Issue 60 - October 2006

Events

2 October: Ross Finnie, Minister for the Environment, welcomed publication of the State of Scotland’s Environment Report (available online at www.sepa.org.uk/changetomorrowtoday/index.htm.  The report is the result of a comprehensive review of Scotland’s environment carried out by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and concludes that six areas have improved – water, human health impacts, radioactivity, hazardous chemicals, nutrient enrichment and acidification.

2 October: former US Senator George Mitchell, one of the world’s leading peace brokers, met with Scotland’s Futures Forum in the Parliament to talk about his experience of the peace process in Northern Ireland and conflict resolution in the Middle East.

3 October: Jack McConnell, first Minister, officially opened the new headquarters building for Scottish Natural Heritage in Inverness.

3 October: Ross Finnie, Minister for the Environment, announced at the Eventful Scotland Waste Management Conference in Glasgow that the latest figures from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency show that Scotland recycled 24.4% of municipal waste for the year between April 2005 to March 2006.  This is an increase from 17.3% in the same period last year.

5 October: the Parliament published the third quarter of 2005/2006 MSP allowances expenditure. 

4 October: Nicol Stephen, Minister for Lifelong Learning, said statistics show that a record number of graduates, not only from Scotland but also from Europe and the rest of the world, have successfully completed a first degree or postgraduate course in Scotland.

4 October: Allan Wilson, Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, announced that Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland are working together to finalise a programme of European investment that will fund a range of joint projects involving partners from the three countries.  The programme will provide some €200 million which will go towards diverse fields of shared interest such as business development, research, tourism, natural and cultural heritage and renewable energy.

11 October: political talks aimed at re-establishing devolution in Northern Ireland took place over three days in St Andrews.  Representatives of all the Northern Irish main parties took part along with Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain, Irish Taoiseach Bertie Aherne and Tony Blair, Prime Minister.  Jack McConnell, First Minister, said: “It would be wrong for any of us in Scotland or Westminster to pressurise our colleagues in Northern Ireland into choosing the route of devolved government but I have left them in no doubt that it has been good for Scotland.’

11 October: the start of consultation into proposals for Scotland’s first Coastal and Marine National Park.  A high-tech touring truck will offer people the opportunity to learn more about the proposals and have their say on the location and management of any future park.

12 October:  the European Commission closed its investigation into allegations that contracts connected with Holyrood Project were not awarded in compliance with EU rules on public procurement.  The Commission’s decision to close its investigation is in recognition of the measures introduced over recent years and in particular following Lord Fraser’s report which recommended that no one should be placed in charge of a public project without a demonstrable appreciation of the requirements of EU public procurement rules.

13 October: Peter Peacock, Minister for Education, announced that Scotland’s anti-bullying service is being extended to tackling bullying wherever it occurs, not just in schools.  The revamped services called Better Futures aims to increase awareness of the problem of bullying throughout the whole community to help young people to develop effective anti-bullying policies.

13 October: George Reid, Presiding Officer, accompanied by six MSPs, started a seven day visit to Ireland to examine regeneration projects, cultural links and parliamentary ties.  The delegation met with fellow politicians in the Irish Parliament, the Oireachtas, to discuss how the two countries can benefit from closer workings between the two parliaments.

16 October: Jack McConnell, First Minister, accompanied by HM Chief Inspector of Schools, Graham Donaldson, and the Director of CBI Scotland, Iain McMillan, started a week-long visit to schools at the top end of the spectrum in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington DC to see if any of the practices they use can help to improve Scotland’s schools.                                             

16 October: Jack McConnell, First Minister, launched in Los Angeles the Executive’s US Strategy that was recently approved by the Scottish Cabinet.  The Strategy has seven objectives and these are to:

• raise the profile and understanding of Scotland in the US;

• expand connections between businesses in Scotland and the US;

• attract US Fresh Talent to experience living and working in Scotland;

• increase student flows between Scotland and the US;

• strengthen bilateral science links;

• attract increased US tourism to Scotland;

• strengthen exchanges of best practice with US counterparts.

16 October: Allan Wilson, Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, announced that over 100 national and regional projects will receive £11.3 million of funding between them from the seventh round of the Objective 3 European Social Fund (ESF) 2000-2006 Programme.

17 October: Malcolm Chisholm, Minister for Communities, welcomed the publication of the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) 2006 which shows that more people are benefiting from targeted investment to help communities suffering from multiple deprivation.  Mr Chisholm also said that the SIMD gives a focus for all mainstream budgets from the Executive, local authorities, health boards, police and other agencies for future spending plans.

17 October: George Reid, Presiding Officer, welcomed the announcement by Bòrd na Gàidhlig that the Scottish Parliament is one of the six public bodies required to develop a formal Gaelic language plan, under the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005.

17 October: Nicol Stephen, Deputy First Minister, announced that Europe’s largest biodiesel production plant INEOS Enterprises confirmed that they are to invest almost £70 million in a green fuel production facility at their Grangemouth site.  When the plant is operational in 2008 it will supply around 35% of the UK’s biodiesel needs.  The investment has been backed by £9 million of Regional Selective Assistance from the Executive. 

19 October: Tavish Scott, Minister for Transport, announced that remote communities in Scotland are to receive £7.4 million in funding.  The funding is this year’s allocation under the Rural Public Passenger Transport Grant, which is given to councils to introduce new transport services in rural communities, or to upgrade and maintain existing ones.  The fund has been increased by £1.1 million this year.

20 October: Jack McConnell, First Minister, secured an agreement with the California Institute for Quantitative Biomedical Research (QB3) to pursue collaborative opportunities with Scottish universities in the field of life sciences.  The agreement was secured at a meeting between QB3, the First Minister and Bay Bio, an independent, non profit trade association serving the life science industry in Northern California.

23 October: Nicol Stephen, Deputy First Minister, announced that a new investment fund called the Scottish Venture Fund (SVF) is now open for applications.  Mr Stephen said the fund will play an important role in the comprehensive pipeline of support available to young and expanding businesses throughout Scotland.  The fund will deal with an identified gap in supporting deals in the £2-£5 million range.

23 October: Ross Finnie, Minister for Environment and Rural Development, attended an international food and drink exhibition in Paris to support the export of red meat from Scotland.  Mr Finnie said figures show that in the period between May and August 2006 Scotland exported £2.8 million worth of Scotch beef.

23 October: launch of a new communications campaign It’s our Future to get people thinking about their legacy for future generations.  Research carried out by the Executive shows that 81% of Scots agree that if they do not start making changes to their lifestyles now, then future generations will not be able to enjoy the same quality of life.  The It’s our Future campaign is backed by a dedicated website www.infoscotland.com/ourfuture which provides a range of practical steps for a more sustainable Scotland.

25 October: Patricia Ferguson, Minister for Tourism, said that nearly 2.4 million overseas visitors came to Scotland last year, a 50% increase since 2001 and the highest figure ever recorded.  Ms Ferguson said that VisitScotland will receive an extra £800,000 for more marketing of direct air services to Scotland.

25 October: the Executive, the UK Government and the Welsh Assembly Government accepted recommendations for the long-term management of higher activity legacy wastes and those arising from existing nuclear activities and set out the next steps in the Government’s programme to manage radioactive waste safety.  The Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM) recommended geological disposal as the best available option for secure management of these wastes.  Ross Finnie, Minister for Environment, said that they accepted CoRWM’s recommendations and the continuing need for safe and secure interim storage until geological disposal is available.

31 October: Tom McCabe, Minister for Finance and Public Services, announced the publication of three research reports which all relate to the Fresh Talent initiative. Mr McCabe stated that the Fresh Talent initiative is still in its early stages but it is working.  The research includes an evaluation of the first year of the Relocation Advisory Service, a progress report on Fresh Talent and a study of the experiences of people who relocate to Scotland and these can be found at www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Research/Research/17692/SocialResearchPubs/
LocalGovernment.

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Appointments

5 October: Elish Angiolini, Solicitor General, was nominated as Scotland’s new Lord Advocate following the resignation of Colin Boyd QC.  John Beckett, QC, was in turn nominated to succeed Ms Angiolini as Solicitor General.

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Bills

25 October: the Tourist Boards (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3 was passed by Parliament.  The aim of the Bill is to abolish the network tourist boards, to rename the Scottish Tourist Board as VisitScotland and to increase its maximum number of board members.

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

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Committees

2 October: The Communities Committee asked for views on the proposed Schools (Health and Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill which aims to ensure that all meals and snacks available in schools are nutritionally balanced.

6 October: the Finance Committee published research on the economic impact of the Scottish Budget.  As part of the Committee’s strategic work in advance of next year’s spending review they commissioned external research to look at public spending trends and plans and to consider what fiscal options could be used to stimulate economic growth.  The Committee stated that it should not be inferred that they endorsed (or otherwise) the recommendations contained in the report, available on-line at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/ committees/finance/reports-06/fir-06ScottishBudgetFinal_061005.pdf

6 October: the Enterprise and Culture Committee asked for written evidence
on the Scottish Register of Tartans Bill which aims to establish an official Scottish Register of Tartans and a Keeper of the Tartan Register to maintain the register.

23 October: four members of the Audit Committee visited the East Ayrshire Council Headquarters in Kilmarnock to witness how organisations such as local authorities, the NHS and emergency services work together to ensure adequate and equal provision of community services.

30 October: members of the Public Petitions Committee visited All Saints Secondary School in Glasgow to hear evidence from the students who lodged a petition to investigate the public health impact of cheaply available alcohol. This was the Parliament’s 1,000th  public petition.

30 October: the Glasgow Airport Rail Link Bill Committee reported that commitments must be made to provide four football pitches in Paisley before work can commence on the Glasgow Airport Rail Link.

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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

 

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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 October 2006 include:

6 October: Awareness of a potential demand for Career Development Loans in Scotland: report assessing awareness of and demand for Career Development Loans, as well as attitudes towards this type of funding, among the general public and learning providers in Scotland.

9 October: A Shared Approach to Building a Better Scotland: Consultation Responses: a consultation paper on a national strategy for shared services.

11 October: Scotland’s first coastal and marine national park: A Consultation.

20 October: Scotland’s International Image Second Year Report: publication outlining the Scottish government’s plans for promoting Scotland more effectively overseas.

26 October: Public Health Legislation in Scotland: A Consultation.

31 October: Consolidated Accounts for the Year Ended 31 March 2006: Scottish Executive Consolidated Accounts for 2005-2006.

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Links to other issues of Parliament News

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Contact

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