ACTS of the SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT (E) indicates an Executive sponsored Act, (C) Committee and (M) Member | KEY EQUALITY PROVISIONS (these are summaries in non-legal English of the key provisions in the Act; they do not replace the actual terms of the legislation) |
Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 (E) | Recognises that a partner of a person in a same sex couple can be treated as that person's nearest relative, in the same way as a husband or wife. |
Census (Amendment) (Scotland) Act 2000 (E) | Allows for the census to ask questions about religion, but no one can be penalised for refusing to give information about their religious belief. |
Standards in Scotland's Schools Act 2000 (E) | Makes a number of changes to the rights of children and the duties of Education authorities including: - Puts a duty on each Education authority to say in its annual statement of improvement objectives how it will encourage equal opportunities and meet equal opportunity requirements
- Where a child cannot go to school because that child is looking after a relative at home, the education authority must quickly make arrangements for the child to be educated at home
- Where a child has been excluded from a public school, the education authority must make arrangements for him to go to another school or to be educated at home.
Following legislation national priorities for education were defined. One of these is to promote equality and help every pupil benefit from education with particular regard to pupils with disabilities and special educational needs. |
Ethical Standards in Public Life etc (Scotland) Act 2000 (E) | Repeals section 2A of the Local Government Act 1986 (the prohibition on local authorities' activities in connection with same sex relationships). This removed the constraints on issues relating to homosexuality being discussed in schools. Also puts a duty on local authorities in delivering services to children to take account of the value of stable family life in a child's development. |
Convention Rights (Compliance) (Scotland) Act 2001(E) | Provides that defendants in criminal cases must not be deprived of the right to a fair trial by being given too low an amount to pay for their legal assistance. Repealed the law which made a homosexual act unlawful where the act takes place in private if more than two persons take part or are present. |
Education (Graduate Endowment and Student Support) (Scotland) Act 2001 (E) | Gives the Scottish Ministers the power to exempt people on supplementary support, such as Lone Parent Grant and Disabled Students' Allowance from having to repay their Graduate Endowment. |
Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 (E) | Makes a number of changes to the law relating to the provision of housing that will be of particular benefit to the younger, older and disabled tenants including: - Puts a duty on the Scottish Ministers, local authorities and social landlords to encourage equal opportunities and to comply with equal opportunities law in providing housing and related services.
- Extends the right to be put onto the waiting list for local authority or social housing to everyone aged 16 years or older.
- Provides that a local authority will not turn down a housing request from someone who does not live in that local authority's area if that person has a job in that area or wants to move there to look for a job, needs to move there to be near a relative or carer, for medical reasons, because they are a victim of stalking or harassment or because they are at risk of domestic violence.
- Provides that local authorities and social landlords can take into account a person's age when allocating houses which have been adapted for people of a particular age group or when allocating houses to people receiving age-related housing support services.
- Gives carers the right to take over a secured tenancy from a tenant where the carer provided care for the tenant or a member of the tenant's family as long as the carer is at least 16 years old, was living in the tenant's house and had earlier given up their own home.
- Exempts from the right to buy any house which is part of a group of specially adapted houses located near special facilities for their tenants or which are occupied by tenants who get special housing support services.
- Gives the Scottish Ministers the power to issue guidance to local authorities and social landlords about the types of people who have housing needs and how their needs should be met, how to minimise homelessness, how to provide and run sites for travelling people whatever their race or origin. In considering whether a local authority or social landlord have carried out their housing duties properly, the Scottish Ministers can take into account whether they followed any existing guidance.
- Gives the Scottish Ministers the power to pay grants to local authorities for them to provide housing support services to allow people to continue to live in their own homes. Also gives them the power to pay grants to local authorities to provide, maintain and improves houses, to improve the immediate area around houses and to minimise homelessness. Gives local authority the power to help social landlords to provide, improve and maintain houses and to improve the area around houses.
- Puts a duty on the Scottish Ministers to publish a statement, within one year, setting out what reasonably practical things they, and local authorities, will do to ensure that no-one lives in fuel poverty.
- Directs local authorities in their Local Housing Strategies to assess the housing needs of people in their area, including people with special needs.
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Mortgage Rights (Scotland) Act 2001 (M) | Extends to co-habitees and same sex couples the same rights as husbands and wives have to apply for a court order to prevent their home, or their child's home, being sold when the mortgage on that home is in default. |
Protection from Abuse (Scotland) Act 2001 (C) | Gives a person who has obtained an interdict to protect them from abuse to ask the court to attach a power of arrest to the interdict. Under earlier legislation only spouses or co-habitees could ask for a power of arrest to be attached to an interdict. Also sets out the rights of an arrested person and provides that where the arrested person looks like he or she is under 16 years old, the police must let the person's parents or carer know that they have been arrested and let them see the arrested young person. |
Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 (E) | Puts a duty on the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care and on the Scottish Social Services Council to encourage equal opportunities and to comply with equal opportunities law in carrying out their functions. Also puts a duty on the Scottish Ministers, the Commission and the Local authority to comply with various principles including promoting the independence of people receiving care and offering them a choice of care services. |
Transport (Scotland) Act 2001 (E) | Provides that local transport authorities should provide information about bus services including information about facilities for disabled persons. Also gives the Scottish Ministers the power to establish committees to consider and advise them about the transport needs of disabled persons. |
Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002 (E) | Puts a duty on local authorities, when assessing the needs of a disabled child, to take account of the views of the child, the child's parent, guardian or carer. Puts a duty on Local authorities to offer direct payments to eligible people. This will increase the availability of direct payments. (Direct payments are cash payments to disabled people to enable them to arrange and buy their own community care and children's services.) |
Education (Disability Strategies and Pupils' Educational Records) (Scotland) Act 2002 (E) | Provides for local authorities and schools to plan and implement improvements for disabled pupils to access schools and education. These improvements could include adapted furniture for wheelchair users, more handrails and ramps for pupils with mobility difficulties, textbooks in Braille or large print and computer equipment with special keyboards or magnified screens. The Act also reinstates the rights of parents in Scotland to access their children's school records. |
Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (E) | Ensures that disabled people are not discriminated against in getting access to information. It makes provision for alternative formats. It also ensures that when deciding whether it is too difficult or expensive for a Scottish Public Authority to provide information requested under the Act, the Authority must bear in mind its duty under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (c.50) to make adjustments to practices, policies, procedures or physical features so that disabled people can use its services. Also provides that children aged 12 years old, or younger children who understand what it means to ask for information under the Act, must be allowed to ask for information under the Act in the same way as adults. |
Marriage (Scotland) Act 2002 (E) | Extends the range of places where people can have an official civil wedding ceremony from only registration offices to any place approved by the local authority. |
Scottish Local Government (Elections) Act 2002 (E) | Gives local authorities the power to try out new ways of voting to encourage more people, or more people from a particular class, to vote at elections. |
Sexual Offences (Procedure and Evidence) (Scotland) Act 2002 (E) | Stops victims of rape and other sexual offences being questioned by their alleged attacker and gives them better protection against irrelevant questions about their private lives. |