Consultation on a Draft Referendum Bill

This consultation paper invites views on the proposals for how the referendum would be run. A draft Scottish Independence Referendum bill is set out as an appendix to the document.

A driving test fit for the 21st century

New proposals to improve the driving test, including incentives to be better prepared, form part of a consultation launched by government today.

Give your views on the proposals.

Scottish rate of income tax – consultation

Your views on the Scottish rate of income tax are being sought by the Scottish Parliament Finance Committee.
The closing date for responses is Friday 28 August 2015.

Results from UK Government Consultation on Scottish Independence

In January this year the UK Government published a consultation document to gather public opinion on the proposal by the Scottish National Party (SNP) to hold a referendum on Scottish independence. The consultation was open until Friday 9th March and gathered views from all members of the UK public.

On the 4th of April the UK Government published a command paper (Cm. 8326) summarising the 2,857 responses to the consultation. This document is available on-line from the Scotland Office by clicking the following link:-

Scotland’s Constitutional Future: Responses to the Consultation

Some notable results from the UK Government consultation are as follows:-

• 75% of respondents agreed with the position of the UK Government that there should be a single question on Scotland’s constitutional status
• 70% of respondents agreed with the UK Government that the referendum should take place sooner rather than later
• 44% of respondents were in favour of the Scottish Government proposal that 16-17 year-olds be allowed to vote in the referendum, with 47% against

The ongoing Scottish Government consultation on the question of Scottish independence will run until Friday 11th May and can found at the following link:-

Your Scotland, Your Referendum

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Some recent items from the Scottish Government and Parliament

Draft National Guidance: Under-Age Sexual Activity – Meeting the needs of Children and Young People and Identifying Child Protection Concerns: Consultation – Consultation is open until 23rd July 2010. It is estimated that approx. 25-30% of children under the age of 16 engage in sexual activitity, not all of which should be treated as a child protection issue, but simply part of natural development. This consultation looks at ways to address the needs of children under either circumstance.

In-Court Mediation Pilot Projects – In-court mediation pilots ran in Sherriff Courts in Glasgow and Aberdeen between March 2006 and July 2008, an initiative followed through by the Scottish Government. This research on the projects was carried out by researchers at the University of Aberdeen Law School

Independent School Census, September 2009 – a National Statistics publication which covers independent primary, secondary and special schools

Racist Incidents Recorded by the Police in Scotland, 2004-05 to 2008-09 – statistical bulletin which presents data on number of racist incidents recorded by the eight police forces in Scotland in 2008-09

Unemployment (SPICe Briefing 10-26) – latest unemployment data for Scottish Parliamentary constituency areas. Highlights the best and worst performing areas over previous month.