Legislative Programme 2008/09
Scottish Government Programme 2008/09

Briefing No. 188 September 2008

Introduction

The Scottish Government has announced its legislative programme for the coming year.

It includes 15 Bills to be presented to Parliament in the coming year in addition to those already in progress. The programme also outlines some non-legislative actions and future plans. This briefing describes the programme with a focus on the legislation that impacts on UNISON members.

Council Tax abolition

The replacement of the Council tax with a so called 'Local' Income Tax (LIT) is probably the most controversial proposal and the one that has the greatest impact on UNISON members.

Apart from the direct threat to 5000 members' jobs the proposal leaves a huge black hole in council finances variously calculated at between £750m and £1.3bn. At a time when councils claim to be unable to fund a decent pay rise this will add enormously to the financial problems. As the tax will be set centrally it will also undermine local democracy making it difficult for councils to respond to local priorities.

For individual members LIT shifts the burden of taxation from property owners to workers and in particular working families.

There are also a wide range of practical and legal issues highlighted in the consultation responses that the Scottish Government has ignored. For more details see P&I Briefing 180.

Climate change

The programme recognises that climate change is one of the most serious threats facing Scotland. The Scottish Climate Change bill will propose that Scottish emissions should be reduced by 80% by 2050.

UNISON welcomes this bill but has called for statutory targets of at least 3% per year emission reductions together with the inclusion of aviation and shipping. We also want the public sector to lead the way through negotiated green workplace agreements. More details in P&I Briefing 181.

The programme also includes a Flood Risk Management Bill that will reform flooding legislation and a Marine Bill focussed on the conservation of our seas.

Justice

A Criminal Justice Bill will reform sentencing provisions and introduce measures to protect victims and witnesses. UNISON views this Bill as an opportunity to amend the Emergency Workers Act to ensure that more public service workers are protected from violent incidents.

This Bill may also be a vehicle to introduce reforms recommended by the Prison Commission when it reports on initiatives to prevent offending and reduce re-offending.

There will also be a Legal Profession Bill that aims to make it possible for legal services to be delivered in new ways.

Of particular concern to UNISON is Lord Gill's deeply flawed review of the civil justice system and the threat to personal injury actions on behalf of workers injured at work.

Health

There will be a Health Bill that will include further measures to control the availability and promotion of tobacco. It will also debar commercial companies from bidding to provide GP services. These are both measures that UNISON welcomes.

The programme confirms a range of previously published plans including

the Health Boards Bill that will introduce direct elections to NHS Boards, a long standing UNISON policy.

Less welcome is the building of local health and community care centres through the Scottish Futures Trust (SFT). The SFT proposal includes the Hub initiative for local facilities, a version of the English LIFT PFI scheme that is privatising local health and community care facilities.

Education

The programme includes a Rural Schools Bill that aims to improve consultation on school closures and an amendment to the Additional Support for Learning Act to strengthen provisions for young people with additional support needs.

After consultation there will be a Children's Hearings Bill to reform the Children's Hearing system that UNISON will follow closely.

The programme again reiterates previously published proposals including the Skills Strategy and the Review of Scotland's Colleges. Plans for early year's services remain rather vague.

Funding for local councils to enable them to fully implement initiatives such as free school meals and smaller class sizes will continue to be problematic.

Other Measures

The Scottish Parliament and Local Government Elections Bill will decouple these elections a measure UNISON strongly supports.

There will be a Public Service Reform Bill that seeks to implement the Scottish Government simplification programme the details of which are still unclear but will impact on NDPB branches.

The Budget Bill will as usual be an important piece of legislation setting out the Scottish Government's spending plans. Much of the rhetoric in the non-legislative sections of the programme, such as housing, require realistic funding allocations if the words are to be converted into action.

Further Information

The programme Moving Scotland Forward can be viewed at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/236931/0065009.pdf

Individual legislative proposals will be the subject of further P&I Briefings when the Bills are published.

Contacts:

Dave Watson
d.watson@unison.co.uk

P&I Team
14 West Campbell Street
Glasgow
G2 6RX
Tel: 0870 7777 006
Fax: 0141 221 8953