Purpose
The purpose of this consultation is to gather views from the investment management industry and other interested stakeholders on the potential introduction of an exemption from Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) for the transfer of properties from Authorised Unit Trusts (AUTs) to Open Ended Investment Companies (OEICs) in Scotland in certain specified circumstances.
As a result of the consultation, we hope to understand the impact that this proposed change in tax...More
The Scottish Ministers are seeking comments on proposals to transpose Council Directive 2013/51/Euratom (“the new Directive”) which sets out requirements for the protection of the health of the general public with regard to radioactive substances in water intended for human consumption. The Scottish Government has produced draft Private and Public Water Supplies (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2015.
Please note that these regulations do not transpose the new Directive...More
The digital age is transforming Scotland
The growth of the internet and online technologies offers speed, agility, efficiency and access that has transformed the way we do business, the way we spend our leisure time, the way our public services run and the way our national infrastructures operate.
As individuals, we can more easily keep in touch with friends and family and more readily obtain information, products and services from around the world.
Our businesses rely...More
The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (‘the Act’)
The Act provides a statutory right of access to information held by Scottish public authorities. These range from the Scottish Parliament and Government, to local authorities, NHS boards, higher and further education bodies, doctors and dental practitioners.
Requested information must be provided unless it is subject to one or more exemptions, as set out in the Act. If a requester is dissatisfied with the...More
A working group consisting of Marine Scotland, Orkney Islands Council and Highland Council have developed this pilot Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters Marine Spatial Plan. The Plan sets out an integrated planning policy framework to guide marine development, activities and management decisions, whilst ensuring the quality of the marine environment is protected. The marine environment is used for a wide variety of different purposes and this Plan aims to set out a coherent...More
In August 2014, the Scottish Government published a consultation on technical issues relating to succession law. That paper set out that it would be followed by a further consultation on more fundamental changes to succession law to inform their policy development. This paper fulfils that commitment.
The Scottish Law Commission (the Commission) reviewed the law of succession and issued a Report in 2009 - Report on Succession (Scot Law Com No 215) (the Report). For information on the...More
On 28 May 2015, Angela Constance MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning addressed the Parliament on the National Inquiry into Historical Child Abuse1 . This was the culmination of a lengthy process of collaborative working between the Scottish Government, the Scottish Human Rights Commission (“the SHRC”) and other key stakeholders. A timeline of that work is set out at Annex A.
In that announcement, the Cabinet Secretary set out the package of measures to support...More
The European Commission received a complaint against the UK alleging breaches of Union legislation regarding the collection and disposal of animal by-products (ABP) from aquaculture establishments in Scotland. Following discussions with the European Commission, they have confirmed that the Scottish Government is not implementing the derogation for remote areas correctly. To comply with European legislation, the Scottish Government is in the process of changing the policy that allows ABPs...More
The Report on Prescription and Title to Moveable Property was published by the Scottish Law Commission (the Commission) following a Discussion Paper of the same title.
The Report on Prescription and Title to Moveable Property (Scot Law Com, No. 228, 2012) was published by the Scottish Law Commission (the Commission) following a Discussion Paper of the same title (Scot Law Com DP No. 144, 2010). It includes a proposed draft Bill which is attached to this consultation as Annex A....More
This is the first Scottish Strategy focused on pregnancy and parenthood amongst
young people. It aims to increase the choices and opportunities available to young
people which will support their wellbeing and prosperity across the life course. The
Strategy addresses the fundamental causes of pregnancy in young people and its
consequences, with actions focused on how we can impact on the wider
environmental and social influences and individual experiences which effect
inequalities....More
In Scotland, a range of employability programmes and initiatives help tackle
unemployment and support people into work. The Scottish Government, its agencies
and a range of private, third and public sector partners help people find work,
develop skills to prepare them for work and match the skills needs of Scotland’s
employers to those of Scotland’s workforce.
Both national and local employability programmes provide a range of focused
support, mentoring and...More
Scotland’s National Marine Plan was published in 2015, following a commitment to create a single planning framework to manage both Scottish inshore waters (out to12 nautical miles) and offshore waters (12 to 200 nautical miles). It also applies to the exercise of both reserved and devolved functions.
The Plan was developed over a period of five years in three main phases
Part One: The ‘Pre-consultation phase’
...More
This paper follows a review of the extant regulations and seeks respondents’ views on a number of questions. We want to ensure that the governing regulations offer the right framework to support the expectations associated with the standards and framework. Experience from the operation of the Safeguarders Panel since June 2013 - and the outputs from the more recent development work - now mean we can be clearer about what will be expected from safeguarders, and in turn what they can expect...More
“Consultation on Allotments Compensation: Secondary Legislation under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015
A consultation seeking views on what procedures should be put in place for determining compensation payable to tenants and landlords of allotment sites for disturbance, loss of crops and deterioration. The consultation will help define the future regulations in this area.”
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Consultation on Mobile Traders Food Hygiene National Standards. Following complaints from business about inconsistency, provisions within the Regulatory Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 made amendments to require the certificate to be from the food authority where the business is registered. Nationals standards for mobile trader food hygiene have been developed to support this and provide consistency and transparency, efficiency and effectiveness in the implementation and enforcement of regulations....More
This consultation outlines and invites views on the Scottish Government’s proposals for a new criminal offence of ill-treatment or wilful neglect with regard to services for children. It also seeks views on what services should be included.
These proposals have been developed within the context of Scottish Ministers’ commitment to promoting and fulfilling the requirements of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).
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Executive Summary
The Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 (CYPA) was passed by the Scottish Parliament on 19 February 2014, and received Royal Assent on 27 March 2014. The legislation is a key part of the Scottish Government's strategy for making Scotland the best place to grow up. By facilitating a shift in public services towards early intervention whenever a family, child or young person needs help, the legislation encourages preventative measures, rather than crises...More
This consultation explores the priorities for building a more circular economy – where products and materials are kept in high value use for as long as possible. It builds on Scotland’s progress in the zero waste and resource efficiency agendas, with a new focus on a much broader set of business and industry opportunities.
This matters because of the significant potential benefits:
to the economy – improving productivity, opening up new markets and improving resilience;...More
The purpose of this consultation is to seek views from individuals and companies including seed merchants, seed processors, seed packers, licensed crop inspectors licensed seed samplers, Licensed Seed Testing Stations, farmers and interested members of the public on the proposal to: • Amend fees for Seed Certification & Associated Seed Functions to allow full cost recovery Any amendment in fees would become effective from 1 July 2016
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Consultation on updated UK and zonal air quality action plans outlining work being undertaken to ensure compliance with EU nitrogen dioxide limit values in the shortest possible time.
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Proposed introduction of a building standards and associated guidance within the building standards Technical Handbooks to implement Article 8 of European Directive 2014/61/EU
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The Housing (Scotland) Act 2014 introduces a framework for the regulation of letting
agents in Scotland. This includes:
a mandatory register of letting agents with an associated ‘fit and proper’ person test;
a training requirement that must be met to be admitted to the register;
a statutory code of practice all letting agents must follow;
a way for tenants and landlords to resolve complaints against letting agents for breaches of...More
We would prefer to receive electronic responses. However, you may wish to provide a response by hard copy and this can be done by addressing your response to:
Anna Bulik
Policy Team
Disclosure Scotland
Pacific Quay
Glasgow
G51 1DZ
We would be grateful if you would please clearly indicate in your response which parts of the 2015 Order you are responding to, as this will aid collation of the responses received.
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The consultation seeks views on the practical application of both the introduction of diversity succession planning for board appointments to listed public authorities with a board or management structure (to be defined). Boards will be required to use the diversity information gathered on their behalf to produce a succession plan to increase the diversity of their boards and to publicly report on its progress; they will also be required to publish details of the gender composition of their...More
The Programme for Government 2015-2016 announced our intention to review the planning system. The Review aims to achieve a quicker, more accessible and efficient planning process in order to build investor and community confidence in the system.
The review will be undertaken by an independent panel chaired by Crawford Beveridge and also including Petra Biberbach and John Hamilton.
The review will focus on 6 key themes:
Development planning
Housing delivery
...More
New Psychoactive Substances (NPS), also known as “legal highs”, have risen to prominence in recent years, and stakeholders across Scotland have raised concerns about the impact of these substances on individuals, services and local communities. Much is still unknown about the scale and associated harms of NPS use in Scotland, although there are indications that some NPS can cause a range of physical and psychological symptoms among users, from kidney failure to psychosis [1] . It has also...More
The Scottish Government received a proposal that a seal haul-out site located at the mouth of the River Ythan should be considered for designation to protect seals using this site from harassment. This is a relatively new site for grey seals situated in the East Coast of Scotland Management Area. This site was identified as important too late in the original seal haul-out designation process to be included in 2014.
In response Marine Scotland requested SMRU on behalf of NERC to...More
This consultation seeks comments on the draft Reservoirs(Scotland)Amendment Regulations 2016 and the Reservoirs(Enforcement etc.)(Scotland)Order 2016.
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A consultation on working together for people who go missing in Scotland
What is the purpose of this Strategy?
Our aim is to reduce the harm related to people going missing.
This Strategy provides a framework for how organisations can reduce that harm by working together, and seeks to raise the profile of the issues connected with people going missing. It doesn’t propose to create new systems alongside those that already exist, but to ensure that the prevention and handling of...More