bunker Fuel Licensing (Scotland) Bill.

Members are reminded to vote For/Against/Abstain. Attempts to stylise a vote may result in it not being counted. Where there is mix-up with an alternative voting style, this shall also be accepted.

#Bunker Fuel Licensing (Scotland) Bill

A bill to require carriers to obtain a license in order to transport and store bunkers of heavy-fuel, oil, gas and biodiesel within Scottish ports, and for connected purposes

Section 1: Definitions

(1) "Bunkers" meaning to stored fuel, typically heavy fuel, oil, gas or biodiesel used to power ships.

(2) "Carrier" meaning any entity engaged in the supply of bunkers, including but not limited to ship owners, operators, and fuel suppliers.

(3) "Port" meaning any seaport location within Scotland where ships are loaded or unloaded, including private ports, local authority ports, and harbour and trust ports.

(4) “Port Authority” meaning the relevant authorities operating under the Scottish Transport Ministry regarding the regulation, management and oversight of ports.

Section 2: Bunker Fuel License

(1) The Port Authority hereby this act will be required to create, administer and monitor its provision of a ‘Bunker Fuel license’.

(a) The license is valid for a period of two years from the date of issuance. Before the end of that license, evaluation is to be made by the port authority on whether and if so on what conditions an extension is to be given.

(b) The license is non-transferable.

(2) Without first obtaining a license from the relevant port authority under the Scottish Transport Ministry, no carrier shall store and supply bunkers of heavy-fuel, oil, gas, and biodiesel within any Scottish port.

Section 3: Licensing Criteria

(1) In order to be eligible for a license, a carrier must prove that it has the capacity to supply and store bunkers in a safe and environmentally responsible manner.

(2) The port authority of Scotland are to establish a licensing criteria, which shall include, but not be limited to:

(a) compliance with the applicable environmental laws and regulations;

(b) compliance with all applicable safety standards;

(c) adequate insurance coverage for liability arising from bunker fuel spills or other accidents;

(d) financial stability and ability to meet obligations;

(e) annual notices of the bunker operations to the port authority;

(f) annual inspections by the relevant port authority;

(g) any other relevantly deemed criteria by the port authority.

(3) The discretion to deny a license if the carrier does not meet the licensing criteria shall be held by the Port Authority.

Section 4: Enforcement

(a) Any carrier found to be storing and, or supplying bunkers with heavy fuel, oil, gas, and biodiesel in a port without a valid license shall be subject to fines and penalties as determined by the port authority.

(b) Carriers found in violation of the licensing criteria outlined in section 3 are to be subject to suspension or revocation of their license.

(c) The power to investigate any alleged violations and to take appropriate enforcement action shall be held by the relevant Scottish Port Authority.

Section 5: Commencement

(1) The provisions of this Act shall come into force the day this Act is passed.

Section 6: Short Title

(1) This Act may be cited as the Bunker Fuel Licensing (Scotland) Act.

This Bill was submitted by oakesofshott, Spokesperson for Environment & Energy on behalf of The Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party.

Opening Speech by u/oakesofshott

Presiding Officer,

This bill follows the example of the Netherlands, Belgium and Singapore in which it regulates the shipping industry’s transportation of heavy fuel oil, gas and biodiesel. To address possible concerns of whether this bill is in the remit of the Scottish government and the answer is yes as this area of internal planning requirements and regulatory framework for internal activity is carried out by Transport Scotland which handles all devolved Port policy and governance. We cannot allow the continued supply and transportation of these fossil fuels in Scottish ports without ensuring the bunker suppliers operate and adhere to a crucial licensing criteria that maintains moral business practices and ensures compliance with the necessary safety, environmental and regulatory standards.

By incorporating this into a license it means the monitoring and recording of operations within our ports are held to a universal standard and makes the ongoing operations of unregistered practices that evade current regulations harder to operate without such a license. If those in parliament are committed to upholding our strong environmental and safety standards and current regulatory framework, then it is in the national interest to support this bill which puts this policy into place.

Link to Stage 1 Debate

Amendments

A01 (in the name of /u/Frost_Walker2017)

In Section 1(1), amend to read:

"Bunkers" meaning a place, room, or object which stores heavy fuel, oil, gas or biodiesel that is subsequently used to power ships.

EN: Clarifies that it's not all fuels (which I feel must be the intent given it doesn't just state "fuel") and tidies up some of the language in this definition

A02 (in the name of /u/model-avtron)

Amend section 5 as follows:

(1) This Act comes into force on Royal Assent.

(2) Scottish port authorities may not begin to enforce licences earlier than six months after Royal Assent and later than one year after Royal Assent.

A03 (in the name of /u/Frost_Walker2017)

Insert a new Section after Section 4 and renumber the subsequent sections

Section 5: Reporting Requirements

(1) The Port Authority must, every six months, report to the Scottish Government with;

(a) The number of licenses granted during that period

(b) The number of license requests not granted during that period

(c) The number of licenses that expired and were not renewed during that period

(2) The Scottish Government must, every December, ensure that the information reported by the Port Authority for the past calendar year is published publicly in a suitable manner

(3) Scottish Ministers may, by order in the negative procedure, amend Section 5(1) to insert new reporting requirements

EN: Creates new reporting requirements to ensure that the general public are aware of the number of licenses being given and also informs the Scottish Government for policy development.

Voting on this bill will end at the close of business on the 9th of July at 10pm BST

Order, Order!

We turn now to a vote on SB228, in the name of the Scottish Government. The question is that this Parliament approves the amendments of the Individual Curriculae (Scotland) Bill.

Members are reminded to vote For/Against/Abstain. Attempts to stylise a vote may result in it not being counted. Where there is mix-up with an alternative voting style, this shall also be accepted.

###Individual Curriculae (Scotland) Bill

An Act of the Scottish Parliament to allow for the creation of individual curriculae for schools, and for connected purposes.

BE IT ENACTED by being passed by this Parliament and assented to by His Majesty as follows--

Section 1: Definitions

(1) In this Act, unless specified otherwise;

(2) The ‘Authority’ refers to the Scottish Qualifications Authority

(3) ‘School’ refers to a state-maintained school dealing with secondary level education as funded by a local authority or directly by the Scottish Government.

(a) ‘Secondary level education’ refers to any school dealing with pupils in S1 to S6, inclusive.

Section 2: Individual Curriculae

(1) Schools may apply to the Authority with a plan for a dedicated curriculum to teach in individual subjects.

(2) The Authority has permission to accept or reject the curriculum if they feel it does not:

(a) Comply sufficiently with instructions from the Scottish Ministers

(b) Deliver a balanced education in that particular subject

(3) When submitting a plan, a school must include:

(a) Details of the content to be taught

(b) Details of how it is to be assessed

(4) The Authority has responsibility for organising the assessed portion of the curriculum and delivering the grade to students on the curriculum.

Section 3: Short Title and Commencement

(1) This Act may be cited as the Individual Curriculae (Scotland) Bill

(2) This Act shall come into force upon the commencement of the 2024/2025 academic year.

(a) Schools may begin preparatory work for individual curriculae prior to the commencement of this Act

This Act was written by the Rt. Hon. Sir Frost_Walker2017, Duke of the Suffolk Coasts, Cabinet Secretary for Education on behalf of the Scottish Government. It is inspired by Section 6 of the Exam Board Reorganisation Act 2022.

Opening Speech:

Presiding Officer,

I rise in support of this bill. In our Programme for Government we pledged to introduce a mechanism to allow for schools to create exam curriculae on a subject by subject basis, and this is the bill to allow that.

It is important that schools have the freedom to teach their specialties. While there may be benefits to a more centralised system in ensuring uniformity and that proper comparisons can be made between students and schools, an overly centralised system risks punishing schools for innovation and using their specialty knowledge to help students learn.

The administering of the system by SQA ensures that broadly standards can remain the same across individual curriculae. If schools were able to set their own assessment procedures and were unmoderated, a school could theoretically inflate their grades by making an assessed portion easy. While I of course have confidence that 95% of schools would be honest and not do this, I believe it is important to nevertheless have this safeguard in place.

I hope to see this bill pass swiftly.

Link to Stage 1 Debate

Amendments

A01 (in the name of /u/NewAccountMcGee)

Append to Section 1 the following:

(n) An "approved qualifications provider" refers to a provider of qualifications that has been approved by the Scottish Qualifications Authority.

Replace Section 2, paragraph 4 with the following:

(4) The Authority has responsibility for organising the assessed portion of the curriculum and delivering the grade to students on the curriculum, except when such activities would be provided by an approved qualifications provider.

EN: Allows schools to use curricula, such as the IB or EEA qualifications, that wouldn't be marked by the SQA.

Voting on this bill will end at the close of business on 9th of June at 10pm BST

Order, Order!

We turn now to a vote on SB227, in the name of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party. The question is that this Parliament approves the Amendments of the Economic Growth Agencies (Scotland) Bill.

Members are reminded to vote For/Against/Abstain. Attempts to stylise a vote may result in it not being counted. Where there is mix-up with an alternative voting style, this shall also be accepted.

#Economic Growth Agencies (Scotland) Bill

An Act of the Scottish Parliament to Establish Economic Growth Agencies in Scotland, and for connected purposes.

SECTION 1: DEFINITIONS

In this act, the following terms are defined as —

(1) Agency — an Economic Growth Agency established under this bill.

(2) Minister — the Scottish Minister responsible for the administration of this bill.

(3) Region — the following regions of Scotland —

(a) Central Scotland, (b) Dumfries and Galloway, (c) Fife, (d) Grampian, (e) Lothians and Scottish Borders, (f) Highland, (g) Orkney and Shetland Islands, (h) Strathclyde, (i) and Tayside.

SECTION 2: ESTABLISHING THE ECONOMIC GROWTH AGENCIES

(1) By this Act, an Economic Growth Agency is to be established under the relevant Ministry, with regional operations in each of the eight regions of Scotland.

(2) Each established agency shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal.

SECTION 3: FUNCTIONS OF ECONOMIC GROWTH AGENCIES

Each Agency shall have the following functions:

(1) to promote economic development within its respective region by attracting new businesses, encouraging investment, and creating employment opportunities;

(2) to support existing businesses in the respective region through providing them with advice and assistance to help grow and develop business operations;

(3) to identify and promote key sectors within the respective region for economic growth;

(4) to promote innovation and technology within its respective region to support economic growth;

(5) to collaborate with other agencies and organisations necessary promote regional economic growth;

(6) and the providing of advice to the Scottish Government on the economic development matters within the respective region.

SECTION 4: GOVERNANCE

(1) A board of directors is to govern each established economic growth agency, consisting of no less than seven and no more than fifteen members.

(2) The chairperson and the other members of the board of directors of each agency are to be appointed by the relevant Minister.

(3) Board of directors members are to be appointed for a term of up to four years and may be reappointed for a further term of no more than four years.

SECTION 5: REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

(1) Annual reports are required to be produced by each agency and presented to the relevant Minister outlining its activities and achievements during the previous financial year.

(2) A copy of each report is to be produced by the relevant Minister that is to be presented before the Scottish Parliament.

SECTION 6: FUNDING

(1) Atleast £60 million under the relevant ministry is to be profiled by the Scottish government to each agency, in order to enable it to carry out its functions across 5 year periods - pending renewal.

(2) The managing of its own budget shall be done by each agency in accordance with the guidelines to be set by the Scottish Government.

SECTION 7: COMMENCEMENT

(1) The provisions of this Act shall come into force the day this Act is passed.

SECTION 8: SHORT TITLE

(1) This Act may be cited as the Economic Growth Agencies (Scotland) Act.

This Bill was submitted by Dame u/BlueEarlGrey DBE, Spokesperson for Finance, and Local Affairs on behalf of The Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party.

Opening Speech:

Now some members may wonder why we should have such a bill, but the purpose is simple, by establishing these economic growth agencies we allow the economic development to be targeted and in support of local communities. With clear functions and duties outlined in section 3, the economic growth agencies will play an auxiliary role especially with analysis for improvement. The economic monitoring and reporting from such a scheme would be crucial in aiding governments and business. We believe this is a necessary part in ensuring our national and local development strategies are well informed and able to support the goals of all actors.

Link to Stage 1 Debate

Amendments

A01 (in the name of /u/NewAccountMcGee)

Omit line 1 of section 4, and replace with:

A board of directors is to govern each established economic growth agency, consisting of no less than six and no more than fifteen members, with the exception of Agencies of Regions with less than one hundred thousand people, which must consist of no less than three and no more than seven members.

EN: Makes membership numbers more reasonable.

A02 (in the name of /u/NewAccountMcGee)

Omit Section 1, Line 3 and replace with:

(a) Central Scotland, (b) Dumfries and Galloway, (c) Fife, (d) Grampian, (e) Lothians and Scottish Borders, (f) Highlands and Islands, (g) Strathclyde, (h) and Tayside.

EN: Merges Highland and Orkney & Shetland

Voting on this bill will end at the close of business on 2nd June at 10pm BST

Order, Order!

We turn now to a vote SB226, in the name of the Scottish National Party. The question is that this Parliament approves the amendments of the SB226 | Miners’ Strike (Pardons) (Scotland) Bill

Members are reminded to vote For/Against/Abstain. Attempts to stylise a vote may result in it not being counted. Where there is mix-up with an alternative voting style, this shall also be accepted.

Miners’ Strike (Pardons) (Scotland) Act

An Act of the Scottish Parliament to pardon certain individuals convicted of certain offences committed during the 1984-85 miners' strike.

Section 1: Definitions and Interpretations

(1) In section 2, “qualifying individual” means an individual, including a deceased individual, who—

(a) was a miner,

(b) was, at the time of the commission of the offence, a member of the same household as a miner, or

(c) was, at the time of the commission of the offence—

(i) a parent of a miner,

(ii) a child of a miner, or

(iii) a sibling of a miner.

(2) The offences referred to in section 2 are—

(a) breach of the peace,

(b) an offence under section 3 of the Bail etc. (Scotland) Act 1980 (breach of bail conditions),

(c) an offence under section 41(1)(a) of the Police (Scotland) Act 1967 (obstructing police etc.),

(d) theft.

(3) Section 2 does not—

(a) affect any conviction or sentence,

(b) give rise to any right, entitlement or liability, or

(c) affect the Royal prerogative of mercy.

(4) In this Act—

(a) “conviction” includes any finding in criminal proceedings that a person has committed an offence or done the act or made the omission charged (including a finding linked with mental disorder or in respect of which an admonition or absolute discharge is made), and “convicted” is to be construed accordingly,

(b) “household” means a group of people living together as a family or other unit (whether or not related) in a private dwelling, who—

(i) have the dwelling as their only or main residence, and

(ii) share living accommodation and cooking facilities,

(c) “miner” means an individual who at any time during the period beginning with 12 March 1984 and ending with 3 March 1985 was employed in any part of Great Britain—

(i) by the National Coal Board established under section 1 of the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, or

(ii) by a person holding a licence granted under section 36(2)(a) of that Act,

(d) “miners’ strike” means the national concerted stoppage of work by miners led by the National Union of Mineworkers,

(e) “sibling of a miner” means an individual who has at least one parent in common with a miner.

Section 2: Pardons for certain individuals convicted of certain offences committed during miners’ strike

(1) A qualifying individual who has been convicted of an offence listed in subsection 1.2 is pardoned for the offence if the conduct constituting the offence—

(a) occurred during the period beginning with 12 March 1984 and ending with 3 March 1985, and

(b) in relation to—

(i) an offence listed in subsection 1.2(a) to (c), meets condition A or condition B, or

(ii) the offence of theft, meets condition C.

(2) Condition A is that the conduct—

(a) occurred while the individual was engaged or participating in—

(i) activity (whether or not organised) supporting or opposing the miners’ strike, or

(ii) activity ancillary to such activity (for example, assembling before or after or travelling to or from such activity), and

(b) did not occur for a reason unrelated to the miners’ strike (for example, a disagreement about a personal matter).

(3) Condition B is that the conduct—

(a) occurred in response to conduct that meets condition A, and

(b) did not occur for a reason unrelated to the miners’ strike.

(4) Condition C is that the conduct occurred because of economic hardship arising from participation (whether by the individual or another person) in the miners’ strike.

Section 3: Commencement

(1) This Act comes into force on the day after Royal Assent.

Section 4: Short title

(2) The short title of this act is the Miners’ Strike (Pardons) (Scotland) Act.

This bill was submitted by the Rt Hon. /u/NewAccountMcGee PC MP MSP MS, Leader of the Scottish National Party, MSP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar, on behalf of the Scottish National Party.

This bill was based on the Miners’ Strike (Pardons) (Scotland) Act 2022.

Opening Speech

Oifigear-riaghlaidh,

The Miners’ Strike of 1984/85 is a year-long stain on Scotland, and Britain’s, history. Not only did many miners have their pits closed and jobs lost, they also lost out on redundancy payments and pension contributions. Removing the stigma of a criminal record is one way we can help Scotland’s mining communities, which need much, much more help from the Government. I commend this bill to the Parliament.

Link to Stage 1 Debate

Link to Stage 1 Vote

Amendments

A01 - In the name of /u/Underwater_Tara

Strike section 2(4)

Explanation: This is logistically impossible to implement as the strikes happened almost 40 years ago and it will be nearly impossible to prove why someone stole a thing.

Voting on this bill will end at the close of business on 26th May at 10pm BST

Order, Order!

We turn now to a vote SB225, in the name of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party. The question is that this Parliament approves the general principles of the Marriage (Minimum Age) (Scotland) Bill.

Members are reminded to vote For/Against/Abstain. Attempts to stylise a vote may result in it not being counted. Where there is mix-up with an alternative voting style, this shall also be accepted.

Marriage (Minimum Age) (Scotland) Bill 2023

An Act of the Scottish Parliament to raise the minimum age for marriage within Scotland to 18, and for connected purposes.

Section 1 - Amendments to the Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977 (“The 1977 Act”)

1. Section 1 of the 1977 Act is amended to read:

“(1) No person domiciled in Scotland may marry before they attain the age of 18.

(2) A marriage solemnised in Scotland between persons either of whom is under the age of 18 shall be void.”

Section 2 - Amendments to the Civil Partnerships Act 2004 (“The Civil Partnerships Act”)

1. Where “age of 16” occurs in paragraph (1)(c), substitute “age of 18”.

Section 3 - Extensions of other legislation

1. The “Marriage (Reinstatement) Act 2021” as passed in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom shall extend to Scotland.

Section 4 - Commencement

1. This Act enters into force upon Royal Assent.

Section 5 - Short Title

1. This Act may be cited as the “Marriage (Minimum Age) (Scotland) Act 2023.

This Bill was written by the Rt Hon. Countess de la Warr (/u/underwater_tara) and is submitted on behalf of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party. It is co-sponsored by the Scottish Liberal Democrats.

Amended Acts:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1977/15

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/33/

https://www.reddit.com/r/MHOLVote/comments/n4r22t/b1176_marriage_reinstatement_bill_final_division/

#Opening Speech

Presiding Officer,

This bill is simple in its intent, it raises the age for legal marriage in Scotland to 18. Since the reintroduction of marriage as a legal institution in 2021, with the advice of the supreme court based on the UN Convention on Human Rights, marriage has once again been a legal right of two people of any gender to have their union solemnised before the law. However, there remains a need to ensure that the law remains up to date and includes appropriate protections for people who are legally still children. Presiding officer, it is my belief that in order to get married, you should be an adult. It is a lifelong union which one's legal parents should have no part in, and this bill introduces such a change.

This bill also clarifies any legal ambiguity with regards to whether the institute of marriage was ever formally restored in Scotland due to discrepancies with the Marriage (Reinstatement) Act 2021. Specifically, the bill reinstitutes all relevant legislation with regards to marriage in Scotland, but the extent is only to England and Wales. This legal ambiguity must be cleared up, and this bill does this by extending the aforementioned bill to Scotland.

Thank you, I hope this bill can enjoy the support of the House.

Link to Stage 1 Debate

Amendments

A01 - In the name of /u/NewAccountMcGee

Under Section 1, subsection 1, add:

(n) A marriage solemnised in any other jurisdiction between persons either of whom is under the age of 18 shall be void under Scots law.

A02 - In the name of /u/Underwater_Tara

Note: The Speakership has decided that this bill is not a Spelling, Punctuation, and Grammar Amendment, and will be voted on by this Committee.

Amend Section 3 to read:

Section 3 - Extensions of other legislation

The “Marriage (Reinstatement) Act 2021” as passed in the Parliament of the United Kingdom shall extend to Scotland.

Explanation: A bill can't pass in the HoC and be law.

Voting on this bill will end at the close of business on 19th May at 10pm BST.

Order, Order.

We turn now to a Stage 2 Vote on SB222, in the name of the Scottish National Party. The question is that this Parliament approves the amendments to the Employee Food Provision (Scotland) Bill.

Members are reminded to vote For/Against/Abstain. Attempts to stylise a vote may result in it not being counted. Where there is mix-up with an alternative voting style, this shall also be accepted.

##Employee Food Provision (Scotland) Bill

An Act of the Scottish Parliament to require employers to provide employees who fulfil certain criteria with meals without charge during working hours.

Section 1: Mandatory Food Provision

(1) An eligible person (A) under this act is a person who is employed by person (B), and is required to work for a period greater than 4 hours

(2) Wherein person B employs an eligible person A, person B shall be required to provide a suitable meal for person A during meal breaks. A suitable meal shall be defined as–

(a) a meal with nutritional value, and of no less than 200 calories,

(b) a meal of appropriate quality, without spoilage or reasonable suspicion of spoilage,

(c) a meal without requirement placed upon person A for remuneration of person B,

(d) a meal meeting reasonable dietary requirements as expressed by person A, such as but not limited to: vegetarian, vegan, kosher, halal, and food allergies.

(3) Person B may not lower Person A’s wages in order to cover the cost of meals provided.

(4) Person B is not obligated to provide a meal should Person A expressly waive their right.

(5) If Person B is unable or unwilling to provide a meal at the place of employment, they must provide an allowance to person A equivalent to £10 per shift of at least 4 hours

(a) The allowance figure will be automatically adjusted in tandem with the Consumer Price Index

Section 2: Punishment

(1) The relevant department for employment may issue fines for any repeated violation of Section 1 that involves multiple employees across a timespan of greater than a week

(2) A violation of section 1 will require person A to be compensated by person B

Section 3: Commencement

(1) This Act shall come into force immediately after receiving Royal Assent.

Section 4: Short Title

(1) This act may be cited as the Employee Food Provision (Scotland) Act.

This bill was submitted by the Rt Hon. u/NewAccountMcGee, MSP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar, on behalf of the Scottish National Party, based on the Employee Food Provision Bill submitted by u/Itsholmgangthen in the House of Commons.

Opening speech:

[Leas-]Oifigear-riaghlaidh,

It is my pleasure to introduce this bill to this Parliament. The bill this bill was based on was recently introduced in the House of Commons as an England-only bill, and I believe Scotland should be able to benefit from its provisions as well. Of course this bill ensures that employees have a nutritious meal that complies with their dietary requirements, but I believe that another aspect of this bill should also be noted. According to an article published by Harvard Business Review, a nutritious meal increases one’s productivity, which in turn increases the amount of profit an employee can create. And if an employer can’t provide food, they must provide £10 for an employee to get their own food, without using their own money. I hope to see this bill through to Royal Assent.

Link to Stage 1 Debate

##Amendments

#A01 - in the name of u/Underwater_Tara:

Amend section 1(3) to read:

Person B may, by mutual agreement, charge Person A no more than 50% of the cost of producing the workplace meal, as a deduction from their wages or salary.

#A02 - in the name of u/Underwater_Tara

Omit Section 1(2)(c)

#A03 - in the name of u/Underwater_Tara

Amend Section 1(2)(a) to read:

(a) a meal with nutritional value, a minimum of 20g of protein, and a minimum of 500 calories.

#A04 - in the name of u/Underwater_Tara

Amend Section 1(1) to read:

An eligible person (A) under this act is a person who is employed by person (B), and is required to work for a period greater than or equal to 6 hours.

#A05 - in the name of u/Underwater_Tara

Add to section 1(2):

x) The meal must include a piece of fruit.

#A06 - in the name of u/Underwater_Tara

Add to section 1(2):

x) The meal must include some form of drink, such as bottled water or a hot drink.

#A07 - in the name of u/Underwater_Tara

Add to section 1(2):

x) The meal must be composed of at least 70% foodstuffs that have been produced in the UK.

#A08 - in the name of u/Underwater_Tara

Add to section 1(2):

x) The meal must be accompanied by free provision of condiments such as salt, pepper, and a minimum of 2 table sauces.

#A09 - in the name of u/Underwater_Tara

Add to section 1(2):

x) The meal must be served in a location set aside from the usual workplace, such as a canteen or break room.

#A10 - in the name of u/Underwater_Tara

Add to section 1(2):

x) On Wednesday the meal must be some variation of a curry; on Friday it must be fish and chips (with curry sauce); and on Sunday a full roast dinner consisting of (at minimum) a lean cut of meat (or non-meat equivalent by request), potatoes, a yorkshire pudding, two different vegetables, and stuffing.

#A11 - in the name of u/Underwater_Tara

Add to Section 1(2):

x) Irn Bru must be offered as an accompanying beverage.

#A12 - in the name of u/Underwater_Tara

Add a Section after Section 3 and renumber accordingly:

Section 4: Exemptions

(1) Employers (Person B) who employ less than 10 employees are exempt.

(2) Workplaces which do not require personnel to travel into the office are exempt.

(3) Sole-Trader Small Businesses are exempt.

Voting on this item of Business ends with the close of Business on April 28th, at 10 pm BST.

Order, Order.

We turn now to a Stage 2 Vote on SB221, in the name of the Scottish Conservatives. The question is that this Parliament approves the amendments to the NHS Funding Double-Lock (Scotland) Bill.

Members are reminded to vote For/Against/Abstain. Attempts to stylise a vote may result in it not being counted. Where there is mix-up with an alternative voting style, this shall also be accepted.

##NHS Funding Double-Lock (Scotland) Bill

An Act of the Scottish Parliament to establish a double-lock in healthcare funding increases in accordance with a minimum rise of 2% above inflation or Block Grant increases, and for connected purposes.

SECTION 1: Definitions

For the purposes of this Act, the following terms shall have the meanings set forth below —

1. ‘NHS’ refers to the medical, dental, and behavioral health services provided under the Scottish National Health Service.

2. ‘Inflation’ defined as the general increase in the price level of goods and services in the economy over a period of time.

3. ‘Base year’ means the year in which the initial funding level for healthcare services is established.

4. ‘Block Grant’ refers to the funding provided by the UK Government to the Scottish Government.

SECTION 2: The Double Lock

1. Any increase in funding for the National Health Service (NHS), shall be subject to a ‘double-lock’ that ensures that the increase in funding keeps its pace in regards to inflation.

2. The first lock shall be based on the percentage increase of national inflation based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) of the previous two fiscal quarters.

3. The Scottish Government is required to maintain annual NHS funding increases above an inflation rate of atleast 2%.

4. The second lock shall be based on the percentage increase in the latest Block Grant provided by the UK Government.

5. The funding level for the NHS in the base year - determined by the Government - shall be adjusted by the sum of the percentage increases reached as a result of Section 2: para (2) and (3).

6. The funding level for the NHS in all subsequent years shall be adjusted by the sum of the percentage increases reached under Section 2: para (2) and (3) for that year,

a. provided that the funding level shall not be decreased below the level in the previous year.

SECTION 3: Commencement

1. The provisions of this Act shall come into force the Fiscal Year of 2024/2025 following the passage of this Act.

SECTION 4: Short Title

3. This Act may be cited as the NHS Funding Double-Lock (Scotland) Act.

This Bill was submitted by StraightsofMagellan, Spokesperson for NHS & Social Care on behalf of The Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party.

Opening Speech:

Presiding Officer,

The Scottish Conservatives & Unionist Party are glad to return to Scotland and our commitment to the people is shown as clear as day with this bill presented that commits to keeping our NHS adequately funded. The bill establishes a double-lock which requires the NHS to see funding rise following either increases in inflation to above that by 2% or the percentage increases of the Block Grant provided by the UK Government. Answering on behalf of the Government in the latest Healthcare Portfolio Questions, the Minister had no objections at the time to the double-locking of NHS Funding. The Scottish Conservatives are committed to supporting our NHS by any means necessary and we urge members to see constructive efforts in aiding to pass this bill. Thank you.

Link to Stage 1 Debate

##Amendments

#A01 - in the name of u/CountBrandenburg:

Section 2, paragraph 2 is amended to read:

(2) The First Lock shall be based on inflation, calculated by the 12 month Consumer Price Index including owner-occupier Housing costs (CPIH), at the point 2 months prior to the NHS spending being set.

Section 2, paragraph 3 is amended to read

(3) The Scottish Government is required to increase annual health funding by the percentage determined under paragraph 2 at least, unless the percentage in paragraph 4 is greater.

Note: this actually sets a double lock, setting the inflationary increase based on 12 months average at the most recent data set (instead of it reading like it says CPIH + 2%).

Voting on this item of Business ends with the close of Business on April 21st, at 10 pm BST.

Order, Order.

We turn now to a Stage 2 Vote on SB218, in the name of the Scottish National Party. The question is that this Parliament approves the amendments to the Air Departure Tax (Scotland) Bill.

Members are reminded to vote For/Against/Abstain. Attempts to stylise a vote may result in it not being counted. Where there is mix-up with an alternative voting style, this shall also be accepted.

##Air Departure Tax (Scotland) Bill

An Act of the Scottish Parliament to provide for an Air Departure Tax, and for connected purposes.

Section 1: Consequential Repeals

1. The following acts are repealed:

a. the Air Passenger Duty (Scotland) Act 2020

b. the Air Passenger (Amendment) (Scotland) Act 2021

Section 2: Interpretations

1. For the purposes of this Act, “kerosene” has the same meaning as defined in section 1(8) of the Hydrocarbon Oil Duties Act 1979.

2. For the purposes of this Act, “certificate of airworthiness” means a certificate issued under the relevant sections of The Air Navigation Order 2009.

Section 3: Air Departure Tax

1. Subject to the provisions of this Act, an Air Departure Tax shall be charged on the carriage of passengers by air.

2. An aircraft becomes liable for Air Departure Tax when it departs from an airport carrying passengers.

3. Air Departure Tax shall be levied on the operators of aircraft liable as a result of this Act.

4. Subject to the provisions of this act, all passengers on an aircraft departing an airport in Scotland are chargeable for the purposes of the Air Departure Tax.

5. In all cases, the journey of all passengers chargeable subject to the provisions of this act ends at their final ticketed destination, issued by the operator of the aircraft that initially departed from an airport in Scotland.

Section 4: Chargeable Aircraft

1. An aircraft shall be liable for Air Passenger Duty if—

a. It is a fixed wing aircraft designed or adapted to carry persons in addition to the flight crew.

b. It is authorised take-off weight is 5.7 tonnes or more, and

c. It is fueled by kerosene. 2. An aircraft shall be determined to have an authorised take-off weight of less than 5.7 tonnes if—

a. There is a certificate of airworthiness in force for that aircraft which shows the maximum authorised take-off weight is less than 5.7 tonnes, or

b. The body tasked with implementing the administration of Air Departure Tax is satisfied that the aircraft is not designed or adapted to take-off with a take-off weight of 5.7 tonnes or more.

Section 5: Rates

1. The rates of Air Departure Tax are outlined in Schedule 1 to this Act

2. The Scottish Ministers may vary these rates by regulations, subject to the affirmative procedure.

Section 6: Implementation

1. The body responsible for administering Air Passenger Duty shall have the responsibility for administering Air Departure Tax.

2. The Scottish Ministers may by regulation, subject to the negative procedure, assign or create an alternative body responsible for the administration of the Air Departure Tax.

Section 7: Offences

1. A person who is knowingly—

a. involved in the fraudulent evasion by that person or another person of duty, or

b. in taking steps with a view to commit such fraudulent evasion, is guilty of an offence.

2. A person who knowingly—

a. makes a statement they know to be false in a material particular, or,

b. in an attempt to deceive, produce or makes use of a book, account, return or other document that is false in a material particular is guilty of an offence.

1. A person guilty of an offence under Section 8 is liable—

a. on summary conviction—

i. to a penalty of £20,000 or treble the amount of duty evaded or sought to be evaded, whatever is greater, or

ii. to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months, or

iii. to both, or,

b. on conviction on indictment—

i. to a penalty of any amount, or

ii. to imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years, or

iii. to both.

Section 8: Commencement

1. This Act comes into force 180 days following Royal Assent.

Section 9: Short Title

1. This Act may be cited as the Air Departure Tax (Scotland) Act.

Schedule 1: Air Departure Tax Rates

This Bill was written by u/mg9500 on behalf of the Scottish National Party.

Opening Speech

Presiding Officer, this bill aims to radically reform Scotland’s aviation taxation in order to stress several environmentally friendly principles.

This bill aims to destroy the viability of domestic flights within the CTA with the exception of the PSO routes within Scotland. This is an entirely true statement. These flights should not exist from an environmental standpoint and there is no justification for them but this Parliament does not yet have the competency to ban such flights. This de facto ban is therefore the most appropriate solution.

Elsewhere, this bill rectifies an issue with the current APD regime - as flight distance extends from Scotland, travelling by plane becomes more essential, therefore an environmental levy will not necessarily succeed in reducing passenger numbers as the alternatives (if they even exist) will be increasingly less desirable. Therefore flight distance and taxation due should become inversely correlated as this bill proposes.

Separately, this tidies up some current issues with the operation of APD as things stand, such as clarifying that ADT will only be due on departure from Scotland, not arrival. This bill also removes age related exemptions and modifications depending on the class of travel, as what we are trying to cut, emissions, are unaffected by either of these two matters.

Link to Stage 1 Debate

##Amendments

#A01 - in the name of u/Faelif:

Replace section 5(2) with the following:

(2) The Cabinet Secretary may by regulations amend the table in Schedule 1 to this Act.

(a) No regulations may be made under this subsection unless a draft of those regulations has been laid before and approved by the Scottish Parliament.

(b) Subsection (a) applies only when regulations include provision to move a region or country from one band to another band.

EN: Allows for the addition of new countries and the removal of countries that no longer exist without a vote.

#A02 - in the name of u/LightningMinion:

Amend Schedule 1 to read:

Table 1: Rates of Air Departure Tax

Table 2: Rates of the Frequent Flyer Levy

In Table 2, "n" is the number of flights taken during the current year by the passenger for which the Frequent Flyer Levy may be charged.

​

In section 6, after subsection 2 append:

(3) The Scottish Ministers may make any regulations deemed necessary to bring the provisions of this Act into force.

(4) Subject to subsection (4), regulations under subsection (3) are subject to the negative procedure

(5) Regulations made under subsection (3) which modify any enactment (including this Act) are subject to the affirmative procedure.

Amend section 8 to read:

(1) This section, section 9, and sections 6(2) to 6(5) come into force the day after Royal Assent.

(2) The other provisions of this Act come into force 180 days after Royal Assent.

​

Explanatory note: implements a frequent flyer levy

Voting on this item of Business ends with the close of Business on April 1st, at 10 pm BST.

Order, Order.

We turn now to a Stage 2 Vote on SB212, in the name of the Scottish Liberal Democrats. The question is that this Parliament approves the amendments to the The Made in Scotland (Scotland) Bill.

Members are reminded to vote For/Against/Abstain. Attempts to stylise a vote may result in it not being counted. Where there is mix-up with an alternative voting style, this shall also be accepted.

##The Made in Scotland (Scotland) Bill

An Act of the Scottish Parliament to make provision for the usage of a government sanctioned Made in Scotland label of manufacture and Made in Scotland campaign.

Section 1: Interpretations

(1) The term “Scottish goods,” refers to all goods which were primarily manufactured in Scotland.

Section 2: Made in Scotland

(1) The relevant Cabinet Secretary shall be compelled to make provision for the regulation and distribution of Made in Scotland labels for Scottish goods to both private and public businesses.

(2) Made in Scotland labels shall be composed of a plaid background, stating, "Made in Scotland | Dèanta an Alba". Individual manufacturers may make additional modifications to their respective labels, should they still satisfy said requirements.

(3) Scottish manufacturers shall be compelled to adopt and utilize Made in Scotland labels by the year 2025.

(4) The relevant Cabinet Secretary shall be obligated to launch a Made in Scotland campaign by the year 2025, promoting Scottish heritage and business both domestically and internationally.

Section 3: Domestic and International Recognition

(1) The Scottish Government is compelled to negotiate with the British Government for the recognition of the Made in Scotland label within the United Kingdom.

(2) The Scottish Government is compelled to negotiate with the British Government for the recognition of the Made in Scotland label internationally.

Section 4: Commencement

(1) This act shall come into force two months after receiving Royal Assent.

Section 5: Short Title

(1) This act may be cited as the Made in Scotland (Scotland) Bill.

This bill was submitted by Nick_Clegg_MP on behalf of the Scottish Liberal Democrats

Opening Speech:

This bill aims to accomplish a several tasks. That being the promotion of Scottish Culture, Business, and Industry. Both across the United Kingdom and world as a whole, Scotland seems to go unknown. But this is an initiative which can enable Scotland to put her best foot forward to the world. Not only does it provide for the creation of labels for Scottish projects, but rather, the initiation of a cultural Made in Scotland campaign as a whole. In essence, with the aim to export our culture, ideas, and outlook to the entire world, in turn, with hopes of one day becoming a cultural epicenter of the world.

Link to Stage 1 Debate

##Amendments

A01 - in the name of u/t2boys:

Omit Section 3

Lib Dems are currently in govt they can already do this, and if they are out of government do we want to set a precedent of forcing governments to negotiate against their will?

Voting on this item of Business ends with the close of Business on November 4th, at 10 pm BST.

Order, Order.

We turn now to a Stage 2 Vote on SB211, in the name of the Haggis Raving Loony Party. The question is that this Parliament approves the general principles of the Higher Education Tuition Fee Repeal (Scotland) Bill.

Members are reminded to vote For/Against/Abstain. Attempts to stylise a vote may result in it not being counted. Where there is mix-up with an alternative voting style, this shall also be accepted.

##Higher Education Tuition Fee Repeal (Scotland) Bill

An Act of the Scottish Parliament to abolish the charging of tuition fees for Universities

Section 1: Definitions and Interpretation

(1) The Higher Education (Scotland) Act 2022 is hereby known as The Act

Section 2: Amendments and Repeals

(1) Section 3, Subsection 1 of the Act is replaced with:

(1) Higher Education Institutions within Scotland hereby may not charge for the costs of tuition.

(2) Section 3, Subsections 2-4 are hereby repealed

(3) Section 4 is hereby repealed.

(4) Section 5(3) is amended to read:

(3) The Student Loan Company shall not seek to regain money paid out in Maintenance Loans until the Scottish Student earns more than £25,000 per annum.

(a) This does not take into account household income. (b) The collection of money shall be at a rate of no more than 5% of monthly earnings (c) After the Scottish Student earns more than £30,000 per annum, the rate at which the monthly earnings shall be charged shall be no more than 9%. (d) Scottish Ministers may, by order in the positive procedure, alter the repayment thresholds and the percentage collected from monthly earnings.

(5) Insert after Section 5(3):

(3A) The Student Loan Company may not seek to regain money paid out in Maintenance Loans after 30 years have passed since the loan was taken out.

(a) Where a Scottish Student studies a course continuously, ie the Scottish Student has not dropped out or otherwise left or suspended their course, the Student Loan Company may not regain money until after the attainment of a degree.

(b) Where a Scottish Student has withdrawn from their course, the Student Loan Company may begin to regain money provided the Scottish Student earns more than the repayment threshold.

Section 3: Commencement, and Short Title

(1) This Act may be cited as the Higher Education Tuition Fee Repeal (Scotland) Act 2022

(2) This Act shall come into force immediately upon Royal Assent

This bill was submitted by u/Muffin5136 on behalf of the Haggis Raving Loony Party, and was written with contributions from u/Frost_Walker2017

Opening Speech:

Presiding Officer,

Fine, I'll do it myself. Also, lol, how'd you like this Frosty.

Link to Stage 1 Debate

##Amendments

A01 - in the name of u/Frost_Walker2017:

Amend Section 2(1) to read:

"(1) Higher Education Institutions within Scotland hereby may no longer charge Scottish students for the costs of tuition."

Amend Section 2(2) to read: "Section 3, Subsection 2 is hereby repealed"

Insert into Section 2:

"(6) Amend Section 3(5) of the Act to read

The relevant Scottish Ministers may, by order in the positive procedure, amend Section 3(3-4)"

EN: This removes costs of tuition for Scottish students, effectively returning it to the state it was in prior to the Higher Education Act, but keeps a cap on cost of tuition for international students and rUK students (the former of which tend to make up a significant amount of funding for universities, especially to conduct research etc).

A02 - in the name of u/Frost_Walker2017:

Insert into Section 2(5):

(3B) The maintenance loans do not:

(a) Count against a student's credit score

(b) Pass on to the next of kin

(c) Accrue interest

EN: Just putting in place the same protections as were in place for the tuition fee loan

Voting on this item of Business ends with the close of Business on October 29th, at 10 pm BST.

Order, Order.

We turn now to a Stage 2 Vote on SB204. The question is that this Parliament approves the following amendments to the E-road Network Signage (Scotland) Bill

The bill text may be read here

This bill was written by u/mg9500 as a Private Members Bill

Opening Speech

Presiding Officer, this simple bill aims to rectify an anomaly in the UK’s road signage - that it is one of only a very few countries, including Uzbekistan, that form parts of the International E-road network, yet does not signpost this for drivers. This naturally diminishes the value of the network here, creating a burden for users to the advantage of nobody.

Confusing motorists must be avoided, and distinctively yet unobtrusively appending this signage to existing requirements best achieves this. Indeed, this bill broadly replicates the approach successfully used in Ireland for the past 15 years. I cannot foresee any problems with the implementation of this common sense bill to implement United Nations policy.

#Amendments

A01 - Submitted by u/LightningMinion

Replace the bill with:

“Section 1: European Routes in Scotland

(1) In this Act, “the international E-road network” has the same meaning as in the latest enactment of the European Agreement On Main International Traffic Arteries.

(2) The provisions of this Act apply to the routes designated in Schedule 1.

(3) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations subject to the negative procedure amend Schedule 1.

(4) If any routes of the international E-road network within Scotland are amended, the Scottish Ministers must lay regulations as per subsection (3) to implement the amendments to Schedule 1.

(5) Regulations under subsection (4) must be laid within no more than 30 days of the date when the amendments to the international E-road network within Scotland come into force.

(6) In calculating any period of no more than 30 days for the purposes of subsection (5), no account is to be taken of any time during which the Parliament is dissolved or is in recess for more than 4 days.

Section 2: Signage

(1) Within this section, “E-road signage” means signage indicating the presence of an international E-road network route

(2) E-road signage must be shown at all applicable locations

(3) For the purposes of subsection (2), “applicable locations” means:

Start of motorway regulations
All three junction signs
Route confirmatory signs, on motorways and ‘A’ roads
End of motorway regulations
‘A’ road junction signs
Signs indicating the location of ports which form part of the European Route

(4) The Scottish Ministers may, by regulations subject to the negative procedure, amend subsection (3)

(5) The Scottish Ministers may, by regulations subject to the negative procedure, lay guidance on the design of E-road signage

(6) E-road signage should utilise white text of the Transport Heavy font on a green background.

(7) Regulations laid under subsection (5) may not contravene subsection (6)

Section 4: Commencement

(1) Sections 2(2) of this Act comes into force 1 year after Royal Assent

(2) The remaining provisions of this Act come into force upon Royal Assent

Section 5: Short Title

(1) This Act may be cited as the International E-road Network Signage (Scotland) Act 2022.

Schedule 1: international E-road network routes within Scotland

Explanatory note: tidies up the wording of the bill

Voting on this item of Business ends with the close of Business on July 29th, at 10 pm BST

Order, Order.

We turn now to a Stage 2 Vote on SB201, in the name of Scottish Labour. TThe question is that Parliament approves the following amendments to the Planning (Scotland) Bill.

Members are reminded to vote For/Against/Abstain. Attempts to stylise a vote may result in it not being counted. Where there is mix-up with an alternative voting style, this shall also be accepted.

##Planning (Scotland) Bill

An Act of the Scottish Parliament to transfer planning responsibilities to the Scottish Housing Agency, set out the structure of the Scottish Housing Agency, amend the provisions of the National Planning Framework, implement an infrastructure levy, prohibit private defensive architecture, and for connected purposes*

Due to the length of the bill it can be found in the Stage 1 Debate

##Amendments

A01 - in the name of u/LightningMinion:

Replace Section 3AB subsection 3(b)(i), which reads “(i) preserving peatland.”, with:

(i) preserving disused railway infrastructure for the purpose of ensuring its availability for possible future public transport requirements, and

(ii) preserving peatland.”

Explanatory note: ensures that disused railway infrastructure (ie disused railway tracks, disused railway stations, etc) aren’t built over in housing developments to ensure that the railway line can be restored in the future for the benefit of the local community

A02 - in the name of u/LightningMinion:

Strike Part 2 section 5 subsections 10 and 11 (for clarity, subsection 10 reads ‘In Section 3B(1), replace “After complying with section 3A(10)” with “After complying with Section 3AA”’) and append the following after subsection 9:

“(10) Sections 3B and 3C are repealed.

(11) After section 3C insert—

“ 3CA National Planning Framework: procedure

(1) The Scottish Ministers may not adopt a revised National Planning Framework until a draft of it has been approved by resolution of the Parliament.

(2) The Scottish Ministers may not lay a draft of the revised framework before the Scottish Parliament for approval unless—

(a) they have complied with section 3AB and subsections (3) to (5) of this section, and

(b) they have laid before the Scottish Parliament an explanatory document in accordance with subsection (6).

(3) The Scottish Ministers must—

(a) consult in accordance with their participation statement,

(b) lay before the Scottish Parliament a copy of the draft of the revised framework,

(c) have regard to any representations about the draft of the revised framework that are made to them within no more than 120 days of the date on which the copy of the draft of the revised framework is laid before the Parliament under paragraph (b).

(4) In calculating any period of no more than 120 days for the purposes of subsection (3)(c), no account is to be taken of any time during which the Parliament is dissolved or is in recess for more than 4 days.

(5) If, as a result of any consultation required by subsection (3), it appears to the Scottish Ministers that it is appropriate to change the whole or any part of their proposals, they must undertake such further consultation with respect to the changes as they consider appropriate.

(6) The explanatory document referred to in subsection (2)(b) must set out—

(a) the consultation undertaken in accordance with subsections (3) and (5),

(b) a summary of any representations received as a result of the consultation, and

(c) the changes (if any) made to the draft of the revised framework as a result of those representations.

(7) As soon as practicable after the National Planning Framework as revised has been adopted, the Scottish Ministers are to publish it.”

And renumber accordingly

Explanatory note: gives the Scottish Parliament a vote on whether the government’s proposed National Planning Framework should be appointed

Voting on this item of Business ends with the close of Business on July 8th, at 10 pm BST.

Order, Order.

We turn now to a Stage 2 Vote on SB196, in the name of the 16th Scottish Government. The question is that this Parliament approves the general principles of the Blood Safety and Quality Regulations (Scotland) Bill.

Members are reminded to vote For/Against/Abstain. Attempts to stylise a vote may result in it not being counted. Where there is mix-up with an alternative voting style, this shall also be accepted.

##Blood Safety and Quality Regulations (Scotland) Bill

An Act of Scottish Parliament to amend blood donation rules and repeal offence created*

Section 1 - Repeals

1. The Blood Donations (LGBT) Act 2020 is hereby repealed.

2. Change Notification no 16 - 2015 for the Guidelines for the Blood Transfusion services in the UK shall be revoked in Scotland.

3. The replacement regulations and question guidance is found in Schedule 1.

4. Scottish Ministers, in cooperation with the relevant authority, shall release the replacement regulations in the form of a Change Notification, alongside:

(a) additional information regarding the changes; and

(b) reasons for changes

4. The Change Notification to be issued applies to the Whole Blood and Components Donor Selection Guidelines only.

5. The Blood Transfusion Safety Guidelines Act 2015 is hereby repealed in Scotland.

Section 2 - Power for presenting change in blood guidance to the Scottish Parliament

1. Scottish Ministers may present draft guidance to the Scottish Parliament, with consultation with the Scottish National Blood Service.

2. Any guidance advised and laid before the Scottish Parliament cannot become authority unless approved by the Scottish Parliament by resolution.

Section 3 - Commencement and Short Title

1. This Act comes into force at the end of the period of six months beginning with the day on which it is passed.

2. This Act may be cited as the Blood Safety and Quality Regulations (Scotland) Act 2022.

#Schedule 1

Part 1 - Definitions

The following definitions apply for the purposes of this schedule:

1. “The 2005 regulations” refers to The Blood Safety and Quality Regulations 2005

2. “Sexual contact” takes the same meaning of sexual contact as defined in Part 1, Paragraph 28 of the Schedule in the 2005 regulations.

Part 2 - New blood donation guidelines

There shall be the obligation to ask questions, with no reference to any individual’s sexual orientation, and to follow up on further details based on the following principles —

1. Any individual who has multiple sexual partners in the past 90 days is to be deferred for 90 days from date of last sexual contact if anal sex has been performed with any of the partners

2. Any individual who has engaged in anal sex in the past 90 days with a new sexual partner - either another individual where there has not been sexual contact before or a previous partner whom they have restarted a sexual relationship - is to be deferred for 90 days from the date of first sexual contact involving anal sex.

3. Any individual who has had sexual contact in the past 90 days, with a sexual partner who has engaged in sexual contact through anal sex with another sexual partner in the 90 day period preceding sexual contact with the potential donor, is to be deferred for 90 days from the date of first sexual contact.

4. Any individual who has had a sexual partner, who is being treated for HIV, within the past 90 days, may be considered for blood donation dependent on the treatment status and viral load of their sexual partner or deferred for 90 days from the date of last sexual contact.

5. Any individual who has completed treatment for gonorrhea is to be deferred for 90 days from the culmination of treatment.

6. Any individual who has ever been diagnosed with syphilis is to be permanently deferred.

7. Any individual who has had, in the past 3 months, a sexual partner who has previously been sexually active in high risk areas for HIV/Aids (such as sub-Saharan Africa) is not to be deferred from blood donation pending other eligibility criteria for the sexual partner.

8. Any individual who meets the requirements of IV or IM drug use as defined under Part 3, paragraph 2.2.1 of the Schedule in the 2005 regulations, is to be deferred for 1 year from the last reported use.

9. Any individual who has had a sexual partner, who meets the requirements of IV or IM drug use as defined under Part 3, paragraph 2.2.1 of the Schedule in the 2005 regulations, in the past 90 days, is to be deferred for 90 days from the date of last sexual contact.

10. Any individual who has, in the past 90 days, taken drugs for the explicit purpose of enhancing sexual contact, may be asked to elaborate on substances used, with the potential of a 90 day deferral.

(a) stimulant drug use under this paragraph is to result in an individual deferring for 90 days since last sexual contact involving stimulant drugs (b) other drug usage may be considered for deferral dependent on further conversation with an individual, but deferral should not occur based on recreational drug use for other purposes followed by sexual contact (c) the use of drugs for the purposes of treating erectile dysfunction is to be exempt from deferral under this paragraph.

This bill is written by The Rt Hon. Sir /u/CountBrandenburg GCT GCMG KCB CVO CBE PC, Cabinet Secretary for Justice, on behalf of the 16th Scottish Government.

Blood Donations (LGBT) Act 2020

Blood Safety and Quality Regulations (Amendment) Act 2022

Blood Transfusion Safety Guidelines Act 2015 - contains Change notification no 16 in canon

—

Presiding Officer,

I present this bill as a tidying up of previous legislation - the repeal of the ban on men donating blood was a good step and that previous conservative legislation reduced the time period from 120 days as passed by Westminister to 3 months, as is commonly accepted as a medical consensus. Let us make clear that this bill will not stand in the way of this accomplishment. Rather, this update will reflect the updates that I undertook in England, and ensure that we don’t automatically defer for visiting high risk countries and more importantly, we repeal the offense that was introduced via the 2020 bill - this is illogical to be a criminal offence bas it would better be treated as we have previously treated breaching guidelines. This isn’t something that needs to be tackled within the courts.

Now, one would ask why not introduce this by SI, Section 3 of the repealed act allows us to wholesale modify the Act by negative procedure. Simply enough, this is a tidying up provision and reflects the reviews made on blood safety. The original wording of the bill maintains the use of high risk partners but notes that it cannot turn away based on sexual practices - which is vague enough to mean that it might not include chemsex. There is a need for proportional screening of sexual practices as it will be practiced elsewhere, snd whilst rightfully we do not turn away based on gender identity or sexuality, it would be proportional to turn away based on a new partner. Likewise, the original wording effectively means an indefinite deferral for those who have injected drugs, and recent reviews in Australia suggest that indefinite deferral is not needed, that a 12 month one is suitable. As the blood safety regulations have been updated, reference to them in this bill allows for the new guidelines to reflect these changes.

This is a small change in blood donation, but one that is fair that avoids overcomplicating how to tackle wrongful deferrals and updates our deferral rules properly with more concrete wording. Thus, I hope members will pass this bill.

Link to Stage 1 Debate

##Amendments

A01 - in the name of u/model-willem:

Amend Section 3(1):

1. This Act comes into effect three months after receiving Royal Assent.

Voting on this item of Business ends with the close of Business on April 15th, at 10 pm BST.

Order, Order.

We move now to a Stage 2 Vote on amendments for SB194 (Higher Education (Scotland) Bill), in the name of the 16th Scottish Government.

Members are reminded to vote For/Against/Abstain against each Amendment. Attempts to stylise a vote may result in it not being counted. Where there is mix-up with an alternative voting style, this shall also be accepted.

###Higher Education (Scotland) Bill

An Act of the Scottish Parliament to re-establish tuition fees, revoke the ban in place on St. Andrews University, and for connected purposes.

Section 1: Definitions

(1) Within this Act, unless specified otherwise;

(2) ‘Scottish Student’ or derivatives refers to;

(a) Any prospective student at a Higher Education Institution that resides in Scotland that was born in Scotland and holds British Citizenship

(b) Any prospective student at a Higher Education Institution that has resided in Scotland for at least three years and was born elsewhere in the United Kingdom or holds British Citizenship.

(c) Any prospective student at a Higher Education Institution that was born in Scotland but lives elsewhere in the United Kingdom or holds British Citizenship, except for;

(i) Prospective students who have never lived in Scotland

(3) ‘UK Student’ or derivatives refers to;

(a) Any prospective student at a Higher Education Institution that resides elsewhere in the United Kingdom and was born elsewhere in the United Kingdom.

(b) Any prospective student at a Higher Education Institution that holds British Citizenship and is not eligible for the criteria of Scottish Student

(4) ‘International Student’ or derivatives refers to any prospective student at a Higher Education Institution who does not fulfil the above criteria for Scottish Student or UK Student.

(5) The relevant Scottish Minister may, by order, modify the definitions established under Section 1(2-4)

(6) ‘Tuition Fees’ or derivatives refer to the definition as under Section 3.

(7) ‘Tuition Fee Loans’ or derivatives refer to the definition as under Section 4(1)

(8) ‘Applicant’ or derivatives refer to a Scottish Student who has successfully obtained a Tuition Fee Loan.

(9) ‘Repayment Threshold’ or derivatives refers to the amount of money established under Section 4(3)

(10) ‘Maintenance Loan’ or derivatives refer to the definition established under Section 5(1)

(11) ‘Household Income’ refers to the income of the household wherein Scottish Students live for a majority of the year outside of a term-time address.

(12) ‘Bursary’ or derivatives refers to the definition established under Section 5(4)

Section 2: Repeals

(1) Paragraph 17 of Schedule 6 of the Universities (Scotland) Act 1966 is hereby repealed in its entirety.

(2) The Graduate Endowment Abolition (Scotland) Act 2008 is hereby repealed in its entirety

(3) The Education (Student Loans, Allowances, and Awards etc.) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2018 are hereby revoked in their entirety.

(4) Any repeal, revocation, or extinguishment enacted by any repealed provisions shall remain repealed, revoked, or extinguished.

(5) Where any existing legislation conflicts with this legislation, this legislation supersedes the existing legislation and shall repeal it insofar as it conflicts.

Section 3: Tuition Fees

(1) Higher Education Institutions within Scotland may hereby charge Scottish Students for the costs of tuition.

(2) Higher Education Institutions may not charge Scottish Students any more than £2,500 per academic year.

(3) Higher Education Institutions may not charge UK Students any more than £5,000 per academic year.

(4) Higher Education Institutions may not charge International Students any more than £10,000 per academic year.

(5) The relevant Scottish Ministers may, by order in the positive procedure, alter Section 3(2-4)

Section 4: Establishment of Tuition Fee Loans

(1) The Student Loan Company, through the Student Awards Agency Scotland, shall be empowered to issue loans with which to pay for tuition at Higher Education Institutions.

(2) These loans shall be issued to all Scottish Students, provided that:

(a) They have not had a loan for the purposes of paying tuition fees for five academic years total

(b)

(3) The Student Loan Company shall not seek to regain money paid out in Tuition Fee Loans until the Scottish Student earns more than £25,000 per annum.

(a) This does not take into account household income.

(b) The collection of money shall be at a rate of no more than 5% of monthly earnings

(c) After the Scottish Student earns more than £30,000 per annum, the rate at which the monthly earnings shall be charged shall be no more than 9%.

(d) Scottish Ministers may, by order in the positive procedure, alter the repayment thresholds and the percentage collected from monthly earnings.

(4) The Scottish Loan Company may not seek to regain money paid out in Tuition Fee Loans after 30 years have passed since the loan was taken out.

(a) Where a Scottish Student studies a course continuously, ie the Scottish Student has not dropped out or otherwise left or suspended their course, the Student Loan Company may not regain money until after the attainment of a degree.

(b) Where a Scottish Student has withdrawn from their course, the Student Loan Company may begin to regain money provided the Scottish Student earns more than the repayment threshold.

(5) Scottish Students are automatically eligible for the amount required for Tuition Fees regardless of income.

(6) A Tuition Fee Loan shall have no effect on Credit Scores.

(7) A Tuition Fee Loan shall not pass from the Applicant to their next of kin and shall be wiped if the Applicant dies.

(8) A Scottish Student must apply for a Tuition Fee Loan for every academic year, though while their account remains active they do not need to supply any further information.

Section 5: Maintenance Tweaks

(1) There shall exist money paid by the Student Loan Company, through Student Awards Agency Scotland, to Scottish Students to fund living costs while at Higher Education in the form of a loan.

(2) The Maintenance Loan shall be paid dependent on household income, in the following amounts;

(a) A household income of between £0 and £34,999.99 shall ensure a Scottish Student receives £6,500 per academic year

(b) A household income of higher than £35,000 shall ensure a Scottish Student receives £5,500 per academic year.

(3) The Student Loan Company shall combine any debt incurred from maintenance loans with tuition fee loans to be repaid in the same manner.

(4) There shall exist money paid by the Student Loan Company, through Student Awards Agency Scotland, to Scottish Students to fund living costs while at Higher Education without the expectation of repayment.

(5) The Bursary shall be paid dependent on household income, in the following amounts;

(a) A household income of between £0 and £20,999.99 shall ensure a Scottish Student receives £2,500 per academic year.

(b) A household income of between £21,000 and £24,999.99 shall ensure a Scottish Student receives £1,500 per academic year

(c) A household income of between £25,000 and £34,999.99 shall ensure a Scottish Student receives £750 per academic year.

(d) A household income of higher than £35,000 shall not entitle a Scottish Student to receive a Bursary.

(6) A Scottish Student with relevant care experience or qualifications shall be entitled to receive a Bursary of £11,000 per academic year.

(a) A Scottish Student receiving this bursary shall not be entitled to a maintenance loan or to a bursary as under Section 5(5)

(7) Scottish Students must apply each academic year for a maintenance loan or a bursary.

(8) Scottish Ministers may, by order in the positive procedure, alter Section 5(2), Section 5(5), and Section 5(6).

Section 6: Short Title

(1) This Act shall be known as the Higher Education (Scotland) Act 2022

Section 7: Commencement

(1) This Act comes into force upon the commencement of the next academic year beginning after July 1st 2023

(2) Provisions in this Act for Tuition Fees do not apply to any existing Scottish Students, only Scottish Students who are due to commence their course after the date of Commencement.

This Bill was written by the Rt. Hon. Sir Frost_Walker2017, the Viscount Felixstowe, the Lord Leiston KT GCMG CT CVO MSP MLA MS PC, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills on behalf of the 16th Scottish Government.

Opening Speech:

Presiding Officer,

This is inevitably a bill that will have much discussion, which I welcome.

The bulk of this bill comes from the Beyond 16 White Paper, so I shall not go into detail on that. One area where it does differ is placing a cap on the fees that can be charged to UK Students and International Students, which was not in the white paper. This is to prevent universities from establishing runaway charges that students may struggle to meet. The cap for UK Students is below the tuition cap in England, meaning English students can get a better deal coming to Scotland.

The other thing not in the paper is Section 2(1). This deals with repealing the ban on St. Andrews University awarding medical and dentistry degrees. It is nonsense that this ban was ever instated and that it has been kept for as long as it has.

Presiding Officer, I commend this bill to this Parliament.

Stage 1 Debate

#Amendments

A01 - in the name of u/Frost_Walker2017 (from beyond the divide)

In Section 4(3), amend "25,000" to read "28,000"

In Section 4(3c), amend "30,000" to read "33,000"

EN: both sets of numbers are arbitrary, I think its worth a debate on them

Voting on this item of Business ends with the close of Business on April 1st, at 10 pm BST.

Order, Order.

We move now to a Stage 2 Vote on on amendments for SB191- the Public Transport (Ticketing) Bill - in the name of 16th Scottish Government

Members are reminded to vote For/Against/Abstain against each amendment. Attempts to stylise a vote may result in it not being counted. Where there is mix-up with an alternative voting style, this shall also be accepted.

Public Transport (Ticketing) Bill

An Act of the Scottish Parliament to reform ticketing on public transport, reform NECs, set targets for clean public transport and for connected purposes.

Section 1: National Entitlement Card Reforms

(1) The Adult National Entitlement Card (NEC) is to be created.

(a) This card is available to all 25-60 year olds.

(2) The Adult NEC, Young Scot NEC, Disabled NEC and Older People NEC will take on the role of the other NECs not mentioned.

(a) Holders may apply for the addition of a service to their card, such as library access.

(b) If a holder is employed by their local council, they can use their NEC to access local authority buildings and other privileges set out by their employer.

(3) All NECs may be used as a proof of age and name.

Section 2: Integrated Ticketing System

(1) Starting 31st January 2023, all people living in Scotland will be able to use their National Entitlement Card (NEC) as a universal card for buses, trains and ferries.

(a) NECs will be able to be used to pay for these modes of public transport by putting funds on the card through the NEC app, the NEC website or by paying later if the funds are insufficient.

(i) The NEC will be frozen for use on public transport if the user has a debt on the card of £100, or has been in debt for a month, until the debt has been repaid.

Section 4: Title and Commencement

(1) This Act may be cited as the Public Transport (Ticketing & Green Transition) Act 2022.

(2) This Act will commence upon Royal Assent.

This Bill was written by Sir metesbilge MP MSP MLA KP, Cabinet Secretary for Transport.

This Bill was inspired by the free bus travel for young people scheme by the IRL Scottish Government. Opening Speech:

Oifigear Riaghlaidh,

The way the ticketing system for public transport in Scotland works is awkward at best. I’m notorious for losing things, and having multiple tickets for different modes of public transport is a nightmare for me, and many others in the country. This Bill would revolutionise public transport access for so many of the people we represent.

This Bill will ensure all wheelchair users can use public transport with ease, allowing them to have greater independence. It will also make our public transport more eco-friendly and efficient by 2035.

The NEC system is a brilliant scheme which allows people access to many different services, while also acting as a form of photo ID. This Bill will create a NEC for adults and merge different cards (such as library cards) together to improve access to services.

Overall, Oifigear Riaghlaidh, this Bill will improve efficiency and accessibility of public transport and public services, which is very much needed in Scotland.

Link to Stage 1 Debate

#Amendments

A01 - in the name of u/LightningMinion

After Section 2, add:

Section 3: Ticket Prices

(1) The “daily cap” is defined as 0.2 multiplied by the money earned by a minimum wage worker working for 8 hours

(a) The Cabinet Secretary may by statutory order in the negative procedure lower the daily cap below this amount

(2) The “weekly cap” is defined as 0.2 multiplied by the money earned by a minimum wage worker working for 40 hours

(a) The Cabinet Secretary may by statutory order in the negative procedure lower the weekly cap below this amount

(3) The “monthly cap” is defined as 0.2 multiplied by the money earned by a minimum wage worker working for 160 hours

(a) The Cabinet Secretary may by statutory order in the negative procedure lower the monthly cap below this amount

(4) In any continuous 24 hour period a person paying for transport as per Sections 1 and 2 may not be charged more than the daily cap for transport

(5) In any continuous 7 day period a person paying for transport as per Sections 1 and 2 may not be charged more than the weekly cap for transport

(6) In any continuous 28 day period a person paying for transport as per Sections 1 and 2 may not be charged more than the monthly cap for transport

Explanatory note: sets daily, weekly and monthly caps on how much you can spend on transport (similar to TfL's system). The caps are set at 20% of the earnings of a minimum wage worker or lower

A02 - in the name of u/Inadorable

Replace the entire bill with:

Section 1: Smartcard

(1) The Cabinet Secretary shall work with public transport providers operating within Scotland to create a universally accepted digital payment card to be used for rail, bus and ferry services.

(a) This card shall be available for purchase from the Department for no more than £5, with each copy supported for a minimum of 5 years.

(b) This card shall be available in anonymous and personalised forms.

Section 2: Payment

(1) Starting 31st January 2023, all people living in Scotland will be able to use the card mentioned in Section 1(1) as a universal card for buses, trains and ferries.

(a) This card will be able to be used to pay for these modes of public transport by putting funds on the card through a relevant website, application, a ticketing office and automated renumeration up to a certain level as defined by the holder of the card.

(b) Subscriptions and personalised discount schemes can be loaded onto the card at ticketing offices.

(2) Failure to pay with a card as mentioned in Section 1(1) shall lead to an additional cost of £1 being applied to any trip taken by public transit, up to £2 per day.

Section 3: Title and Commencement

(1) This Act may be cited as the Public Transport (Ticketing) Act 2022.

(2) This Act will commence upon Royal Assent, with the exception of Section 2(2), which shall come into Royal Assent upon the 1st of January 2024.

Voting on this item of Business ends with the close of Business on March 11th, at 10pm GMT.

Order, Order.

We move now to a Stage 2 Vote on amendments for the Democracy in Schools Bill, in the name of 16th Scottish Government.

Members are reminded to vote For/Against/Abstain against each Amendment. Attempts to stylise a vote may result in it not being counted. Where there is mix-up with an alternative voting style, this shall also be accepted.

###Democracy in Schools Bill

An Act of the Scottish Parliament to redefine and increase democracy within secondary schools and colleges.

Section 1: Definitions

(1) In this Act, unless specified otherwise;

(2) ‘School’ refers to any state-funded secondary education provider within Scotland.

(3) ‘Pupil Participation Plan’ refers to a plan prepared under Section 3

(4) ‘Council’ refers to a student council as under Section 4(1)

Section 2: Repeals

(1) The Secondary School and Colleges (Student Representation) Act 2021 is hereby repealed in its entirety.

Section 3: Pupil Participation Plans

(1) School administrators must ensure that they produce and publish a plan on implementing greater pupil participation within the running of schools.

(2) Where possible, these plans must be implemented fully.

(3) These plans are valid for six academic years after publication, with a new plan being published in the sixth academic year.

(4) Staff must make clear the goals of the Pupil Participation Plan to all students, and effectively disseminate information relating to it.

Section 4: Student Council

(1) A pupil participation plan must include provisions relating to a council of students, elected annually from the student body.

(2) The Council shall have the following recommendatory powers to staff:

(a) Items relating to the timetable

(b) Disciplinary procedures

(c) Informing the staff on how to best promote positive behaviour through policies

(d) How best to collaborate with the local community

(e) How best to collaborate with other schools

(f) Advise on school facilities

(g) Advise on the future Pupil Participation Plan

(3) The Council has the following absolute powers:

(a) Order stationary and other school supplies for use within the classroom, pending financial approval

(b) Approve fundraising activities for specified purposes, subject to existing laws and school policies

(c) Arrange extracurricular, lunchtime, or other enrichment activities within the school site

(4) The Council may also enact any recommendatory or absolute powers as granted to them by their school under the Pupil Participation Plan.

(5) Scottish Ministers may, by statutory order, modify Section 4(2) and Section 4(3).

*Section 5: Short Title

(1) This Act may be cited as the Democracy in Schools Act 2022

Section 6: Commencement

(1) This Act shall come into force at the beginning of the next academic year after July 2023

(a) Section 2 shall come into force upon Royal Assent

This Act was written by the Right Honourable Sir Frost_Walker2017, the Viscount Felixstowe, the Lord Leiston KT GCMG CT CVO MSP MLA MS PC, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills on behalf of the 16th Scottish Government, and is based off of the Pupil Participation and Democracy Bill (Northern Ireland).

Opening Speech:

Presiding Officer,

I rise today to present this legislation to members of this Parliament. I firmly believe in furthering democracy where possible, which is why I prefer referenda to many items, and I believe schools should be no exception. After all, when students go out into the wider world, they will encounter many democratic activities, so preparing for them in education is a necessary step, in my view.

This bill is based off of a similar bill in Northern Ireland. It repeals the nonsensical bill passed by the 13th Government that transposed a formula from universities onto secondary schools and colleges without considering why this may be inappropriate to do so - namely, that many universities have a Students’ Union which effectively fulfils the criteria of the initial bill, while secondary schools and colleges have no similar item. Many do, however, have a student council, which this legislation seeks to formalise. It is a far more appropriate way to further democracy in schools than the repealed legislation seeks to do.

To begin with, every school is different. That’s why the majority of the implementation of this comes down to the schools on preparing their own Pupil Participation Plan. By mandating a student council and some recommendatory and absolute powers, however, we ensure that the Pupil Participation Plan is not entirely toothless, as otherwise a school could simply publish a plan that says nothing of substance.

I urge members to support this bill so as to best ensure quality democracy within schools, Presiding Officer.

Link to Stage 1 Debate

Amendments - all in the name of /u/Muffin5136 :

A01:

Insert in Section 4 (1) after "student body":

and must include representation from all years within the school.

A02:

Insert in Section 6:

b) Section 4 shall come into force at the beginning of the next academic year after July 2022

A03:

Insert in Section 2 in between points (1) and (2), and renumber accordingly:

(2) These plans must be submitted to the local authority or relevant minister for approval to ensure that they set out a proper plan for promoting Pupil Participation.

A04:

Insert at end of Section (2)

(N) The Participation Plan regulations must be reviewed after 6 years by the relevant Minister

(Added late as original posted in debate instead)

Voting on this item of Business ends with the close of Business on March 4th, at 10pm GMT.

Order, Order.

We move now to a Stage 2 Vote on amendments for SB188, in the name of the 15th Scottish Government (Scottish Lib Dems, Scottish National Party, Scottish Progressives).

Members are reminded to vote For, Against, or Abstain for each amendment proposed. Attempts to 'stylise' votes by adding extra words will result in a member's vote being considered a DNV. In cases were there is a genuine mix up with another system (eg. Aye/No/Abstain) the vote will be taken as a clear expression of preference

###Male Child Circumcision (Restrictions) Bill

An Act of the Scottish Parliament to abolish the practice of male child circumcision, and for connected purposes.

Section 1: Definitions

(1) In this Act, unless specified otherwise;

(2) ‘Circumcision’ refers to the practice of removing the foreskin from the penis.

(3) ‘Doctor’ refers to the appropriate medical practitioner or professional.

(4) ‘Male’ refers to the sex of the individual relevant.

(5) ‘Child’ refers to an individual under the age of eighteen years old.

(6) ‘Consenting’ or ‘Consent’ refers to the definition as established under Section 3.

Section 2: Circumstances of Circumcision

(1) Any male individual over the age of 18 years may be circumcised provided they willingly consent to the procedure and are under no duress to do so.

(2) Circumcision of a male child above the age of thirteen may only go ahead if;

(a) It is medically required

(b) The requirement and reason must be noted in the child’s medical notes.

(3) Circumcision of a male child below the age of fourteen years shall hereby be prohibited except for medical reasons.

(a) The reason must be noted in the child’s medical notes.

(4) In the event a doctor performs a circumcision on any of the individuals listed in this section without following due process may be subject to suitable punishment as considered by the employee’s place of work which may include being removed from their position

Section 3: Capacity to Consent

(1) An individual is considered consenting if they:

(a) Are over the age of thirteen years old

(b) Understand what the procedure is

(i) The doctor must ensure that adequate information is made available to the male child.

(c) Agree under no duress to undergo the procedure.

Section 4: Short Title

(1) This Act may be cited as the Male Child Circumcision (Restrictions) Act 2021

Section 5: Commencement

(1) This Act shall come into force three months after Royal Assent.

This Bill was written by the Rt. Hon. Sir Frost_Walker2017, the Viscount Felixstowe, the Lord Leiston GCMG CT MVO MSP PC, Cabinet Secretary for Education, on behalf of the 15th Scottish Government.

Opening Speech:

Presiding Officer,

This bill is a simple one. It outlaws performing circumcision on newborn babies, which - while not practiced as much here as it is across the Pond - is an unnecessary procedure that affects the child for the rest of their life.

Observant members will note that there is no outright exemption for religious reasons in this bill (excluding for a consenting child). This is deliberate. The practice of circumcising a newborn baby is done for reasons that are no longer applicable in the modern day - namely, I believe, hygiene purposes were the initial reasoning, while these days we have moved beyond that and it is a simple enough matter of keeping it clean.

That said, if the child were to consent to the procedure, as they are able to do from the age of thirteen onwards, for religious reasons, this shall remain a valid reason for circumcision. What is important is that it is a choice as decided by the child themselves who it impacts directly. Rates of circumcision in the UK as a whole are on the down, and those who are circumcised are increasingly looking more and more ‘out of place’, as it were, and can often be subjected to teasing in the way only teenage boys are capable of - I don’t need to add that this affects mental health of the child.

Indeed, many circumcised adults in the US often lament the loss of somewhere between 8000 and 20,000 nerve endings (the exact number, as best I can tell, is somewhat disputed) when it comes to intercourse or pleasuring oneself. While there are procedures to restore the foreskin, they do not return it to precisely the same level as an uncircumcised male would.

Presiding Officer, unconsenting male child circumcision is a serious issue, and I hope to tackle it with this bill. I commend it to this Parliament.

Link to Debate

#Amendments As follows

A01 - Submitted by u/Muffin5136

Amend Section 2 (3) (a) and (b) to read:

a) As per Section 3

Voting on this item of Business ends with the close of Business on February 18th, at 10pm GMT.

Order, Order.

We now move to a Stage 2 Vote on amendments submitted for SB187, Public Sector Pay (Repeal) (Scotland) Bill

Members are reminded to vote For, Against, or Abstain for each amendment proposed. Attempts to 'stylise' votes by adding extra words will result in a member's vote being considered a DNV. In cases were there is a genuine mix up with another system (eg. Aye/No/Abstain) the vote will be taken as a clear expression of preference.

#Public Sector Pay (Repeal) (Scotland) Bill

An Act of the Scottish Parliament to repeal legislation concerning public sector pay.

Section 1: Repeals

(1) The Teaching Salaries (Scotland) Act 2018 is hereby repealed in its entirety.

(2) The Police Salaries (Scotland) Act 2020 is hereby repealed in its entirety.

(3) The National Health Service (Salaries) (Scotland) Act 2018 is hereby repealed in its entirety.

Section 2: Commencement

This Act shall come into force immediately upon Royal Assent.

Section 3: Short Title

This Act may be known as the Public Sector Pay (Scotland) Act 2022.

This Bill was written by The Right Honourable Sir Tommy2Boys KCT KG KT KCB KBE KCVO MSP, the Duke of Aberdeen, on behalf of the 16th Scottish Government

Deputy Presiding Officer,

Upon my appointment as Cabinet Secretary for Finance, I said that I felt the burden to level with the Scottish people laid heavily on my shoulders. It is why the government has decided that this should be one of the first bills we bring forward. We won’t hide away from the tough actions we are taking. We will do them in the public eye and allow people to debate them in full. This bill seeks to repeal all legislative mandates on government to give pay rises to certain sectors, and our motivation behind it is several fold. One is costs, and the other is more about giving the government greater freedom to respond to economic conditions.

We have made no secret that money is going to be tight this term. We need to make cuts to public expenditure, and planned increases in spending in the upcoming financial year need to be looked at. Public sector pay is one of these increases. Over the past few years, we have seen more and more pieces of legislation concerning this which has cost a lot of money. £626 million on increasing teachers' pay. £406 million on an increase in pay for salaries. This is a lot of money, money we need to consider whether or not we can afford going forward.

It is the government's intention to ensure that some kind of pay rise is given to public sector workers. At this time, we do not judge a public sector pay freeze to be necessary. However, whether we can afford inflationary increases is another matter. This is a decision we will take closer to budget time, but for the moment it is important we have the flexibility required on this issue. Similarly, if a pay rise does come, the flexibility to ask relevant organisations like the NHS to absorb some of the cost as opposed to being given the full funding for it is something we should consider. Again, no decisions have been made, but this is something that we need the flexibility to decide upon as the budget is being put together.

There will be those who oppose this bill and argue that inflationary increases should be promised within law every year, but the truth is that there may come a time where a public sector pay freeze is necessary. I will do everything within my power to avoid it, but giving a budget the flexibility to increase and decrease the pay rise given is an important tool in the armour of balancing the books and responsibly governing. It may not be a comfortable vote, but it is ultimately the right thing to do.

To those who sit with the government I know I am asking you to take a difficult vote, but I believe ultimately it is the right thing to do. To those who sit in opposition, who may think that scoring the cheap win by opposition to this bill is the easy thing to do, then I say our constituents are brighter than that. They know this term must involve public expenditure cuts, hell they expect it. They will not look kindly on those who refuse to stand up and take the necessary actions to safeguard our public services. This government will do that, and I call upon the whole of parliament to do the same.

#Amendments As follows

A01 - Submitted by u/Muffin5136

Amend Section 2 to read:

This Act shall come into force five years after Royal Assent

Voting on these amendments ends at the close of Business on February 11th, at 10pm BST.

Order, order

We now move to a Stage 2 Vote on amendments submitted for SB186, the Prescription Charges (Scotland) (Repeal) Bill

Members are reminded to vote For, Against, or Abstain for each amendment proposed. Attempts to 'stylise' votes by adding extra words will result in a member's vote being considered a DNV. In cases were there is a genuine mix up with another system (eg. Aye/No/Abstain) the vote will be taken as a clear expression of preference.

Prescription Charges (Scotland) (Repeal) Bill 2021

An act to disestablish prescription charges as a method of revenue for the National Health Service in Scotland, and to repeal related legislation.

Section 1: Definitions

(1) For the purposes of this Act, “prescriptions” means prescribed medicine or services as prescribed by a General Practitioner within a General Medical Services contract with the National Health Service.

Section 2: Repeals

(1) The Prescription Charges (Scotland) Act 2020 (2020 asp 29) is hereby repealed.

(2) The National Health Service (Prescription Charges) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 (SSI 2020/14) is hereby struck.

Section 3: Banishment of Fees

(1) From the point in which this act comes into force, and unless this act is repealed, the National Health Service, and/or the Cabinet Secretary, shall have no power to make regulations, or take any other actions, to allow or force the payment of prescription charges.

(2) From the point in which this act comes into force, and unless this act is repealed, the National Health Service, and/or the Cabinet Secretary, shall have no power to make regulations, or take any other actions, to allow or force the payment of any fees related to prescriptions.

Section 4: Short Title

(1) This Act may be cited as the Prescription Charges (Scotland) (Repeal) Act 2021 Section 5: Commencement

(1) This Act shall come into force within 21 days of it gaining Royal Assent.

This bill was written by the The Most Noble Duke of Abercorn KCT KP MVO MBE PC MSP, the First Minister of Scotland, and submitted on behalf of the Scottish Liberal Democrats.

Opening speech:

Presiding Officer,

The time has come. I made a promise that I would write and put on the docket a bill abolishing prescription charges in Scotland, and I have done so. This bill will rectify a wrong that my party opposes, and that has clearly caused pain, financially, for many in Scotland. We did not need prescription charges - if we did, then why does the act say that “NHS Boards may decide what they want to do with money gained from prescription charges”? They’re not covering costs of procurement with these charges, they’re not spending the money on things related to prescriptions. I get it, having a bit of money to spend on what’s needed is good and all, but that’s why we have taxes and allocate funding during the budgetary process. We do not need to charge people for their prescriptions when that money needed to pay for the drugs should already be able to be afforded by the NHS.

Further, this will allow the vast number of people who were on the bubble - those who weren’t exempted from paying, and could likely afford the few pounds per prescription (or perhaps not in the grand scheme of things). A few pounds here and there adds up over time, and for those who are otherwise on a tight income, but not qualifying for an exemption, and who need a consistent source of medication, it adds up. Enough that I am no longer comfortable with having this scheme go on any longer. I can perceive no benefit in terms of charging for prescriptions that is not outweighed by having people pay for them when they already contribute taxes to the NHS that go to funding the contracts which are made to purchase the drugs - one might literally say that people are paying twice over for the same drugs. I cannot stand by and let that happen, so I have put this bill forward to correct the error that has been allowed to stand for so long. I hope you will all agree with me and pass this bill without amendment in short order.

Thank you.

#Amendments As follows

AO1 - submitted by u/Frost_Walker2017

Strike Section 5(1) and replace with:

(1) This Act comes into force two months after Royal Assent

(a) Scottish Ministers may, by order, delay the Act coming into force by up to two months, for a maximum of six months delay from the initial commencement.

Voting on these amendments ends at the close of Business on February 6th, at 10pm BST.

Order, Order.

We move to our next item of business, a stage 1 debate on SB179 in the name of the 15th Scottish Government. The question is that this Parliament approves of the general principles of the Electric Charging (Scotland) Bill.

#Electric Charging (Scotland) Act 2021

An Act of the Scottish Parliament to introduce the key infrastructure of electric charging stations across Scotland

Section 1: Definitions and Interpretation

(1) An electric charging point is deemed to be a charge point designed for use of charging an Electric Car (EV) or vehicle, specifically that which is deemed smart charging.

(2) A petrol station is deemed to be a facility whose primary or secondary function is to dispense fuel, whether petrol, diesel or other, for vehicles.

(3) NRS is the National Records of Scotland

(4) The ratio used here is of electric charging point:petrol and diesel pump point.

(5) A privately owned car park is one that is open to the public but charging is operated by a private company.

(6) A publicly owned car park is one that is operated by a local authority.

Section 2: Requirements for Charging Station Location

(1) Any petrol station in a locality with a population of over 10,000 people as set by NRS is required to have electric charging points at a rate of 1:1.5 by 2024, and of 1:1 by 2028.

(2) Any petrol station in a locality with a population under 10,000 people as set by NRS is required to have electric charging points at a rate of 1:2 by 2024, and of 1:1 by 2030.

(3) Any petrol station that is adjoined to a supermarket is required to have electric charging points at a rate of 1:1.5 by 2024 and 2:1 by 2030.

(4) Any petrol station on a highway with:

(a) no locality greater than 2,000 people 5 miles

(b) a petrol station within 5 miles

(c) is required to have electric charging points at a rate of 1:2 by 2024, and of 1:1 by 2028.

(4) Any car park that is either privately or publicly owned must install charging stations by replacing parking spaces under the following requirements:

(a) If in a car park with 100 or more spaces, there must be at least 1 electric charging station per 15 spaces by 2023, 1 charging station per 10 spaces by 2027, and 1 charging station per 5 spaces by 2031.

(b) If in a car park with 99 or less spaces, there must be 1 charging station per 10 spaces by 2024, 1 charging station per 8 spaces by 2028, and 1 charging station per 5 spaces by 2024

(c) Exemptions may be applied only to car parks that lack the mains connection to install smart charging points.

(5) Any lay-by on a motorway or highway must have a charging point installed, with those that have an emergency phone in them requiring it by 2023 and those without requiring it by 2026.

Section 3: Government Support

(1) Funds must exist to support any petrol station that requires financial aid in constructing such charging points. Financial aid may constitute for £2,500 or 50% of the cost per charging point, whichever is lowest.

(2) Funds must also exist to support homeowners who wish to build home charging stations, with this to provide funding up to £1,000 or 50% of the cost of a home charging point, whichever is lowest.

(3) Funds must also exist to support car parks:

(a) privately owned car parks eligible for £2,500 or 50% of the cost per charging point, whichever is lowest.

(b) Publicly owned car parks will have the cost paid in full with a fund created for local councils to install charging points.

(4) Funds must also exist to fund Transport NI to construct charging points in full.

(5) This combined fund shall be a total £100 million per year across the next 4 years.

Section 4: Commencement, and Short Title

(1) This Act may be cited as the Electric Charging (Scotland) Act 2021

(2) This Act shall come into force immediately upon Royal Assent

This bill was submitted by u/Muffin5136 on behalf of the Scottish Progressive Democrats on behalf of the 15th Scottish Government.

Opening Speech:

Presiding Officer,

This is legislation that has seen great multi-partisan support in both Wales and Northern Ireland. It is common sense legislation that will enable petrol stations to be future proofed, and have the necessary infrastructure in place to support a new electric revolution as we replace petrol and diesel with rechargeable electricity. We will wave goodbye to outdated polluting cars, and embrace a new world of electric cars.

This bill is already funded, as it builds on the work of the most recent budget in Scotland and the Green Strategy which pledged £100 million a year to go towards such infrastructure as laid out in this bill. This budget still lays out the £100 million a year for the next four years. This bill actually lays out the strategy to build this infrastructure that was promised a year ago.

I call on the house to support a common sense approach to dealing with the climate emergency, as we transition to a world that runs on electric, and works on the infrastructure we build.

A01

Amend Section 3(2) to read:

(2) Funds must exist to support homeowners who wish to build home charging stations, with this to provide funding up to 100% of the cost of a home charging point.

(a) Scottish Ministers shall have the power to design any such scheme as they deem necessary to distribute these funds and the amount that should be distributed.

EN: Gives more flexibility to Scottish Ministers to implement a wide ranging scheme for home car charging points.

A02

Insert in Section 1:

(7) An “ultra-fast charging point” is an electric charging point that is capable of delivering at least 200kW of power or quicker;

(8) A “motorway” is defined as a special road as defined in the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984

(9) A “service station” is a place along a motorway specially designed and operated for drivers to rest, refuel, sleep, eat, and drink.

Subsequently insert a New Section 3

Section 3: Provisions for Ultra Charging points and other connected purposes

(1) Every motorway service station is to have a minimum of five ultra-fast charging points

(a) Charging points that meet the definition of a charging point under Section 1 (1) but do not meet the requirements of Section 1 (7) do not count towards the minimum;

(b) The minimum number of charging points in this paragraph may be changed by statutory instrument, laid before Parliament by the Scottish Minister, using the positive procedure.

(2) The requirements under Section 3(1) shall come into force two years after Royal Assent.

Renumber subsequent sections accordingly:

In the new Section 4 insert after paragraph 3:

(4) The fund shall be designed in such a way so that between 50% and 100% of the costs for the charging points shall be covered depending on the financial circumstances of the company applying for money under the scheme.

And renumber accordingly.

Explanatory note: this implements C!’s bill on ultra fast electric charging points within this, making changes where electrical product regulations are reserved I believe.

Voting on this bill shall close on the close of business on November 7th, 2021.

Order, Order.

We move now to a Stage 1 Debate on SB176, in the name of New Britain. The question is that this Parliament approves of the general principles of the Deer (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill.

#Deer (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill

An Act of the Scottish Parliament to implement the recommendations of the Deer Working Group

Section 1: Interpretations

(1) “The 1996 Act” refers to the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996

(2) “The 1985 Order” refers to the The Deer (Firearms etc.) (Scotland) Order 1985

Section 2: Responsibilities of Scottish Natural Heritage with respect to Deer

(1) Omit Section 1 of the 1996 Act and replace with—

(1) ‘The general aims and purposes of Scottish Natural Heritage (in this Act referred to as

“SNH”) include the following general functions in relation to deer—

(a) to ensure effective deer management that safeguards public interests and

promotes sustainable management;

(b) to keep under review all matters relating to deer; and

(c) to exercise such other functions as are conferred on it by or under this Act or

any other enactment.

(2) In this Act references to SNH’s deer functions are to the functions relating to deer

conferred on it by or under this Act or any other enactment.

(3) It shall be the duty of SNH, in exercising its deer functions, to take account of

public safety and deer welfare in all circumstances and to take such account as may be appropriate in particular circumstances of other public interests of a social, economic or environmental nature.

Section 3: Non-Lead Ammunition

(1) In paragraph 3(a) of the 1985 Order, omit “100 grains” and replace with “80 grains”.

(2) In paragraph 4 of The Deer (Firearms etc.) (Scotland) Order 1985, (3) Scottish Natural Heritage shall report to Scottish Ministers within 24 months of the passage of this Act with research on the use of non-lead ammunition on deer, including welfare issues resulting from their use.

(4) Section 3(1) and 3(2) of this Act shall come into force on the 1st of January 2023.

(a) Scottish Ministers may, by regulations using the negative procedure, delay the implementation of this section by no more than 24 months on the advice of Scottish Natural Heritage should they believe it is necessary for a fair transition to non-lead bullets.

Section 4: Shotguns

(1) Omit Paragraph 4 of the 1985 Order and replace with—

“(4) Where an occupier of land has reasonable grounds for believing that serious damage will be caused to crops, pasture, trees or human or animal foodstuffs on that land if the deer are not killed, that person may apply to the Scottish Natural Heritage for a licence to use a shotgun whose gauge is not less than 12 bore and which is loaded with the following lawful ammunition:—”

(2) After Section 10 of the 1996 Act, insert new Section—

10A Authorisation to use a shotgun

Scottish Natural Heritage shall have the authority to authorise the use of a shotgun by an occupier of land against a deer where it is in the public interests of a social, economic and environmental nature.

Section 5: Night Sights

(1) Omit 5(b) of the 1985 Order.

(2) This Section shall come into force on the 1st of January 2023.

(a) Scottish Ministers may, by regulations using the negative procedure, delay the implementation of this section by no more than 24 months on the advice of Scottish Natural Heritage should they believe it is necessary if planned trials return evidence that the use of night sights should not be allowed.

Section 6: Deer Close Seasons Consultation

Scottish Ministers must, within 6 months of the passage of this Act, begin a public consultation on amending The Deer (Close Seasons) (Scotland) Order 2011 to set the dates for a close season for female of each species to start in the period 1st to 15th April and end in the period 31st August to 15th September, and in which no close seasons are set for males of each species.

Section 7: Miscellaneous and Administrative Changes

(1) The 1996 Act is amended as follows—

(a) Amend Section 1 to be titled—

1 Scottish Natural Heritage.

(b) Amend Section 2 to be titled—

2 Advice and annual reports to Scottish Ministers.

(c) Amend Section 12 to be titled—

12 Power of Scottish Natural Heritage to provide services and equipment and to make certain payments.

(d) Amend Section 40 to be titled—

40 Power of Scottish Natural Heritage to require return of number of deer killed.

(e) Omit reference to the Secretary of State in Sections 2(1)(a), 4(1), 5, 8, 9, 12, 21, 33, 34, 44 and 45, and Schedule 2, and replace it with “Scottish Ministers.”

(f) Amend Section 21(4) to read—

(a) No order shall be made under this section unless a draft of the order has been laid before the Scottish Parliament and approved by a resolution of the Scottish Parliament.

(g) Amend Section 47(1)(a) to read—

(a) Subject to section 21(4) of this Act, any order or regulations made under this Act shall be made by statutory instrument which shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution by the Scottish Parliament.

(2) In paragraph 4 of the 1985 Order 1985, omit “paragraphs (c), (d) and (e) of Section 33(3) of the Act” and replace with—

“section 26(2) of the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996”

(3) Amend Section 18(2) of the 1996 Act to read—

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in any agreement between the occupier of land and the owner thereof, but subject to section 37 of this Act, SNH may authorise such an occupier or owner or any person nominated in writing by such an occupier or owner to take or kill, and to sell or otherwise dispose of, any deer on any such land or woodland during the period specified in subsection (1) above, where it is satisfied that—

(a) the taking or killing is necessary in the public interests of a social, economic and environmental nature; and

(b) it is the most appropriate way to defend that public interest.

Section 3: Commencement

(1) This Act shall come into force immediately upon Royal Assent unless specified otherwise.

Section 4: Short Title

(1) This Act shall be known as the Deer (Amendment) (Scotland) Act 2021

This bill was written by The Right Honourable Sir Tommy2Boys KCT KG KT KCB KCVO KBE MP MSP on behalf of New Britain

Opening Speech - Tommy2Boys

Deputy Presiding Officer,

I hope this house will forgive what I suspect will be a rather lengthy opening speech, but with a long bill I feel as if I should take the time to explain properly what this Bill is doing.

In December 2019, the Deer Working Group reported back an extensive list of recommendations based on its remit to make “recommendations for changes to ensure effective deer management that safeguards public interests and promotes the sustainable management of wild deer.” This report, an incredibly comprehensive document, sets out both legislative and non legislative changes that can be made and it is some of the legislative recommendations made which New Britain presents to Parliament today. I have not made all of them within the report (M: Even I have a life) but several of the important ones I have put into the bill before us today.

Section 2 was one of the big legislative changes called for within the report, and that was to modernise the purpose of the Act to better reflect modern day public policy. The original aims of the original deer Act come from a compromise between sporting and conservation, something I believe we can all agree we have moved on from. The updated section, taken directly from recommendations from the report, ensures that public safety is more clearly covered within the Act, as well as making the list inclusive rather than exclusive.

Section 3(1) to 3(3) regards the use of non-lead bullets. The report recommends that SNH do more research into their use, but that generally it is time to move to their use with a transition. For that reason the new rules, lowering the grain weight to 80 grams which will allow the use of non-lead ammunition, will not come into force before the beginning of 2024, with an option for an extension if required on the advice of Scottish Natural Heritage.

Section 4 does two things recommended in the report. The first is that to use a shotgun on a deer in the specified circumstances in the clause, permission must be sought from Scottish Natural Heritage. The group found that “there are relatively few situations where shotguns might still be used” where rifles are now much more common for these situations. The second thing it does is open up the application for permission to all land occupiers, not just specific types of land.

Section 5 repeals the ban on night sights being used, pending trials by SNH which may lead to advice to delay the implementation.

The report recommends some serious changes to dates for closed seasons for deer. It is important we keep a closed season for female deer to avoid the orphaning of young deer if their mothers are killed, however the report does recommend ending the closed season for male deers, saying “There are no animal welfare or biological reasons to have close seasons for male deer of any species.” This is, however, a difficult subject which will provide strong reactions from all sorts of people. For that reason, I have decided not to immediately move to make these changes, but to instead open a public consultation on the matter. I believe it is important we are led by experts on technical issues like this, but nevertheless given the sensitivity of this issue it is right we hear from voters.

Section 7 contains a lot of miscellaneous changes to better reflect devolution and that we have transferred authority over to the Scottish Natural Heritage, as well as updating references to an old deer Act which was missed when the Act was made in 96.

Section 7(3) allows the owner as well as the occupier of land to seek authorisation to kill a deer at night if necessary. SNH are in practice already allowing this according to the report hence I have simply included it as a miscellaneous change. Similarly in that paragraph I have made a change also made in Section 4, changing it to cover all land and not just specific land. And again as in another section it ensures a wider definition of public interest. Finally in that section, (b) is amended so that SNH must consider not if it is a last resort, but if it is the most appropriate way to deal with the issue.

So there we have it, Presiding Officer, a deer bill. I hope this parliament will back this bill.

A01 SPaG Amendment: Strike Section 3(2) and all references to it. Renumber accordingly.

A02 SPaG Amendment: Renumber Short Title and Commencement to 8 and 9 respectively.

Voting on this bill shall end with the close of Business on October 29th.