IOG: Parliament News, issue 30/october 2003

Scottish Affairs web site

Events

1 October: Cathy Jamieson, Minister for Justice, unveiled the 'Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Proposals for Legislation', which will form the basis for a new Bill to replace legislation that is over 50 years old. The consultation period for these proposals ends on 31 December 2003.

1 October: Frank McAveety, Minister for Culture, announced that a new body, provisionally named Architecture and Design Scotland, will take over the design review role of the Royal Fine Art Commission for Scotland and will also have a wider role in the promotion and advocacy of good design. Mr McAveety said it was hoped to get this new non-statutory advisory body up and running by early 2005.

2 October: Malcolm Chisholm, Minister for Health, announced £3 million of funding for this year for primary care services and £7.5 million for next year. The money will be spent on improving local services and employing additional staff.

3 October: Tavish Scott, Deputy Minister for Finance, Public Services and Parliamentary Business, signed the Shetland Declaration along with Ministers and representatives from Shetland, Norway, Iceland, the Faeroes, Greenland and the Nordic Council. The Declaration promises greater co-operation between the signatories and undertakes to look at joint action in order to strengthen conservation efforts and cultural links in the area.

9 October: Lewis Macdonald, Deputy Minister for Enterprise, informed that the new Forum for Renewable Energy Development in Scotland (FREDS) will meet for the first time on October 20. The aim of FREDS is to promote and encourage the renewable energy sector and help Scotland realise its potential in the industry. Members include business leaders, academics and industry experts.

13 October: Malcolm Chisholm, Minister for Health, announced that a consortium from the North East is to get £1 million of funding to take forward the Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professionals Research Training Scheme. The consortium comprises the universities of Dundee, Stirling, Aberdeen, and Robert Gordon and NHS Boards within the area. The scheme aims to equip more nurses, midwives and allied health professionals (AHPs) with the necessary skills to undertake health care research.

14 October: Jim Wallace, Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, announced proposals to establish a Marine Energy sub-group, which will be part of the Forum for Renewable Energy Development, for finding how best to exploit the potential for wave and tidal energy.

20 October: Jim Wallace, Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, started a week long visit to Japan and Singapore. The visit aims to help Scottish companies to establish global connections in the Far East.

20 October: Malcolm Chisholm, Minister for Health, chaired the first meeting of the 'eHealth' Programme Board. The Board is a new body set up to develop patient information systems, IT infrastructure and put eHealth into practice across Scotland, including the establishment of Integrated Care Records.

20 October: Jack McConnell, First Minister, participated in EU reform talks in Rome, stating that with the anticipated enlargement of the EU to 27 countries by 2007, he would like to see closer co-operation between Europe's nations and regions and a public debate in Scotland on the future of funding. He also talked about the leading role Scotland is taking to develop Twinning Links, such as with the Czech Republic.

21 October: Euan Robson, Deputy Minister for Education, announced that extra funding of £66,000 will enable ChildLine Scotland's Bullying Line to open seven days a week.

21 October: George Reid, Presiding Officer, gave the Finance Committee the latest information on the Holyrood project, which showed the programme to be on target and the costs unchanged from last month. The deadline for final hand-over of the complex is July 2004.

23 October: Ross Finnie, Minister for Environment, announced his plans to delegates at the Sustainable Scotland Network Conference to bring forward a Strategic Environment Assessment Bill that will ensure all public sector bodies consider the impact of their decisions on the environment.

30 October: during the annual reception of the National Union of Students, Jim Wallace, Deputy First Minister and Minister for Enterprise, restated the Executive's commitment not to introduce university top-up fees.

Appointments

1 October: Colin Tyre QC was appointed to the post of Commissioner of the Scottish Law Commission with effect from 1 October 2003. The appointment is for a period of three years. This post was previously held by Patrick Hodge QG.

22 October: three Scottish representatives have been appointed to the new 16-member Advisory Committee on Organic Standards (ACOS) which will advise government on the approval of organic certifying bodies, the development and maintenance of standards for organic farming in accordance with EU regulations, and requirements for Research and Development. They are:

Christine Watson, a research scientist at the Scottish Agricultural College
Brian Kay, a farm estates manager and chairman of the Scottish Organic Producers Association
Charles McDonald, a public and agricultural analyst at Glasgow Scientific Services.

27 October: Roddy McNulty was appointed to the new post of Education Development Worker for the 'Show Racism the Red Card' charity. Mr McNulty will work with school children and football clubs and use professional footballers as anti-racist models.

System Three poll (for The Herald)

(935 people in 45 constituencies surveyed between October 23 - 30, 2003)

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

Holyrood
1st vote

Holyrood
2nd vote

Westminster

Lab

35%

25%

43%

SNP

29%

30%

22%

LibDem

17%

16%

18%

Con

11%

11%

13%

SSP

5%

6%

3%

Green

1%

8%

} 2%

Others

2%

4%

Bills

1 October: proposals for a new Bill to modernise the fire service in Scotland were published in a consultation paper which includes the creation of a national framework for fire and rescue services, a move towards a stronger fire prevention ethos and putting core duties on a statutory footing.

30 October: the 13-part Anti-Social Behaviour Etc (Scotland) Bill was introduced to the Parliament. The aim of the bill is to provide a legal framework for tackling the problem by focusing on four themes of the Executive's strategy on antisocial behaviour:

protecting and empowering communities;
preventing antisocial behaviour by working with children and families;
building safe, secure and attractive communities; and
effective enforcement.

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

Committees

6 October: the Justice Committee visited Glasgow Sheriff Court as part of its programme of information gathering on Scotland's justice system in general.

6 October: the Health Committee wrote a letter to the Parliament about the Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Bill, stating their concerns about the lack of draft Regulations that will implement the Bill. The Committee requested a revision of the existing legislative timetable to allow them to scrutinise all draft regulations before Stage 2 commences.

9 October: the Justice 1 Committee issued a call seeking views form all interested parties on the general principles of the Criminal Procedure (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill which aims to allow for more thorough preparation of High Court cases.

14 October: the European and External Relations Committee called for evidence on UK government proposals to 'repatriate' EU regional development funds (European Structural Funds).

29 October: the Education Committee issued a call for evidence seeking views on the general principles of the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Bill. The Bill seeks to secure that children receiving a school education who have additional support needs will receive that support.

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:

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service: Proposal for Legislation. 1.10.03

Consultation paper on Improving Controls on Emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds in Scotland: Executive proposals to improve controls on emission of Volatile Organic Compounds used in industrial activities. 3.10.03

The Gaelic Language Bill Consultation Paper: English version of the Bill and consultation document. 10.10.03

Draft Water Services (Scotland) Bill - Consultation on Proposed Provisions. 13.10.03

Chief Statistician's Annual Report 2002-2003: report providing information on progress against the 2002-03 Statistical Plan. 20.10.03

A Report on the Consultation Responses to Putting Our Communities First: A Strategy for Tackling Anti-Social Behaviour. 23.10.03

Legal Information and Advice Provision in Scotland: A Review of Evidence - Research Findings. 24.10.03

Scotland's Budget Documents: The 2003-04 Autumn Budget Revision to the Budget (Scotland) (No 4) Act for the year ending 31 March 2004. 27.10.03

Diversity in the Public Appointments Process in Scotland - Research Findings: report providing recommendations for improving the process to help produce a more diverse range of candidates. 29.10.03

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.

Institute of Governance > Parliament News, issue 30 / october 2003	Enter keyword(s) to search the site