Committee News

Issue 84, 12^th November 2002

Audit Committee
At this week’s meeting, the Committee will consider a proposed change of remit. This is a technical amendment to allow it to properly consider all of the Auditor General’s report.

The Committee will also consider a response from the Scottish Executive to its Report on Public Accounts. The Principal Finance Officer reports that a preliminary report on accounting treatment of PPP / PFI contracts is expected by the end of the year. He also reports that specific guidance is now included in the Public Finance Manual requiring all financial assistance provided by the Executive to comply with EC state aid rules.

Education, Culture & Sport Committee
At the last meeting, Deputy Culture Minister, Elaine Murray, gave evidence to the Committee on Scotland’s museums, stating that the Executive was still in a period of consultation following the National Audit. A paper on the results of the consultation will be published in the spring.

The Committee then moved on to discuss Irene McGugan’s (SNP) report into Scotland’s languages with Mike Russell (SNP) arguing strongly for the report to recommend secure status for Gaelic and Scots. The Committee will return to the report on 26^th November.

Finally the Committee considered petitions on the Roman Remains at Cramond, Health Education Guidelines and Steiner Waldorf education. A visit was arranged to Cramond, and the Committee agreed to note the petition on Steiner Waldorf education and recommend to the petitioners that they engage with the National Debate. There was a longer discussion on the Health Education Guidelines. A letter had been received from Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS) which indicates that the guidelines will be reviewed in 2004-05. However there was still some concern that there was material on the list attached to the guide for teachers and managers that was contrary to circular 2/2001 and the Committee agreed to write again to LTS to ask whether there was any mechanism for removing such material.

This week the majority of the Committee’s business is likely to be in private: it is considering draft reports on the Commissioner for Children and Young People Bill, the Protection of Children Bill and the Purposes of Scottish Education. The one item likely to be in public is its consideration of whether to propose amendments to the Public Appointments Bill at stage two. During stage one the Committee had stated that it required more detail about their successors before it approved the abolition of the Ancient Monuments Board for Scotland and the Historic Buildings Council as proposed in the Bill.

Enterprise & Lifelong Learning Committee
This week the Committee will take further evidence on its Inquiry into Tourism, this time from a range of representatives of the aviation industry. Submissions include one from British Airways ,who return to their favoured theme of the need for expansion of Heathrow as a UK hub. Ryanair's submission expresses a wish to see greater use of the internet in promoting the industry and budget increases; and BAA wishes to see increased use in the industry of PPP schemes.

The papers also include the results of the research commissioned into Scotland’s tourist industry and international comparisons. The report says the pace of change in Scotland has to be quicker than that of its competitors; that there must be clearly understood roles and responsibilities for stakeholders in the industry; and that there needs to be unambiguous Government support. The results of the online questionnaire are also submitted, with most respondents feeling the ATBs and VisitScotland are doing a "fair" job.

In private, the Committee will consider the key issues for its draft report on the Inquiry.

Equal Opportunities Committee
The main item in this weeks agenda will be an evidence taking session with Deputy Social Justice Minister, Hugh Henry, on the Committee’s Sexual Orientation work.

The Committee is then considering a paper on the themes arising from its consultation on mainstreaming equality in the work of the parliamentary Committees. These include the need to ensure that the work of Committees is accessible (for example production of large print formats etc); the need to reach out to underrepresented groups during consultations and to ensure that evidence does not always come from "the usual suspects"; the desirability of a system of monitoring of Committees’ approach to equality; and the need for MSP and staff training in equalities issues.

European Committee
No Official Report is yet available for last week’s meeting. The minutes indicate discussion about the next EU meetings on white fish and Common Fisheries Policy reform; and agreement on a report regarding Scottish representation in the EU, with Lloyd Quinan (SNP) dissenting. There was support for the Executive on structural funds, and the welfare of animals during transport. The Committee is also preparing for an Inquiry into corporate social responsibility.

Finance Committee
At last week’s meeting, the Committee considered its draft report on the Financial Memorandum for the Mental Health Bill. It also took evidence on the budget process 2003-04 from CBI Scotland, DTZ Pieda Consulting, the Scottish Executive, CoSLA, SFHA and Communities Scotland. In his report, Arthur Midwinter welcomed the progress made in the improvement in financial management information shown in Building a Better Scotland. He said, however, that there are still issues over transparency, for example differentiating between new spending and baseline spending.

The Committee also took further evidence on the Financial Memorandum of the Homelessness Bill from the Scottish Executive. Shelter has submitted on this issue, saying it is comfortable with the memorandum, but in the longer term resources will be required for an increase in good quality, affordable housing and supporting people moving from homelessness to permanent accommodation.

Health & Community Care Committee
At last week’s meeting, the Committee took further evidence on the Mental Health Bill. Children in Scotland welcomed the revision of the legislation, but have concerns over children’s rights with regard to consent to treatment and age appropriate services. They argued that mores services were needed for children who were at risk of mental disorder, not just those already with a mental disorder. They said there should be a member on each of the proposed tribunals who is a specialist to children on mental health, or a specialist should at least be present. They also wanted "child-friendly services", such as possible separate wards and other tailored services within wards. They also argued children’s legal capacity should not be based solely on age.

The Sheriffs Association opposed the new specialist tribunal, arguing the appropriate forum for the authorisation of compulsory treatment orders should be a court of law. They argue the new system will be administratively difficult, slow and more costly than using the current system. They argue that courts are more local, and tribunals will not be necessarily less intimidating experiences.

Health Minister, Malcolm Chisholm, insisted that tribunals were a popular idea and should proceed, and the legal profession will be represented on them. Concerns over the use of short term orders rather than emergency orders, which last for a much shorter time, were raised and the Executive stressed the patient would have a right of appeal at a tribunal. There was also concern about the potential for sufferers to be detained at police stations, but the Minister made it clear that this would happen only where no other accommodation could be found. He stressed that community treatment orders were to give people the opportunity to live in their own homes, and not to relieve pressure on hospital beds. In terms of resources for the Bill, he stressed the funding outlined was a significant boost to local authority expenditure on mental health, and there was flexibility within the resources allocated for community treatment orders. The need for access to advocacy services was also stressed. Responding to questions on the complexity of the Bill, the Minister said there would be amendments at Stage 2 to clarify some areas of concern.

The Committee also took evidence from the Minister on the budget 2003-04. Mr Chisholm stressed that he was in favour of greater transparency in the budget. Asked about affording pay rises for nurses, he said this had been part of the UK spending settlement. In terms of tackling "postcode lotteries" he said this was being addressed already in terms of prescribing drugs, but in the rest of the service there had to be an effective balance between central direction and tailoring services to local needs. Asked about identifying unmet need in terms of Arbuthnott, he said a sub-group was looking at the issue on an on-going basis. On the issue of public information on PFI contracts, he said details of the contracts should already be publicly available.

Justice 1 Committee
Last week, evidence on the Mental Health Bill continued as the Committee heard from Enable, who represent people with learning disabilities. There are two issues for such people: firstly, their treatment when accused of an offence, but secondly the need to protect them from sexual abuse. The Bill strengthens offences in this latter area. Enable were supportive of the Bill, although they expressed regret that learning disability is dealt with in mental health legislation.

Discussion on the same area with the Crown Office led to further consideration of the difficulty of establishing consent or otherwise in sexual offences involving people with a mental disorder.

The Committee returned again to long-running petitions on dangerous driving, and determined to approach Justice Minister, Jim Wallace, once more as it feels the information he has supplied is not that for which it is looking. The issue is the alacrity of prosecutions.

There was also a private discussion of the Title Conditions Bill, and the long running Inquiry into the regulation of the legal profession. The former continues this week, along with similar consideration of the report on the Mental Health Bill. The Royal College of Nursing has submitted a paper raising concerns about staff rights in the new system for the protection of vulnerable people.

A major piece of work in the coming months will be an Inquiry into alternatives to custody. Evidence this week comes from organisations involved in rehabilitation, who argue that we should not lump together non-custodial alternatives, but should instead view imprisonment as just one of a range of disposals.

The Carbeth hutters petition, dating from 1999, is back, as the Committee tries to find out when the Executive will respond to its consultation which ended in March 2001.

Lastly, the Committee will prepare to consider Prostitution Tolerance Zones.

Justice 2 Committee
Last week saw the conclusion of stage 2 of the Land Reform Bill, dealing with Part 3 on the right-to-buy of crofting communities. Final points of debate included:

• At the end of part 2 (community right-to-buy) there were involved discussions regarding valuation of land, compensation and sporting interests;
• Alasdair Morrison (LAB) moved provisions relating to compulsory purchase of land by local authorities. The Executive agreed to look at this issue before stage 3;
• The Conservatives attempted to prevent crofters from running salmon fishings, however these were defeated; and
• The Committee returned to its first discussion back in June, and voted against the wishes of the Executive to say that this Bill secures an existing right-to-roam, rather than creating a new one.

The Committee also prepared for stage 2 of the Criminal Justice Bill, which begins this week. It will not be taken in numerical order but will begin with parts 5 and 6 which cover drug courts, non-custodial sentences, and anti-social behaviour. There is also a possibility of further evidence-taking, as the Executive is laying amendments on a number of new topics such as wildlife crime and human trafficking.

Local Government Committee
The Committee last week met to discuss the Local Government in Scotland Bill at Stage 2. Deputy Finance and Public Services Minister, Peter Peacock, moved an amendment proposed by the Committee’s stage 1 report which ensures that best value considerations refer to sustainable development. Amendments moved by Kate Maclean (LAB) on behalf of the Equal Opportunities Committee (of which she is convenor) which sought to ensure that local authorities took into account the equal opportunities practices of their contractors and to ensure that they do not use agencies or companies who do not share their values on equality of opportunity and diversity were rejected. The Minister argued that this would be beyond the legislative competence of the Parliament. A further recommendation from the Equal Opportunities Committee to require local authorities to conduct equal pay audits was also rejected, although the Minister reaffirmed the Executive’s commitment to equal pay.

The Committee then moved on to consideration of the Dog Fouling Bill at Stage 1. The Royal Institute of Environmental Health welcomed the Bill and expressed the opinion that it would not require additional staff to implement it. The Scottish Kennel club also welcomed the Bill, but was concerned about the range of people who might be authorised to enforce it. Environmental Wardens of the City of Edinburgh Council were also supportive of the Bill, but concerned that the time period for issuing fixed penalty notices was too short.

This week, the Committee will further consider the Local Government in Scotland Bill at stage 2 and discuss its approach to the Prostitution Tolerance Zones Bill. It will also take evidence on the Dog Fouling Bill from Peter Peacock and officials, CoSLA and Keith Harding himself. The Executive supports the Bill which changes the emphasis from allowing a dog to foul to failing to clear up after it, applies this offence to all non agricultural land and allows fixed penalties to be issued by police and certain designated local authority officials. The Executive has, however, proposed a number of amendments which concern the provisions for local authority officials and the procedures for collecting the fines. CoSLA has also raised doubts in its submission about the ability of local authority officials to enforce fixed penalties, and the implications if these penalties are challenged. It also believes that the Bill may raise public expectations which will not be able to be met.

Procedures Committee
At this week’s meeting, the Committee will consider a draft report on Changes to Standing Orders concerning Written Parliamentary Questions and the Languages of Public Petitions. The draft report recommends that answers to written questions are lodged within 10 "counting days" of the question being lodged, and to extend the 28 day deadline to cover questions lodged 2 weeks before recesses of more than 4 days. It also recommends that public petitions should be accepted in any language, and that junior Scottish Ministers should be able to answer written questions.

The Committee will also consider another issues paper, this time on the Consultative Steering Group.

Public Petitions Committee
At last week’s meeting, there was discussion of new petitions on tolls on the Erskine Bridge, the Planning Process, roads around Kincardine and rail commuter services. In all cases the Committee agreed to refer them on. The Committee also agreed to write to the Executive on three petitions regarding housing stock transfer with specific requests for a clarification of the current powers of Scottish Ministers in relation to transferring revenue generated from housing stock transfers to the HM Treasury, and for views on the transfer options afforded to tenants by Scottish Homes. It was also agreed to invite representatives of the Scottish Prison Service to a meeting in relation to a petition about social facilities available to them.

Consideration of current petitions included those on Gaelic: the Committee agreed to write to the Executive to find out whether it would be supporting the proposed Members Bill. And there's more work for the Transport & Environment Committee as a petition on behalf of Strathblane Community Council regarding Environmental Impact Assessments was referred to it.

Rural Development Committee
No Official Report is available for last week's meeting at which the Committee discussed the Agricultural Holdings Bill. The Committee agreed to take evidence from the Scottish Gamekeepers Federation. The Committee also considered in private its reports on the Budget Process and the Organic Farming Targets Bill.

The Committee is taking further evidence on Agricultural Holdings this week from the Scottish Agricultural Arbiters’ and Valuers’ Association, the Scottish Law Commission, the Chairman of the Scottish Land Court and a representative of the NFU Scotland Tenants’ Working Group. The Scottish Law Commission’s submission concerns its own recommendations, now incorporated into the Bill, that the Scottish Land Court acquires a universal jurisdiction in questions between landlord and tenant; that recourse to the land court should be available to either party without the consent of the other; and that the existing process of compulsory arbitration should be abolished. The Land Court itself is supportive of these proposals, but concerned about the provisions of the Bill which specify a time limit for giving its decisions.

Social Justice Committee
At last weeks meeting, the Committee took evidence on the Homelessness Bill.

The Committee will be looking at the Bill again this week, again in two panel sessions. The first panel will take evidence from Shelter, The Big Issue, and Scottish Council for Single Homeless; the second from the Hamish Allen Centre, Edinburgh Cyrenians and the Calman Trust. Issues for discussion are likely to include the changes to priority need, intentionality and local connection contained within the Bill.

Written evidence has been received from Edinburgh Cyrenians who "enthusiastically welcome" the Bill, in particular its abolition of the local connection rule and the gradual phasing out of the priority needs test. They also suggest that refugees be included within the Bill as a priority group and that the implementation of the Bill is both closely monitored and rigorously enforced across all local authorities. They suggest (as have other witnesses) that the Bill will require a major expansion in rented accommodation.

Standards Committee
The Official Report is not yet available for last week’s meeting. The Committee took evidence from Christine Grahame (SNP) on a complaint in relation to Annexe 5 of the Code of Conduct, which relates to relationships between MSPs in handling constituency interests, and found that she had indeed broken the rules. She had described herself in press releases as "Borders-based", "locally-based" and "serving the Borders and East Lothian". The Committee upheld the findings in the Adviser's report that she had breached the Code of Conduct, but, as she had agreed to revise her procedures to meet the Code’s requirements, decided that sanctions were not appropriate.

The Committee considered a paper on the Scottish Parliament Business Exchange. It outlines revised procedures for dealing with confidentiality agreements, and discusses the what sort of staff will be involved in the Exchange.

Finally, the Committee considered a report from the Justice 2 Committee on the unauthorised disclosure of the draft Stage 1 Report on the Criminal Justice Bill. The Committee expressed its strong disapproval of the leaking of confidential material but, noting the conclusion of the Justice 2 Committee, agreed not to direct the Standards Adviser to investigate.

Subordinate Legislation Committee
Last week, points arose on the Building Bill regarding when exemptions might be made to safety standards.

This week, a number of queries on the Mental Health Bill will be put to officials – the ECHR is likely to loom large.

Robin Rigg Offshore Wind Farm Committee
The Committee is meeting in Dumfries this week to take evidence on the proposed Robin Rigg Offshore Wind farm Bill. The Bill centres around moves to allow Offshore Energy Resources Ltd. and Solway Offshore Ltd. to obstruct navigation and fishing to the extent necessary to construct and operate a wind farm on the Robin Rigg sand bank in the Solway Firth; to allow them to establish an exclusion zone prohibiting navigation around the site during the construction period; to allow them to establish an exclusion zone preventing trawling and anchoring around the site during the operations period; and to authorise the establishment of an exclusion zone prohibiting navigation within 50 metres of various sections of the wind farm during its operation.

Objections have been received from an individual who believes that the construction of the Wind Farm may expose material with unacceptable high levels of radiation and from the Royal Yachting Association and Solway Yacht club.

The promoters of the bill argue that they have undertaken analysis which shows that the objections are unfounded. The RYA and Solway yacht club have argued that exclusion zones are unnecessary (a view supported by written evidence from the Maritime Coast Guard Authority, who state that they would not be prepared to police any such exclusion zones). They are also in dispute over the amount of clearance needed between the wind farm blades and masts: the promoters believe that the yachters are being over cautious.

Transport & the Environment Committee
No Official Report is yet available for last week’s meeting. However, discussion of the Building Bill continued and in the submissions:

• The Disability Rights Commission, as one might expect, sought stronger provisions regarding accessibility;
• The Fire Protection Association pointed to possible confusion as to who has what responsibility for fire;
• The Scottish Consumers Council wanted stronger regulation of cowboy builders; and
• CoSLA urged caution regarding the proposal that other than just local authorities should be able to verify building works.

The Committee also discussed next year’s transport budget, with evidence from Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Minister, Iain Gray.

This week’s agenda includes private consideration of a budget report, and evidence from Deputy Social Justice Minister, Hugh Henry, on the Building Bill. However, the main item is the beginning of stage 2 of the Water Environment & Water Services Bill.

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