Scottish Government

Review of Marches and Parades in Scotland

3 Introduction: the establishment of the Review, its remit and its conduct

Introduction

3.1 Marches and parades have long been a part of life in Scotland. Nearly every town and village across the country has some form of local celebration involving a public procession. Various groups and organisations have particular marching traditions. People have always taken to the streets to celebrate their identity, commemorate a cause or protest against a decision. My work throughout the Review has been informed by those traditions. In our democracy, people have a right to peaceful assembly which must be respected and protected. However, that right is not an absolute one and with that right comes responsibilities. There is a difficult balance to be struck, between what can appear sometimes to be conflicting rights.

3.2 People take part in marches and parades for different reasons. We need to get better at understanding and respecting the reasons and traditions which lie behind processions. In return, those taking part in processions need to get better at understanding the impact they have on the community through which they march.

3.3 My Review has looked at the practical arrangements for making decisions on marches, looked at the impact on communities and how to inform and involve them more effectively and examined the conduct and policing costs associated with marches. My recommendations look at freshening up legislation which has been in place for over 20 years. Clearly things have changed. We have new human rights legislation in place. People expect more of their decision makers. People also expect more involvement in the decision making process.

3.4 I hope that, in future, no one will learn about a procession just a few minutes before it passes by their house. They should have better information and an opportunity to express their views. I hope that local authorities will be able to make more informed decisions, involving organisers at an early stage. I also hope that organisers will take their responsibilities seriously so that processions are better organised and less disruptive.

3.5 It will, of course, be for the Scottish Executive to decide how far it wants to adopt my recommendations. Some will require changes to legislation so will clearly take time. In the meantime, those involved could already go some way to making the improvements I suggest, with better planning, clearer guidance to organisers and a commitment to improving overall conduct at processions.

The establishment of the Review of Marches and Parades

3.6 I was commissioned to carry out a Review of the procedures for authorising marches and parades in Scotland on 28 June 2004. The Review was to last for six months.

3.7 The First Minister had announced his intention to appoint an independent expert to review the procedures for taking decisions on marches and parades to the Scottish Parliament on 17 June. In describing the purpose of the Review, he said it, 'will explore with councils and other interested organisations the frequency, number and routes of marches. It will also consider the rules that govern decisions on marches and parades and how local communities' needs can be considered as part of a reasonable and fair system.' He went on to say that he believed 'the best decisions will be made locally by local authorities and local police forces through engaging communities... the objective will be to ensure that local rules and regulations that govern decisions about marches and parades - particularly those of a sectarian nature - are designed more effectively to regulate the number and routes of marches and especially to encourage an atmosphere in which voluntary agreements can reduce the number of marches locally without animosity and without increasing community tension.' In concluding, he made clear that he felt the time was right to do something about the issue of marches and parades which were causing concern in communities 'after many years which most of us have wanted to do something. It is now time to act.'

3.8 I was pleased to accept the First Minister's invitation to carry out such an important and challenging Review. I made clear from the outset that I was approaching the Review with an entirely open mind and planning to listen to and take account of the range and diversity of views which I expected to be expressed.

The remit of the Review of Marches and Parades

3.9 The remit I was given was to review the procedures for authorising marches and parades in Scotland. The remit covered all marches and parades. In carrying out the Review, I was to:

• Identify the issues surrounding marches and parades from the view of those who wish to march, the communities affected by marches and the authorities who have responsibility for making decisions about marches and ensuring local safety.
• There were five key aspects I was asked to look at:
• The period of notice required to be given to local authorities, the police and communities for proposed marches and parades;
• The best way to ensure community input into decisions about marches and parades;
• The basis for determining when to restrict, refuse or reroute marches and parades;
• The number of marches and parades occurring in communities and the effects these have; and
• The costs of policing marches and parades.

I was asked to make recommendations to help local authorities reach decisions that reflect an appropriate range of views and to address the problems being caused by marches and parades. My recommendations were to aim at improving the process for taking decisions on applications for marches and parades, consider how the views of communities could be fed into the decision making process and recommend how best to balance the needs and wishes of communities and the rights of groups and individuals to hold and participate in marches.

The way in which the Review was conducted

3.10 If the Review was to succeed it needed to be evidence based and inclusive. People have strongly held views on marches and parades. I wanted them to be able to express those opinions to me to ensure that the work of the Review was informed by the full spectrum of opinion. I approached gathering that information in three ways:

• Written submissions - I began by writing to over 1,000 organisations inviting them to submit views relevant to the key areas of my remit. Given the pivotal nature of the Review, I ensured that my letter went to the widest range of possible interests including: local authorities; the police service; the fire service; the NHS; the enterprise network; tourist boards; community planning partnerships; social inclusion partnerships; housing associations; trade unions; political parties; voluntary organisations; youth groups; sports groups; faith groups; and organisations which arrange marches. I also invited organisations to circulate my letter around their own networks. The breadth of the consultation networks reflected the wide range of possible interests in the Review. To ensure that the work of the Review was brought to the attention of a wide audience, information was also posted on the Scottish Executive web site and circulated to local media across Scotland. I invited comments to be sent to me by 24 September but was prepared to accept submissions after that date. In total, I received 361 written submissions. They came from a wide range of organisations as well as from members of the public. There is a detailed summary of views expressed at Chapter 8 - A Summary of Written Submissions and these were helpful in informing the work of the Review. A list of all who contributed is at Appendix A;
• A telephone survey - I wanted to make sure that I explored the views people had on marches and parades in general. TNS Social Research was commissioned to carry out the survey after a selective tendering process. The survey sample was broadly representative of the adult population in terms of age, sex and working status. Results were analysed by police force area. 676 people were interviewed. The survey explored people's views and experiences of marches and parades, the impact marches and parades had on individuals and the community as well as seeking views on the various aspects of my remit, including how the community could be better involved in the decision making process. More details of the survey can be found at Chapter 9 - A Summary of the Telephone Survey of 'Views Across Scotland'. The full report has been published separately http://www.scotland.gov.uk/marchesandparades. The questionnaire used is at Appendix B;
• Face-to-face meetings - I supplemented the written material with face-to-face meetings. In gathering evidence for the Review, I met around 125 people at 45 separate meetings. I was able to meet with a wide range of key interest: MPs, MSPs, councillors and council officials, police associations, football clubs, anti-sectarian groups, business interests, representatives from the Roman Catholic Church, representatives from the Church of Scotland as well as organisations which arrange marches (including the Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland, the Apprentice Boys of Derry and Cairde na hÉireann). To understand the approaches and to explore good practice outwith Scotland, I visited Liverpool, London and Belfast. A full list of all those I met is at Appendix C. I found all these meetings extremely helpful and was encouraged that everyone approached them with an open attitude, prepared to share their views and be receptive to rounded and objective discussion. Some interesting points emerged and were valuable in shaping my recommendations.

3.11 I wanted to make sure that the work of the Review was informed by current processes and invited local authorities to provide me with more detailed information about how they implemented the requirements of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982. Local authorities also provided me with statistics about the numbers of notified marches and parades taking place in their areas. Chapter 6 - Current Practices in Scotland looks in more detail at current processes. It was also important that my recommendations were informed by and firmly set in the context of human rights legislation and Chapter 5 - The Current Legislative Position: Human Rights Legislation and the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 looks in more detail at that framework.

Structure of my report

3.12 I have structured my report in three parts. The first provides an Executive Summary and a summary list of my 38 recommendations. The second describes the establishment of the Review, the current legislation, the current processes and the information and evidence I have gathered over the course of the Review. The third sets out my recommendations.