Legislation / Legal
CLG: A bill to ‘return power to councils and communities reversing decades of increasing central government control’ started its second reading in Parliament last week. To make sure the general public & community groups can fully understand the effects of the Localism Bill, a plain English guide has also been published.
ScotGov: While the Public Records (Scotland) Bill cannot’ right the wrongs of the past’, it will ensure the same problems don't occur in the future, the Minister for Culture & External Affairs claimed last week. The Bill is designed to improve record keeping across the public sector, strengthening transparency & accountability, as well as helping to secure the records of vulnerable people.
It will fulfil one of the main recommendations of the Historical Abuse Systemic Review (the Shaw Report of 2007) which found that poor record keeping often created difficulties for former residents of residential schools & children's homes, when they attempted to trace their records for identity, family or medical reasons.
Press release ~ Historical Abuse Systemic Review: Residential Schools and Children's Homes in Scotland 1950 to 1995 ~ Review of public records legislation - Report
ScotGov: ‘Parliament must engage positively on the Scottish Government's spending plans, which will protect jobs, frontline services and economic recovery in the face of Westminster cuts’, Finance Secretary John Swinney said last week when the Budget Bill 2011-12 was officially published ahead of the Stage One Debate at the Scottish Parliament this Wednesday.
DCMS: Secondary legislation on sharing the costs of the Digital Economy Act’s measures to tackle online copyright infringement has been laid in Parliament.
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