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Marches and Parades
Cathy Jamieson MSP
Minister for Justice
Scotland has a rich tradition of marching and parading. Public processions can provide a focal point for community celebration and a spectacle for tourists. They can also be used to make a political protest or commemorate a specific event. But the impact of marches and parades can often cause disruption to local communities and businesses, and this can give rise to the kind of offence and nuisance which has marred some marches and parades in the past. Our work in this area is based around the basic need to strike the right balance between the rights of marchers and the rights of the communities which are affected by marches. It is clear that by working together we can achieve real improvements in the way that processions are organised and run and should have a positive impact on communities.
Work is well under way on modernising the way that local authorities take decisions. The report of Sir John Orr's Review of Marches and Parades in Scotland was published in January 2005 and made 38 recommendations for change. Following the publication of the report a public consultation was carried out on the recommendations which required legislative changes and the positive response determined that we would take these forward as part of the Police, Public Order and Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill 2006, which is currently going through the Scottish Parliament. The main changes in the Bill will:
- Increase the minimum amount of notice that organisers are required to give to local authorities of their intention to march from 7 days to 28 days.
- Remove the ability of local authorities to exempt marches and parades in their area from the notification requirements.
- Give local authorities powers to consider a wider range of issues, such as disruption to the life of the community and damage to property, when deciding whether a march should be prohibited or have conditions placed on it.
- Allow local authorities to take account of the impact of a previous march; the extent to which a previous march placed an excessive burden on police; and the extent to which any code of conduct or guidance was adhered to by the march participants.
- Require local authorities to compile a list of processions that have been held in their areas to allow the public to establish which marches happen on a regular basis and which are likely to happen in the future.
We will ensure that the legislative provisions on marches and parades being taken forward as part of the Bill will be implemented by 1 April 2007.
(ACTION 12)
A Working Group on Marches and Parades has been established to bring local government and police bodies together with the Scottish Executive to support the implementation of the non-legislative recommendations made in the Review. The Working Group has been supporting the development of draft guidance on the implementation of the Review recommendations for Scottish local authorities. The guidance will give local authorities full advice on the new processes to ensure that marches and parades are properly notified, planned, discussed, and carried out in a modern, professional manner. The draft guidance will be issued to key stakeholders by summer 2006. This will include the main procession organisers who have also made a valuable contribution to the Review and have been supportive of the agenda to tackle sectarian bigotry in Scotland. I am pleased that organisers have continued to engage with us in taking forward the recommendations of the Review and am sure that this positive dialogue will help to ensure that real improvements can be achieved.
We will issue the final guidance on implementing the recommendations of the Review to all 32 Scottish local authorities and other key stakeholders by March 2007.
(ACTION 13)
I am pleased that Glasgow City Council are taking an active lead in supporting the implementation of the Review recommendations by piloting some of them to help identify the best ways for smooth implementation and allow other local authorities to learn from their experiences.
It is important that we ensure that there are effective monitoring arrangements in place to demonstrate that local authorities and the police are implementing the new procedures in a way appropriate to their local circumstances. We have therefore been in discussion with the Accounts Commission and the Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary ( HMIC) to decide on the activities that should be monitored and the process for doing this.
In partnership with the Accounts Commission and HMIC we will develop monitoring arrangements to assess the effectiveness of the implementation of the recommendations of the Review. We will also produce the first report on activity - covering the period 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008 - by July 2008.
(ACTION 14)
It is important that appropriate powers exist to allow the police and march organisers to deal with those people who use marches and parades as an excuse to indulge in bigoted abuse and violent behaviour. While there are already a number of laws which can be applied to deal with inappropriate behaviour around marches and parades, I feel that now is a fitting time to review these to ensure that they are adequate and look at how they are being applied. I would also like to look at the effectiveness of other interventions, such as banning orders, to see whether there is any scope or need for looking at how these could be transferred into the context of marches and parades.
To do this we will form a working group of key interests to map out the legal interventions that can currently be used to deal with abusive behaviour. The Group will also be asked to assess their effectiveness and make recommendations on whether further interventions are required. The Group should make its initial report to Ministers by December 2006.
(ACTION 15)
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