Tag Archives: redress bill

Scottish in-care child abuse redress bill at the second of three legislative stages

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On Wednesday 10 February 2021 the Education and Skills committee at the Scottish Parliament will start to consider proposed amendments to the Redress for Survivors (Historical Child Abuse in Care) (Scotland) Bill.

In total, 107 amendments have so far been proposed. Further amendments could be proposed both during the current Stage 2 of the Scottish legislative process and also during the final third stage. Amendments made during Stage 2 could even be overturned by amendments at Stage 3. As is often the case, Stage 2 is being undertaken at committee level rather than by the Scottish Parliament sitting as a whole in chamber. Assuming that the bill proceeds to Stage 3, the parliament as a whole would consider and vote on any further proposed amendments before debating and deciding whether to pass the bill.

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Scottish in-care abuse redress bill passes stage 1

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On 17 December 2020 – following a two hour debate in the chamber of the Scottish Parliament – the Redress for Survivors (Historical Child Abuse in Care) (Scotland) Bill passed stage 1 by unanimous collective consent when the parliament agreed to the general principles of the bill. The bill is now within stage 2 of the 3 stage legislative process. Amendment to the detail of the bill is highly likely during stage 2. In this blog, we highlight certain areas where amendments are likely to be proposed and assess the likelihood of those amendments passing. In considering the content of this blog, it is important to remember that, in the current fifth session of the Scottish Parliament –  which will continue until dissolution ahead of a 6 May 2021 election – the governing administration is in a minority but can often command support from other parties.

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Further Scottish Parliamentary evidence session on in-care redress bill

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On 4 November 2020, the Education and Skills Committee of the Scottish Parliament took evidence on the Redress for Survivors (Historical Child Abuse in Care) (Scotland) Bill from CrossReach (a Church of Scotland charity), Quarriers (a social care charity), the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA, representing Scotland’s 32 local councils). The committee then heard from the Scottish Government Minister in charge of the Bill, John Swinney MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills and Deputy First Minister.       

Money was a recurring theme throughout the three hour session, both in terms of contributions sought by Scottish Government to the scheme and the proposed banding of redress payments.

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