A new consultation has been launched to seek the public’s 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 public will have 12 weeks until the consultation period ends on 9 November to share their views on the proposals.

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.

If you wish to contribute to the Scottish Chambers of Commerce submission, please contact Colin Campbell.

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