(619)  PROGRESS OF BILLS

The sad fate of the Civil Appeals (Scotland) Bill (see No 618 below) has not been shared by others of the many Bills under consideration at Holyrood.  As the Parliament rose for the 2006 Christmas/New Year holidays, it could congratulate itself on the passage of the Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Bill on 14 December (see No 593 for the Bill’s content), and, on 7 December, of the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Bill (which allows unmarried couples (whether or not of different sex) to adopt jointly).  Meantime, the Scottish Register of Tartans Bill (for which see No 608) was under Stage 1 committee consideration, while other significant Bills – Crofting Reform etc and Criminal Proceedings etc (what a convenient word etc” is for legislators) – were still further down the legislative track.  Looming on the horizon is the Rights of Relatives to Damages (Mesothelioma) Bill