Committee News
Issue 81, 8th October 2002
Audit Committee
At last week’s meeting the Committee discussed a letter from
Trevor Jones, Chief Executive of NHS Scotland, regarding the Overview
of the National Health Service in Scotland. The Committee was
happy to be informed that the Executive now accepts their
recommendation on the development of reporting systems to ensure
transparency in the use of non-recurring funding in the NHS.
The Committee also noted a letter from Mr Frank Owens, Chairman of the Scottish Pharmaceutical General Council and requested that the Auditor General for Scotland monitor progress on the issues raised. Mr Owens alleges that the Common Services Agency's payment service still contains "serious faults". The Committee agreed to consider progress on these issues as part of its Inquiry into the next report on the NHS in Scotland.
The Committee discussed the Review of the Management of Waiting Lists in Scotland in private and received a further paper clarifying the Scottish Executive’s action plan. The Committee decided not to proceed with an Inquiry at this time.
Education, Culture & Sport Committee
The Committee met last week to take evidence on the Protection
of Children Bill. Issues raised included concerns about
the nature of the evidence required to place someone on the index
of adults deemed unsuitable to work with children, whether the
Bill should apply to unregulated as well as regulated
organisations, its possible effect on volunteers and worries
about the human rights of those who might be listed. Children
Scotland stated strongly that they believed those who would be
dealing with the Bill would need training and the Scottish
Commission for the Regulation of Care that the Bill should apply
to vulnerable adults (such as those with learning disabilities)
as well as to children.
The Committee is meeting today to take further evidence on the Bill from the Scottish Independent Nurseries Association, the Scottish Council of Independent Schools (SCIS), sportscotland, Scottish Rugby Union, Scottish Swimming, the Scottish Association of Local Sports Councils and Cathy Jamieson. Written submissions have been received from sportscotland, Youth Scotland, SCIS, the Educational Institute of Scotland and the Scottish Independent Nurseries Association (SINA). Youth Scotland raise concerns that the Bill is not explicit enough about which organisations will have a duty to consult the proposed index of adults unsuitable to work with children and the tight criteria for inclusion on this list. The Educational Institute of Scotland are concerned that proper safeguards are put in place to protect adults who may be listed, and these concerns are also raised by SINA.
Enterprise & Lifelong Learning
Committee
Last week, the Committee met at Highlands and Islands
Enterprise HQ in Inverness to take evidence on the Tourism
Inquiry from, among others, VisitScotland. VisitScotland
argued they were a different organisation after reorganisation,
and that they were nor better equipped to make Scotland a
"must visit" organisation. On the Area Tourist Review,
VisitScotland said the primary role of ATBs, the local delivery
mechanism, will be to align what is available with the national
marketing strategies. This will enable them to see whether that
alignment is happening through take-up in local businesses. The
Committee agreed to seek further written evidence from
VisitScotland on its views on the major challenges facing growth
in UK tourism into Scotland.
The Committee also took evidence from the British Tourist Authority. They said their working relationship with VisitScotland had never been better. They also said they had an objective to increase the proportion of tourism that goes outside London, including to Scotland. The Committee agreed to seek further written evidence from BTA on a range of issues.
The Committee went on to take evidence from Highlands and Islands Enterprise, as well as from Scottish Enterprise. HIE acknowledged the need to slim down the ATBs structure. There was also a discussion about the desirability of low cost flights to the Highlands as a way to boost tourism. The Committee agreed to seek further written evidence on examples of best practice in partnership working at the local level between the Enterprise Networks, Area Tourist Boards and VisitScotland and evaluation information available on tourism initiatives.
The next meeting will consider the "Tourism People" submission to the Tourism Inquiry.
Equal Opportunities Committee
At its last meeting the Equal
Opportunities Committee met in private to discuss the Budget
Process 2003-4.
European Committee
This week begins with evidence on reform of the Common
Fisheries Policy from Rural Development Minister, Ross
Finnie. Another ongoing Inquiry – into Scotland’s
representation in the EU – will hear from CoSLA and from
the Scottish Executive’s European Office. The latter has
submitted a joint paper with Scotland Europa supporting the
existing Scotland House arrangement where premises are shared
between them and other stakeholders.
The extensive papers for this Committee occasionally have hidden points of interest. On page 111 this week there is a series of strongly worded recommendations from the clerk suggesting that the Executive is not adequately explaining delays in implementing EU law: two of the issues concerned are waste incineration and GM crops.
Finance Committee
This week, the Committee will take evidence on the SPCB
Budget Submission 2003/04 from Scottish Parliament Chief
Executive Paul Grice; Robert Brown MSP (LIB DEM); the Scottish
Parliament’s Head of Corporate Services, Derek Croll; and
also Project Director of the Holyrood Project Team, Sarah
Davidson. The same people will give evidence on the Quarterly
report of the Scottish Parliament Building Project.
The Committee will then consider a paper on Outcome Budgeting, summarising the results of a consultation exercise on commissioned external research entitled "Moving to Outcome Budgeting." The papers say that while the response to the research on Outcome Budgeting has expressed serious concerns about the practicalities of implementing the system, only one organisation (NHS Highlands) has come near to rejecting the idea entirely.
The Committee will consider the Scottish Executive’s Response to its Stage 1 budget report. On the issue of Financial Scrutiny Review, the Committee will consider a paper from its adviser on block allocations to Health and Local Government.
Health & Community Care Committee
At the first of last week’s two meetings the Committee
took evidence on the Mental Health Bill. Those
giving evidence included the BMA, the Royal College of
Psychiatrists, and the British Association of Social Workers.
Dr Love of the BMA said they agreed with the general principles of the Bill and there had been adequate consultation. Dr Love said there was a need for information for GPs on how to contact mental health officers efficiently. He also said GPs would prefer it if all the information required as a result of an emergency detention were collected at the time rather than there being the need for a subsequent report. The information being on the form given to the hospital would also address issues of confidentiality, he argued. He also said that there was a shortage of general psychiatrists, and that there may be value in having flexibility in who will be approved medical practitioners in the terms of the Bill to help rural areas, where GPs could undertake appropriate training to carry out duties that would generally be carried out by psychiatrists. There was further discussion of what role should be played by a GP in helping patients with mental health problems, and Dr Love said he thought it should be made clear that GPs should not supervise compulsory treatment orders because that should be a specialist function.
Dr Lyons of the Royal College of Psychiatrists said that consent from the mental health officer for authorising short-term detention should be in writing. He also said it would be better if the principles which underpin the bill were set out clearly. He approved of the move to the situation where the majority of patients are detained through short-term orders rather than through emergency detention. David Hewitson of the British Association of Social Workers said the Bill has the potential to become a very good Act. He made it clear that the role of the mental health officer was protection of people’s right and liberties, bringing a balance to the system, and was confident that if there are good reasons why people cannot be detained they will be spelled out. Ruth Start of the Association expressed concerns over the length of time it takes to train an MHO and that MHOs were also declining in number.
The Committee also noted the response from Health Minister, Malcolm Chisholm, to Convenor, Margaret Smith’s (LIB DEM), letter on the issues of Hepatitis C compensation, asking when the Committee will receive a response on the work of the expert group on the issue. The Committee agreed to question the Minister on 30th October.
Next week’s meeting will take further evidence on the Mental Health Bill from the Scottish Association for Mental Health, National Schizophrenic Fellowship (Scotland), ADSW, and RCN Scotland.
Justice 1 Committee
Last week’s meeting continued with the complex but
popular Title Conditions Bill. The evidence
continues to be technical but consensual: new items of discussion
were the designation of "conservation bodies" under the
Bill (such as the National Trust) and the circumstances in which
tenants, as opposed to owners, will be able to exercise rights.
Other items:
Much of this week’s meeting will be in private. The paper for one topic – alternatives to custody – is public, however, and provides a useful overview of the subject in summarising the evidence received from more than fifty bodies. The evidence is all supportive of further use of alternatives to custody.
The public session is evidence on prisons from the SPS director of rehabilitation and care.
No report is yet available of last week's joint meeting of the two justice Committees on the budget.
Justice 2 Committee
This week, the Committee returns once again to stage 2 of the
Land Reform Bill. Progress remains slow, with
discussions still on access. The community and crofting
right-to-buy provisions are yet to come. A second meeting will
continue this, with a brief diversion to the continuing petition
on civil justice for asbestos victims. It will be recalled
that this relates to delays in the court system in processing
compensation cases. Partly thanks to the Committee’s
intervention, these are now being addressed, but the petitioners
are still concerned that it is too easy for companies to lodge a
skeletal defence which can cause great delay.
Local Government Committee
Lots from the Local Government Committee this week: on Friday
4th October it issued an endorsement of the Public
Appointments and Public Bodies Bill but called for
greater consultation of the Parliament throughout the process.
Members also met in Paisley on 1st October to take evidence for the Renewing Local Democracy Inquiry from members of Renfrewshire Council, the Improvement and Development Agency and the Welsh LGA. Discussion focussed on involving communities in the work of councils including measures to involve tenants associations, young people and the use of estate liaison Committees, community councils and Social Inclusion Partnerships. The Improvement and Development Agency discussed the training programmes they provide for councillors and the Welsh LGA spoke in favour of a better remuneration scheme for councillors including a pension package, and commented that they believed they were over-inspected.
The Committee will meet this week in Inverness to take further evidence for this Inquiry from Learning and Teaching Scotland, the Highland Council and St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council.
Public Petitions Committee
The Petitions Committee meets today to consider new
petitions on: complaints to the Mental Welfare Commission;
the Post Office Network; local councils’ interpretation of
the New Care for the Elderly regulations; offering training for
those involved in running the Palestinian legislature; further
education in West Lothian; institutional child abuse;
compensation for medical accidents; mistakes regarding
fingerprint ID at the Scottish Criminal Records office; and
finally, including the Parish of Laggan within the Cairngorms
National Park.
Responses from the Scottish Executive will be discussed on a number of petitions including those on NHS allergy clinics in Scotland, water treatment plans and the future of rural sub post offices. The Committee will also discuss inadmissible petitions.
Procedures Committee
This week the Committee will consider proposed standing
orders from the Conveners’ Group. George Reid (SNP),
Convener of the Conveners’ Group, will attend. The changes
arise following the recommendation that the Conveners’ Group
should be constituted formally in standing orders.
There will also be a timing update on the Consultative Steering group Inquiry.
Rural Development Committee
The Committee met last Tuesday to take evidence from Deputy Rural
Development Minister, Allan Wilson, on the draft designation
order for the Cairngorms national park and to discuss
subordinate legislation on the preservation of salmon. The
Minister gave an assurance that the Committee’s views would
be taken into account before a designation order was published.
There was some disagreement within the Committee on the issue of
planning – whether it should be undertaken by the Park
Authority or remain in the hands of the local authority –
the final decision on this is awaiting the results of a
consultation exercise. No recommendations were made on salmon
preservation.
The Committee is meeting next week to take evidence on current issues affecting the Scottish Scallop industry. Written submissions have been received from the Clyde fishermen’s association, the Western Isles fishermen’s association, the Mallaig and North West Fishermen’s Association and the Food Standards Agency Scotland. The Inquiry will be looking at the impact of Amnesiac Shellfish Poisoning (ASP) and on the possibility of "tiered testing" for the industry; current proposals are not popular with the fishermen’s associations.
Social Justice Committee
The Social Justice Committee met last time to discuss amendments
to the Debt Arrangement and Attachment (Scotland) Bill.
An amendment lodged by Karen Whitefield (LAB) which aims
to separate the roles of money advisor and compliance officer was
accepted as were two moved by Deputy Justice Minister, Dr Richard
Simpson.
The Committee is meeting on the 9th of October to discuss the Bill further and, in private, the Building (Scotland) Bill, the Budget Process 2003-4 and the Social Inclusion Inquiry.
Standards Committee
At this week’s meeting the Committee takes evidence on
the Scottish Parliament Business Exchange from Scottish
Parliament Chief Executive, Paul Grice, and Executive Director of
the Exchange, Anne Mearns. The Committee has previously
considered correspondence between Margaret Jamieson (LAB), Paul
Grice and the Convener concerning the Exchange and
confidentiality agreements. As a result, the Committee decided to
explore the operation of the Exchange.
The Committee will also make its initial consideration of a report from the Standards Adviser on a complaint, and it will consider taking this item in private.
Transport & the Environment
Committee
No report yet for last week’s meeting, but discussion
included Highland & Island ferries, and the petition
on the spreading of organic waste (see yesterday's
e-Brief) on farmland, which will be the subject of a Committee
debate on Thursday.
There was private consideration of the stage 1 report on the Water Environment & Water Services (Scotland) Bill, and of the Rail Inquiry. The former continues this week.
Much of this week’s public business is centred on petitions, the first of which is another on the topic of birds of prey. This time the Scottish Gamekeepers Association (backed as usual by the Scottish Homing Union who represent pigeon-fanciers) are arguing not about pigeons or grouse but the effect of raptors on wild birds. Scottish Natural Heritage say there is no evidence for this.
Next up is the sale of school playing fields. The Executive has pointed to the guidance already in existence, but of course such guidance does not mean that no fields will ever be sold, and the petitions all arise from individual local cases. The Committee is unlikely to take further action.
Finally, two petitions from opposing sides on opencast mining. Again, discussion is likely to be concluded.
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