The Senate, on Friday (June 20), approved amendments to three pieces of legislation, which impose harsher penalties for murder, especially in cases involving the killing of children.  The Bills are the Offences Against the Person (Amendment) Act 2025, the Criminal Justice (Administration) (Amendment) Act 2025 and the Child Care and Protection (Amendment) Act 2025.  They seek to increase the mandatory minimum...

As the elderly population in the country grows, emphasis is being placed on the holistic care of these persons. So important is this focus, a Special Select Committee of the Senate is reviewing a Private Member's Motion on a proposal for an Elderly Care and Protection Act. Consultant Psychiatrist, Senator Dr. Saphire Longmore, and a member of the Committee, said...

The Senate has passed legislation granting public officers born between August 1, 1961 and February 28, 1963, the option of retiring before reaching age 65 while still receiving full benefits. Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Senator Dr. the Hon. Dana Morris Dixon, piloted the Pensions (Public Service) (Amendment and Validation) Act 2025 through the Upper House on Friday...

The National School Nutrition Policy, which aims to ensure that children are healthy and ready to learn, is to be implemented in all early-childhood, primary, secondary, and special education schools, both public and private. A copy of the policy, which was recently approved by Cabinet, was tabled in the Senate today (May 9), by Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and...

The House of Representatives, on Tuesday (April 29,) approved the Public Procurement Competition Thresholds Order 2025, Resolution. In her remarks, Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Fayval Williams, said the Public Procurement Act was passed in 2015 and amended in 2018 and in March 2025. She indicated that the amendments were necessary to rectify conceptual or fundamental deficiencies,...

Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Senator Dr. the Hon. Dana Morris Dixon, says the passage of the Jamaica Teaching Council (JTC) Act, 2025, will strengthen efforts to advance the quality and accountability framework within the country’s teaching profession. The legislation, which is intended to professionalise, regulate and elevate the profession, was passed in the Senate on Friday, April...

Government Senator, Kavan Gayle, said the Jamaica Teaching Council (JTC) Act, 2025, represents a decisive step towards modernising the governance framework of the teaching profession in Jamaica. Making his contribution to the debate on the legislation in the Senate on April 25, Senator Gayle said the legislation acknowledges the realities of the country’s current education landscape, and introduces mechanisms to...