The Bill provides for the modernising, consolidating and extending of hate crime legislation in Scotland.
The Bill will also abolish the common law offence of blasphemy. The offence has not been prosecuted in Scotland for more than 175 years and, according to the Scottish Government, no longer reflects the kind of society in which we live.
This Scottish Government Bill was introduced by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Humza Yousaf MSP, on 23 April 2020.
- View the Bill on the Scottish Parliament website.
- Read our submission to the call for evidence on 24 July 2020.
- Watch Michael Clancy give evidence to the Justice Committee on 3 November 2020.
- We submitted a briefing ahead of the Stage 1 debate on the Bill on 15 December 2020.
- Read our Stage 2 briefing ahead of debate scheduled for 2 and 9 February 2021
- Read our suggested Stage 2 amendments on the Bill.
- Read our submission on freedom of expression for a roundtable on 22 February 2021
- Read our suggested Stage 3 amendments on the Bill
- Read our Stage 3 briefing paper ahead of the Stage 3 debate scheduled for 10 March 2021.
