Royal Family news reveals that King Charles III has been permitted to assess and possibly lobby for changes to emergency legislation regarding rent freezes in Scotland. Read on and we’ll fill you in on the details.
Royal Family News: How Does Rent Freeze Affect King Charles?
Royal Family news reveals that rent freeze measures being rushed through Scottish parliament this week could affect tenants on Charles’s private Highland estate at Balmoral, and, according to the Guardian, the King is being allowed to vet the proceedings.
The bill, intended to stop landlords from unjustifiably raising rents over the next six months because of the cost-of-living crisis, is being rushed through the Scottish parliament.
Scottish Government Says Laws Were Altered
King Charles’s involvement which falls under rules known in Scotland as “crown consent,” can now be revealed after the rules at Holyrood were changed after the Guardian carried out an investigation into the monarchy’s power to influence or amend laws in the United Kingdom.
It was discovered last year that Edinburgh ministers had allowed Queen Elizabeth II to vet at least 67 pieces of legislation that affected her personal property and public powers. The obscure custom was reportedly inherited from Westminster.
According to a Scottish government meme, they were “almost certain: laws had been secretly altered to secure the Queen’s approval.
Bill Becomes Emergency Legislation
A motion to treat said bill as emergency legislation was passed by a vote of 86 to 28 on Tuesday, according to The National. The Tories voiced their opposition to the move, claiming MSPs were not given enough time to properly assess the bill.
Nicola Sturgeon announced the private and social rental sector freeze in the Programme for Government last month. New legislation was introduced in order to backdate the freeze to September 6.
Memorandum Says Bill Requires Crown Consent
The government has reportedly not said if any of the changes were made to the bill at the King’s behest. An omission that has drawn criticism from Scottish Liberal Democrats who have said that the measures “barely scratch the surface.”
Scottish Liberal democratic leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said, “The Scottish Government should instead list any changes made to legislation at the request of the King’s lawyers when it arrives at and goes through Parliament. Everyone deserves to know how their laws are being made.”
According to a policy memorandum that was published along with the draft bill said, “Crown Consent will be required because it is considered that the provisions in the bill affecting private residential tenancies could affect residential tenancies on His Majesty’s private estates and those on land forming part of the Scottish Crown Estate.”
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