Dogs Against Drugs has played an integral part in the seizure of drugs and cash which was destined for Shetland. Other organisations like Orkney Drugs Dogs could also benefit from expanded funding which come from the proceeds of crime.
Information from the Police Scotland Divisional Commander revealed that Dogs Against Drugs had a direct involvement in the seizure of £360,414 of drugs and £14,638 of cash in 2023 across 160 operations. In the previous year, £332,391 of drugs and £28,858 in cash were seized.
As well as detecting illegal and deadly drugs, the charity’s dog handlers visit schools across the isles to teach children about the dangers of drugs.
Dogs Against Drugs are now facing financial difficulty having fallen short of its annual £120,000 running costs by around a quarter. It has let go of one of its three handlers to save costs, meaning fewer opportunities to detect harmful drugs.
Distributing the proceeds of crime more fairly could help reduce these financial pressures.
Falkirk Council are seeking to plug a £65m deficit in their accounts over the next 5 years. They have allocated a significant proportion of the required savings, £40m, to Children’s Services and are proposing to finish the school week at 12:30 on Fridays to achieve £5.751m of this. However, this requires a reduction of school hours from 25 to 22.5 hours per week for Primary children and from 26.6 to 24.75 hours per week for Secondary education. This is 10% less than every other Primary school in Scotland, putting the children of Falkirk at a significant disadvantage compared to their peers. Over the course of a child’s formal education in a Falkirk school they would receive 52 weeks less teacher contact time, more than an entire academic year, and yet will be expected to achieve the same standards of grades.
Alongside the hugely detrimental effect on our children’s education, working families will suffer as hours, and thus family income, will have to be cut to accommodate this change.
Provide support to RAAC-affected communities
- 1,292 Signatures
[The Scottish Housing Regulator has published information on the presence of RAAC in social housing] (https://www.housingregulator.gov.scot/about-us/news/regulator-publishes-further-update-on-reinforced-autoclaved-aerated-concrete-raac-in-social-housing/). 1,994 properties across Scotland are affected with thirteen social landlords reporting RAAC in homes they provide to tenants.
Councils and Housing Associations (HA) across Scotland are denying assistance to homeowners and private tenants. Council tenants now face displacement without any form of compensation for renovating their homes. Residents are being torn from the communities they cherish and depend on. They are being left in financial crisis, and in some cases face roof collapse.
We are seeking identification by RICS qualified surveyors where there may be possible RAAC threat, a requirement for solicitors to check for council disclosures of RAAC, and increased liability for surveyor and solicitor failures to identify defects.
A measure similar to the General Product Safety Regulations, which mandates manufacturers to address safety defects for the lifetime of a vehicle, should be introduced to ensure developers are accountable for rectifying safety issues even after purchase.
End the pause on prescribing puberty blockers to children in Scotland
- Final Signatures: 1,310
[On 17th April 2024, The Kite Trust, an LGBT+ organisation based in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, England, met with Dr Hillary Cass](https://thekitetrust.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Cass-Review-Mythbusting-Q-and-A.pdf). During this meeting Dr Hillary Cass made a number of statements that appear to contradict the conclusions of the review.
This raises serious concerns over the validity of [the decision of health boards, including NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, provider of the only clinic which treats under 18s in Scotland for gender dysphoria, on the 18th of April to pause the prescription of puberty hormone suppressants and gender affirming hormones to young people](https://www.nhsggc.scot/service-update/).
Many families will be greatly impacted by this knee jerk pausing of treatment.
The health and wellbeing of trans and gender non-conforming children will be adversely affected by the pause. It's therefore imperative that this effective treatment for gender dysphoria in children and adolescents is resumed without delay.
Protect wild wrasse stocks
- 508 Signatures
Wild-caught wrasse are used as cleaner fish to tackle lice in aquaculture facilities. They are caught in creels and landed or sold directly to salmon farms. Data is available for those landed, showing peaks and declines consistent with local extirpation.
Wrasse are associated with rocky reefs and other Priority Marine Features under the Habitats Directive Annex 1, creating a requirement to properly manage the wrasse fishery in or near these sites.
Wrasse are long-lived and territorial predators, with unusual reproductive patterns. This makes them vulnerable to over-catching, and opening a fishery for them without baseline data and a fisheries management plan is inappropriate and against the terms of the 2020 Fisheries Act. Local extirpations affect other wild fish species, both target and non-target. Action was promised to better protect wild wrasse beyond the limited 2021 measures, perhaps in line with better practice in English waters, but nothing has been forthcoming.
Safeguard Scottish Listed Buildings at risk of unnecessary demolition
- 3,488 Signatures
The emergency powers in the Building (Scotland) Act 2003 can, in our view, allow for the demolition of listed buildings without sufficient evidence to justify the decision. This is in conflict with planning safeguards in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997. The following policy controls are needed to address this loophole in legislation and to ensure listed buildings (LBs) are not exposed to unjust demolition:
1. Enhanced policy guidance on the minimum evidence and processes required by local authorities before making decisions on the demolition of LBs under emergency powers.
2. A mandatory policy requirement for local authorities to engage with conservation accredited engineers in all cases involving LBs.
Between 2018 and 2022, an average of three people every year were granted an absolute discharge as a result of receiving a guilty verdict for sexual assault. It should be noted that absolute discharges will be included in the conviction statistics for these crimes, which are already unacceptably low (Rape:48%, sexual assault 57% compared to 88% average conviction rate of all crimes). An even lower number are registered as sex offenders as a result of these convictions. Information on the Scottish Sentencing Council and Scottish Government websites state that an absolute discharge is used in “exceptional circumstances” or when the judge feels the crime that has been committed “does not merit any form of punishment”. Those who truly believe in justice for victims of sexual assault will agree that there is not any circumstance that is exceptional enough to allow a person found guilty of sexual assault to go unpunished, and that sexual assault always merits a form of punishment.
Repeal the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021
- Final Signatures: 51
It is my view that the legislation is in violation of the European Convention of Human Rights and Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948, fails the compatibility criteria with the said legislation, and is not fit for purpose.
This legislation will never face scrutiny by the courts and requires immediate repeal for the good of Scotland. Its intentions may have been good but the law the Scottish Government created is foul and frankly impossible for the police to enforce.
The UK Government repealed S.225 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 exhibiting maturity and common sense when legislation is errant. The Scottish Government should do the same.
In England, Scotland, and Wales, it's not illegal for someone between the ages of five and 17 to drink alcohol at home or on other private premises. But this does not mean it is recommended. The best advice for young people's health and wellbeing is an alcohol-free childhood.
It was brought to my attention by Police Scotland and social services that children are allowed to consume alcohol from age 5 in their home or private premises.
There is a focus to increase the cost of alcohol to help tackle problems. Scotland has issues with many adults abusing alcohol. I believe this situation doesn't help. We need to support our children to make the right decisions and not hide behind loop-holes in the law but instead change them.
Provide Defibrillators for all Primary and Secondary Schools in Scotland
- 557 Signatures
After a trip to our local Operation Safety event, we looked into the availability of defibrillators in our local area. We were shocked to find out how under resourced our local area was. We do have a local defibrillator but we discovered it was too far away to have a positive impact on anybody who might suffer a cardiac arrest at our school. During events, busy periods we could have up to 400 - 500 people on site. It is not safe enough to not have an AED at hand.
We decided to raise money to buy an AED ourselves. We have learned a lot about enterprise, AEDs, the circulatory system, and how important these devices are.
Our schools are worryingly under resourced compared to other parts of the UK. Providing defibrillators in schools will also help local communities and should be considered as a matter of urgency. The lives of pupils and staff members are being put at risk.
Please help us to get them provided in ALL schools.