Scottish Parliament Committee News
Audit Committee
The Committee had a
typically full agenda, dealing with the Reliance
contracts and some Section 22 reports,
among other things.
Members heard from the
AGS that the tendering processes which chose Reliance as the preferred bidder for the SPS
contract were “appropriate and robust”, despite Andrew
Welsh’s (SNP) assertions to the contrary.
The latter’s claim that Reliance was only chosen because it was
the cheapest option was dismissed by the AGS, although under questioning by
Margaret Jamieson (LAB) it emerged that the savings were difficult to compare
between the previous setup and the new Reliance contract.
The Section 22 reports are tied to the audited financial statements of
public bodies and note matters of significance which arise from these
accounts. The four before the Committee
this week related to the National Libraries of Scotland, NHS Argyll and
Communities Committee
After electing Karen Whitefield (LAB) unopposed
as the new Convenor, the Committee moved on to take evidence on Building Regulations (SSIs). Following the evidence and some further discussion,
the Committee decided to support the regulations which were aimed at improving the
quality and building design in
Education Committee
The main item of contention in
last week’s meeting was the issue of Disclosure
Scotland. In previous months, the
Committee had raised concerns about the length of time taken for individuals to
be vetted and the knock-on effect this had on organisations and employers. The contention this time around relates to
the implementation of the Protection
of Children (Scotland) Act 2003, which requires this vetting procedure to go ahead. There has been some confusion among voluntary
groups about who needs to be vetted and the Committee raised concern that a
policy of retrospective vetting could clog up the whole system. As a result, members agreed to write to the
Executive seeking clarification on how it intends to implement the Act and
whether it might consider producing better guidance to prevent unnecessary
checks being carried out.
Enterprise & Culture Committee
The Committee heard from Minister
for Tourism, Culture and Sport, Patricia Ferguson and Deputy Minister for
Patricia Ferguson was
also addressing the Arts in the Community
Inquiry which the Committee is currently undertaking.
Environment and Rural Development Committee
The Committee heard
from Deputy Minister for Environment and Rural Development, Lewis Macdonald, on
the Budget process. They agreed to seek further clarification on
some issues. It also considered a draft
stage 1 report on the Water
Services etc (Scotland) Bill.
European
and External Relations Committee
The Committee continued
its discussion and evidence taking on its report on promoting
Finance
Committee
The Committee took evidence from Professor Arthur Midwinter, its Budget Adviser,
on the Budget process. Evidence was also taken from members of the
Scottish Women
Health
Committee
The main item on
the agenda was the Committee
Justice 1 Committee
The began with a welcome for new
member, Mary Mulligan (LAB). Deputy
Justice Minister, Hugh Henry, moved a motion in the name of Justice Minister, Cathy
Jameson, on the maximum number of judges. After some debate, the motion was agreed. The
Committee then moved into private session to consider issues surrounding the Emergency Workers
(Scotland) Bill.
Justice 2 Committee
The Committee
looked, in broad terms, at its report on the Fire
(Scotland) Bill. There was nothing contentious expressed during the
discussions and a more detailed examination of the position of the report will
be discussed at this week’s meeting. The area of fire control rooms is a
separate matter and a report on this is in the process of being compiled. Members of the Committee also visited various
projects around
Local
Government and Transport Committee
The Committee received further oral evidence with regards to the inquiry into
the Transport
(Scotland) Act 2001. The most
notable contribution was the evidence from the Director of Performance at
London Buses, who informed the Committee of the similarities in tendering
process in
Public
Petitions Committee
The most
controversial issue coming before the Committee last week regarded a petition
requesting the removal of charitable status from the Jewish National Fund Charitable Trust. The petitioners argued that as the Jewish
National Fund was primarily political.
This argument was supported by Rosie Kane (SSP),
who demanded that the Committee write to all patrons of the Fund, who include
Tony Blair, Michael Howard and Charles Kennedy.
After a healthy debate, the Committee agreed to send patrons a copy of
the Committee
Other topical petitions
coming before the Committee concerned matters including out-of–hours care in rural communities, the future of Scottish
Opera and the fluoridation of
the public water supply.
Procedures Committee
The Committee
questioned the
The Committee agreed a number of issues with regards to replacing the Members’ Interests Order. It was agreed to retain the threshold to
register gifts at 0.5% of an MSP’s salary. It was also agreed to continue with the
present system of registering overseas visits.
A continuation of an exemption for registering homes which are for sale
and unoccupied for a period of up to 12 months and the principle that rental
income from a property should be declared was also approved. There was also agreement to register shareholdings
as currently defined in terms of their market value, within the threshold of a
value greater than 50% of an MSP’s salary or 1%
of issued share capital, excluding government securities, fixed-interest bonds,
fixed-interest securities and unit trusts.
Subordinate Legislation Committee
The Committee took five items of business covering issues from the Abolition of Feudal Tenure to Genetically Modified Food Regulations. There
were no real issues or points of contention.
Other Committee
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