Scottish Government consultations

We asked for your views on draft proposals aimed at improving the regulations surrounding Experimental Orders for all Road Authorities in Scotland.  We also sought your views on the potential need for changing the regulations that govern Redetermination Orders and Loading Bays. 

We received a total of 450 responses to the public consultation.  In relation to ETROs, many individuals, organisations and local authorities are not content with the current system (71%). 

When considering responses to Loading Bays and Redetermination Orders there was clear division in the types of responses received. It is our conclusion that further work is required to assess the demand for legislative change in these areas. 

We have published non-confidential responses to the consultation and an analysis of the consultation responses (link below).  Preparations are now underway for new regulations and the feedback received from this consultation will help shape that process.

The full analysis report can be found at;

https://www.transport.gov.scot/publication/consultation-on-traffic-regulation-orders-public-consultation-analysis-report/

We consulted on a series of questions relating to the qualifying criteria for  pardoning Miners convicted of certain offences relating to the Miners' Strike of 1984-85.

The findings from the consultative response indicated that there was broad support for the pardon and that the only relevant qualifying criteria should be the range of offences to be covered by the pardon.

A Miners Strike Pardons Bill was announced in September 2021 as part of the Scottish Government's 2021-22 legislative programme. The findings of the consultative response will be used to inform the drafting of the Bill.

The Abortion (Scotland) Regulations 1991 set out requirements which must be met in relation to notifications of abortion made to the CMO.  The Regulations require that notifications must be completed on a paper form (commonly referred to as the ‘yellow form’) and sent by post or delivered in a sealed envelope to the CMO within seven days of the termination. The required information to be provided on the yellow form is set out in the Regulations and requires certain information to be provided about the abortion carried out. The CMO’s office then deliver the notification forms to Public Health Scotland (PHS), which uses the information in the form to prepare the abortion statistics.

The consultation proposed that the Regulations should be amended to enable the notification of an abortion to be sent electronically in future and sought views on the timeframe within which notifications must be made. The consultation also proposed changes to the content of the notification itself. The proposals would mean that providers would in future only provide a simple notification confirming that an abortion had been carried out to the CMO and so would no longer need to submit the yellow notification forms. Further details of the abortion would be submitted directly to PHS via secure electronic means, to allow it to produce abortion statistics.

35 responses were submitted to the consultation, including fifteen from organisations. Overall, responses to the consultation were in favour of the proposed changes, with the greatest support for enabling electronic submission of notifications (91%), followed by permitting a period longer than seven days in which to do so (79% of those who answered the question) and enabling data to be provided directly to PHS (73% of those who answered the question).  There was more of a split in relation to perceived impacts on privacy of personal data about patients and staff, with 45% suggesting that there would be an impact and 34% suggesting there would not.

Comments in support of the specific proposals mainly focused on the benefits in terms of streamlining processes, providing increased flexibility and increased data privacy.  The future data requirements was a key area of focus for those who caveated their support for the proposals, including the need to ensure transparency about data requirements and the opportunities for increased/improved data collection.  Responses also focused on the practicalities of moving from one system to another and the need to ensure synchronisation and no data loss as a result.

An analysis of the responses to the consultation has been published on the Scottish Government website and can be viewed here:  https://www.gov.scot/ISBN/9781802010749 Where consent to publish has been provided, the consultation responses are now available to view online.

The responses to the consultation will help inform the development of Regulations to amend the Abortion (Scotland) Regulations 1991.