Six months after the first attempt to pass the Bill, the
Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications
(Scotland) Bill has now been passed by the Scottish Parliament, and
will become law. A freedom of speech clause has been inserted
into the Bill, which will mean that the offence of threatening
communications will not stop peaceful preaching or proselytising,
or restrict freedom of speech including the right to criticise or
comment on religion or non-religious beliefs, even when used in
what the Scottish Government describe as "harsh terms". The
final stages of the debate were acrimonious, with all opposition
parties in the Chamber, including independent MSP Margo MacDonald,
voting against the Bill, with only the SNP members in the Chamber
voting in favour of the Bill. Rev Ian Galloway, Convener of the
Church and Society Council of the Church of Scotland wrote to all
MSPs ahead of the debate, and urged caution in imagining that this
Bill would radically alter work on sectarianism in Scotland:
"This Bill, coming to the end of its process, must not be the
end of the conversation but the opportunity to start a fresh
attempt to tackle sectarianism. There is a lot of important
work that is already taking place, funded by churches, football
clubs, the Scottish Government, local authorities, the police and
charitable groups. These must be warmly commended and it
should be recognised that we are not starting from scratch.
But I feel that a more co-ordinated strategy, the right leadership
and which has broad support could lead to meaningful change."
The Welfare Reform Bill has been attacked from several angles
this month. The Joint Committee on Human Rights, comprised of MPs
and members of the House of Lords, has published its report on the
Welfare Reform Bill, raising a number of concerns about the
compatibility of some aspects of the Bill with the European
Convention on Human Rights. The Committee is particularly concerned
about the undue risk to people with disabilities who may face what
they term "exceptional hardship" as a result of the Government's
proposals. They are also concerned that the Bill changes the
way in which child poverty is monitored at a UK-level, and that it
will lead to less government accountability for the problem.
In Scotland, the Health and Sport Committee in the Scottish
Parliament published their report on the Welfare Reform Bill,
recommending that the Scottish Parliament do not give consent to
the UK Parliament for the aspects of the Bill which fall within the
Scottish Parliament's remit. Nonetheless, they recognise that
the Scottish Parliament refusing consent will not halt progress of
the Bill. Third sector representatives who have been giving
evidence to the Health and Sport Committee have been urging the
Scottish Government to consider establishing a special Committee in
the Scottish Parliament to focus completely on welfare-related
issues.
As Christmas is approaching, it is perhaps particularly timely
to consider the call for evidence issued by the Infrastructure and
Capital Investment Committee of the Scottish Parliament, who are
holding an inquiry into the Scottish Government's 2012
homelessness commitment. The target refers to the requirement
under the Homelessness (Scotland) Act 2003 that every
unintentionally homeless person is provided with settled
accommodation by the end of 2012 - a target which, currently, many
local authorities will fail to meet. If Christmas is to mean more
than charity but about working to bring about the kingdom of God
then we must consider the best ways we can reform our structures
and systems to help those in greatest need.
Wishing all our readers a peaceful and happy Christmas and New
Year.
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