Meeting of the Parliament 21 November 2017
I am pleased to open the final stage proceedings on the Edinburgh Bakers’ Widows’ Fund Bill, and I again thank my fellow committee members—Mary Fee and Alison Harris—for their contributions in progressing the bill to this stage. I also record the committee’s gratitude to the clerks for all their support.
As there are currently three private bill committees on the go, all of which have the same membership, Mary Fee, Alison Harris and I have seen quite a bit of each other. Members will be delighted to learn that they can expect to see more of us in that capacity as the other two private bills progress. In fact, the preliminary stage debate on the Pow of Inchaffray Drainage Commission (Scotland) Bill took place last week and the debate on the Writers to the Signet Dependants’ Annuity Fund Amendment (Scotland) Bill took place the week before that.
Members will no doubt recall the preliminary stage debate on the Edinburgh Bakers’ Widows’ Fund Bill, which took place in September. To recap briefly, this private bill was introduced on 20 March 2017 and is being promoted by the trustees of the widows’ scheme. The bill’s overall objective is to transfer the property and the assets of the widows’ fund to a new charitable trust.
The Incorporation of Bakers of the City of Edinburgh was set up in medieval times to regulate trade. The fund was established in the 19th century to provide financial support to the widows of contributing members. However, the Edinburgh Bakers’ Widows’ Fund Act 1813 limited membership of the scheme to men under the age of 45.
As I explained in my speech at preliminary stage, in recent times, members of the incorporation have tended to be women or older men, but neither category is eligible to contribute to the scheme under the terms of the 1813 act. The last contribution to the fund was made in 1981 and the last annuity paid under the scheme was in 1997. Since then, there have been no qualifying beneficiaries.
In 2013, the trustees decided that the scheme should not continue to operate in its current form and formally closed the scheme to new members. It was considered that there was a need for change, given the restrictions on the ability of the trustees to apply the assets of the fund as imposed by the provisions of the 1813 act.
The fund is not a modern financial vehicle, and with a finite number of potential beneficiaries the trustees found themselves unable to apply the fund assets in accordance with the spirit of the fund. In place of the fund, the trustees intend to set up a new charitable trust, which will have the purposes of the advancement of education, by supporting education and training opportunities in baking; and the advancement of the arts, heritage, culture or science, by providing public information and promoting an appreciation of local baking and the history of the baking trade, particularly in Edinburgh.
The new trust—the Incorporation of Bakers of Edinburgh Charitable Trust—has been approved by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator.
At preliminary stage, the committee was pleased to recommend to the Parliament that the general principles of the bill be agreed to and that the bill should proceed as a private bill.
At consideration stage, private bill committees are required to consider any objections and amendments to the bill. In this case, there were no objections, as was expected, and no amendments were lodged. Consideration stage consisted of a very short meeting of the committee.
At this, the final stage of the bill’s parliamentary passage, I reiterate that the committee supports the aim of the promoters to establish the new charitable trust, to enable the trustees to make capital payments to the potential beneficiaries, to dissolve the fund and to repeal the 1813 act.
I move,
That the Parliament agrees that the Edinburgh Bakers’ Widows’ Fund Bill be passed.
16:53