IOG: Parliament News, issue 29/september 2003

Scottish Affairs web site

Parliament resumed on September 1 after its summer recess.

Events

1 July: four new direct air services from Edinburgh to Milan, Geneva, Oslo and Zurich were announced. Nicol Stephen, Minister for Transport, confirmed that these new services will be supported by the Executive's £6.8 million Interim Route Development Fund.

1 July: Jack McConnell, First Minister, hosted a dinner to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Union of the Crowns in the Royal Museum, Edinburgh. Guests of honour were Her Majesty the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and the Duke of York, also attending were Ian Lang, Malcolm Rifkind, Helen Liddell, Alistair Darling and Henry McLeish.

4 July: a Ministerial Group was set up to consider the future development of the tourism sector. The cross-cutting group of Ministers, chaired by Deputy First Minister Jim Wallace, will examine how the public and private sector can work together to achieve a long term vision for Scottish tourism. The Group hopes to report its findings to the Cabinet in the Autumn.

10 July: three independent working groups were set up to examine practical issues related to the draft Local Governance (Scotland) Bill to be introduced to Parliament later in the year. As well as the introduction of proportional representation by the Single Transferable Vote (STV), the Bill will include measures that will widen access to council membership and establish an independent remuneration committee for councillors.

10 July: decommissioning grants totalling £40 million were offered to the owners of 69 Scottish fishing vessels. The European Commission has also approved the Scottish Executive's £10 million Transitional Aid scheme.

14 July: publication of consultation paper proposing that the Prime Minister consult the First Minister on Supreme Court appointments before making recommendation to the Queen, this is the first time such a role has been secured for devolved administrations for appointments to the highest court in the land.

25 August: Patricia Ferguson, Minister for Parliamentary Business, responded to a report by the Procedures Committee on the founding principles of the Scottish Parliament (response to report at www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/government/foundingp.pdf). The Procedures Committee five volume report made 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 and greater scrutiny of 'quangos', and greater 'connection' with less advantaged groups.

28 August: Tavish Scott, Deputy Minister for Finance and Public Services, outlined the Executive's support for the growth of Europe and of the Scottish economy while speaking at a European Information Seminar on European Enlargement. Over 70 companies from across the country attended the 'Growing Europe, Growing Opportunities' seminar at Glasgow University, to explore the opportunities that will result from enlargement of the EU in 2004.

29 August: the Executive welcomed a proposal from the Parliament that First Minister's Question time should be extended from 20 minutes to 30 minutes and brought forward to 12 noon from its current Thursday afternoon slot.

4 September: In the first on-the-record briefing session of the Autumn term Jack McConnell, First Minister, told journalists that the economy and the encouragement of entrepreneurial attitudes remained a top priority, and that the legislative programme is continuing with the introduction of the following new Bills in the new Parliamentary term:

a Court Reform Bill as part of reform of the justice system
an Education Bill reforming provision for special educational needs and cutting down on bureaucracy
a Nature Conservation Bill to enhance conservation measures
a Local Governance Bill as the next step in devolution
an Anti-Social Behaviour Bill that has been the subject of extensive consultation over the summer

The Executive will also consult on the creation of a strategic transport authority, community health partnerships and the proposal for a Gaelic language Bill.

11 September: Andy Kerr, Minister for Finance and Public Services, outlined how the Executive will fund the priorities set out in the Partnership Agreement. Mr Kerr said the Executive was taking a prudent approach to its finances in order to deliver greater economic prosperity, better public services and an improved standard of living. Mr Kerr added that a key element of this approach to public finance is End Year Flexibility, which is a financial system that allows any unspent resources to be carried forward from one year to the next. The carry forward of resources from the expenditure plans for 2002-03 was £394 million, representing 1.9% of the total budget of £21 billion.

11 September: Nicol Stephen, Minister for Transport, announced that local authorities are to receive an additional £16.85 million over two years for cycling, walking and safer street projects.

16 September: George Reid, Presiding Officer, announced that the Corporate Body had decided to publish previously unpublished information regarding contracts for the principal consultants of the Holyrood Project.

17 September: Nicol Stephen, Minister for Transport, announced that a new Executive agency is to be created, called Transport Scotland, which will be responsible for delivering improvements in road, rail and water transport. The Minister also unveiled a consultation document Scotland's Transport: Proposals for a new approach to transport, which outlines proposals for the new agency.

18 September: Jim Wallace, Minister for Enterprise, and Frank McAveety, Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport, started a three day visit to Catalonia to promote Scottish trade, culture and tourism and to further existing ties between Scotland and Catalonia.

18 September: a one-year pilot Science Information Scheme for MSPs was launched. The Scheme is a collaborative project between the Parliament Information Centre, the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Royal Society of Chemistry, in association with the Institute of Physics in Scotland and the University of Edinburgh. The aim of the scheme is to help MSPs have access to information on science, engineering and technology-related issued.

22 September: Jack McConnell, First Minister, announced the creation of the Financial Services Strategy Group (FSSC) which is a partnership between the Parliament and leading financial companies. The Group will be chaired by Jim Wallace, Deputy First Minister and Minster for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning. The aim of the Group is to develop the financial sector.

Appointments

1 July: Linda Costelloe Baker was re-appointed for a second 3-year term as the Scottish Legal Services Ombudsman.

3 July: David Williams was appointed to the post of Chief Executive of EventScotland, a new organisation which aims to raise the international profile of Scotland's landscape, sporting heritage and culture.

8 July: John Elvidge was appointed as new Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Executive (post previously held by Sir Muir Russell).

1 September: High Court Judge Lord MacLean was appointed to the Chair of the New Sentencing Commission.

3 September: Bryan Beattie was appointed as expert adviser on cultural issues to Frank McAveety, Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport.

30 September: seven new members were appointed to the Board of the Scottish Arts Council: Richard Smith, Roy McEwan, Ben Twist, Steve Grimmond, Annie Marrs, Jennifer Hawksworth and Arthur Herman.

System Three poll (for The Herald)

(977 people in 50 constituencies surveyed between August 28 -September 3, 2003)

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

Holyrood
1st vote

Holyrood
2nd vote

Westminster

Lab

33%

26%

41%

SNP

31%

28%

24%

LibDem

16%

15%

14%

Con

10%

9%

13%

SSP

4%

7%

4%

Green

3%

9%

} 4%

Others

2%

6%

Bills

11 September: the Waverley Railway (Scotland) Bill was introduced to the Parliament. The aim of the Bill is to authorise the reconstruction of a railway south of Newcraighall in Edinburgh to Tweedbank in the Scottish Borders and is being promoted by Scottish Borders Council. The objection period of this Bill will run from 12 September to 10 November 2003.

29 September: the Nature Conservation Bill was introduced to the Parliament. The Bill sets out a series of measures designed to conserve and enhance the natural heritage of Scotland. The measures in the Bill also have relevance beyond Scotland, and provide for the conservation of Scotland's natural environment within a wider British, European and global context.

A summary of the Bills passed by the Parliament in the 1999-2003 session can be found on the Parliament website at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parl_bus/bills/bill%20summaries.pdf

Committees

3 September: the Environment and Rural Development Committee announced an inquiry into the implementation of the National Waste Plan and issued a call for evidence seeking views from all interested parties.

18 September: the European and External Relations Committee outlined the remit of its forthcoming inquiry into 'Promoting Scotland Worldwide'. The inquiry will examine the external relations policy, strategy and activities of the Executive.

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 online 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:

Scottish Executive Response to the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution's Twenty-third Report: Environmental Planning. 17.7.03

Consultation on The Local Authorities Traffic Orders (Procedures) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2003. 1.8.03

Environment Group Research Programme 2003-1004: a programme of policy-led research projects to be commission by Environment Group in 2003-1004. 1.8.03

Living in Scotland: Urban-Rural Analysis of the Scottish Household Survey: report exploring the demographic and socio-economic differences and similarities in urban and rural Scotland. 7.8.03

Scotland's People: Results from the 2001/2002 Scottish Household Survey (Volume 7: Annual Report). 11.8.03

'Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 - Part 2: Community right to buy: Consultation on draft regulations. 19.8.03

The Debt Arrangement and Attachment (Scotland) Act 2003 Part 1 - The Debt Arrangement Scheme: Second consultation on the Draft Regulations: draft regulations laid before the Parliament for approval. 21.8.03

Key Scottish Environment Statistics 2003: annual booklet containing summary of key statistics on environmental trends in Scotland. 22.8.03

International Opportunities within Scottish Education and Training 2003 - 2004: document containing information on a range of international opportunities that are available to the education, training, youth and community learning and development sectors in Scotland. 22.8.03

Scottish Economic Report September 2003: twice-yearly review of progress and prospects for the Scottish economy. 5.9.03

The Scottish Executive: Draft Budget 2004-05 Summary: document providing information on the Executive's spending plans for 2004-05. 16.9.03

Scotland's Transport Proposals for a new approach to transport in Scotland: consultation on new transport agency and regional partnerships. 17.9.03

Attitudes to Discrimination in Scotland: document containing the results of the 2002 Scottish Social Attitudes survey on discriminatory attitudes towards disabled people, women, minority ethnic groups and gay men and lesbians. 30.8.03

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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