A charitable fund set up by 19th century Glasgow philanthropist Isabella Elder should be allowed to modernise and help more people, according to a report published today by a Scottish Parliament Committee.

The report by the Ure Elder Transfer and Dissolution Bill Committee also recommends a review into around 185 other Scottish charities set up under legislation to see if they can be assisted without the need of individual Private Bills.

The committee also recommends that a Private Bill should go ahead to enable the 100-year-old Ure Elder Fund for Indigent Widow Ladies to modernise. At present the fund can only offer an annual grant of £25 (£2,300 in current prices) to widow ladies resident in Govan or Glasgow.

The Ure Elder Fund for Indigent Widow Ladies was established by an Act of Parliament in 1906 and requires another Act to revise it. The proposed Ure Elder Transfer & Dissolution Bill – a Private Bill promoted by the current trustees – will transfer the rights and interests of the Fund to a new Trust which will be regulated by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator.

Background
Born in the Gorbals in 1828, Isabella Elder became a pioneering philanthropist in Govan where her husband John Elder had a shipbuilding yard. After his death, Isabella directed much of her work towards the further education of women and the health of the people of Govan.

In the 1880s, Isabella bought land opposite her husband’s former shipyard and laid it out as a public park for the people of Govan called Elder Park. She went on to establish a School for Domestic Economy and built and financed the Elder Cottage Hospital and Elder Free Library in the area.

A firm believer in women’s education, Isabella gifted North Park House (later the home of the BBC) to Queen Margaret College and, with her encouragement, a medical school for women opened in 1890.

Isabella Elder died in 1905 and is buried in the Glasgow Necropolis. A statue funded by the people of Govan was erected in the rose garden of Elder Park, nearby a statue of her husband. Isabella is also depicted on the gates of Glasgow University in University Avenue and in the stained glass window of the university’s Bute Hall.

There are five types of Bill – Executive, Committee, Private, Member’s and Hybrid. A Private Bill is introduced by a promoter, who may be a person, a company or a group of people, for the purpose of obtaining particular powers or benefits that are in addition to, or in conflict with, the general law.

Private Bills generally relate to development projects, the use of land, or the property or status of the promoter. For example, the Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine Railway and Linked Improvements Bill granted powers to Clackmannanshire Council required for the reconstruction of the railway between Stirling and Kincardine.

Private Bills are different to Public Bills as they involve measures in the private interests of the promoter, which others may object to. The role of the Parliament is to consider the Bill and arbitrate between the promoter and objectors.

What happens now?
Private Bills are subject to a three-stage parliamentary process.

1. The preliminary stage
The Bill is published, kicking off a 60-day objection period. This allows anyone who thinks their interests will be adversely affected to lodge an objection. Objections must be lodged with the clerks at the Scottish Parliament and accompanied by a fee of £20.

At the end of the 60-day period a committee of MSPs, whose role is to act neutrally between Bill promoters and objectors, will then look at all objections. If the committee is satisfied that an objection is not based on a reasonable claim that the objector’s interests would be adversely affected, it is rejected.

The committee also examines the general principles of the Bill and reports its findings to the Scottish Parliament.

The Parliament then debates the report of the committee and decides whether to agree to let the Bill proceed to the next stage. Any non-relevant objections will be knocked out. The committee then reports to the Scottish Parliament on whether there is a need for the Bill and whether that need has been established by the promoters of the Bill.

2. The consideration stage
The Committee considers the detail of the Bill and looks at each objection and makes a decision on each. It will report to Parliament on it decisions. Then, as with any Stage 2 of a Public Bill, amendments can be made to the Bill. However, only those MSPs on the Committee may lodge and vote on amendments at this Stage.

3. Final stage
As with any Stage 3 of a Public Bill, amendments may be lodged to amend the Bill. This time any MSP may lodge an amendment and it would be voted on by the whole Parliament. A final debate takes place in the Chamber with a vote where the Bill will be passed or fall.

Subject to the Scottish Parliament debate scheduled for February 10, the committee has agreed to ask the Parliamentary Bureau to suspend Standing Orders to dispense with the Consideration Stage and move straight to the Final Stage. There were no objections lodged to the Bill and no committee amendments. The same process was followed in 2005 with the Baird Trust Reorganisation Committee.

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