The annual Budget Bill provides Parliamentary approval for the Scottish Government’s spending plans, allowing the allocation of resources to our strategic objectives and supporting progress towards our vision of a more successful country, with opportunities for all of Scotland to flourish through increasing sustainable economic growth.
Education Bill
The Education Bill will further progress the Scottish Government’s support for Gaelic education and its commitment to recognising, respecting and promoting children’s and parental rights.
Higher Education Governance Bill
The Higher Education Governance Bill will implement a number of the key
recommendations of the Review of Higher Education Governance in Scotland, which was led by Professor Ferdinand von Prondzynski. The Bill will ensure that the principles of democracy, transparency and democratic accountability are further embedded in the governance of all higher education institutions in Scotland, now and for the future.
Carers Bill
The Carers Bill is an important part of the Scottish Government’s wider programme of Health and Social Care reform. The Bill will extend the rights of carers, including young carers. The Bill will make a meaningful difference to carers and will contribute towards the improvement of their health and wellbeing, ensuring that they can continue to care and to have a life alongside caring.
Public Health Bill
The Public Health Bill will include measures to reduce the attractiveness and availability of non-medicinal e-cigarettes and tobacco. It will also ensure that the courts can deal with those extreme cases where people in care settings have suffered the worst cases of neglect and ill-treatment, and it will introduce a statutory organisational duty of candour for providers of health and social care.
Human Trafficking and Exploitation Bill
The Human Trafficking and Exploitation Bill will provide police and prosecutors with clear powers to detect and prosecute those responsible for the trafficking of human beings and will ensure that relevant agencies work together and provide clear rights for victims to access support.
Fatal Accident Inquiries Bill
The Fatal Accident Inquiries (FAI) Bill will provide the legislative framework needed to implement the remaining recommendations of Lord Cullen’s Review of the operation of the Fatal Accident and Sudden Deaths Inquiries (Scotland) Act 1976 to help modernise the way FAIs are handled in Scotland. The Bill will repeal the current Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths Inquiries (Scotland) Act 1976 and enact new legislation to govern the system of FAIs in Scotland to ensure that it keeps pace with other reforms to the justice system.
Community Justice Bill
The Community Justice Bill will provide the legal framework for implementing changes to community justice structures. The changes will ensure that community justice is given the profile and priority that is required to reduce reoffending across Scotland. The redesign of community justice forms part of the Scottish Government’s response to the report of the Commission on Women Offenders (2012) and the Audit Scotland report on Reducing Reoffending (November 2012).
Land Reform Bill
As part of our ongoing commitment to Land Reform and as part of our response to the Land Reform Review Group’s final report, we committed to bring forward a Land Reform Bill within this parliamentary term. The Land Reform Bill will take forward a range of legislative proposals designed to ensure Scotland’s land works to the benefit of the people of Scotland, by contributing to both the prosperity and sustainable development of the nation.
Succession Bill
The Succession Bill will implement a number of the recommendations contained in the Scottish Law Commission (SLC) Report on Succession which will make the law in this area fairer, clearer and more consistent. In recognition of its technical nature, it is intended, subject to it meeting the necessary criteria, that the Bill will be progressed under the Scottish Parliament’s new procedure for implementing SLC reports. We also plan to consult in the coming year on further legislation on Succession which will aim to radically overhaul the current law in this area. As part of this modernisation the distinction between movable and immovable property would be removed to give children, spouses and civil partners appropriate legal rights over both forms of property. This should ensure a just distribution of assets among a deceased’s close family to reflect both societal change and expectations. These changes will be an important aspect of our series of measures in respect of Land Reform.
Harbours Bill
The Harbours Bill will provide an improved legislative framework for Trust Ports and increase the efficiency and effectiveness of existing procedures and processes for stakeholders, and will in particular remove Scottish Ministers’ power to compel Trust Ports to bring forward privatisation proposals.
Community Charge Debt Bill
The Scottish Government will introduce legislation to end collection of historic community charge or Poll Tax debts. It will ensure, following recent high levels of democratic engagement in Scotland, that the electoral registers are not used to pursue historic arrears of community charge, as well as ending ongoing repayment arrangements.