Parliament News
issue 13 / december 2001
Institute of Governance > Parliament News, issue 13 / december 2001 |
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Parliament Newsissue 13 / december 2001 |
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Events29 November: Jack McConnell, First Minister, was named Scottish Politician of the Year in the annual awards sponsored by The Herald and Zurich Financial Services. 2 December: Cathy Jamieson, Minister for Education and Young People, handed over the running of schools and teachers to her Deputy Minister Nicol Stephen. 10 December: Jim Wallace, Justice Minister, announced that a Human Rights Commission for Scotland is to be created to help build a human rights culture. The Commission will be established as an independent body. 12 December: John Swinney, SNP, Shadow First Minister & Opposition Leader, carried out a minor reshuffle of his Shadow Ministerial team that now comprises:
12 December: Sir David Steel, the Presiding Office, informed the Parliament's Finance Committee that due to delays within a number of individual construction packages, £18.5 million has been added to the risk register to cover costs for the new Parliament building at Holyrood. If used this would bring the cost of the building to £260 million. The earliest expected occupation date is May 2003. 13 December: Jack McConnell visited Whitehall and the House of Commons and became the first First Minister to make an official visit to address the Scottish Labour Party MPs at Westminster. Mr McConnell called on the politicians in Holyrood and Westminster to demonstrate mutual respect, stressing the need for both parliaments to work together. 13 December: Ross Finnie, Minister for Environment and Rural Development, announced that grants totalling £25 million are to be offered to 108 fishing boat owners to decommission their vessels and surrender their licences. The Executive expects the decommissioning scheme to achieve a better balance between fishing fleet capacity and available fishing opportunities. 18 December: Andy Kerr, Finance Minister announced plans for changing the way local councils are elected. Mr Kerr said the reform would be based on the principles of last year's Kerley Committee report which recommended that Scottish councillors be elected by a system of proportional representation. Mr Kerr said that a White Paper on the future of local government will be published before Easter and this will be followed by a consultation period lasting four months. After parliament reconvenes in September 2002 the Executive will set out the next steps to be taken. 19 December: The Senior Salaries Review Body recommended that MSPs pay be set at 87.5% of their Westminster counterparts and Cabinet Ministers' salaries remain unchanged. Mr Tommy Sheridan, SSP, urged MSPs to reject the MSP pay increase proposal, saying he would vote against it. There was also a recommendation that the leader of the largest party (not in the Executive) should receive an annual salary of £32,422, in addition to the salary received as an MSP. This proposal was rejected by John Swinney, SNP, and the other main party leaders. 20 December: Ross Finnie, Minister for the Environment and Rural Development, announced conservation awards totalling £18 million to be paid to farmers and crofters for projects including the Rural Stewardship Scheme 2001 which will enable 380 Scottish farmers and crofters to manage 150,000 hectares of land for the benefit of the environment and wildlife over the next five years. System Three poll (for The Herald)(1063 people in 41 constituencies between January 3-9, 2002) The System Three poll carried out at the beginning of January noted voting intentions for both the Scottish Parliament (two votes) and the House of Commons.
Bills6 December: the principles of the Water Industry (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1 were agreed to in Parliament. The Bill provides for the restructuring of the water industry to combine the three existing authorities into one, Scotland-wide authority, to be called Scottish Water. It will ensure that the views of customers are properly represented by establishing Water Customer Consultation Panels under an independent Convenor and it will safeguard public health by creating the post of Drinking Water Quality Regulator. 20 December: the Scottish Local Government (Elections) Bill: Stage 3 was passed in Parliament. The aims of the Bill are to extend local authority terms from three to four years and to bring the timing of local government elections in line with those for the Scottish Parliament. 21 December: the School Education (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3 was passed in Parliament. This bill amends the law about the provision of education for children under school age for whom placing requests have been made, and makes provision relating to the abolition of the post of assistant headteacher.
Committees4 December: the Audit Committee published a report stating that lack of proper management skills and weaknesses in the Board of Management at Moray College were to blame for a £2 million deficit. The Committee made several recommendations for improvement. 6 December: the Health and Enterprise Committees called for evidence seeking views on the general principles of the Tobacco Promotion and Advertising (Scotland) Bill. The purpose of the Bill is to ban tobacco advertising and promotion (including sponsorship) of tobacco products with certain limitations. The Committee expects to take oral evidence on the Bill from 23 January. 11 December: the European Committee published the 'Report on the Governance of the European Union and the Future of Europe: What role for Scotland?' after a seven-month inquiry which was aimed at initiating a debate in Scotland on how the EU should be governed and what Scotland's role should be. The report made numerous recommendations including that there be more involvement of Scottish Executive Ministers and officials in meetings of the Council of the EU and preparatory working groups. 14 December: the Finance Committee published a report on the Scottish Executive's draft budget for 2002/03. Last year serious concern was expressed at the lack of information and the way it was provided, but the Committee reported that this year's process has gone a long way to meeting previous criticism and as a result the level of detailed scrutiny is much greater than at Westminster. 18 December: The Education Committee published a report calling for the establishment of a transitionary body to take the lead role in building towards a dedicated Gaelic television channel. The report made numerous recommendations. 19 December: The Health and Community Care Committee published a report calling for urgent clarification from the Executive as to when and how hepatitis C sufferers infected through NHS treatment are to receive practical assistance. 20 December: the Education Committee published an interim report on education services in the Borders. 21 December: the Justice 2 Committee announced that it will hold its first formal meeting outside Edinburgh in Inverness on 14 January where it will take evidence from a number of organisations on the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill's provisions relating to access. Committee Membership29 November: the Parliament agreed the following changes in membership of committees (resulting in part from changes in Executive posts noted last month):
20 December:
Research opportunitiesThe 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 www.scottish.parliament.uk/whats_happening/research/ext-res-form.html PublicationsScottish Executive publications can be accessed on the Scottish Executive website at www.scotland.gov.uk/publications/recent.asp Some of those published in the last month include: Fair for all: summary and recommendations: document addressing problems of access to and use of the NHS by ethnic minorities. 5.12.01 First Stage Review of Initial Teacher Education: Action Plan: 6.12.01 Analysis of the less Favoured Area Support Scheme for 2001: paper giving brief commentary on the outturn of the scheme, including data relating to losses and gains across farms. 6.12.01 Patient Focus and Public Involvement: paper providing framework for change throughout the NHSScotland. 12.12.01 Scottish Local Government Financial Statistics 1999-200: summary of local authority spending and income. 13.12.01 Our National Health: Delivering Change: progress report. 14.12.01 Government Expenditure and Revenue in Scotland 1999-2000: analysis of the public finances in Scotland. 17.12.01 National Care Standards: care at home: 18.12.01 2001 Survey of the Use of the Euro by Enterprises in Scotland: Final Report. 17.12.01
Links to other issues of Parliament NewsContactShould you have any comments or enquiries please do not hesitate to contact Margaret MacPherson at the Institute of Governance. |
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