Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications Act: FOI release

FOI reference: FOI/18/00366
Date received: 7 February 2018
Date responded: 27 February 2018

Information requested

Information in relation to the following report:

An evaluation of section 1 of the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012, The University of Stirling, ScotCen Social Research, The University of Glasgow.

1. Who funded the report, and the research on which it was based?

2. How much funding was involved and who provided it?

3. How many other reports relating to the same Act (2012) have been commissioned by the Scottish government? If there are not too many, I would be obliged if you could name them and include a link to them on internet."

Response

In response to your first and second questions, the Scottish Government paid for the independent review of section 1 of the Act which cost £152,741 excluding VAT. In response to your third question, the only other piece of research commissioned by the Scottish Government was an in-house review of section 6 of the Act which can be found here:

http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2015/06/5693

Each financial year (since 2012-13), the Scottish Government conducts an analysis of the number of charges under section 1 and section 6 of the Act. Annual reports based on these analyses can be found here:

2012-13 http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2013/06/4590/0

2013-14 http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2014/06/8566

2014-15 http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2015/06/7911

2015-16 http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2016/06/5808

2016-17 http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2017/06/7620

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