Plenary, 15 Mar 2000
Meeting date: Wednesday, March 15, 2000
Official Report
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Census (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
We move to consider stage 2 of the bill in the Committee of the Whole Parliament, of which the occupant of this chair is now convener.
We have no amendments to the bill at this stage, but the Committee of the Whole Parliament is required to decide whether to agree to each section of the bill. The only way in which it is permitted to oppose agreement to a section is to lodge an amendment to leave out that section. No such amendments have been lodged so far and I do not anticipate receiving any now. The committee will also be required to agree to the long title of the bill.
I remind members that electronic voting will be used for divisions. I ask any members who have questions on the procedures to raise them as points of order before we begin.
Section 1—Particulars about religion may be gathered in census
We now move to consideration of section 1, at the end of which I shall put the question on that section. I invite Angus MacKay to make a few explanatory remarks on section 1.
As its title suggests, section 1 provides, in subsection (1), for religion to be added to the schedule to the Census Act 1920 as a matter in respect of which particulars may be required. That will allow a question or questions on religion to be asked in any future census in Scotland.
The schedule to the 1920 act lists those matters in respect of which particulars may be required. Those include: names, sex and age; occupation, profession, trade or employment; nationality, birthplace, race, language; place of abode and character of dwelling; and condition as to marriage, relation to head of family, issue born in marriage.
The inclusion in the census of questions on other topics which are:
"Any other matters with respect to which it is desirable to obtain statistical information with a view to ascertaining the social or civil condition of the population"
is also permitted under paragraph 6 of the schedule to the 1920 act. It is the view of the Executive that religion is not covered by any of the paragraphs in the schedule to the 1920 act; hence the bill that is before us today.
Adding the word "religion" to paragraph 5 of the schedule to the 1920 act will mean that where a question or questions on religion are included in a census order made under section 1(2) of the 1920 act, those parts of the order in council will be subject to draft negative procedure.
Section 1(2) of the bill inserts a new subsection (1A) into section 8 of the 1920 act. Section 8 provides that if any person refuses or neglects to comply with or acts in contravention of any of the provisions of the act, any ordering council or regulations made under the act, they shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale—currently a maximum of £1,000.
The newly inserted provision provides that no person shall be liable to a penalty under section 8(1) of the 1920 act for refusing or neglecting to state any particulars in respect of religion. The practical effect of this amendment is that the question or questions on religion in any census in Scotland will be voluntary. This provision is made because the Executive is alive to the fact that religion is clearly a sensitive issue and it would not wish people to be compelled to answer such a question.
This section does not make provision for any other topic to be included on a voluntary basis.
Thank you. Does Irene McGugan wish to speak on this section? No. Those who do not wish to speak at the moment should remove their names from the screen; otherwise, I am confused. Everybody has now disappeared from the screen—that is good. [Laughter.]
I have received no amendment to leave out section 1 of the bill.
The question is, that section 1 be agreed to.
Section 1 agreed to.
Section 2—Short title
Do you want to add anything else, Mr MacKay?
I shall be even more brief. Section 2 of the bill, which deals with the short title, is self-explanatory. It simply states:
"This act may be cited as the Census (Amendment) (Scotland) Act 2000."
The question is, that section 2 be agreed to.
Section 2 agreed to.
Long title agreed to.
Meeting closed at 14:39.