| Q. What is the legislative
programme?
A. The legislative programme is the list
of bills which the Scottish Executive intends to have enacted into law
over the next parliamentary year. These bills are submitted to the
Scottish Parliament and go through the Parliament’s legislative process
which will scrutinise and amend the bills before they become enacted into
law.
Q. What are
the bills that were proposed by the Scottish Executive for 2001-2?
A. The proposed bills are as follows:
Budget Bill
To give statutory authority to the Scottish
Executive to spend out of the Scottish Consolidated Fund in the financial
year 2002-03.
Community Care
and Health Bill
To provide powers for the introduction
of free nursing and personal care and for remaining home care charges to
be applied more equitably throughout Scotland. The Bill will also
extend joint working arrangements between the NHS and local authorities
thereby streamlining and improving services. New measures will widen
choice in residential care and home care services as well as provide greater
support for carers. The Bill will ensure high standards among all
GPs so that locums and associates all work to the same rigorous standards.
Criminal Justice
Bill
To improve arrangements for managing serious
violent and sexual offenders through improved control and treatment measures.
The Bill will also include a power of arrest of anyone who breaches a non-harassment
order.
Freedom of Information
Bill
To provide a legal right of access to information
held by Scottish public authorities - including the Executive, local authorities,
schools, the police and NHS Scotland - and to require these bodies to consider
the public interest in disclosing information. The Bill
will also establish an independent Scottish Information Commissioner, with
powers to order the disclosure of information.
Fur Farming Bill
To prevent fur farms being established
in Scotland, consistent with legislative measures to run down such businesses
in England and Wales.
Land Reform Bill
To provide a right of responsible access
to land and inland water, a community right to buy when land comes to be
sold, and a crofting community right to buy.
Local Government
Bill
This bill will enable improved and more
responsive services to be provided. Local authorities will be enabled
to operate in more innovative ways to deliver the services needed in their
areas. Authorities will be encouraged to work in partnership with other
bodies and in co-operation with their local communities. A duty of
'Best Value' will be placed on authorities thereby balancing value for
money with continuously improved services, according to local circumstances.
Local Government
(Elections) Bill
This bill will improve the democratic process
by providing for combined Parliamentary and local government elections.
The next local government elections would be deferred by one year to 2003
to achieve this aim.
Marriage Bill
This bill will permit civil marriages to
be solemnised at locations other than registration offices.
Mental Health
Bill
To modernise the statutory framework for
meeting the needs of people suffering from mental health problems, their
care and treatment. The Bill will strengthen the rights of people
who use mental health services, and their families, provide better support
for professionals, and generally provide better, safer mental health care.
Protection of
Animals Bill
To provide a means for removing neglected
animals to a place of safety, and to provide for costs incurred to be offset
by the sale or disposal of the animals. The Bill will also give local
authority inspectors powers of entry where there is a suspicion of suffering
or distress being caused to animals.
Protection of
Children Bill
To create an index of adults considered
unsuitable to work with children. Adults whose names are placed on
the index will be committing a criminal offence if they work with, or apply
to work with, children.
Public Bodies
Bill
To modernise the public appointments system
by extending the remit of the Standards Commission to include a Scottish
Commissioner for Public Appointments. The remit of the new Commissioner
will include monitoring compliance with the procedures for public appointments
to public bodies, training for assessors and development programmes for
appointees. The Bill will also abolish certain statutory bodies not
covered elsewhere in the legislative programme.
This will mean a modern public complaints
system for Scotland.
Replacement of
Poinding and Warrant Sales Bill
To provide workable and humane procedures
for the recovery of debt in place of the present poinding and warrant sale
arrangements.
School Education
(Amendment) Bill
To provide equality of opportunity for
parents whose children are about to enter primary education.
This will implement McCrone, amend existing
legislation to allow for a new career structure for the teaching profession
and improve arrangements for making placing requests for children about
to enter primary education.
Scottish Public
Sector Ombudsman Bill
To establish modern public sector complaints
procedures that are open, accountable and easily accessible to the Scottish
people.
Water Environment
and Water Services Bill
To establish a new approach to the management
of Scotland's inland and coastal waters, and to create a regulatory framework
for Scotland's water industry that takes account of the possibility of
competition. The Bill will also safeguard public health and protect
the environment, and will ensure accessible and affordable water services
for all in an increasingly competitive environment.
This will protect the environment for
future generations.
Water Industry
Bill
To restructure Scotland's water industry
by transferring the 3 existing water and sewerage authorities to a single
new public authority which will have a wider range of powers than the existing
authorities. The Bill will also provide for the appointment of a
drinking water quality Regulator to ensure that the new authority and private
water suppliers comply with statutory requirements. Provision will
be made for enhanced customer consultation under the supervision of the
water industry Commissioner.
This will establish Scottish Water as an
all-Scotland public body focussed on serving its customers, with
a clear commercial approach, strong lines of accountability and greater
responsiveness.
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