On 11 March 2021, the Scottish Parliament unanimously passed the Redress for Survivors (Historical Child Abuse in Care) (Scotland) Bill. A link to the bill as passed is here.
The bill will now proceed to Royal Assent to become an Act of the Scottish Parliament. Implementation will follow by subsequent ministerial regulations.
Continue readingOn 17 February 2021, the Redress for Survivors (Historical Child Abuse in Care) (Scotland) Bill passed stage 2 of the three stage Scottish legislative process. This stage was carried out by the Education and Skills Committee of the Scottish Parliament. Over two meetings, the committee considered 139 proposed amendments to the bill. The bill as amended at stage 2 is here. No date has yet been set for stage 3 consideration of possible further amendments by the Scottish Parliament, sitting as a whole in chamber, or for the final debate and vote at stage 3 on whether to pass the bill. There does, however, appear to be considerable cross-party political will for this to happen on or before Thursday 25 March 2021 when the parliament will enter recess ahead of the 6 May 2021 Scottish Parliamentary election.
Continue readingOn 30 September and 7 October 2020, the Education and Skills Committee at the Scottish Parliament heard evidence on a wide range of aspects of the Redress for Survivors (Historical Child Abuse in Care) (Scotland) Bill. This blog focuses on certain evidence heard on one of the most contentious aspects, the requirement that a survivor must waive, to a defined extent, his or her right to seek civil compensation in court in exchange for a redress payment.
Continue readingFollowers of this blog will be aware that the Scottish Parliament’s Education and Skills Committee has issued a call for views on the Redress for Survivors (Historical Child Abuse in Care) (Scotland) Bill. This legislation seeks to right certain wrongs of the past by means of financial redress for survivors of childhood (under 18) abuse in relevant in-care settings. The call for views closes on 2 October 2020.
Continue readingOn 24 August 2020 the Education and Skills Committee at the Scottish Parliament launched a call for views on the Redress for Survivors (Historical Child Abuse in Care) (Scotland) Bill.
In the morning of 19 August 2020 the Education and Skills Committee of the Scottish Parliament considered, in private, its approach to the Redress for Survivors (Historical Child Abuse in Care) (Scotland) Bill. This committee will be scrutinising the bill at Stage 1 of the three stage Scottish legislative process. That afternoon, the Deputy First Minister of Scotland and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, John Swinney MSP, delivered a statement in the parliament’s chamber on the bill and took questions on it.
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