Stirling MP Alyn Smith and MSP Evelyn Tweed have urged Stirling residents to have their say in a new Scottish Government consultation, which seeks views on legislative reform to support Scotland’s recovery from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The consultation sets out a range of proposals, including whether some beneficial temporary provisions made under Scottish and UK coronavirus legislation and due to expire in March 2022 should be maintained.
The Scottish Government remains committed to expiring or suspending any existing emergency legislative provisions that are no longer necessary, and will continue to report to Parliament every two months on the use of any temporary powers.
The public will have 12 weeks until the consultation period ends on 9 November to share their views on the proposals. The survey can be access online here: https://consult.gov.scot/constitution-and-cabinet/covid-recovery/
These include:
- maintaining provisions in the UK Coronavirus Act that enable Scottish Ministers to enact measures via public health regulations for any future public health threats, in line with powers that are already in statute in England and Wales
- a change in the law that will allow a wider range of health professionals such as nurses, midwives and paramedics to give vaccinations and immunisations
- maintaining pre-eviction protocols relating to rent arrears in the private rented sector, ensuring that tenants have all the information they need about their rights, and placing more responsibility on landlords to ensure correct procedures are followed
- whether the extended statutory time-limits for criminal proceedings should temporarily remain in place to help the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service manage the backlog of cases arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure cases can continue to be heard, through greater flexibility in the programming of court business
- maintaining remote registration of deaths and still-births by phone or other methods, without the need to go to a registration office in person, in addition to a new proposal to extend this flexibility to live births
The consultation also asks people to suggest any additional measures or legislation not covered in the consultation that could support Scotland’s recovery.
Stirling MP Alyn Smith said:
‘The delivery of public services in Scotland were rapidly reconfigured out of necessity during the pandemic, to ensure support and resources could be re-deployed to meet the demands of Covid-19. Now that discussions on recovery have begun, it’s important to take stock and assess where policy changes could be retained to improve public services, and which changes should be dropped. I urge Stirling residents to engage with this consultation, and let the Scottish Government know where focus on reform should lie.’’
Evelyn Tweed MSP said:
‘Scotland’s public services have performed remarkably well under the pressure of the pandemic. It’s vitally important we learn lessons regarding service changes during the pandemic, to properly assess which changes may have a beneficial impact moving forward. The pandemic has acted as an accelerant on certain trends, such as increased digital access to public services – the public can provide their view on these changes, and further proposals, through this Scottish Government consultation.’
Notes:
Coronavirus (COVID-19) legislation – gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
