IOG: Parliament News, issue 62/december 2006

Scottish Affairs web site

Events

1 December: Rhona Brankin, Deputy Environment Minister, announced funding of £750,000 from the Executive for projects to encourage the use of green space in Scotland’s towns and cities. The money will be shared between Greenspace Scotland, the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers and Community Service Volunteers.

4 December: Andy Kerr, Minister for Health, announced publication of the first Health Improvement Report. The report will form part of a new systematic annual process to examine Scotland’s health needs and to identify priorities for the year ahead.

5 December: Tavish Scott, Minister for Transport, announced the launch of a National Transport Strategy, the Parliament’s long-term vision over the next twenty years. The Strategy sets out the following priorities:

improve journey times and connections;
reduce emissions;
improve quality, accessibility and affordability of transport.

7 December: Nicol Stephen, Deputy First Minister, announced the creation of a £1.5 million fund to develop new technology for the energy industry. Companies are invited to bid for a share of this Renewable Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Support Scheme. Hydrogen and fuel cells are considered a vital part of the future of the renewables industry with reports estimating the sector has the potential to net £500 million for the Scottish economy.

8 December: Tom McCabe, Minister for Finance and Public Service Reform, announced that £13 million has been allocated to the two following projects designed to deliver efficiency savings and improved public services:

£11.35 million to Scottish universities and colleges in partnership with the Scottish Funding Council to establish a Centre of Expertise for procurement and adopt the eProcurement Scotland system across the further and higher education sector;

£1.85 million to a partnership led by the Scottish Court Service to introduce Fines Enforcement Officers who will work to increase the number of fines collected and reduce pressure on the Scottish justice system as part of the overall plans for Summary Justice Reform.

8 December: Hugh Henry, Minister for Education, announced the creation of a new website www.teachersforexcellence.co.uk which will allow teachers to log on and take part in The Teachers for Excellence debate. The debate will be used by the Executive as part of it’s consultation A Curriculum for Excellence.

11 December: publication of Government Expenditure and Revenue in Scotland 2004-05 which gives estimates of the amount of public money spent in Scotland compared to the amount raised. Expenditures are only included if they are incurred for the benefit of the residents of Scotland. On the revenue side, only tax receipts relating to Scotland’s residents and businesses are recorded.

11 December: Ross Finnie, Minister for Rural Development, announced a consultation for gathering views on the basic principles to support more detailed proposals to promote animal health and welfare standards and support a sustainable livestock sector.

12 December: Jack McConnell, First Minister, announced a plan to tackle sectarian behaviour in Scottish football. The plan was prepared by the Sectarianism in Football Working Group. The main action points include:

establishing a new body Football for All
introducing a new disciplinary offence of unacceptable conduct in football grounds in Scotland
strengthening the National Club Licensing scheme to require clubs to demonstrate policies and actions being undertaken against sectarianism and other forms of discrimination
undertaking a nationwide anti-sectarianism awareness raising campaign

15 December: Nicol Stephen, Deputy First Minister, announced funding of £750,000 to support Scottish universities and colleges with their international business planning and development over the next two years. Scottish Development International (SDI) will work with institutions to help them exploit commercial opportunities overseas and become more internationally competitive.

18 December: publication of the Executive’s annual report on the environmental performance of its estate. The report includes details of the following:

reductions in CO2 emissions from energy use
progress towards recycling targets
improvements in monitoring business travel

19 December: Audit Scotland published its report in the Executive’s Efficient Government Initiative. The report examines the work carried out in the first year (2005/06) of the three year programme to reduce waste, bureaucracy and duplication in the public sector and reinvest the gains into producing the best public services.

20 December: Nicol Stephen, Minister for Enterprise, announced the publication of the fourth annual Global Connections Survey. The survey shows that Scottish exports in 2005 were estimated to be worth £18.6 billion, an increase of £0.9 billion on 2004. The US continues to be the top destination for exports and the survey also shows China in the top 20 destinations for the first time, at number 13.

21 December: publication of the Scottish Economic Report, a twice-yearly document that highlights performance and trends in the Scottish economy. The report shows annual growth currently at 2.2%, above its long-term annual average of 1.8%.

21 December: Malcolm Chisholm resigned from his post in the Cabinet as Minister for Communities. In his letter of resignation Mr Chisholm stated that he found himself unable to support the official Labour position on the issue of Trident, notwithstanding the fact that it is a reserved issue. Mr Chisholm was one of four Labour members who supported the SNP's motion opposing the replacement of the nuclear submarines.

Appointments

28 December: Cathy Jamieson, Minister for Justice, announced the appointment of the Honourable Lord Drummond Young as the new Chair of the Scottish Law Commission. The appointment is for a period of five years starting on 1 January 2007 until 31 December 2011. Lord Drummond Young succeeds Lord Eassie who resigned his post in order to join the Inner House.

Bills

7 December: the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3 was passed by Parliament. The objective of the Bill is to improve, modernise and extend adoption in Scotland and to provide greater stability for children who cannot live with their original families.

14 December: the Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3 was passed by Parliament. The Bill has two main purposes: to reform the system for handling complaints against lawyers by the creation of a new statutory body called the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission and to improve delivery of all forms of publicly funded legal assistance.

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/business/bills/billsPassed/billsum-s1.htm

Committees

1 December: publication of the Audit Committee’s report into the Teachers’ Agreement that arose from the McCrone Commission findings. The report states that, while it recognises that a range of benefits have arisen as a result of the Teachers’ Agreement, the failure to set outcome measures at the outset make it difficult to determine whether value for money was delivered.

5 December: the Environment and Rural Development Committee endorsed the general principles of the Aquaculture and Fisheries (Scotland) Bill. The Bill provides a package of measures aimed at conserving wild fish stocks, controlling parasites on farmed fish and preventing the escape of fish from fish farms.

12 December: the Finance Committee published its report on the Executive’s Draft Budget for 2007-08. The Finance Committee is responsible for the overall scrutiny of the budget and its recommendations include that:

There needs to be a clear linkage between the Executive’s priorities and the money allocated to them.
The Executive could use some of its reserve to address local government funding issues and to reinvest savings in frontline services and exert downward pressure on council tax levels in 2007-08.
There needs to be a much clearer explanation of how and when the Executive draws down money from the Treasury and how it uses that money to address priority issues.
The Executive should undertake a detailed comparison of Grant-Aided Expenditure (GAE) provision and actual local spending levels to bring a closer alignment between GAE and spending patterns.

15 December: the Justice 2 Sub Committee published a report following its inquiry into the Justice System (Child-Sex Offenders). The report recommends that where appropriate, internet sites should be used to notify the public when there is particular concern about an offender.

16 December: the Procedures Committee published a report on its Review of Parliamentary Time. The report recommends the introduction of ‘interpellation proceedings’, a system of 30 minute question and answer sessions and hour-long debates which would see MSPs able to raise topical issues of parliamentary importance and Ministers to respond. The report also calls for increased notice of the subject for debate to allow more prior warning for the public and stakeholder groups leading to greater scrutiny. Other proposals included committee debates being scheduled to take place as soon as possible after the publication of reports, extending the minimum period between stage 2 and 3 of bills, greater flexibility in the timing of Members’ Business debates and more time to question Ministers following statements.

21 December: the Education Committee published a report giving support of the general principles of the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Bill on condition that part 3 of the bill is removed. Part 3 of the bill contains major provisions relating to the sharing of personal information.

22 December: the Justice 2 Committee welcomed the Custodial Sentences and Weapons Bill, particularly the end to automatic unconditional early release. However, the Committee has asked the Executive to provide further clarity on a number of matters regarding the management of sentences.

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 December 2006 include:

4 December: Scottish Executive Response to the Proposed Policy Framework for New Nuclear Building: official response to the consultation by the Department of Trade and Industry on the framework for new nuclear build.

5 December: Scotland’s Railways: document setting out Transport Scotland’s plan over the next 2 years for potential intervention over the short, medium and longer term for continuing to improve Scotland’s railway network.

19 December: Measuring Progress Towards A Smart, Successful Scotland: an annual publication with information on the Executive’s progress in it’s enterprise strategy.

21 December: Environmental Liability Directive – A Consultation: seeking views on the main policy issues arising in the transportation in Scotland of EU legislation which affects the liability of those operators risking or causing significant environmental damage.

29 December: A Partnership for a Better Scotland – Delivering our Commitments: publication.

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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