SECTION 1 - BUSINESS THIS WEEK
Parliament is in recess.
SECTION 2 – NEWS
Family law proposals
New
legal safeguards to prevent children being used as ‘pawns’ when relationships
break down have been unveiled today.
Justice
Minister Cathy Jamieson set out a new national strategy designed to support
stable family life based around:
- Little or no state
interference in families which are strong and working well;
- More practical help and
support when families hit problems; and
- A radical overhaul of legal
safeguards when relationships have broken down.
A new
consultation document, Family Matters:
Improving Family Law in Scotland, published today contains firm proposals
to:
- Reduce the minimum period
over which couples must live apart before a divorce is granted –
reducing acrimony in divorce and allowing parents and children to move on;
and
- Give parental rights and
responsibilities to unmarried fathers who register the birth of their
child alongside the mother.
In addition,
Ministers are seeking views on how best to provide:
- Legal safeguards for
cohabiting couples which address their current legal vulnerability;
- A recognised role for
step-parents in parenting; and
- Better arrangements for
grandparents who do not play as great a part in their grandchildren’s
lives as they would like.
Ms Jamieson
also announced an immediate cash injection of £250,000 for Scotland’s existing family
support organisations, and promised to look at how this network can be
strengthened further for families facing relationship difficulties.
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Memorial gardens for 9/11
victims
The Executive will donate $10,000 towards a memorial garden in Manhattan to commemorate the British
victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The Minister for
Finance and Public Services Andy Kerr made the announcement
yesterday during his visit to New York. Mr Kerr is currently
attending US Tartan Day celebrations in New York and Washington, where he and First Minister Jack
McConnell are involved in events to promote Scotland to American businesses and
tourists alike.
The British Memorial Garden
is planned for Hanover Square in Manhattan, an area close to Ground Zero with
significant historical connections to the UK. It will commemorate the 67
British citizens who died in the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York.
A British Memorial Garden Trust has been set up and of which HRH The Prince of Wales is the patron. They aim to raise a
total of $3.5 million towards the cost of design, construction and ongoing
maintenance.
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