SCPO November Update Summary

In the November 2010 SCPO Update,



Parties at Holyrood have been busy with their Scottish Conferences, and while there has been a two week recess, there has been no fall in activity with Bills reaching Stage 3, emergency legislation being passed and long awaited strategies arriving.



The human rights implications of the operation of the justice system have featured a number of times; controversially, a whole piece of emergency legislation went through Parliament in a day following a ruling that interviewing suspects without access to a lawyer is in contravention of the European Convention on Human Rights. Compliance with the ECHR also saw the Government introduce a right of appeal for sex offenders who have been placed indefinitely on the Sex Offenders Register and in a more proactive move, amendments were made to the Children's Hearing's Bill to decriminalise the system and avoid children carrying criminal records into later life.



The Public Petitions Committee considered a number of petitions of interest to the Churches, with members of the Poverty Truth Commission appearing before them about their petition seeking co-ordination across the UK Government, the Scottish Government and local authorities for delivering adequate support for kinship carers. The Committee also considered a petition on Gypsy Travellers and survivors of institutional child abuse and agreed to seek views from a number of bodies on ways forward for both these groups.



The long awaited Energy Efficiency Action plan has been published, with a headline target of a reduction in Scottish energy use of 12% by 2020. Calls have been made for further investment and research in this area, which has been the poor cousin to attention and support for the renewable industry. On renewables there has been controversy following the announcement of the Green Investment Bank, and the promise of dedicated funds for Scotland being conditional on the Scottish Government drawing down the £180m fossil fuel levy.



There was a number of concerning developments for refugees and asylum seekers, with the UK Government consulting on the introduction of fees for asylum appeals and the breakdown of the contract between Glasgow City Council and the UK Border Agency which will affect the housing and security of up to 600 vulnerable households. The UK Government also announced it will resume enforced deportations to Zimbabwe which could affect up to 10,000 Zimbabweans living in the UK. A full investigation has been launched into the use of control and restraint in deportation cases following the tragic death of Jimmy Mubenga, and 3 private security officers have been questioned and bailed in connection with his death.

The month has been dominated by the announcement of the Spending Review and further cuts to the welfare budget; a dedicated briefing is available from SCPO on this. This coming month, with the publication of the Government White Paper on welfare reform, our prayers will be with those for whom benefits are a vital source of income. We reflect on the words of Reverend Jesse Jackson addressing a Christian Aid rally on the day of the Spending Review: "Jesus told us it this way: we are measured by how we treat the least of these, if we feed the hungry, if we fight for the homeless, defend the poor and the leper. Don’t let these challenges break your spirit."