Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 16 March 2011
16 Mar 2011 · S3 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3
Before I speak to amendment 1, I thank the minister and his civil servants for their help in lodging the amendments. It was very much appreciated and I hope that we have reached consensus on them.
Amendment 1 will make two changes to the bill as a consequence of the Damages (Scotland) Bill, which Parliament has recently approved. Stage 3 took place just the other week.
Section 1 of the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Bill inserts a new section 8A into the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. Section 1(5) amends the definition of personal injuries in the Damages (Scotland) Act 1976 so that it covers section 8A of the 1997 act, as well as section 8.
However, the Damages (Scotland) Act 1976 will be repealed by Bill Butler’s Damages (Scotland) Bill. Amendment 1 will therefore amend section 1(5) of the bill to delete the reference to section 10(1) of the 1976 act. Harassment leading to personal injury will be covered by the general definition of personal injury.
Section 2 of the Damages (Scotland) Bill refers to section 8 of the 1997 act. That ensures that rights to damages that arise from actions of harassment under section 8 of the 1997 act will continue to transmit to the deceased person’s executor. Amendment 1 will amend section 2 of the Damages (Scotland) Bill so that it also extends to actions under new section 8A of the 1997 act.
Given that stage 3 proceedings on the bills were held so close together, we were in a bit of a quandary about how best to deal with the changes, and the amendments were agreed as the best way forward. I doubt that any other bill has been amended as quickly as the Damages (Scotland) Bill has been following its passage at stage 3.
I move amendment 1.
Amendment 1 will make two changes to the bill as a consequence of the Damages (Scotland) Bill, which Parliament has recently approved. Stage 3 took place just the other week.
Section 1 of the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Bill inserts a new section 8A into the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. Section 1(5) amends the definition of personal injuries in the Damages (Scotland) Act 1976 so that it covers section 8A of the 1997 act, as well as section 8.
However, the Damages (Scotland) Act 1976 will be repealed by Bill Butler’s Damages (Scotland) Bill. Amendment 1 will therefore amend section 1(5) of the bill to delete the reference to section 10(1) of the 1976 act. Harassment leading to personal injury will be covered by the general definition of personal injury.
Section 2 of the Damages (Scotland) Bill refers to section 8 of the 1997 act. That ensures that rights to damages that arise from actions of harassment under section 8 of the 1997 act will continue to transmit to the deceased person’s executor. Amendment 1 will amend section 2 of the Damages (Scotland) Bill so that it also extends to actions under new section 8A of the 1997 act.
Given that stage 3 proceedings on the bills were held so close together, we were in a bit of a quandary about how best to deal with the changes, and the amendments were agreed as the best way forward. I doubt that any other bill has been amended as quickly as the Damages (Scotland) Bill has been following its passage at stage 3.
I move amendment 1.
In the same item of business
The Presiding Officer (Alex Fergusson)
NPA
We move to the next item of business. While members are changing places, I inform them that they should have before them the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Bill a...
The Presiding Officer
NPA
Amendment 1, in the name of Rhoda Grant, is in a group on its own.
Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab)
Lab
Before I speak to amendment 1, I thank the minister and his civil servants for their help in lodging the amendments. It was very much appreciated and I hope ...
The Minister for Community Safety (Fergus Ewing)
SNP
I express my gratitude for the way in which Rhoda Grant has approached the necessary amendments to the bill from stage 2. We appreciate that, and our officia...
The Presiding Officer
NPA
Amendment 2, in the name of Rhoda Grant, is grouped with amendments 3 and 4.
Rhoda Grant
Lab
Amendment 2 will amend section 3(1)(za), so that it refers to the determination being granted under the new section that will be inserted by amendment 4. The...
Bill Aitken (Glasgow) (Con)
Con
There were always going to be definitional difficulties. There is no doubt that when we sat down to establish whether a route forward was ascertainable, it w...
Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD)
LD
I agree with much of what Bill Aitken said. It seems to me that proposed new subsection (2)(d) in particular has distinct difficulties. First, despite Rhoda ...
Fergus Ewing
SNP
These are important amendments. Following stage 2, two main issues were outstanding: the labelling of interdicts and interdicts protecting a girlfriend or bo...
Robert Brown
LD
Would the amendment, therefore, cover relationships between brother and sister or parent and child as well as the other categories that the committee was car...
Fergus Ewing
SNP
That is not our intention in respect of amendment 4. We have framed the wording carefully to cover boyfriends and girlfriends.
Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP)
SNP
The committee was concerned about the problem that could be associated with extending the definition to boyfriends and girlfriends, which Robert Brown has ju...
Fergus Ewing
SNP
As I said, that is not our intention. As members will appreciate, the drafting has been framed carefully by the Scottish Government legal department, with ad...
Robert Brown
LD
The minister said earlier that the wording covered not necessarily sexual relationships but perhaps emotional relationships. I am at somewhat of a loss to un...
Fergus Ewing
SNP
We believe that it covers boyfriend and girlfriend situations. We accept that the wording that we have come up with covers a wide variety of relationships. U...
Rhoda Grant
Lab
I concur with what the minister said. The only thing that I would add concerns what Robert Brown said about latitude in the amendment. We have not defined do...
The Presiding Officer
NPA
That ends consideration of amendments.