Today MSPs are likely to pass into law one of the most contentious pieces of legislation considered in the lifetime of the Scottish Parliament. Last May, we wrote of our surprise that such controversial proposals – which did not feature…
Read More MBM statement on the Hate Crime and Public Order Bill
Circulated to MSPs on 8 March 2021 (also available as a PDF: Stage 3 MSP briefing final) Part 1 In line with the Bracadale Review, we agree that sex should be included as an aggravator (amendment 4). The current omission…
Read More Stage 3 briefing on Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill
MBM review of the ONS paper ‘Methodology for decision making on the 2021 Census sex question concept and associated guidance’ Less than six weeks before the date of the 2021 census in England and Wales, the Office for National Statistics…
The Stage 3 debate on the Hate Crime and Public Order Bill will take place in the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday 10 March. The Bill has had an exceptionally difficult passage to date, prompting criticism from a range of organisations,…
Read More Closed doors and closing down debate: policy capture in the Hate Crime Bill
This blog summarises why the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill needs to provide clearer protection for freedom of expression than is currently proposed by the Scottish Government. Some commentators have suggested that the Bill will criminalise making basic…
Read More The thin blue line: What inadequate protection for freedom of expression means in practice
