Bill proposed that would make food a legal right
A proposal for a draft bill that would see the right to food enshrined in Scottish law has been lodged by a Labour MSP. Rhoda Grant’s The Right to Food (Scotland) Bill would establish an independent statutory body to oversee food policy to ensure that no-one goes hungry in Scotland. If the bill became law, the Scottish Government would have responsibility for ensuring that food is available, accessible, and adequate for everyone. Ms Grant said: “Many of us take the availability of food for granted, but the truth is tens of thousands of people in Scotland are living in food poverty, even in 2021. The pandemic has only exacerbated this, making the need for action all the more urgent. My bill will enshrine a right to food in law, placing responsibility on the Scottish Government to make this a reality.”

The Journal of the Law Society of Scotland  

UK Green parties at loggerheads over Scots plan for self-ID
A rift has appeared between the British Greens and the party in Scotland over the latter’s support of transgender reforms. It comes as Scottish ministers are to press ahead with plans to let people quickly change their gender from the age of 16 as an urgent priority, with a bill introduced in the next year. Feminists have argued that the move puts women at risk, and claim the Scottish Government should follow Boris Johnson’s decision to drop similar legislation at Westminster over concerns about the impact on children. While the Scottish Greens have been among the strongest advocates for change, supporting reform of the gender recognition act by the power-sharing administration they have joined, women in the English Greens are lobbying against.
The Times  

Asian gold targeted in housebreakings across Scotland
A spate of housebreakings across Scotland have seen Asian gold worth £200,000 stolen in just 10 days. In the spree starting on 21 August, 14 homes were targeted spanning Bathgate, Beith, Stranraer, Cambuslang, Paisley, Stepps, East Kilbride and Glasgow. Asian gold is jewellery bought and held by south Asian families, and often passed down through the generations. Detectives want to trace a gun-metal grey Cupra Ateca car, believed to have been in the area of each crime. Police are investigating the linked crimes as part of Operation Suitcase, launched in response to a significant number of Asian homes being broken into and high-value gold and other expensive items being stolen.
BBC News  

Five more charged after sectarian singing in Glasgow
Another five men have been charged with singing racist songs in Glasgow before Sunday's Old Firm match. Police Scotland said they expected to make "numerous" arrests after footage emerged online appearing to show Rangers fans singing a sectarian song before the game at Ibrox. The men, aged 20, 21, 23, 23 and 26 were released to appear at Glasgow Sheriff Court at a later date. It brings the total number charged in connection with the incident to eight.

BBC News  

Edinburgh council reverses evictions ban
City of Edinburgh Council has ended a moratorium on evicting council tenants, just two months after it was introduced. Housing bosses said they will only take tenants to court "to prompt engagement" with people racking up rent arrears. Cllr Kate Campbell said: “We’ve put in an extra step and have a multi-disciplinary support team which we refer people to before taking court action. Eight in ten tenants have had positive engagement with this team, so don’t go onto the court process. And we’ll keep looking for more ways this team can intervene even earlier and expand the work they do to help more tenants. We have served no notices since moving to level zero. We will only ever go to court as an absolute last resort, to prompt engagement with tenants who have accrued a very high level of arrears."
Edinburgh Evening News  

GMB to ballot school and refuse workers on strike action
The GMB Scotland trade union is to ballot members employed in local authority refuse services and schools for industrial action, after 95% of members rejected COSLA's latest pay offer in a consultative ballot. Senior organiser for public services Drew Duffy accused COSLA of "dither and delay", saying the body had "failed to table a pay offer that reflects decent value for many workers who have been part of the frontline response to COVID-19" and who are "still mired on pre-pandemic pay rates – there has been no 'thank you' for these workers." 
STV   Herald Scotland  

SNP calls for 'cast-iron guarantee' on care funding
The SNP has called on the UK Government to give a "cast-iron guarantee" that the Scottish Government will receive proportionate funding if the Government proceeds with reported plans to increase National Insurance to pay for the reform of social care in England. MP Alison Thewliss said that unless Scotland receives "every penny we are due in Barnett consequentials", the UK Government "is essentially imposing a UK-wide tax to fund an England-only policy, which would be grossly unfair on Scottish taxpayers." "We shouldn’t have to ask for this commitment", she added, "it should be a given – but the Tories have shown time and again that they cannot be trusted to stand up for Scotland."
Herald Scotland  

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Paper QR codes can act as vaccine certificate
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf has announced that people in Scotland can download, or receive by post, a QR code that can be used to show their vaccination status to gain access to nightclubs or events under rules still to be approved by the Scottish Parliament. The codes are being added to all vaccination records requested from Friday, and can be downloaded from the NHS Inform website. Mr Yousaf told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland that the "benefits of a certification scheme, in terms of a public health intervention, in terms of incentivising vaccination, those benefits outweigh the concerns that still remain", and that the QR codes would ensure that those without access to a smartphone would not be excluded.
BBC News  

Council and police to address anti-social behaviour
South Lanarkshire Council, Police Scotland, and local MSP Clare Haughey are to meet on Monday to discuss how to tackle anti-social behaviour in Rutherglen, after two men were assaulted near to the underpass at Mill Street last month. Cllr Janine Calikes comments: "In this particular part of Rutherglen, youth disorder and anti-social behaviour has affected communities for quite some time. Whether these have each been isolated incidents or linked to the same group is something I am hoping to get answers about."
The Daily Record