Baird Trust Reorganisation Bill: Final Stage
The next item of business is a debate on motion S2M-2941, in the name of Andrew Arbuckle, on behalf of the Baird Trust Reorganisation Bill Committee, that the Parliament agrees that the Baird Trust Reorganisation Bill be passed.
I will take a moment to outline the consideration of the bill to date and the procedure that we will follow if the Parliament agrees to pass the bill.
The bill was introduced on 27 October 2004 by its promoter, the trustees of the Baird Trust. Following the introduction of a private bill, any person who thinks that their interests will be adversely affected by it can object to it. They have a 60-day period in which to do so. The objection period for the Baird Trust Reorganisation Bill ran from 28 October 2004 until 7 January this year. No objections were received; the bill is not contentious.
The Baird Trust Reorganisation Bill Committee was established in March 2005 and consists of five members, none of whom had any connection with the bill's promoter. I express my thanks to all those who contributed to the passage of the bill. I thank the trustees of the Baird Trust—the promoters—especially Mr Ronald Oakes for his help in providing background information. I thank my colleagues on the committee for their time and input, and I thank all the witnesses who took the time and effort to provide us with oral evidence. I also thank the clerks who guided us through the process.
We began our consideration of the bill on 26 April and completed our deliberations on 24 May with the publication of our preliminary stage report. The report was debated in Parliament on 2 June, after which the general principles of the bill were agreed to and it was agreed that the bill should proceed as a private bill. Normally, a private bill would have moved to the consideration stage, which is similar to stage 2 of a public bill. At the consideration stage, the committee can hear further evidence from the promoter and consider any amendments to the bill. However, as there were no objections and no member of the committee wished to lodge an amendment, the committee recommended that the Parliamentary Bureau consider suspending the relevant standing orders to omit the consideration stage for the bill, so that it could move directly to the final stage. On 7 June, the Parliamentary Bureau decided that that was the best course of action and Parliament agreed to that a day later.
The final stage of a private bill is broadly similar to stage 3 of a public bill. If Parliament agrees to pass the bill, there will follow a statutory four-week period during which legal challenges to the bill can be made. If none is made within that time, the Presiding Officer will present the bill for royal assent and it will come into force some 30 days after royal assent is granted, with the exception of section 3. Section 3 will dissolve the transferor and repeal the three Baird Trust order confirmation acts after the necessary transfers to the new company, which is limited by guarantee, have taken place. That section will come into effect on the first anniversary of the bill's receiving royal assent.
That is the legal process. For the remainder of my five minutes, I shall give an outline of the trust, its founder and the good work that it does and will continue to do.
James Baird, the founder of the trust, was one of several brothers who were largely responsible for the development of the Scottish iron and steel industry in the 19th century. He founded William Baird & Company with his older brother William, which went on to become one of the largest producers of iron.
James Baird was known to be a generous man and a willing giver, but he liked to be sure that he was giving where it was deserved and where it would be beneficial and encourage the recipients to help themselves. His generosity is demonstrated by the fact that, in setting up the trust, he donated £500,000 to the Church of Scotland—at that time, the greatest amount ever to be given for religious or charitable purposes. Notably, he did not bequeath the money in his will, but dictated the form of the trust that was to administer it. He oversaw its full operation before his death and even assisted in its administration at the outset, despite being in his 70s.
The Baird Trust has given assistance, over the years, for the building and repair of churches; for divinity students; for retired ministers and their widows; for religious instruction; and for the audio-visual work of the church. Those extremely worthwhile projects are only some of the many that have been supported by the Baird Trust, which demonstrates the enormous contribution that the trust and many organisations like it make to our communities. I am sure that members will agree that such projects play a vital role in the community and deserve the support of the Parliament, as do the organisations that support them.
I commend the bill to members. It may be modest in size and purpose compared with other bills that the Parliament deals with, but it has the potential to have a positive effect on many people's lives. It is fitting that the trust be reorganised in this way, as it removes the need for the trustees to promote further private bills whenever changes are needed to the trust's constitution. On behalf of the committee, I move,
That the Parliament agrees that the Baird Trust Reorganisation Bill be passed.
No one suggests that the bill has taken up a great deal of parliamentary time, but the time that it took was worth while. Thanks are due to the committee convener, Andrew Arbuckle, the committee itself, and, of course, the clerks for their diligence in working on the bill.
The bill will allow the Baird Trust to get itself into shape for the 21st century. Since it was set up in 1873 and formally incorporated by an act of Parliament in 1937, the world has changed. The bill will change the Baird Trust into a charitable company limited by guarantee. The objectives of the trust have been updated and the changes mean that a further act of Parliament will not be required if further changes to the constitution are to be made at some time in future.
I note that James Baird's original trust said that its object was
"‘to assist in providing the means of meeting, or at least as far as possible promoting the mitigation of, spiritual destitution among the population of Scotland, through the efforts of securing the godly upbringing of the young, the establishing of Parochial Pastoral Work, and the stimulating of ministers and all agencies of the … [Established] Church of Scotland'".
I am sure that that object is still applicable today.
The bill widens the trust's membership and powers of investment so that it will be able to support the work of churches other than the Church of Scotland. The changes will bring greater transparency through the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator and the Inland Revenue and the trust's accounts will be lodged with Companies House. All that will bring greater scrutiny and accountability than exists at present.
This is a small, but beautifully formed bill. It has not taken up a great deal of parliamentary time but the time that it has taken has been worth while because the Baird Trust will now step confidently into the 21st century instead of staying put in the past.
I speak on behalf of David Davidson who was the Conservative group's representative on the committee. I apologise for his not being here today; he is away on other parliamentary business.
The bill is eminently worth while. The trust has some worthy objectives. I simply thank the convener, his colleagues and the clerks for the work that has been put into passing the bill in a very short time, which clearly demonstrates how efficient the Parliament can be when it puts its mind to it. That is a stark contrast to some other private bills that are going through at the moment. I know that my colleagues on the Edinburgh Tram (Line Two) Bill Committee will agree with that.
We wish the bill all success and we will certainly not seek to impede its progress today.
I have great pleasure in closing this very short debate in my role as the deputy convener of the Baird Trust Reorganisation Bill Committee. The previous two speakers, who were not on the bill committee, expressed their thanks to committee members. It was not the most onerous task that any of us has ever been charged with undertaking in the Parliament, although that does not mean that the bill is not significant.
Tricia Marwick was right to say that the legislation will bring the trust firmly into the 21st century and will mean that any future changes that the trustees want to make will not require the parliamentary scrutiny that has had to be done on several occasions since the original legislation was passed in the 19th century.
Bill Aitken referred to other private bill committees that take longer to consider their particular remit. As Kenny MacAskill said during the debate on the preliminary stage a few weeks ago, the private bill process is right for a bill of this sort; the process begins to break down when it is concerned with the major public works bills that have clogged up so much of other members' time. We must consider what the Procedures Committee has proposed about changing how we undertake such work so that we can get out of the legislative logjam that some of those committees have got into—through no fault of their own, but because of the strict parliamentary procedures under which we currently operate.
As has been said, the bill will simplify the trust's structure. It will improve and widen its ability to support churches and church activities—not just those of the Church of Scotland—and provide it with an administrative structure more suitable for a modern-day charity. The bill will aid public scrutiny of the trust, widen the trust's membership, allow the trust to comply with the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Bill that the Parliament passed last week, and remove the need for future private bills.
I thank the clerks for their diligent work, the witnesses who gave evidence to our committee and my fellow committee colleagues. I will have great pleasure in voting for the measure later this afternoon.