Open Calls for Views
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Legal Aid Inquiry
The Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee is looking at civil legal assistance (Civil Legal Aid and Advice and Assistance for civil justice issues) and grant funding for advice organisations. Civil justice issues are the branch of the law which deals with disputes about rights and responsibilities – such as about housing, relationships or social security issues. The Committee has heard that there can be significant barriers to accessing civil legal assistance for...
Closes today
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Dog Theft (Scotland) Bill: Financial Memorandum
About the Bill As introduced, this Bill makes dog theft a specific statutory offence with penalties of up to five years in prison and/or an unlimited fine. The Bill also allows people who are victims of dog theft to give a victim statement to the court. In this, they can express the impact the crime has had on them physically, emotionally, and financially. The Bill also makes the theft of an assistance dog, an aggravated offence. This is a more serious issue and, as a result,...
Closes 21 April 2025
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Committee Effectiveness - Short Survey
We want to hear from you about how effective committees at the Scottish Parliament are. Committees are groups of MSPs formed to look at specific subject issues. Each committee has MSPs from a mixture of political parties, with a balance similar to that of the Parliament as a whole. They work on a cross-party basis to explore policy issues, examine legislation and scrutinise the work and policies of the Scottish Government. Each committee is led by a Convener (with a Deputy Convener) and...
Closes 22 April 2025
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Committee Effectiveness - Stakeholder Survey
We want to hear from you about how effective committees at the Scottish Parliament are. The Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee is carrying out an inquiry to look at committee effectiveness. To support the inquiry, we’re keen to understand what stakeholder experiences of committees are. Understanding how stakeholders and the public view committees and the work they do will help the Committee to consider what success looks like in the work that they do. ...
Closes 22 April 2025
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British Sign Language (Scotland) Act 2015 Inquiry
The Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee will be considering the impact of the British Sign Language (Scotland) Act 2015. The Act led to the development of a British Sign Language (BSL) national plan and listed authority plans. The listed authorities that must produce and implement their own plans for promoting and facilitating the use and understanding of BSL include local councils, NHS boards, colleges and universities, and the Scottish Parliament. The...
Closes 2 May 2025
Closed Calls for Views
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Tertiary Education and Training Bill: Financial Memorandum
About the Bill The purpose of the Bill is to reform and simplify the framework for the funding of post-school education and skills training in Scotland. The Bill does so primarily by making provision for the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council (the Council) to take full responsibility for securing the delivery of national training programmes (NTPs) and apprenticeships, a role previously carried out by Skills Development Scotland. The Council already funds the provision...
Closed 16 April 2025
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Tertiary Education and Training (Funding and Governance) (Scotland) Bill
The Tertiary Education and Training (Funding and Governance) (Scotland) Bill was created to simplify the funding landscape for post-school education and training. It was introduced on 5 February 2025. The Bill is in three main parts. Part 1 focuses on funding arrangements for: Scottish apprenticeships work-based learning training for employment Under the Bill, the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council (SFC) would need to ensure that Scottish...
Closed 11 April 2025
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Scottish Parliament (Recall and Removal of Members) Bill: Financial Memorandum
About the Bill The Bill as introduced sets out that an MSP could be recalled: if they receive a sanction excluding them from Parliament for a certain period of time; if they receive a prison sentence of less than 6 months. When an MSP is recalled, people in the constituency or region that the MSP represents will be able to sign a petition calling for the MSP to lose their seat. If the petition is successful, the MSP will lose their seat. The Bill also...
Closed 4 April 2025
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Scottish Parliament (Recall and Removal of Members) Bill Call for Views
The Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee is looking at the Scottish Parliament (Recall and Removal of Members) Bill and wants to hear your views. What is the Scottish Parliament (Recall and Removal of Members) Bill? The Bill proposes measures for the recall and removal of Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) from that office. Scottish Parliament (Recall and Removal of Members) Bill | The Scottish Parliament Recall Part 1 of the Bill would...
Closed 4 April 2025
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Inquiry into the Scottish budget process in practice
The committee is carrying out a short, focussed inquiry on how the Scottish budget process has worked in practice, during the current parliamentary session (2021-26). It aims to identify any improvements that can be made to the budget process, ahead of the next five-year session of Parliament. We’d like to hear from: public bodies voluntary sector academics thinktanks stakeholders members of the public For more context regarding the...
Closed 26 March 2025