Amend the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act to prevent abuse of power of attorney
- 5 Signatures
During COVID it became evident that vulnerable adults were at risk of being abused. My mother Letty was one of those adults. In trying to improve things for her, I found myself at odds with her Power of Attorney.
I approached organisations including the Office of the Public Guardian and the Mental Welfare Commission. They advised me that the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 was not fit for purpose - the gaps within it did not adequately allow for thorough oversight of the Power of Attorney role. This remains the case.
In my quest for those most vulnerable adults to be protected I continue to call for a “Letty’s Law”, in remembrance of my late mother, and for the Act to be amended in line with recommendations of the Scott Review, to prevent abuse of Powers of Attorney.
Reinstate 6-monthly dental check-ups for state pensioners
- 26 Signatures
At my age, my teeth need more attention than ever.
It was 14 months between my last 2 check-ups as my dentist went sick when I was due to attend.
In between these check-ups, both my wife and I needed dental treatment.
I feel I am being pushed towards going private.
The First-tier Tribunal Scotland, Housing and Property Chamber adjudicates on a range of private housing matters, including eviction order and rent arrears applications lodged by landlord applicants or their representatives. The Tribunal considers eviction requests in relation to both Scottish Government private residential tenancy agreements and historical short assured / assured tenancy agreements.
At present, there are no prescribed time periods regarding how long it will take for an eviction order application, lodged by a landlord applicant, to be listed for an initial case management discussion/hearing. The frustratingly protracted and timeless nature of the process is contrary to Article 6 of the ECHR (i.e. right to a public hearing within a reasonable time) and causes applicants extreme levels of anxiety, financial hardship and ill health. The majority of landlord applicants only own one rental property and these adverse impacts require them to repossess their sole rental properties.
Support and fund mobility services
- 13 Signatures
Mobility services are vital for access to shops, services and community life. Without secure financial support, they face closure—putting equality, mobility and inclusion at risk.
Shopmobility Aberdeen has provided essential services since 1992, supporting disabled people, older adults, and those with temporary mobility challenges. They offer mobility scooters, wheelchairs, a wheelchair-accessible car, and volunteer companions to help people live independently and access their communities. The charity also provides long-term equipment loans for those recovering from injury or surgery. Currently, Aberdeen City Council provides vital support, but this funding alone is insufficient to guarantee the service’s future. Shopmobility Aberdeen is the only organisation offering long-term equipment loans in the North East and the only scheme north of Glasgow to hire out their wheelchair-accessible car.
The charity receives the majority of its funding from Aberdeen City Council.
Strengthen veto powers when assessing Business Improvement District proposals
- 335 Signatures
For a BID ballot to be successful, the aggregate of rateable values (RVs) in respect of which votes in favour of the BID proposal have been cast must be higher than the aggregate of RVs in respect of which votes against have been cast. This means a BID company needs yes votes from high RV properties.
If a BID is established, it is developed, managed and paid for by businesses through a compulsory BID levy. There is therefore an obvious incentive for a BID Company to simply offer a reduced levy to high RV properties in exchange for their vote in the ballot. The practice of levy persuasion will allow a levy structure to pass at ballot (especially with low turnouts) which is proportionately high for the lowest RV businesses.
Consequences of a disproportionate levy structure can include forcing small businesses to close. In view of disproportion occurring, current legislation allows local authorities to veto a ballot based on a disproportionate levy structure. However, it does not provide local authorities with specific examples or tolerances for them to properly carry out the guidance.
I was accused based on screenshots that were never checked for metadata or linked to my device, despite police having my phone and PIN. It was never confirmed who sent them or when they were created. These images could easily have been faked. The impact on my life was severe – I became suicidal and appeared in a documentary on male mental health in Scotland. In today’s digital world, anyone can create fake messages. This is not just about my case — it’s about fixing a loophole that can hurt anyone. We need proper rules on digital evidence, so courts aren’t misled and innocent people are protected.
The action asked for by my petition would not interfere with judicial discretion, but rather provide clearer legislative guidance to protect against the misuse of fabricated or contextless digital submissions, particularly in summary cases.
The motivation behind this proposal is not only my own experience, but related to wider concerns about how easily digital material can be manipulated and misused in the justice system, especially as such material becomes increasingly common in both prosecution and defence submissions.
Remove teachers’ ability to backdate and alter school records
- 24 Signatures
Scottish schools use the SEEMiS application for school records. It’s essential and in the public interest that school records are accurate like other public systems of records such as the NHS or Police Scotland.
Teachers, unlike the police or NHS staff, are able to use functionality to alter a record after it was created. One of our members took a council to court to prove this, after the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman wrongly relied on school records our member knew had not been recorded contemporaneously. Following a court order he discovered that over 10 school records had been created and made to look like they had been recorded before alleged safeguarding failures caused significant harm to his child. We have since discovered that this has been going on for years.
A recent response from the Information Commissioner’s Office to a complaint we raised on this matter recognised that, in the above case, the council’s practice did not comply with data protection legislation. The practice is also open to abuse, a risk to children, and it must be stopped.
The Personal Footcare Guidance outlines who can carry out personal footcare, including clipping and filing toenails, based on a risk assessment. This includes the person, their family, friends or carers. Even if you are entitled to personal care, you can wait months to be assessed. Some carers do not always cut toenails or are not trained, and paying a podiatrist can cost over £40. You also may not be able to get a carer due to where you live.
Lack of this vital service detrimentally impacts on people’s mobility and they are more likely to suffer a serious fall. They are also more vulnerable to cuts on their feet due to inappropriate toenail cutting, leading to increased risk of infection, sepsis or even gangrene. This can lead to longer hospital stays, impacting on people’s independence and quality of life while they wait for a personal care plan before discharge.
Provide BID levy relief to charities and non-profit organisations
- 67 Signatures
The primary aim of our petition is a change in national policy to bring the Business Improvement District (BID) levy in line with existing non-domestic rates relief legislation for charities and non-profit organisations.
This would ensure consistency in how charitable organisations are treated across different local taxation mechanisms.
Currently, while charities may receive up to 100% relief on non-domestic rates, they are still liable for the full BID levy in many areas, regardless of their charitable status or community benefit. This creates a financial burden that undermines the intent of the original rates relief legislation.
It would also be good to look at the health of BIDs more widely. For example, in our local Paisley ballot, out of 673 businesses, only 260 voted. Of these, 201 were in favour of the BID and 59 against. The ballot was legitimate, with over 25% of businesses voting. However, 413 businesses never took part and 59 said no, so the majority of businesses in the area were not necessarily in favour of the BID.
Introduce mandatory latex labelling for food products sold in Scotland
- 195 Signatures
Food packaging containing latex, mainly cold seal used in chocolate, ice-cream and biscuits should be labelled. The latex can transfer onto the chocolate, ice-cream and biscuits causing reactions that can be severe. I was told by Cadbury that latex is not included in the 14 allergens so they legally don't need to include it. 1-6% of the population has a latex allergy so we need this information to prevent our allergy getting worse.
The cold seal issue has been known since 2006, but nothing has been done about it. Some companies like Mars use a non latex version. People like me have been having "random" reactions for years and not realised it was the cold seal in Cadbury chocolate. I now know to avoid it but others don't as there is no warning on the packaging. The only way to avoid a latex allergy getting worse is to avoid latex which is impossible if we do not know it could be there.