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Events

1 February: Richard Lochhead, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, welcomed the decision of Forth Ports plc not to proceed with ship to ship transfers of oil in the Firth of Forth. Mr Lochhead said he was grateful to Forth Ports for their engagement with the Scottish Government and with the Scottish Parliament on this issue. Mr Lochhead said that he was also pleased that the UK Government has finally accepted the case, put forward by the Scottish Government, with the unanimous support of the Scottish Parliament, to bring forward a revised regulatory framework for ship to ship oil transfers across the UK.

4 February: John Swinney, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth, announced that support for projects designed to breathe new life into Scottish town and city centres is to be extended. From the 1st of April towns around Scotland will be able to apply for a one-off grant of up to £15,000 to help launch their own Business Improvement Districts (BIDs). A BID is an area of a town, city, commercial district or rural area, where local businesses vote to invest collectively in local improvements, services and projects for the benefit of the community.

4 February: Richard Lochhead, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, announced the start of a scheme that rewards fishermen who help conserve cod stocks with extra days at sea. The scheme introduces strict conservation measures such as the voluntary closure of areas when juvenile or spawning cod are encountered by boats as well as controls on net sizes. In return for complying with these measures, fishermen will this year be able to have the same number of days at sea as they had in 2007.

5 February: publication of a report by the Forum for Renewable Energy Development in Scotland (FREDS) which states that more energy is used for heating and hot water in Scotland than for transport and electricity combined. Jim Mather, Energy Minister, said that he welcomed the report and will consider the recommendations carefully for development of an action plan for renewable heat in Scotland.

6 February: the inaugural meeting took place of Scotland's National Economic Forum, bringing together key representatives from the private, public, third sector and trade unions. The Forum's purpose is to enable those at the forefront of driving Scotland's economy forward to debate and discuss the economic challenges and priorities. It is designed to inform the work of the Council of Economic Advisers, and play an important role in delivering on the Government's Economic Strategy. Alex Salmond, First Minister, said that the Parliament's number one priority is to increase sustainable economic growth in Scotland.

6 February: the first budget of the new Scottish Government received the support of Parliament. The Budget includes:

Record investment in Local Government including £70 million to freeze the Council Tax
£23.5 million to begin the process of recruiting an additional 1,000 police officers
Funds to abolish the graduate endowment fee and investment of £29 million to begin the phased transition from student loans to grants
£41.1 million to take Scotland closer to becoming a zero waste society, including £2.5 million for community recycling projects
£90 million this year to reduce hospital waiting times

7 February: an event entitled 'Fresh Perspectives on Alcohol and Drugs' organised by Scotland Futures Forum was held at the Parliament. The Forum hopes to stimulate open and honest debate on the causes and impacts of drug and alcohol misuse across Scottish society.

8 February: the Council of Economic Advisers met for the second time to consider the next steps Scotland must take to meet the economic growth targets set out in the Government Economic Strategy (GES). Alex Salmond, First Minister, said one of their key issues is the target to increase economic growth to the UK level by 2011.

8 February: Linda Fabiani, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Minister, announced funding of a further £300,000 is to be invested in projects which aim to attract fresh talent by encouraging international students and graduates to stay on in Scotland. The funding is being made available to universities and colleges in Scotland to support projects in the 2008-09 academic year.

8 February: publication of statistics by Scotland's Chief Statistician relating to local authority expenditure on schools. The main findings are:

There was a 4% increase in local authority revenue spend on education, equating to a 1.5% real terms increase.
Average spend per pupil in primary was £4,403 and, in secondary, £6,120.
There was a 32% increase in capital spend on primary and secondary, and a 133% increase in special.

8 February: start of a ten day visit to Malawi by a cross-party delegation of MSPs, including Karen Gillon, Alasdair Morgan and Sarah Boyack. The visit was organised by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Scotland Branch as part of the Parliament's commitment to strengthening democracy and the role of the country's National Assembly.

11 February: drivers were able to cross the Forth and Tay road bridges free of charge as all tolls were abolished after more than 40 years.

12 February: Scotland Food & Drink's first national conference took place at Gleneagles Hotel. Richard Lochhead, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, said that the discussion will help them develop a national food policy designed to boost jobs and business, help make food healthier and minimise the environmental impacts of food production, manufacture and retail.

13 February: Fiona Hyslop, Education Secretary, and Grahame Smith, STUC General Secretary, visited Ireland's National Centre for Partnership and Performance. Ms Hyslop said the reason for their visit was to find out more about the Irish National Workplace Strategy and establish whether they can learn lessons for Scotland.

13 February: Alex Salmond, First Minister, delivered a lecture at Trinity College Dublin on "Scotland's National Conversation - The Next Steps". Mr Salmond said that the Irish model of Social Partnership has laid the foundations for two decades of unrivalled economic progress and this was his reason for coming to Dublin to set out the Parliament's aspirations for Scotland's future - how they will create a Celtic Lion economy to rival the Celtic Tiger across the Irish Sea. The full speech is available at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/This-Week/Speeches/First-Minister/dublin

20 February: Alex Salmond, First Minister, had a meeting in Edinburgh with First Minister of Northern Ireland Ian Paisley and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness. The Ministers agreed:

To sign a declaration making a commitment to give urgent consideration to the feasibility study on the possible reinstatement of the Campbeltown-Ballycastle ferry service as soon as it is available.
That they share interest in the renewables potential that surrounds them and that harnessing that potential can meet future energy demands several times over while tackling climate change.

21 February: Alex Salmond, First Minister, spoke at the launch of China Now In Scotland (CNIS) at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh. Mr Salmond was joined by dignitaries from Scotland and China to open Spirit, the Chinese Spring Lantern Festival, the first of more than 100 events being co-ordinated by the Confucius Institute for Scotland as part of China Now in Scotland. Mr Salmond said that the festival as designed to develop international connections and greater understanding between the two nations.

21 February: the Slovenian Ambassador to the UK, His Excellency Iztok Mirosic, visited the Parliament to set out the priorities of the current Slovenian Presidency of the European Union. The Ambassador met with the First Minister as well as representative of the other political parties.

25 February: publication of the Regulatory Review Group's interim report 'Towards Better Regulation for Scotland - A New Partnership between the Scottish Government and Business'. The report makes proposals for lawmakers and businesses that would include:

More detailed consultation and visits to individual business premises before laws are drawn up.
A mandatory Business Impact Assessment for Scottish legislation.
A requirement for business to dedicate time and resources needed to allow Government to consult meaningfully with them.

28 February: the Scottish Parliament approved the Graduate Endowment Abolition (Scotland) Bill which restores free education and means that all current and future students, as well as those who graduated on or after April 1, 2007 will not have to pay the £2,289 graduate endowment fee.

Appointments

7 February: Sir Robert Smith, Chairman for the Weir Group plc, former CEO of Morgan Grenfell Private Equity and BBC Governor and Chairman for the Broadcasting Council for Scotland, was appointed as Chair of the Organising Committee of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Bills

6 February: the Budget (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3 was passed by Parliament.

28 February: the Graduate Endowment Abolition (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3 was passed by Parliament. The Bill provides for the abolition of the fee known as the Graduate Endowment ('GE') for students who successfully completed their course on 1 April 2007 or thereafter.

A summary of the Bills passed by the Parliament in the 1999-2003 and 2003-2007 sessions can be found on the Parliament website at

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/bills/billsPassed/billsum-s1.htm

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/bills/billsnotInProgress-s2/index.htm

Committees

27 February: Rhona Martin, the gold medal-winning Olympic curler, appeared before the Parliament's Health and Sport Committee to give evidence as part of its Pathways into Sport Inquiry.

Research opportunities

The Scottish Parliament has a budget for commissioning research for Parliamentary committees and holds a database of researchers interested in tendering for committee research. Anyone wishing to be included in the database should complete the on-line form on the Parliament website at

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/corporate/recruitment/extResearcher/index.htm

Scottish Executive Publications

Scottish Executive publications can be accessed on the Scottish Executive website at www.scotland.gov.uk/publications/recent.aspx

Some of those published in February 2008 include:

1 February: Taking Forward The Government Economic Strategy: A Discussion Paper on Tackling Poverty, Inequality and Deprivation in Scotland: consultation paper.

5 February: Scotland's Renewable Heat Strategy: Recommendations to Scottish Ministers.

8 February: Scottish Local Government Financial Statistics 2006-07: information on Scottish local authority income and expenditure, outstanding debt and local taxes.

25 February: Scotland's Budget Documents 2008-09: Budget (Scotland) Bill Supporting Document for the year ending 31 March 2009.