IOG: Parliament News, issue 50/october 2005

Scottish Affairs web site

Events

4 October: Tom McCabe, Minister for Finance and Public Service Reform, announced that an independent group has been set up to review the Executive's expenditure to ensure budgets are meeting priorities. The group of eight reviewers have five months to carry out the review and will provide a final report by the end of February 2006.

5 October: More than 400 representatives from philanthropic bodies, politics and civil society gathered at the Parliament to participate in an international philanthropy symposium for presentation of the Andrew Carnegie Medals of Philanthropy and to discuss how strategic philanthropy can play a role in tackling global problems.

6 October: the sixth Inter-parliamentary Meeting on Renewables Energy and Energy Efficiency was held in Edinburgh. Nicol Stephen, Deputy First Minister, announced that Scotland had been chosen to host the conference in recognition of its potential for renewable energy.

6 October: publication of the second annual report on the Executive's Organic Action Plan, which aims to double the amount of land in organic production by 2007. Rhona Brankin, Deputy Minister for Environment, announced that the Executive has increased support and is reviewing the agri-environment payment rates to ensure they provide an appropriate level of support and encouragement.

6 October: Tom McCabe, Minister for Finance and Public Service Reform, announced that the Executive will provide £280 million over the next two years to lower business rates. Mr McCabe said the Executive will also seek to consult on creating rates incentives for research and development activity in Scotland.

7 October: Jack McConnell, First Minister, speaking at the China Challenge Conference in Edinburgh, called on Scottish businesses to seize the opportunities presented by China, the world's fastest growing economy.

10 October: Malcolm Chisholm, Minister for Communities, gave approval in principle for the transfer of around 23,000 homes in Edinburgh from City of Edinburgh Council to the City of Edinburgh Housing Association. Mr Chisholm's announcement starts statutory consultation with tenants and puts plans in place for a secret postal ballot on the proposals.

13 October: at a meeting in Brussels Jack McConnell, First Minister, and Margot Wallstrom, the European Commission's Vice President, agreed to work together on a communications project. The Commission will publish a White Paper on communications later in the year, and Scotland's project - Building a bridge between Europe and its citizens - will make a contribution to it.

15 October: the Scottish Parliament won the RIBA Stirling Prize, recognised as the highest award for contemporary British architecture.

17 October: Tavish Scott, Minister for Transport, announced the transfer of the new rail powers to Scottish Minister. These powers will allow the devolved government of Scotland to:

determine the long term future for rail in Scotland
manage and monitor the performance of the rail franchise, with sole responsibility for securing future franchise agreements ensuring services meet passengers needs
fund and control the tracks through Network Rail ensuring all parts of the rail system are joined up.

Funding of around £360 million will be transferred to the Scottish Ministers to cover administration spend, the costs of operating, maintaining and renewing the network and providing funding which will allow improvement to Scotland's railways.

17 October: Lord Advocate Colin Boyd QC, senior Law Officer in Scotland and Executive Minister, met with Law Ministers from across the Commonwealth in Accra in Ghana. The aim of the Commonwealth Law Ministers meeting was to discuss progress on international legal cooperation and to share their experiences and propose new solutions for consideration by Heads of Government.

18 October: a new daily air service between Edinburgh and Atlanta in the United States will be run by Delta airlines from next May. The Executive's Route Development Fund helped secure this service.

24 October: George Reid, Presiding Officer, addressed a meeting in Barcelona of the Presidents of the Legislative Assemblies of Europe, on Holyrood's commitment to eDemocracy in areas such as on-line consultation, ePetitioning, interactive services to schools and to people with disabilities. President Ernest Benachi I Pasqual of the Catalan Parliament acknowledged that Scotland is leading the way in its use of IT to engage with the citizen.

27 October: Andy Kerr, Minister for Health, set out 'Delivering for Health', the Executive's priorities for the NHS over the next decade based on recommendations made by the Kerr Group earlier in the year. The programme focuses more on preventative and continuous care in local communities.

27 October: Hugh Henry, Deputy Minister for Justice, stated that there has been a 42% increase in the number of Antisocial Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) granted across Scotland. Mr Henry said that it was encouraging that more local agencies in more parts of the country are prepared to sue the full range of powers available to them.

27 October: publication of a report Attracting, Retaining and Recognising Scotland's Research Talent by the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE). The report follows a joint session at Parliament between the RSE and the Parliament's Future Forum. The report calls for the establishment of an advanced study unit as a "meeting place, think tank and focus for strategic debate on different scientific disciplines".

28 October: Patricia Ferguson, Minister for International Development, urged Scots to continue to give generously to charities to assist victims of the Asian Earthquake.

31 October: David McLetchie, MSP, resigned his post as leader of the Scottish Conservative party after pressure over his Holyrood taxi expenses.

Appointments

7 October: Lucy Watkins was appointed First Secretary for the New Scottish Affairs Office in Beijing.

17 October: John Becket QC was appointed Principal Advocate Depute and will take up this position on 1 January 2006. Dorothy Bain, a Senior Advocate Depute, was appointed as Assistant Principal Advocate Depute and will also take up this position on 1 January 2006.

Bills

6 October: the general principles of the St Andrew's Day Bank Holiday (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1, were agreed by Parliament. The objective of the Bill is to establish a bank holiday on St Andrew's Day or the Monday following that if it falls at a weekend.

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

Committees

3 October: the Audit Committee published a report stating that positive progress is being made in key aspects of Scotland's bowel cancer services. They expressed concern, however, that the waiting time target for patients referred on an urgent basis was unlikely to be met and emphasised that more must be done to improve the way in which patients are referred to specialist services by their GP.

3 October: the Justice 2 Committee asked for views on the general principles of the Police, Public Order and Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill. The main purposes of the Bill are to reform the structure and organisation of police services in Scotland, to modify a number of police powers, to protect the public from dangers associated with the holding of events, or the possession of dangerous items such as fireworks or knives.

5 October: publication of a report on the Sewel Convention by the Procedures Committee. The Committee proposes that the current, largely ad hoc, procedures, should be replaced by a framework of new rules to improve transparency and to enhance the opportunity for parliamentary scrutiny. The report also recommends a requirement on the Executive:

to provide information about any Scottish implications arising from Bills announced in the Queen's speech; and
to provide a detailed memorandum at an earlier stage in the Westminster process thus giving the Scottish Parliament more time for scrutiny.

The Committee is also encouraging Scottish Ministers to make more time available for debates on Sewel motions which deal with major issues and also proposes scrapping the name "Sewel", suggesting that in future "Sewel motions" should be known as "Legislative Consent motions".

6 October: the Education Committee called for evidence from all interested parties on the general principles of the Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Bill, which was introduced on 28 September 2005. The purpose of the Bill is to provide for parental involvement in school education.

7 October: the Justice 1 Committee described "fundamentally flawed and unnecessary" the proposed European legislation which could force Scottish courts to apply foreign law to divorce cases and require people to register a will. The Committee's response to the European Commission follows an inquiry into two recently published EU consultation proposals on dealing with international divorces and successions when someone dies and has property in more than one European country. The Committee recommends that the Executive strongly urge the UK Government not to opt in to any draft instruments which emerge following the conclusion of these consultation processes.

7 October: publication of a report by the Equal Opportunities Committee concluding that the Executive has made insufficient progress in improving the quality of life for Gypsy/Travellers living in Scotland.

7 October: the Local Government and Transport Committee agreed to carry out an inquiry into freight transport in Scotland and asked for evidence from interested parties.

10 October: the Justice 1 Committee issued a call for evidence from individuals and interested parties to submit views on the Scottish Commissioner for Human Rights Bill. The fundamental purpose of the Bill is to create a Scottish Commissioner for Human Rights which will promote awareness and understanding of, and respect for, human rights.

11 October: the Audit Committee published a report on the financial accounts of West Lothian College, Inverness College and Lews Castle College in Stornoway. The report welcomes the fact that the finances of colleges across the further education sector have improved significantly over the last three years but states that it is unclear if this is due to better financial management or increased funding.

13 October: publication of a report by the Environment and Rural Development Committee recommending a review of the needs of 'accessible rural areas' - areas which are rural in character but relatively close to urban centres, stressing that these areas must maintain a vibrant community identity and local economy, and that they should be more than a 'dormitory' for those who work in urban centres.

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 the last month include:

The Scottish Executive Development Department: Inquiry Reporters Unit: Review of the Year 2004-2005. 03/10/2005

Review of NHS 24 Final Report: Final Report of the NHS 24 Independent Review Team. 05/10/2005

Environment and Rural Affairs Department Business Plan 2005-06. 18/10/2005

Further Education in Scotland: Annual Review of the Further Education Sector in Scotland. 19/10/2005

Environment and Rural Affairs Department Business Plan 2005-06. 24/10/2005

Reforming Complaints Handling, Building Consumer Confidence: Analysis of Written Consultation Responses. 26/10/2005

FOI - Report on Information Requests Handling in the Scottish Executive January - June 2005. 28/10/2005

Defining Marine Boundaries for Fish Farming: Consultation Paper. 31/10/2005

Best of Scotland: 24 November - 1 December 2005, Brussels: brochure detailing events of Best of Scotland week in Brussels. 31/10/2005

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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