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MSPs in the Scottish Parliament today backed the Interpretation and Legislative Reform (Scotland) Bill.
The new legislation replaces the remaining Transitional Orders made under the Scotland Act 1998 with provisions decided upon by the Scottish Parliament in relation to:
* how legislation made by the Scottish Parliament is interpreted
* how the Parliament scrutinises subordinate legislation
* how the Parliament deals with the special procedure that applies to orders that are subject to special Parliamentary procedures
Minister for Parliamentary Business, Bruce Crawford said:
"The Bill offers wholly Scottish provisions, decided upon by this Parliament, to deal with legislative interpretation and procedure in devolved Scotland. And after 10 years this can only be right.
"The co-operative nature of the work on this Bill serves as an outstanding example of the constructive relationship between the Government and the Parliament and will simplify the statutory framework making our systems more effective and efficient."
The Scottish Government introduced the Interpretation and Legislative Reform (Scotland) Bill to the Scottish Parliament on June 15, 2009.
Finance Secretary John Swinney today welcomed confirmation that the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Bill has received Royal Assent.
The wide-ranging legislation will:
* Remove overlap and duplication
* Provide greater clarity for service users and improve service delivery
* Align with the Government's overarching Purpose of sustainable economic growth
* And promote more effective use of resources and better value for money
Mr Swinney said:
"The Act is one part of the Scottish Government's public services reform agenda, representing a coherent and effective package of proposals which will make a real difference to the quality, delivery and efficiency of public services in Scotland.
"It is important that we get maximum value for taxpayers' money and promote more effective use of resources. The Act will deliver a further reduction in the number of public bodies in Scotland and provides a more responsive and proportionate way to make changes to the public bodies landscape as and when opportunities arise. Royal Assent also paves the way for the formal establishment of Creative Scotland.
"And new duties across the public sector to publish information on how money is spent will greatly enhance openness and transparency in the public sector.
"Following the successful passage of the Bill last month, I am pleased to see it now receive Royal Assent."
The 2009 Scottish Social Attitudes Survey reveals that people trust the Scottish Government to act in Scotland's best interests rather than the UK government by a factor of more than two-to-one.
The survey shows 61 per cent of people trusting the Scottish Government to act in the country's interests, compared to 25 per cent for the UK government.
The survey also shows a continued growth in those who think that the Scottish Government is the institution with most influence over how Scotland is run. This finding increased to 33 per cent in 2009 from 28 per cent in 2007, and continued a trend which began since the beginning of that decade. It compares with 39 per cent who felt the UK Government had most influence in 2009 - a fall from 47 per cent in 2007.
Finance Secretary John Swinney said:
"The survey was conducted at a time when politics and politicians were under intense scrutiny due to events at Westminster, so this is an extremely positive survey which demonstrates that people in Scotland trust the Holyrood system of government. It finds that the Scottish Government is trusted to act in Scotland's best interests ahead of the UK Government by a factor of more than two-to-one, and continued growth in those who think that the Scottish Government is the institution with most influence over how Scotland is run.
"We all face significant challenges in supporting the fragile economic recovery, and this survey indicates that we are working in a partnership of trust with the people as we continue to deliver our comprehensive Economic Recovery Plan."
Other research findings include:
* In 2009, for the first time, more people thought standards in the NHS in Scotland in the previous 12 months reflected Scottish Government rather than UK Government policies.
* The proportion of people who believed the Scottish Government was 'very' or 'quite' good at listening increased from 43 per cent in 2007 to 48 per cent in 2009.
* 72 per cent of people felt the economy in Scotland had got weaker in the 12 months prior to the 2009 survey (compared with 11 per cent in 2007).
* The proportion of people in Scotland who favoured increasing levels of taxation and public spending fell from 56 per cent in 2004 to 37 per cent in 2009.
The Scottish Social Attitudes Survey (SSAS) was launched by the Scottish Centre for Social Research in 1999 following devolution. The Office of the Chief Researcher has funded a core module of questions on attitudes to government in Scotland since 2004. There was no survey in 2008.
Fieldwork for the 2009 SSAS took place between April and September 2009. Around 1,500 face-to-face interviews are carried out annually (1,482 in 2009) with a representative sample of the Scottish population.
The report was carried out by the Scottish Centre for Social Research.
Scotland needs a further devolution of responsibilities, Minister for Parliamentary Business Bruce Crawford said today as he responded to the UK legislative programme outlined in the Queen's Speech.
Mr Crawford said:
"Today's Queen's Speech sets out the UK legislative programme for the first parliamentary session of the new UK Government.
"Of the 24 bills mentioned in the Speech, 5 are likely to require the consent of the Scottish Parliament. The Scottish Parliament will consider Legislative Consent Motions covering these bills in the normal way.
"We welcome the inclusion of a Scotland Bill in the programme, because the case for further responsibilities for the Scottish Parliament and Government carries support right across the spectrum in Scotland. Both the National Conversation and the Commission on Scottish Devolution demonstrated that the people of Scotland want increased powers for our Parliament.
"And where there is consensus on key improvements - such as transferring responsibility for air weapons, drink driving limits, and the running of Scottish Parliamentary elections - we believe there is a responsibility to act quickly. The Scottish Parliament has already endorsed these changes, and the Government drafted and published the necessary Parliamentary Orders. We are ready to play our part in delivering.
"The Scottish Parliament and Government also need real financial powers and fiscal responsibility. Along with a broad range of expert opinion in Scotland, we believe that the key Calman recommendations in this area are flawed, and indeed have been overtaken by events. Therefore, we would welcome opportunities for ongoing discussion with the UK Government in order that Scotland is in a position to take the action needed to grow the economy and boost prosperity for all who live here."
Mr Crawford also gave further detail of the Legislative Consent Motions which will be brought forward in the Scottish Parliament. These proposed legislative changes will be in addition to the Scottish Government's own legislative programme.
He continued:
"The Scottish Government expects to lodge memoranda and motions for the relevant UK Bills once they are introduced in the UK Parliament. It will then be for the Scottish Parliament to determine matters on the basis of its democratic mandate."
The UK bills which the Scottish Government currently expects to give rise to Legislative Consent Motions in the Scottish Parliament are:
Energy Security and Green Economy Bill - A Bill for England, Wales and Scotland to "deliver a national programme of energy efficiency measures to homes and businesses. It may also introduce powers to regulate the emissions from coal-fired power stations, reform energy markets and put in place a framework to guide the development of a smart grid that will revolutionise the management of supply and demand for electricity. The UK Government may also legislate to set up a Green Investment Bank." Some measures may have devolved aspects.
Health Bill - A Bill for England to "implement the UK Government's proposals for a sustainable national framework for the NHS; to support a patient-led NHS focused on outcomes; and to deliver on the commitment to reduce bureaucracy". May contain provisions relating to public health and require technical changes to Scottish legislation as a consequence of re-organisation in England.
Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill - A Bill for England and Wales "to make the police service more accountable to local people and set out measures to tackle alcohol-related violence and disorder". Proposals to create a dedicated Border Police Force would apply to the UK as a whole. Consent may be required in relation to technical provisions in Scottish legislation.
Public Bodies (Reform) Bill - A Bill for England and Wales to "ensure that there will be a greater degree of transparency and accountability for all Public Bodies ('quangos'); and provide Ministers with the powers to abolish, merge or transfer functions". Where changes affect bodies exercising devolved as well as reserved functions, consent will be sought.
Scotland Bill - A Bill for Scotland to "implement recommendations of the Final Report of the Commission on Scottish Devolution (the Calman Commission)". The main elements of the Bill will be made clear in due course. Any alteration to devolved competence would require legislative consent.
It is possible that further opportunities to legislate for Scotland by means of Legislative Consent Motion may occur in connection with other UK bills, including Private Member's bills. Any additional proposals of this kind, together with any relevant amendments to the Government bills listed above, will be drawn to the attention of the Parliament as they arise, in line with the requirements of Standing Orders.
COSLA, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, is the representative voice of Scottish local government and also acts as the employers’ association on behalf of all Scottish councils.
As a membership organisation, one of our highest priorities is to maintain and enhance our relationship with member Councils and the key principles, which underpin our activities recognise that the way we work is as important as what we do. These principles are as follows:
1. Ensure strong working relationships with COSLA’s political structures to ensure that our work at officer level is led and prioritised by elected members.
2. Represent the local authority interest.
3. Fully involve member Councils and individual elected members, as appropriate, to ensure that we are doing the things local government would wish to see us do and in the way it would wish to see us doing them.
4. Promote the local authority role / perspective; ensure that service delivery remains within a framework of local governance and protect against a centralising agenda.
5. Work with partner organisations where appropriate to deliver shared agendas, adding value through partnership, particularly in relation to the achievement of sustainability (economic, environmental & social);
6. Recognise the respective roles of central and local government and Brussels, influencing the formulation of policies to ensure their implementation delivers on local priorities and policies.
7. Ensure that constructive external relationships are maintained with partner organisations, including the Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament and utilising relationships to promote a vibrant and positive local government agenda.
8. Ensure that COSLA adds value and avoids replicating the roles of member Councils in order to make the most effective use of expertise and resources to achieve effective outcomes for local government.
http://www.cosla.gov.uk/?leftId=100018887-10766716&rightId=100018887-107...
The leader of Scotland's largest local authority is calling for an end to the freeze on council tax.
In a letter to Finance Secretary John Swinney, Glasgow City Council leader Gordon Matheson said the policy was unsustainable in the face of cuts.
He said without higher council tax, Glasgow would need to find £180m in savings over the next three years.
Speaking on BBC
Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme, he said: "To give you a sense of what that means, that is the total annual revenue cost for roads, lighting, cleansing, parks and sports facilities and community halls within the city. So it's unprecedented.
"I'm calling for the option of being able to raise council tax in order to offset some of the more brutal cuts that we will have to make."
Mr Matheson, who is the first leader to propose scrapping the flagship policy, added: "Some of the choices that we are facing will have a pretty brutal impact on the communities that we serve, all of the households in Glasgow."
The city introduced a council tax freeze two years before the SNP government introduced it across the country.
As part of the concordat between councils and the Scottish government, authorities are rewarded financially for maintaining the freeze.
"But we will still be reducing staff by around 15 per cent, we will be expecting pay restraint, councillors pay for example is frozen for the next two years," said Matheson.
"We are looking at a two-thirds reduction in our number of office spaces, we're stripping out middle management.
"We're looking for great efficiencies but we need to be able to have the option of comparing the impact of increasing the council tax with some of the more brutal options we face."
Options include boosting charges for care for the elderly, cancelling disabled play schemes and reducing the number of support teachers.
Pat Watters, president of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla), backed Mr Matheson's call, adding: "I think he is absolutely right. It's something we have discussed."
Scotland's largest public sector union, Unison, also backed the call to raise council tax.
The union's Scottish organiser, Dave Watson, said: "Local authorities should be able to raise funds through the council tax. Using the tax system is much fairer than raising charges for services. Charges hit those on low incomes hardest and the council tax freeze benefits the wealthy disproportionately."
A spokesman for the Scottish government said: "The council tax freeze provides support for hard-pressed families during difficult times for household finances and at a time when councils have received an increasing share of the resources available to the Scottish government.
"We will listen to views on how to deal with Westminster spending cuts as we consider the report of the Independent Budget Review, and feedback from around Scotland."
Opposition councillors have hit out after it was revealed 102 top executives at Labour-controlled Glasgow City Council are set to receive an average of £128,000 each as part of a £127m redundancy deal.
Internal figures revealed by the SNP show the city council is paying out millions to top executives in redundancy and early retirement – at the same time as they are calling for higher council tax payments across the city.
The figures show £13m of redundancy pay-offs going to executives as the Labour-controlled authority cuts services while using a one off property windfall to fund redundancies. A third of Glasgow's most senior staff have applied to leave the City Council.
The SNP has criticised the council's approach and called on the council to look at ways of reducing the redundancy bill and putting more of the £127m into protecting public services.
SNP opposition leader on Glasgow City Council James Dornan said: "Paying out this kind of money while threatening to push up council tax and cut services is obscene.
"£128,000 on average for senior executives – all of whom are nearing retirement – is an incredible payout that tax payers will seriously struggle to understand.
"So far Glasgow's Labour leader has called for a council tax rise, a possible end to free personal care, increased fees for school breakfasts and scrapped free fruit schemes for the city's children. £127 million could make a lot of difference to these programmes, easing the way into what will be a tight budget settlement for the next three years.
"We all accept the need to reduce the council's cost including work force costs but when Labour pushed this through they failed to answer the key questions of how many people they expected to take up the offer and what the bill would be. This level of pay out changes the whole picture and brings the benefits of this plan into question.
"The council has a multi-million property windfall that could be used to minimise the impact of Labour and Tory spending cuts, instead it is being used to line the pockets of senior council staff. Glasgow's council tax payers will be outraged."
A spokesman for the council – which has more than 35,000 employees – said the staff reductions would deliver savings after three years.
Scotland faces £3.7bn of cuts over the next four years, Finance Secretary John Swinney has said.
He issued the warning ahead of a series of budget meetings with councils, NHS workers and business, due to take place this week.
The statement comes after the Independent Budget Review group said in July that up to 60,000 public sector jobs faced the axe.
The Scottish government's budget will be published in November.
To read more http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-11188977
MSPs are to begin taking evidence on plans to give terminally ill people the right to die.
Independent MSP Margo MacDonald, who has Parkinson's disease, brought the bill to make it legal for someone to seek help to end their life.
A special Holyrood committee will spend the next few weeks questioning a wide range of witnesses on the End of Life Assistance Bill.
The proposals will face their first parliamentary vote in November.
It is not illegal to attempt suicide in Scotland but helping someone take their own life could lead to prosecution.
Ms MacDonald' bill would allow people whose lives become intolerable through a progressive degenerative condition, a trauma or terminal illness to seek a doctor's help in dying.
To read more http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-11203010
Scottish ministers are setting out their final programme for government before next May's Holyrood election.
First Minister Alex Salmond will announce a list of nine bills he wants to see passed in the coming months.
The key piece of legislation will be a Budget Bill, setting out the SNP's latest spending plans.
The move comes amid uncertainty over how the UK government's forthcoming spending cuts, which are expected to be tough, will affect Scotland.
The precise level of reductions will be set out in the autumn Comprehensive Spending Review, as the Westminster government seeks to tackle the UK spending deficit.
But Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney has warned Scotland faces £3.7bn of cuts over the next four years.
To read more http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-11213713
MSPs claimed a record amount of expenses last year, with payments totalling almost £11.7m, Scottish Parliament figures have revealed.
Expenses and allowances for 2009-10 reached £11,662,598, an increase of £706,394 from the previous year.
Holyrood bosses stressed changes to the allowances system partly accounted for the increase.
Alasdair Allan, MSP for the far-flung Western Isles seat, claimed the most at almost £46,000.
Lothians MSP George Foulkes claimed the least, at less than £3,000.
Finance Secretary John Swinney today announced funding allocations to local authorities for 2011-12 and continued support for small and medium sized businesses.
The announcement follows an agreement reached between the Scottish Government and COSLA's leadership on a package which, subject to the agreement of individual councils, will deliver a further council tax freeze, key education and social care commitments and maintain police numbers.
View the allocations to individual authorities
The package will support local communities and economic recovery in the face of a £1.3 billion cut in Scotland's resources for next year from the UK Government.
If councils accept the package, their resource funding for next year will reduce by an average of 2.6 per cent - a greater degree of protection than other parts of the Scottish Budget, and superior to that for local government in England, following Westminster cuts. Councils who choose not to accept the package face an average resource budget reduction of 6.4 per cent.
Mr Swinney said:
"The funding package of more than £11.5 billion in 2011-12 for local government maintains councils' share of the Scottish Budget, despite the biggest reduction in public spending imposed on Scotland by any UK Government.
"Following close dialogue with COSLA we have delivered a very good deal for local communities under challenging circumstances. Councils choosing to accept the package will see an average funding reduction superior to that for local government in England, and receive greater protection than other parts of the Scottish Budget.
"Accepting the package will pave the way for an extension of the council tax freeze, providing much needed support for families. It will maintain delivery of existing commitments on free personal care and respite care. It will maintain pupil-teacher ratios in P1-P3 and measures to reduce teacher unemployment. And it supports the continued delivery of 1,000 more police officers than were in post before this Government came to office."
The Cabinet Secretary also announced that the Scottish Government's Small Business Bonus Scheme - which has removed or reduced business rates for some 74,000 business properties - will be maintained at the current level in 2011-12.
With the number of properties potentially eligible for the scheme having increased by 12 per cent, it is expected that the scheme will reduce the tax burden for small and medium sized enterprises by an estimated £128 million next year, up on the estimated £117 million total for 2010-11 and the most generous rates relief scheme of its kind in the UK.
The Scottish Government is maintaining all other relief schemes and is committed to matching the English business rates poundage for the lifetime of this Parliament, and will confirm the 2011-12 Scottish poundage as soon as possible after the rate for England is announced.
Ministers have decided it would be wrong to raise council tax or reduce business relief schemes when economic recovery remains fragile, but that there is a case to raise some extra revenue from business taxation.
As a result, the Government has today laid legislation which will see the very largest retail properties paying a stepped supplement, depending on their rateable value.
It is expected that only 225 retail properties across Scotland - or around 0.1 per cent of all non-domestic property - will pay, raising an estimated £30 million in extra income. It is estimated that over 75 per cent of that amount will be paid by the largest supermarkets.
The new supplement will also go some way towards helping redress the imbalance in costs between small independent retailers in town centres and the largest supermarket branches - many of which are outwith town and city centres. On average, business rates currently account for just two per cent of the turnover of large retailers.
Mr Swinney added:
"We believe that increasing the contribution the largest retail properties make to local communities through their business rates is justifiable. This can also help redress some of the imbalance between profitable large supermarkets, particularly those located in retail parks, and smaller independent retailers in our town and city centres. It is only fair that the largest, profitable businesses make a greater contribution and if this helps sustain businesses in many of our town and city centres that is an added advantage.
"The additional resources generated can be used to maintain key front line services provided by councils, and to contribute towards the cost of our Small Business Bonus Scheme, which has reduced or removed rates for tens of thousands of firms, including many independent town centre businesses."
Revised draft regulations for the public sector equality duty in Scotland
On 9 September 2011, the Scottish Government equality unit published revised draft regulations for the public sector equality duty for Scotland. A consultation on the regulations will run until 25 November 2011.
Click here for details
The Scottish Government announced late last week that it is boosting its fuel poverty scheme with an additional £400,000.
The Universal Home Insulation Scheme (UHIS) loan fund, which offers interest-free loans for more expensive insulation measures as well as renewables and boiler replacements, is already helping around 200,000 homes.
Earlier this autumn, the Scottish Government committed £12.5 million into the scheme, which is administered by the Energy Saving Trust.
“This funding injection allows us to continue the great work being done through UHIS and widen our measures to try to keep families from falling into fuel poverty,” Alex Neil, Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment, told the Energy Action Scotland Conference in Clydebank.
“It is a disgrace that anyone should suffer from fuel poverty in an energy rich nation like Scotland. We continue to do everything we can with the powers available to us to invest in efficient schemes like UHIS and strive to end this blight,” he added.
But he said that the Government’s efforts are being undermined by energy companies’ price hikes.
For further information:
www.scotland.gov.uk
www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/Housing/privateowners/his/universal-scheme
Related stories:
UK price rises could increase fuel poverty to 6.6 million homes (16-Aug)
UK Government must change course on fuel poverty, say NGOs (20-Jul)
Fuel poverty hits 5.5 million UK households as prices rise (15-Jul)
http://www.energyefficiencynews.com/building-and-design/i/4621/
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