Scottish Parliament Committee News
Issue 105,
Audit Committee
Last week, the
Audit Committee considered various reports from the Auditor General on GP Prescribing; outpatient activity and the Scottish
Parliament Building.
Education Committee
The Education
Committee has been considering the Draft Education
(Additional Support for Learning) (
Enterprise & Culture Committee
The Committee
heard last week from Arthur Midwinter on the impact of top up fees in
The Committee also agreed its work programme, which includes: Business creation; renewable
energy; creative industries; and broadband roll out.
Environment and Rural Development Committee
The Committee has
been examining subordinate legislation;
the Partnership Agreement; the Common Agricultural Policy and the
inquiry into the National Waste Plan.
Equal Opportunities Committee
Much discussion last week on its work programme for the coming term, which
includes issues related to the European
Year of Disabled People; civil
partnerships and choosing reporters for its 6 equality strands.
European and External
Relations Committee
The Committee was
addressed by the Italian Ambassador to the UK, Luigi Amaduzzi,
last week. He spoke about the Italian Presidency
of the European Union and spent some time on the importance of achieving
acceptance of the European Convention’s “Constitution for
Finance Committee
The Finance Committee
held Financial Memoranda discussions on Primary
care and Voluntary Witnesses last
week.
Future business will include Evidence on the
Health
Committee
The Health Committee
started the new session by taking the first evidence for the Primary Medical Services (
Justice 1 Committee
Justice 1 is dealing
with housekeeping issues and setting priorities for the coming year.
Justice 2 Committee
Justice 2, meanwhile,
has been taking evidence from the Crown Office, Victim Support and other
experts on the Vulnerable Witness
Bill.
Local
Government and Transport Committee
Last week, the Committee saw a Conservative move to annul statutory instruments
relating to potential congestion
charging schemes defeated. The
committee also agreed to send MSPs to
Procedures Committee
The Committee, at
its last meeting, discussed changes to First
Minister’s Questions and agreed to hold an Inquiry into the possible
leaking to the press of the report on the subject.
Public
Petitions Committee
The Petitions
Committee discussed a total of 25 petitions at its first meeting of this
session.
Amongst those considered was one on
repeat applications from developers for
the same development. The main area
of concern was the time and expense for those opposing applications to
continually have to make the same case over and over again when no substantial
changes had been made to the application by the developer.
The Executive has responded by agreeing to changes in the
legislation which would allow planning authorities to decline a planning
application which is similar to one already refused, whether or not there has
already been an appeal against the earlier application.
Standards
Committee
The Committee
continued its investigations into the complaints
against Kenny MacAskill (SNP) and Trisha Marwick (SNP)
in private last week. Both MSPs and former MSPs, Dorothy Grace Elder and John McAllion will give public evidence on Tuesday.
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