The 14 bills in Humza Yousaf’s first government program

In his announcement, the First Minister outlined 14 bills to be presented.

Agriculture

The bill will provide powers to implement the Scottish Government’s vision for agriculture, which will replace the current Common Agricultural Policy programs with an adaptive support framework focused on quality food production, climate change mitigation and adaptation, nature conservation and restoration, and broader rural development.

budget

The annual draft budget sets the Scottish Government’s spending plans and allocates resources to priorities and core services.

Renovation of facade cladding

The bill will allow the Scottish Government to take urgent action to carry out work on a building with unsafe cladding materials that pose a risk to life.

Training

The bill allows for the establishment of a new public body responsible for qualifications in Scotland and the creation of an independent education inspectorate.

electoral reform

The Bill will make legislative improvements relating to Scottish Parliament and Local Government elections, based on a consultation gathering views on extending the rights to stand for election, protecting candidates and campaigners from intimidation and improving administrative arrangements for elections.

Remedial action to address gender representation in public bodies

The Bill removes the definition of ‘woman’ from Section 2 of the Gender Representation in Public Bodies (Scotland) Act 2018.

Read more: Review: Humza Yousaf wants to “accelerate” the expansion of free childcare.

This updates the Code following a motion to recover a judicial review decision on the 2018 Act, which resulted in a broader definition of ‘woman’ in that Act no longer having legal effect.

Housing

The bill will help implement the Scottish Government’s new Tenant Agreement and some other aspects of housing by 2040 by creating powers to introduce longer-term rent controls.

The bill will also create new tenant rights and introduce new duties to prevent homelessness.

human rights

The Bill will integrate international economic, social and cultural rights, as well as rights relating to women, disabled people and people experiencing racism, into Scottish law and, within devolved jurisdiction, will recognize the right to a healthy environment.

Judicial Factors

The Scottish Law Commission’s third bill in this session will implement the Commission’s recommendations to update the law around the appointment and supervision of judicial factors and introduce a modern and comprehensive system.

land reform

The bill aims to improve transparency of land ownership, empower communities more, and ensure that large-scale land ownership is in the public interest.

Read more: Body advising Humza Yousaf on poverty in disarray as half board is phased out

The Scottish Government said it would also modernize legislation on tenant farming and smallholdings.

misogyny

The bill will implement the recommendations of the working group chaired by Baroness Helena Kennedy to create new offenses related to misogynist behavior.

Read more: Anas Sarwar accuses Humza Yousaf of pursuing “green extremism”.

It will give Scottish police new powers to hold accountable perpetrators of misogynistic behavior that can denigrate women and increase barriers to an equal society.

Scottish Aggregate Tax

The Bill will implement the powers delegated in the Scotland Act 2016 by setting out the main rules for a devolved tax on the commercial use of aggregates in Scotland.

Scottish languages

The bill provides legal recognition for Gaelic and Scots and strengthens requirements for the provision of Gaelic media education.

Legislation will introduce measures to better protect Gaelic in communities and introduce provisions to strengthen support for Scots.

Social Security (change)

The Bill will improve Scotland’s social security system in line with Scottish Social Security Principles and will, among other things, allow the Scottish Government to recover transferred social security benefits from compensation payments where the fault of a third party is the cause of social security payments.