Committee News
Issue 93, 28th January 2003
Audit Committee
Last week, the Committee received a briefing from the Auditor
General on the Overview of the NHS 2001/02. It took
evidence on its Inquiry into Dealing with Offending by
Young People from the Scottish Executive, ADSW and the
Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration. In private, the
Committee agreed not to proceed with an Inquiry into the Overview
of the NHS 2001/02 report, or seek written evidence. Also in
private, the Committee considered a revised
draft report on its Inquiry into How Government Works in
Scotland. The report was agreed with minor amendments.
Education, Culture & Sport Committee
The Committee took evidence last week on the Gaelic
Language Bill from Mikes Watson (Culture Minister) and
Russell (SNP sponsor of the Bill), the former opposing the Bill
on behalf of the Executive and the latter arguing the case for
its introduction. Mike Watson stated that he believed that Gaelic
already had official status in Scotland, and the establishment of
Bòrd Gàidhlig na h-Alba could be seen as evidence of this. The
Executive believes that the Bill does not give due recognition to
the Bord or fit in with its current priorities, may cause
divisions within the Gaelic community and has uncertain financial
implications. The Minister stated that he hoped in the near
future to publish a Gaelic Language Bill which would be narrower
and more precise in its provisions. Mike Russell argued that the
only part of the Bill he was not willing to amend was that which
stated that Gaelic should have equal status with English.
Enterprise & Lifelong Learning
Committee
Last week the Committee agreed changes to its legacy paper
which provides advice to its successor Committee, based on
its experience of the first Parliamentary Session. It also took
evidence from Enterprise Minister, Iain Gray on the issue of Late
Payment of Commercial Debts regulations.
European Committee
This week’s evidence for the Inquiry into corporate
social responsibility comes from the Executive and the Equal
Opportunities Commission. There are no written submissions.
Equal Opportunities Committee
The Committee is meeting this week to take evidence on the European
Year of Disabled People. Witnesses include representatives
from Donaldson’s College, the STUC, Barnado’s Scotland,
the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, the National League of the
Blind and Disabled, the Scottish National Federation for the
Welfare of the Blind and the Minority Ethnic Learning Disability
Initiative.
Finance Committee
Last week, the Committee met in private to discuss draft reports
on its cross-cutting reviews into Children in Poverty and Regeneration
as delivered through the Voluntary Sector. It agreed to
consider further drafts at its next meeting.
This week, the Committee will consider a report on its commissioned external research into comparative budget setting and financial scrutiny. The report finds that the new Scottish arrangements for budgeting and financial scrutiny are far more open, accessible and accountable than Whitehall’s. The research also recommends developing "outcome based budgeting" to the fullest possible extent.
Health & Community Care Committee
Last week the Committee met twice to continue consideration
of the Mental Health Bill at Stage 2. Once more the
meetings showed there is a great deal of consensus on the
Committee, with many of the amendments being technical. Shona
Robison (SNP) and Adam Ingram (SNP) put forward a number of
amendments, many of which were withdrawn after assurances from
Deputy Health Minister, Mary Mulligan. These were on issues
including safeguarding patients’ rights, ensuring
appropriate consultation with patients’ GPs and timescales
for tribunals. One amendment which did go to a vote was on care
plans, with the suggestion being that these should be called
"recovery plans" and would need to be signed off by the
patient. The Executive opposed this on grounds of practicality
and it was defeated. Another vote was on additional safeguards
for Community Treatment Orders
(CTOs) by allowing patients,
advocates, carers and named persons to comment on the
restrictiveness of a CTO. Again, the Minister stressed that
safeguards were already in place to ensure CTOs were not misused
and the amendment was defeated. Finally, there was a vote on
giving tribunals the ability to make specific recommendations
about what treatment a patient should or should not receive. The
Executive believes this should be a matter for the responsible
medical officer, and it was also defeated.
There were no votes on amendments at the second meeting, and Adam Ingram (SNP) was not present to move his amendments. Amendments from the Executive included ones on revoking CTOs and the duties of medical officers in extending them.
This week the Committee will continue Stage 2 consideration of the Bill and will take evidence from Health Minister, Malcolm Chisholm on MMR and Hepatitis C.
Justice 1 Committee
This week continues the Inquiry into alternatives to
custody, with evidence from social work,
children’s and offending organisations.
Justice 2 Committee
Petitions this week include those from the UK Men’s
Movement and Scottish Women against Pornography.
Local Government Committee
The Committee heard further evidence on Prostitution
Tolerance Zones, last week from Deputy Justice Minister, Hugh
Henry for the Executive and Margo Macdonald (then SNP now IND)
who proposed the Bill, accompanied by a witness from the
tolerance zones steering group. The Executive has said that it
will await the Committee’s conclusions on the Bill before
reaching an opinion, and the Minister’s evidence was thus
balanced. Margo Macdonald stressed that the purpose of her Bill
was not to encourage prostitution but to enable the need for
health promoting services for women working as prostitutes to be
met.
The Committee also published its report in Renewing Local Democracy last week, which supports proposals to lower the voting age to 16.
This week, the Committee begins the Dog Fouling Bill at Stage 2 and will also consider a letter from Deputy Finance and Public Services Minister, Peter Peacock, about the Public Appointments and Public Bodies Bill. The Bill contained a provision to abolish the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland – a charity - and replace it with the National Survey of Archaeology and Buildings of Scotland – which would not have had charitable status. Due to the large loss of income the change from charitable to non-charitable status would have meant for the organisation it has been decided to amend the Bill at Stage 3 to remove this section.
Procedures Committee
Last week the Committee continued consideration of its Consultative
Steering Group Inquiry draft report and completed its
discussion on Accountability and Power Sharing.
Issues discussed included the voting patterns in the Parliamentary Bureau, the operation of the Convener’s Group, the differences between the roles of list and constituency MSPs and civic participation. The Committee also considered Sir David Steel’s letter on changes to First Ministers’ Question Time, and it was agreed to return to the issue at the next meeting. The Committee is moving towards agreeing the report and the full draft report will be considered on 4th February.
Public Petitions Committee
A wide range of petitions appear before the Committee this
week with those on the possibility of war with Iraq and
that of a Hedgehog cull in Uist up for debate. Other new
petitions include those on food supplements, the location
of a heroin clinic in Reddingmuirhead, the replacement of Scottish
Enterprise by a ‘more accountable and entrepreneurial
body’, and the proposed expansion of the M80.
The Committee will also be considering responses on a number of petitions including those on organic waste spread on land, the use of PPP in schools and the Scottish fishing industry.
Rural Development Committee
The Committee continues its consideration of the Agricultural
Holdings Bill at Stage 2. Amendments passed
included those to ensure that landlords should pay compensation
to tenants at waygo for any improvements the tenant has made that
increase the value of the tenancy. There was discussion of who
should receive the benefit of an improvement made with the help
of a public grant and the Minister agreed to return to this issue
at Stage 3.
Compensation to tenants for improvements made through diversification was disputed; an amendment from Stewart Stevenson (SNP) was rejected on a division in favour of an alternative from the Executive which states that compensation can be given to the tenant, provided that any diversification allows for the land to be returned to agricultural use.
Stage 2 of the Bill continues this week, with the Committee looking at the section dealing with the jurisdiction of the Land Court.
Salmon & Freshwater Fisheries
(Consolidation) Bill Committee
Last week’s meeting questioned the Scottish Law
Commission, alongside Executive and other officials. Proceedings
are doubtless fascinating for those wishing to learn about old
river names, or pick up new vocabulary such as harling, coble and
cruive. We also discovered last week that it is illegal to fish
for salmon on a Sunday. There will be private consideration of a
report this week.
Social Justice Committee
Social Justice didn’t
meet last week, but this week will be meeting to consider housing
issues. First up is evidence on the licensing of houses in
multiple occupation; witnesses are the author of a review into
the first year of the scheme and Deputy Social Justice Minister,
Des McNulty. The Committee will then consider a paper on the
rights of Registered Social Landlords and local authority tenants
living in shared dwellings, before looking at a response from the
Executive to its report: Monitoring the Impact of the Housing
(Scotland) Act 2001.
Standards Committee
This week the Committee will
consider an application from the Cross-Party Group on
Palestine to waive a Code of Conduct rule in respect of its
membership.
The Committee will also consider its Cross-Party Group Review. It will consider a paper on dissolution issues – all groups are effectively suspended from dissolution - and receive an update on its bid for external research on the Cross- Party Group system.
The Committee returns to the issue of the Business Exchange and will consider correspondence from Sir David Steel and the Board of the Exchange. The Board says that the Committee’s findings will be considered as part of its end of year one stock-taking exercise.
The Committee will also decide how to consider its draft bill on Replacing the Members’ Interests Order.
Subordinate Legislation Committee
A couple of points from
last week’s meeting. First, an order under the Regulation
of Investigatory Powers Act appears to the
Committee to lower the rank of police officer who can authorise
surveillance: although a policy matter, the Committee wants to
flag this up.
Secondly, Gordon Jackson (LAB) reported from a world conference on subordinate legislation in Toronto. Discussion turned on an apparent move internationally to reduce regulation, and the extent to which this is seen as a pro-business or right-wing agenda.
Transport & the Environment
Committee
Subordinate legislation last week included the defeat of a
Conservative motion to annul the designation of a Nitrate
Vulnerable Zone (NVZ) in Neathsdale. John Scott (CON) was
operating on behalf of the NFU: on the other side were the
Executive and environmental organisations. An EU directive
requires NVZs to be designated where nitrates reach a given
concentration in groundwater. The effect is that farmers are
restricted in their use of fertilisers and slurry.
There was also the petition regarding organic waste spreading, although the Executive has now published proposals for restricting this and the Health Committee is taking the lead.
Other Committee Homepages:
National Galleries of Scotland Bill Committee
Robin Rigg Offshore Wind Farm Committee
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