Fourteen new bills in Yousaf's Programme for Government
Fourteen Scottish Government bills are set to be introduced during the 2023-24 parliamentary year, under the Programme for Government announced by First Minister Humza Yousaf yesterday.
Of particular legal interest, the Human Rights Bill will incorporate into Scots law international economic, social and cultural rights, and rights relating to women, disabled people and people who experience racism, while also recognising the right to a healthy environment, within the limits of devolved competence.
A further Land Reform Bill will improve transparency of land ownership, further empower communities, and help ensure that large scale landholdings are delivering in the public interest. It will also modernise tenant farming and small landholding legislation.
In addition, a Housing Bill will help to deliver the "New Deal for Tenants" by creating powers for the introduction of longer term rent controls, and new tenants’ rights, along with new duties aimed at the prevention of homelessness. A Cladding Remediation Bill will support urgent measures to remediate a building with unsafe cladding materials that present a risk to life.
The Judicial Factors Bill, the third Scottish Law Commission bill this session, will implement the Commission’s recommendations to update the law around the appointment and supervision of judicial factors.
Recommendations of the Working Group chaired by Baroness Helena Kennedy to create new offences related to misogynistic conduct will be taken forward in the Misogyny Bill.
Fiscal measures include the Scottish Aggregates Tax Bill, setting out a devolved tax on the commercial exploitation of aggregates in Scotland, and a Social Security (Amendment) Bill, which will include powers enabling the Scottish Government to make recoveries of devolved social security from compensation awards where a third party’s fault is the reason for the social security payments, along with the annual Budget Bill.
An Agriculture Bill will provide powers to replace current Common Agricultural Policy schemes through an adaptive support framework that focuses on high quality food production, climate mitigation, nature protection and wider rural development.
The Education Bill will provide for the establishment of a new public body responsible for qualifications in Scotland and the creation of an independent education inspectorate.
An Electoral Reform Bill will make improvements in relation to Scottish Parliament and local government elections.
The Gender Representation on Public Boards Remedial Action Bill will remove the definition of "woman" from s 2 of the Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Act 2018, following an Inner House decision which meant that the wider definition of "woman" in that Act no longer has legal effect.
Finally, a Scottish Languages Bill will provide legal recognition and further support for the Gaelic and Scots languages.
These bills are in addition to those still progressing through the Parliament, including the bills on criminal justice reform and regulation of legal services.
Introducing the Programme for Government, Mr Yousaf described it as "unashamedly anti-poverty and pro-growth", and one "with a focus on supporting women - who are disproportionately affected by the pressures of modern life - including through expanding our childcare offer".
By February, he said, the Government would remove income thresholds for the Best Start Foods programme, allowing a further 20,000 pregnant mothers and children to benefit from financial support for milk and healthy food. The Scottish Child Payment had lifted an estimated 90,000 children out of poverty; and an expert group had been convened to look at how to make progress towards a minimum income guarantee.
The Law Society of Scotland welcomed the justice related initiatives in the Programme, but said it was "bitterly disappointed to see another year where Scotland’s legal aid sector has been left in the dark without long-lasting reform".