IOG: Parliament News, issue 26/march 2003

Scottish Affairs web site

Events

3 March: Margaret Curran, Minister for Social Justice, announced that the Scottish Borders Council consented to transfer its housing stock (6,728 houses) to the not-for-profit Scottish Borders Housing Association. This is the first time that such a process has been completed.

4 March: Robin Cook, MP, visited the Parliament on a fact-finding mission to look at the Parliament's electronic voting system and Public Petitions Committee. This was Mr Cook's second visit to the Scottish Parliament to look at possible ways of updating Westminster's procedures.

4 March: Iain Gray, Minister for Transport, announced a £375 million investment in public transport improvement in Edinburgh. This will secure the completion by 2009 of the first tram line for the city in almost 50 years, and will provide a circular service linking the city centre with Leith and Newhaven.

4 March: Elaine Murray, Deputy Minister for Culture, announced that free internet access will be available at every public library in Scotland by the end of the month. All 557 public libraries in Scotland will be connected to the network offering 8.5 million hours of free access.

5 March: Iain Gray, Minister for Transport, announced that there will be at least £3 billion available over the next ten years to improve the transport infrastructure.

5 March: Jack McConnell, First Minister, announced the transfer of Glasgow City Council's 81,000 homes to the not-for-profit Glasgow Housing Association (GHA). Glasgow tenants voted for the transfer in April 2002.

6 March: Cathy Jamieson, Minister for Education, launched a Read Together website which brings together tips, advice and suggestions on how reading can be made easy and enjoyable for both parents and children.

6 March: the Government launched a public consultation on the future of regional policy in Europe. The consultation paper sets out the basis for a suggested UK position for future EU negotiations on the reform of the European Structural Funds after 2006. Helen Liddell, Secreatry of State for Scotland, said that Scotland's interests will be at the heart of the debate. The ten member enlargement of the EU will take place in 2004.

6 March: a consultation paper on proposed improvements to support schemes for environmentally-friendly farming was launched. These proposed changes are part of the Executive's Organic Action Plan published in February.

6 March: publication of the Executive's Scottish Planning Policy which sets out guidance for local authorities on the maximum number of car parking spaces which new developments in their area should contain. This guidance forms part of the Executive's commitment to encouraging greener alternatives to car travel where possible.

7 March: Sir David Steel, Presiding Officer, announced that the date of the first meeting of Parliament after the Scottish election will be 7 May. He also informed that the current four-year parliamentary session will close at midnight on 31 March.

12 March: Sir David Steel, Presiding Officer, welcomed High Commissioners and Consul Generals to Parliament to mark Commonwealth Day.

13 March: Allan Wilson, Deputy Minister for Environment and Rural Development, announced the measures being taken by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) for protecting Scotland's environment and delivering environmental justice.

13 March: Ross Finnie, Minister for Environment and Rural Development, announced that farmers and crofters wishing to convert to organic production in Scotland will benefit from payments totalling £2 million under the Organic Aid Scheme from next year. Sixty-four applications with a total value of £2.4 million were submitted this year. Awards are made according to applications which deliver the best environmental gain, marketing vision and value for money.

14 March: The Strategic Rail Authority announced to the Stock Exchange that four companies were shortlisted to bid for the Scottish passenger rail franchise. The four companies being invited to bid for the franchise are Arriva Trains Ltd, First Group plc, National Express Group PLC and Serco Rail/Netherlands Railways.

19 March: Iain Gray, Minister for Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning, announced the allocation of an additional £5 million for the Scottish Land Fund. The Scottish Land Fund's aim is to enable Scottish rural communities to secure the means to earn a living from the land they live on, through financial assistance at very stage of the process, including acquiring land and developing projects.

19 March: Jim Wallace, Minister for Justice, announced the publication of the "Criminal Justice Objectives Review" by the Crown Agent, Andrew Normand. Following recommendations of the review, a National Criminal Justice System Board, made up of the chief officers of the main criminal justice agencies, will be established in Scotland.

19 March: Jack McConnell, First Minister, made a statement urging Parliament to support troops if Military action is taken to disarm Saddam Hussein in Iraq.

27 March: Sir David Steel, Presiding Officer, brought to a close the last sitting of the first four-year session of the Parliament.

28 March: the Parliament launched a booklet aimed at adults with learning difficulties to help them vote in the Scottish election on 1 May. The booklet is also available in Braille, Gaelic, audio cassette and from the Parliament website.

Appointments

No appointments

System Three poll (for The Herald)

(969 people in 51 constituencies surveyed between March 27 - April 2, 2003)

The System Three poll, carried out at the end of March, noted voting intentions for both the Scottish Parliament (two votes) and the House of Commons.

	Holyrood 1st vote	Holyrood 2nd vote	Westminster
Lab	31%	26%	38%
SNP	31%	29%	25%
LibDem	16%	18%	17%
Con	11%	9%	13%
SSP	6%	8%	4%
Green	3%	7%	} 4%
Others	2%	3%	} 4%

Bills

5 March: the Homelessness Etc (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3 was passed by Parliament. The Bill amends existing homelessness legislation and makes changes to repossession proceedings for houses let on assured tenancies and primarily affects local authorities in the carrying out of their homelessness functions.

6 March: the general principles of the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1 were agreed by Parliament. The aim of the Bill is to establish equal validity for Gaelic and English in Scotland and to require public bodies and others, including local authorities, to publish and implement plans to use and encourage the use of Gaelic.

12 March: the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3 was passed by Parliament. The main objectives of the Bill are to modernise agricultural holdings legislation and free up farm tenants and landowners from existing constraints on their business.

13 March: the Dog Fouling (Scotland) Bill : Stage 3 was passed by Parliament. The main aim of the Bill is to change the nature of the offence from one of allowing a dog to foul to one of failing to clean after a dog on all public land and will allow the police and local authorities to enforce the new provisions by way of fixed penalty notices as opposed to going through the courts.

20 March: the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Scotland Bill : Stage 3 was passed by Parliament. The aim of the Bill is to establish a new Mental Health Tribunal which will combine professional, legal and practical experience in deciding what is best for patients; make provisions to ensure that advocacy is available to all persons with mental disorder; and to ensure patient representation and medical treatment safeguards.

26 March: the Commissioner for Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3 was agreed by Parliament. The main aim of the Bill is to create an Independent Commissioner for children and young people who is responsible for promoting and safeguarding their rights.

26 March: the Council of the Law Society of Scotland Bill was passed by Parliament. The aims of the Bill are to enable the Council of the Law Society of Scotland to delegate or arrange for the discharge of its statutory functions by another person or body. The Bill will amend the Solicitors (Scotland) 1980 Act to that affect and will remedy a perceived deficiency in the legislation. It will also allow the Council to delegate its statutory functions, subject to limited exceptions, and will provide for the appointment of sub-committees in the scheme of the constitution of the Council and the appointment of lay members to committees or sub-committees of the Council and, as appropriate, for such lay members to form a majority in the committee or sub-committee to which they have been appointed.

26 March: the National Galleries of Scotland Bill: Final Stage was agreed by Parliament. The objective of the Bill is to allow construction on a small area of Princes Street Gardens.

26 March: the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries (Consolidation) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3 was passed by Parliament. Consolidation is the re-enactment in one Act of all the provisions on one topic of law scattered throughout various statutes. This Bill repeals eight Acts entirely, repeals the Salmon Act 1986, inasmuch as it relates to Scotland, and makes consequential adjustments to several other pieces of legislation. The Bill restates the legislation it repeals without changing it, except insofar as was necessary to implement recommendations made by the Scottish Law Commission. This is the first consolidation Bill to be passed by the Parliament.

A summary of the Bills passed by the Parliament can be found on the Parliament website at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parl_bus/bills/bill%20summaries.pdf

Committees

4 March: Karen Gillon of the Education, Culture and Sport Committee, explained to Westminster MPs about Scotland's proposals for a Children's Commissioner. The presentation comes as the Commissioner for Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill approaches its final debate by the Scottish Parliament later this month.

12 March: the Equal Opportunities Committee published a report setting out guidelines for committees on equality. The report is the result of more than two years of work to devise a means of ensuring that equality is mainstreamed into all work done by Parliament committees.

13 March: the Education, Culture and Sport Committee published a template for future educational policy and ten criteria for educational reform. The findings are the result of a wide-ranging inquiry to determine the future of Scottish education and to ask "what is education for?".

13 March: the Transport and Environment Committee published a report regarding the location of a cattle incinerator close to a residential area at Carntyne in Glasgow, urging the Executive to arrange meetings with the Carntyne community, the plant's operators, the City of Glasgow council, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), and with local MSPs as soon as possible to examine how this plant could be closed permanently.

14 March: the Standards Committee published a draft Committee Bill on the registration and declaration of Members Interests. The Bill will replace the Members' Interests Order (MIO) which was drawn up under the Scotland Act and will introduce new rules on shareholdings and gifts and proposes that MSPs should register non-financial interests, such as membership of interest groups, professional bodies, trade unions and other organisations such as the Freemasons.

20 March: the Procedures Committee published an in-depth report into whether the Parliament has lived up to its founding principles. The five-volume report makes 135 recommendations on issues including the need for:

a less pressurised legislative process
full openness in the legislative process
greater transparency in the Committee process and the work of the Parliamentary Corporate Body, Bureau and Conveners' group
civil service reform
greater scrutiny of 'quangos'
greater 'connection' with less advantaged groups as part of the drive to deliver social justice.

21 March: the Justice 2 Committee welcomed changes announced this week by the Lord President, Lord Cullen, which will allow 'fast-track' court hearings in personal injury cases for terminally ill people, including asbestos sufferers. The new procedures will be introduced from 1 April 2003, following the Committee's report.

21 March: the Justice 1 Committee published the results of its inquiry into alternatives to custody in Scotland, stating that community alternatives to custody should be actively promoted and resourced for minor offences where a longer sentence is inappropriate.

25 March: the Health Committee sent a letter to the Deputy Minister for Health and Community Care urging the Executive to reject the Office of Fair Trading's (OFT) report on retail pharmacy. The letter stated that they heard no evidence to suggest that the people of Scotland are dissatisfied with the present service and see no reason to change it in the fundamental way suggested by the OFT.

26 March: the Parliament's Audit Committee called for urgent action to ensure that children in the youth justice system receive the social work services to which they are entitled.

31 March: the Public Petitions Committee published a report criticising the action of a public body set up to investigate the health concerns of the villagers of Bairingone in relation to the spreading of sewage sludge on fields near their homes.

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:

www.scottish.parliament.uk/whats_happening/contracts/contract02-01.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 the last month include:

A New Public Involvement Structure of NHSScotland - Patient Focus and Public Involvement: a consultation paper on proposals for a new public involvement structure for the NHS in Scotland. 4.3.03

National Centre for Women's Enterprise Feasibility Study - Final Research Report. 10.3.03

Nature Conservation (Scotland) Bill: A Draft for Consultation: proposals to conserve and enhance Scotland's natural heritage. 11.3.03

The Fishing Vessels (Decommissioning) (Scotland) Scheme 2003 - Explanatory leaflet. 13.3.03

Implementation of the National Strategy to Address Domestic Abuse in Scotland - Progress Report. 13.3.03

Towards a Strategy for Scotland's Biodiversity: Biodiversity Matters!: A Draft for Consultation. 14.3.03

Policy and Financial Management Review of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency: report by the Executive on the Scottish Environment Protection Agency's role in protecting and enhancing Scotland's environment. 14.3.03

Concordat Between the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Scottish Executive: text of the Concordat agreed between the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Scottish Executive. 14.3.03

Secondary Use of Non-Personal Council Tax Information: Analysis of Consultation Responses. 14.3.03

A World of Opportunity - A Guide to Education and Training in Scotland: document describing the stages and delivery of the system and introducing the organisations which support and maintain the system. 17.3.03

Land Reform Action Plan - 11th progress Report. 18.3.03

Determined to Succeed: Enterprise in Education - Scottish Executive Response. 18.3.03

A Framework for Higher Education in Scotland: Higher Education Review Phase 2: document containing outcome of Higher Education Review. 20.3.03

Scottish Executive Response to Energy - The Changing Climate: document containing Executive's response to recommendations in the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution's report Energy - The Changing Climate. 25.3.03

"Scotland's Renewable Energy Potential - Beyond 2010" Overview of the responses. 25.3.03

Measuring Scotland's Progress Towards a Smart, Successful Scotland 2003: document detailing performance of Scotland's economy against strategic objects. 26.3.03

Scottish Strategic Rail Study - Final Report. 26.3.03

Links to other issues of Parliament News

Contact

Should you have any comments or enquiries please do not hesitate to contact Margaret MacPherson at the Institute of Governance.

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