Overview
About this call for evidence – please read before progressing
The purpose of this call for evidence is to gather views on the Bill. Those views will inform the Committee’s scrutiny.
The call for views and analysis:
- aim to help the Committee understand the reasons people have for either supporting or opposing the Bill
- aim to help the Committee understand how people would like to see the Bill amended
- will not establish whether more people support or oppose the Bill
The Committee will base any assessment of public opinion on published data from opinion polls. As responses to this call for evidence will be self-selecting, they cannot be assumed to be representative of public opinion and will not be treated as such.
How to contribute
There are several options available to anyone wishing to contribute to this call for evidence.
All are valid ways of responding and will be given equal weighting in analysis:
Short survey
This is for people who wish to express general views about the Bill as a whole, including:
- whether they support or oppose it
- why they support or oppose it
We will publish a summary of the responses to the survey. However, we will not publish each response in full, or the names of people who responded.
Questions in the short survey
Detailed call for evidence
This is for people, groups, bodies or organisations who wish to comment on specific aspects of the Bill.
Our aim is to publish all the submissions we receive to the detailed call for evidence. The only exceptions to this are where submissions are made on a “confidential” or “not for publication” basis.
Please note: If we receive a very high volume of submissions, we may not have the resources to process and publish them all.
Responses from individuals will be anonymised if requested by the submitter.
Questions in the detailed call for evidence
Alternative format – Easy Read
This is an alternative format of the short survey for people with a learning disability. Easy Read combines clear and simple wording with images that help to explain the text.
Individual responses will not be published. A summary of responses will be produced by the Parliament and included in analysis presented to MSPs.
Alternative format – BSL
This is an alternative format of the short survey for people who communicate through British Sign Language.
Individual responses will not be published. Responses will be summarised by the Parliament and included in analysis presented to MSPs.
Other formats
The Scottish Parliament is committed to making our online content as accessible as possible. If you need this content in a different format, please contact ADBill@parliament.scot.
Analysis
The Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) will prepare a summary and analysis of responses to the calls for evidence.
If we receive a very high volume of submissions to the detailed call for evidence, this may need to be prepared on the basis of a sample of submissions.
Campaigning
We recognise that campaign groups with a view, either in favour or against the Bill, may want to encourage supporters to share their views.
All such submissions are welcome if submitted individually using this platform.
If we become aware that campaign groups are using non-standard means to channel their supporters’ views, we may be unable to accept those submissions. Examples of this include a high volume of submissions from a single Internet Protocol address, or submissions that appear to be machine generated.
We reserve the right to reject submissions that have reached us via third-party software unless we can be satisfied that they are the views of real individuals who have given the appropriate permissions and have been given access to all relevant accompanying information (including the Scottish Parliament’s privacy notice explaining how their personal data will be processed) before submitting their views.
We would encourage any interested campaign group to contact us. We can discuss how to ensure your supporters can respond to the call for evidence in a way that avoids the risk of submissions being rejected.
Even where submissions meet all the requirements, organisations might want to consider contacting us to discuss the most effective way to engage with this call for evidence to ensure that people’s views are heard. A co-ordinated response might be more effective than encouraging mass submissions.
About the Bill
Further information about the Bill is available on the Scottish Parliament website.
Leugh sa Ghàidhlig
Give us your views
This call for views will close at 11.59pm on Friday, 16 August 2024 and no extensions will be given for late submissions.
Complete the short survey / Lìon an suirbhidh goirid (Gàidhlig)
Complete the detailed call for evidence
Download the alternative format – Easy Read (editable pdf file)
Download the alternative format – Easy Read (printable pdf file)
