Cc-uk mailing list

[Jonathan Mitchell <website3 AT jonathanmitchell.info>]

Subscribers to this mailing list may be interested in progress on the
Statute Law Database, which will next year make publicly available the
complete amended and up to date  text of all UK statutory provisions. Below
is an exchange of emails with the Department of Constitutional Affairs which
is responsible for this project.
There is also an ongoing Scottish Parliament consultation on making the
parliamentary process more open which raises the issue of public
accessibility and reuse of parliamentary material; the email contact who can
provide the consultation paper  is
<Catherine.Fergusson AT scottish.parliament.uk> but the links from
www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/committees/subleg/currentInquiries.htm
are dead. 

Jonathan
--
Jonathan Mitchell QC

Work telephone/mobile: 0773 963 9343
Faculty internal mobile extension: 3349
Fax to laptop: 0870 124 8222
Business address: Advocates Library, Parliament House, Edinburgh EH1 1RF,
Scotland
DX ED 549302, Edinburgh 36; Legal Post LP3, Edinburgh 10

Website: http://www.jonathanmitchell.info

Home address: 30 Warriston Crescent, Edinburgh EH3 5LB, Scotland.
Home telephone: 0131 557 0854.

This message, and any attachments, may contain legally privileged material
and are confidential to the intended recipient.

Please note that my clerk is Iain Murray; tel. 0131 260 5697; fax 0131 220
2654; e-mail murraystable AT advocates.org.uk . Instructions as counsel should
unless otherwise notified be channelled via him.


------ Forwarded Message
From: spohelpdesk <spohelpdesk AT DCA.GSI.GOV.UK>
Date: Fri, 10 Sep 2004 08:37:00 +0100
To: 'Jonathan Mitchell' <jonathanmitchell AT mac.com>
Subject: RE: Statute Law Database

Jonathan,

Thank you for your email.

1.    There will be no change to the content of the database.  The
contract for the SLD Enquiry system has recently been     awarded and the
current estimate is that a pilot enquiry system will be made available via
GSI around March 2005.      The     existing database will remain
available until this time.  Access for the public is still planned for
Spring of     next year.

2.    The SLD will include Acts of the Scottish Parliament and Scottish
Subordinate legislation.

3.    The current SLD is written in SGML, however the new system will be
written in XML.  We are currently converting all     existing documents
from SGML to XML.  The amending history of Primary Acts from 1st February
1991 will be readily     visible.

I hope this is of some help but should you require any further information
please do not hesitate to contact me.

Kerry Nash
Helpdesk Manager
Statutory Publications Office
020 7210 2666


-----Original Message-----
From: Jonathan Mitchell [mailto:jonathanmitchell AT mac.com]
Sent: 09 September 2004 15:45
To: spohelpdesk
Cc: Lorna Drummond; Daniel Kelly; Mark Lindsay; Jonathan Mitchell
Subject: Re: Statute Law Database


Thank you very much for this.

I am now tasked with looking at this in the context of the Scottish
Parliament's 'Inquiry into the Regulatory Framework'. May I ask:

1. Is there any change in the forecast, either as to timetable or content?

2. Will the SLD include Acts of the Scottish Parliament and Scottish
subordinate legislation?

3. From a technical aspect, am I right in thinking  that the entire SLD is
written in SGML, so that the amending history is readily visible?

Jonathan

> From: spohelpdesk <spohelpdesk AT DCA.GSI.GOV.UK>
> Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 12:51:44 +0100
> To: 'Jonathan Mitchell' <jonathanmitchell AT mac.com>
> Subject: RE: Statute Law Database
> 
> Dear Jonathan,
> 
> Thank you for your recent enquiry regarding the Statute Law Database
(SLD).
> 
> The current forecast for the SLD made available to the public is Spring
> 2005.  It is expected that updated legislation will be made available free
> of charge although historical views of amendments will attract a charge
> (discussions on this subject are currently underway).
> 
> The enquiry system is still in the logical design stage at the moment,
> Browser facilities will not be considered until we specify the hosting
> environment.  However, I can assure you that we do have an objective for
> making the system as accessible as possible.
> 
> I hope this answers your enquiry but should you require any further
> information please do not hesitate to contact me.
> 
> Kerry Nash
> SPOHelpdesk
> Statutory Publications Office
> 020 7210 2666
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jonathan Mitchell [mailto:jonathanmitchell AT mac.com]
> Sent: 17 May 2004 14:49
> To: spohelpdesk
> Subject: Re: Statute Law Database
> Importance: High
> 
> 
> I wonder if you could tell me what the current forecast is for public
online
> access to SLD and whether this is still proposed to be free? I know that
> there seems to have been a 'constantly receding horizon' for this forecast
> of about one year in the future, but your estimate of below is still the
one
> I quote on my own website.
> 
> Can I also ask whether it can be confirmed that this will be accessible
> using non-Microsoft software? I know the UK Online and Direct Gov sites
are
> all supposed to be cross-platform but there have been some lapses.
> 
> Jonathan

> 
>> From: spohelpdesk <spohelpdesk AT DCA.GSI.GOV.UK>
>> Date: Tue, 30 Sep 2003 15:48:21 +0100
>> To: 'Jonathan Mitchell' <jonathanmitchell AT mac.com>
>> Subject: RE: Statute Law Database
>> 
>> Jonathan,
>> 
>> Thank you for your recent enquiry concerning the Statute Law Database
> (SLD).
>> 
>> SLD is currently under development by the Statutory Publications Office
>> (SPO) and is only available to a small number of selected users in
>> government on a pilot basis. When complete, SLD will be published as the
>> official revised version of the UK statute book. The present position is
>> that SPO are in the process of commissioning a new electronic system for
> the
>> maintenance of the database. It is planned that the new SLD will be made
>> available to government users generally through the Government Secure
>> Intranet in the early part of 2004 and released to the general public via
>> the 'UK Online' website later in the year. It is expected that the basic
>> online service will be free of charge (though re-use of SLD data and any
>> 'added value' services will probably be charged for).
>> 
>> In the meantime, recent legislation, in the form in which it was enacted,
>> can be viewed on the website of Her Majesty's Stationery Office at
>> www.hmso.gov.uk . Alternatively, copies of legislation can be obtained
> from
>> The Stationery Office Ltd. at www.tso.co.uk .
>> 
>> I hope this is of help.
>> 
>> Kerry Nash 
>> SPOHelpdesk 
>> Admin Officer 
>> Statutory Publications Office
>> 020 7210 2666 
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Jonathan Mitchell [mailto:jonathanmitchell AT mac.com]
>> Sent: 30 September 2003 15:45
>> To: spohelpdesk AT lcdhq.gsi.gov.uk
>> Subject: Statute Law Database
>> 
>> 
>> What is the current timetable for the rollout of the Statute Law Database
> to
>> the public please? Is it still proposed that access will be free?
>> -- 
>> Jonathan Mitchell
>>