Press release: Powers over onshore oil & gas licensing regimes transfer to Scottish Parliament

From today [9 February 2018] Scottish Ministers will have new powers over onshore oil and gas licensing, continuing the drive to make the Scottish Parliament one of the most powerful devolved administrations in the world.

The latest in a raft of powers transferred to Holyrood through the Scotland Act 2016, these include:

Powers to legislate for the granting and regulation of licences to search and bore for and get petroleum;
Powers to determine the terms and conditions of licences;
Powers to regulate the licensing process.

Scottish Secretary David Mundell said:

This is the latest in the transfer of significant new powers to the Scottish Parliament.

The Scotland Act 2016 delivers in full the recommendations of the Smith commission. We promised to make the Scottish Parliament one of the most powerful devolved administrations in the world, and we have delivered on that promise.

People in Scotland now have a greater say than ever before over their own affairs, while retaining the security and safety of being part of a strong United Kingdom.

Since the Scotland Act 2016 received Royal Assent, various powers have been transferred to the Scottish Parliament. These include:

Various tax and fiscal powers including the ability to adjust rates and bands of income tax and powers over assignment of VAT revenues
Responsibility over certain powers in relation to elections to the Scottish Parliament and local government elections in Scotland
Responsibility for managing the Crown Estate assets in Scotland
Increased responsibility for welfare policy and delivery in Scotland.

This comes on top of powers which were already devolved:

Health
Enterprise policy / regional development / Local Government – including business taxation
Law
Social work and housing
Public sector reform
Energy and utilities infrastructure
The environment
Sport and the arts.

The Scottish Government also has a robust financial settlement through the ‘fiscal framework’, plus an additional £2 billion allocated at the Autumn 2017 Budget, which also confirmed the Scottish Government’s block grant will increase in real terms over 2015-2020.

News story: CIC Q&A Session on Coverting to the CIC model

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Take a look at our webinar on Conversions to a CIC

News story: New plans for military flexible working become law

The Armed Force Flexible Working Bill, which became law on Thursday 8 February.

The measures, which achieved Royal Assent on Thursday, will allow some military personnel to serve part-time for defined periods.

Consultation within the Armed Forces has found that personnel want more choice over the way they serve when their personal circumstances change, such as having young children, needing to care for elderly relatives, or taking on further training and education.

Personnel will also be able to restrict the amount of time they spend away from their home base and their families.

The plans, which will come into effect in 2019, are part of a range of measures the Armed Forces are implementing to become more modern and diverse.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said:

This change will make it significantly easier for our dedicated Armed Forces to raise their children, care for elderly relatives, or look after an ill family member.

This will ensure we are able to retain and recruit the brightest and the best from all backgrounds to keep Britain safe.

Minister for Defence People and Veterans Tobias Ellwood said:

Flexible work is key to retaining our expert personnel who we’ve invested in during their military career.

Personnel have told us they want more flexibility and we have listened – that’s what this Act delivers.

The flexible working measures are designed so that they won’t impact the military’s ability to deliver its core tasks of defending the country. Applications for part-time service and restricted separation will be assessed against the need of the Armed Forces and personnel would be required to deploy on operations should the need arise, such as in cases of national emergency.

Internal MOD surveys have consistently reported the impact of service on family and personal life is the most important factor that might influence them to leave.

Flexible working will help retain personnel, and a recent survey found that 70% of respondents were supportive of more opportunities for flexible working, with 71% interested in taking up such opportunities in the future.

The measures are part of military modernisation, aiming to retain personnel who have been trained and have gained important experience, particularly on operations, rather than having them leave for civilian life.

96% of UK employers already offer flexible working for some of their employees and research has found that offering flexible working encourages people to stay with their current employer.

News story: Help improve guidance for charities working internationally

The Charity Commission have several key pieces of guidance and alerts that are important reading for charities that operate internationally, including the Compliance Toolkit.

We are keen to assess whether our guidance meets your needs, is easy to follow and whether it helps charities working in high-risk areas or carrying out higher risk activities.

This is an opportunity for you to influence the development of our guidance, making sure we cover the basics as well as helping you with some of the more challenging and complex issues.

Whether you have read all, some or none of our guidance your opinion matters to us.

If you’d like to get involved complete this short survey (it will take no more than 15 minutes).

All individual responses are voluntary, anonymous and confidential. The deadline for responses is Sunday 25 March.

We also welcome responses from other colleagues and stakeholders in the international charity sector.

News story: RWM has new independent Chair of the Board

Professor Malcolm Morley OBE has been appointed as Chair of Radioactive Waste Management (RWM). Last autumn, after almost 14 years in post, Professor Morley retired as Chief Executive of Harlow Council, where he led its transformation to become an award-winning local authority.

Upon news of his appointment, Malcolm commented:

I’m honoured to be leading RWM as Chair at this critical time. RWM’s mission to deliver a long-term solution for the safe disposal of higher-activity radioactive waste will protect future generations and our environment from the legacy of waste the UK has created over the past 60 years. RWM’s outstanding expertise in areas such as science and engineering, and its commitment to community engagement, will help deliver an infrastructure project like no other we’ve seen before in the UK and I am delighted to be a part of the team.