Committee News
Issue 39, 26th June 2001
This week’s Audit Committee considers the report on the lengthy NHS in Tayside inquiry. This discussion will be taken in private until the report is ready for publication.
The Committee also considers their future work programme on the basis of Audit Scotland’s future work programme. The Auditor General reports that Audit Scotland will publish two reports on the Further Education Sector – one on financial management in Moray College and one on general funding issues with FE. It is likely that the Audit Committee will consider these reports after the recess.
Education, Culture & Sport Committee
The SQA continues to be a central issue for the Education Committee. Last week members took further evidence from the SQA on progress to date and steps being taken to ensure safe delivery of the 2001 examination diet. Some key issues are:
Evidence was also taken from Comunn na Gàidhlig, BBC Scotland and Grampian Television among others for their Gaelic Broadcasting inquiry.
This week the Committee considers a draft report of its response to the Executive’s consultation document on assessment of educational need. Karen Gillon (LAB) will report back on her meeting with CoSLA concerning Petition PE342 on school closures.
Also of interest is the Committee’s report on improving consultation with children and young people – click here to read.
Enterprise & Lifelong Learning Committee
ELLL has finished meeting until after the recess. The publication of the New Economy report went well. It is a good piece of work that has ambitious but clear targets for Scotland in terms of e-connectivity and skills training.
Last week, gender reporter Elaine Smith (LAB) introduced her paper on her meeting with the organisation Routes out of Prostitution, based in Glasgow. (Click here to read Elaine’s report.) It was agreed to contact the Justice 2 Committee which is considering issues surrounding women and justice, and consider Elaine’s request for an inquiry into violence against women and children. The Committee also met in private to consider its draft report on travelling people and discuss its future work programme.
Despite last week’s encyclopaedic agenda (see last week's Committee News), the meeting was actually relatively short. Labour members welcomed the signing of the directive on workers’ consultation, and will consult further. Reports on both the Euro and EU enlargement are scheduled to be published after the summer recess.
Last week the Committee agreed to Donald Gorrie’s (LIB DEM) report on Voluntary Sector Funding, with a minor disagreement as to the remit of the report.
This week the Committee has a busy agenda. Members take further consideration of the proposed amendment to Contingent Liability concerning Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service. They consider the dispersal of the old Scottish Transport Group Pension Surplus.
They will also look to the future with the appointment of an advisor to their PPP/PFI inquiry, due to start after the recess.
Health & Community Care Committee
The Committee will consider, most likely in private, fuel poverty; hepatitis C; single GP practices; and the forthcoming long-term care bill.
Last week’s evidence on Legal Aid began with the Legal Services Commission, a body recently set up in England & Wales as the Government’s response to similar concerns about costs and quality in legal aid to those being considered by the Committee. The LSC presented a positive picture of the new regime, with costs being controlled rigorously by a system of contracts and direction applied with a light touch from the Lord Chancellor, and provision on the ground assured throughout the country. Some witnesses at Justice 1 have called for an LSC to be set up in Scotland.
This was followed by evidence from Deputy Justice Minister, Iain Gray. He stressed that the current legal aid set-up in Scotland is demand-led (with most money going on the criminal rather than civil side), so that costs cannot be directly controlled, and in this connection welcomed the Committee’s inquiry. He pointed out, however, that proposals for additional expenditure would need to be met in the first instance from elsewhere in the justice budget.
The Law Society spoke to their paper (covered last week) concerning self-regulation of the legal profession. They came under close questioning regarding claims of negligence against solicitors, which are not dealt with by the Society and must go to court. It is suggested that lawyers are unwilling to act against other lawyers so that complainants can have difficulty obtaining representation.
There was discussion of a recent visit to the women’s prison at Cornton Vale, where significant improvements have been made. It is Justice 2 which is considering women’s offending, but Justice 1 is to look at sentencing and the view was reiterated that women are being inappropriately incarcerated. Phil Gallie (CON) queried this and suggested that examining women offenders alone ran counter to equality.
This week the Committee commences with stage 2 of the International Criminal Court (Scotland) Bill. However, the bulk of the Committee papers are concerned with the written evidence received for the inquiry into the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service. Only seven submissions have been received: two, from the Procurator Fiscal Society and the PCS union, are naturally concerned to emphasise the feelings of understaffing, underresourcing, and low morale within the service. The others are from individuals who have concerns about the operation of public prosecutions.
All Committees have been invited to comment on the extent to which the Consultative Steering Group principles (which founded the Parliament) have found expression. The answer from Justice 2 is yes, although one of their particular concerns is short timescales for bills.
Cornton Vale women’s prison has been mentioned under Justice 1 above. The report to Justice 2 also speaks of a ‘turnaround’ at the establishment, and adds some further points on women’s imprisonment:
Following evidence from the Scottish Local Government Information Unit (SLGIU) and George Street Research opening the Committee’s inquiry into aspects of the Kerley Report, the Committee met in private to discuss its draft report on the draft Timing of Elections Bill.
This week, the Committee also takes evidence from Deputy Justice Minister, Iain Gray, on stage 1 of the Police and Fire Services (Finance) Bill, and discusses proposals for consideration of the proposed Long Term Care Bill in private.
This week’s usual mammoth agenda considers a couple of key issues regarding Committees, the first of which is the treatment of minority views. The paper from the clerks notes how different Committees have tried to accommodate minority positions and suggests that an increase in majority and minority reports might undermine the authority of both.
The other topic is substitution at Committees, of which Labour members have been sceptical. Responses to the questionnaire from MSPs stand at 40%, which the clerks consider an insufficient basis to proceed: the majority of those responding correspond with the Labour members' view that the use of substitutes should be restricted and tightly monitored.
The inquiry into CSG principles is likely to continue well into the autumn.
Last week, the Committee referred the petition on the health implications of the siting of Trident to Justice 2, and agreed to seek the views of the Executive on school transport in Aberdeenshire, particularly on whether it considers the existing legislation to be adequate.
The Committee agreed to pass the petition from Scottish Parents for a Public Inquiry into Organ Retention on to the Health Committee who are currently considering a petition from the Scottish Organisation Relating to the Retention of Organs (SORRO). According to evidence given to the Committee, there is discord between the two organisations with SORRO no longer calling for a public inquiry. The Health Committee is awaiting the publication of the independent review Committee report before undertaking further consideration.
Rural Development will attempt to finally sign off its Stage 1 report on the Wild Mammals Bill. Members will also take evidence jointly with the Transport & the Environment Committee on Petition P96 on fish farming. (See T&E Committee report below.)
Last week’s meeting was attended by List MSP Andrew Wilson (SNP), the subject of a critical report from the standards adviser regarding a breach of the protocol relating to constituency and list members. He had distributed material in Cumbernauld describing himself as the ‘local’ MSP. Mr Wilson’s defence appeared to be that the protocol was too complex for him to understand and the view of the Committee members present was that the matter was not serious enough to warrant sanctions.
This week’s fascinating fact from Sub Leg. comes from the Gaming Act (Variation of Fees) (Number 2) (Scotland) Order, where we learn that bingo licences are going up by 47% while casino licences are being reduced by 26%. At its meeting last week, the Committee agreed to ask the Executive about this.
Transport & the Environment Committee
T&E has a very busy agenda with a number of different issues being considered. Petition P96 calling for a public inquiry on the environmental impact of fish farming is once again on the agenda and the Committee is questioning Fisheries Minister, Rhona Brankin, today on the issue. The Executive's position is that it does not wish to undertake an inquiry, as it believes its own review will ensure any outstanding issues in fish farming are dealt with.
The Committee takes another petition that generates passion from those involved. A petition from the Scottish gamekeepers association joins the one from the Scottish Homing Union calling for a cull of birds of prey.
Finally the Committee takes evidence from Transport Minister, Sarah Boyack, on Highlands and Islands Ferry Services.
Other Committee Home Pages:
[ HOME ] [ News ] [ Articles ] [ Calendar ] [ Contacts ] [ Links ] [ E-Mail ]
[ Copyright ] [ UK Online ] [ Scottish Parliament ]