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18 July 2013

Summer calls for evidence – Marriage Bill and Debt Advice Bill

Two Scottish Parliament committees have now issued calls for evidence that will be of interest to churches, organisations and individuals across Scotland.

Marriage and Civil Partnership Bill

The Equal Opportunities Committee issued their call for evidence on the last day prior to parliament breaking for recess in June.This call will be of interest to individuals, churches and organisations that are involved in active community work (especially partnering with local authorities), those working in the public sector and those considering fostering and adoption.

The bill as published does not provide adequate protections for individuals and organisations potentially affected by the changes, although we are pleased with both some of the recent positive statements from the Scottish Government and the willingness of the committee to seriously engage with our concerns.It is therefore important that as many people as possible submit evidence before the deadline of Friday 23 August.

Click here to find out more about the Equal Opportunities Committee Call for Evidence.

Bankruptcy and Debt Advice Bill

The Economy, Enterprise and Tourism committee has also published a similar call for evidence relating to the Bankruptcy and Debt Advice Bill that was also published in June.In their call for evidence the committee expressly asked for submissions from individuals who have been affected by financial concerns as well as organisations who work with those who have found themselves in debt and other financial problems.We are aware that this is an area in which many churches are providing considerable community help at the present time so it would be good have as many submissions as possible from those with expertise in this area.The closing date for submissions is also Friday 23 August.

Click here to find out more about the Bankruptcy and Debt Advice Call for Evidence.

By its nature legislation and the parliamentary process can be very technical so if you would like any advice on submitting to either consultation please contact info@eauk.org or the Evangelical Alliance Scotland Office on 0141 548 1555.

   Photo credit: Jonathan Joseph Bondhus via Creative Commons.