Scottish Parliament e-Brief

Issue 106, 18^th March 2002

SECTION 1 - BUSINESS THIS WEEK

THE CHAMBER

IN COMMITTEE

The main items of business in the Committee Rooms this week are:

• Equal Opportunities takes evidence from Representatives from Positive Action in Housing and Black and Ethnic Minority Infrastructure in Scotland in considering an Order under the Race Relations Act.
• Health considers a draft Stage 1 report on Nicola Sturgeon’s Tobacco Advertising and Promotion (Scotland) Bill as well as examining the issue of Hospital Acquired Infections.
• Rural Development heads to Dumfries and Galloway as part of its inquiry into Integrated Rural Transport.
• Audit puts Further Education in Scotland and Moray College in particular under the spotlight as members consider the Executive’s response to its report on the college’s governance and financial management.

SECTION 2 - NEWS

CASH BOOST FOR SCHOOL SPORTS
Scotland’s largest ever lottery-funded sports programme has been launched.

New Opportunities for PE and Sport in Schools - an £87 million fund – will upgrade existing facilities, build new facilities and encourage greater participation in sport among Scotland’s young people and communities.

As well as increasing sport and leisure opportunities for all, some of the funding will be set aside for innovative projects to use sporting activities to positively engage vulnerable young people and prevent anti-social behaviour.

60% of the funding (£52 million) will be directed into revitalising sport facilities while the remainder (£35 million) will be invested in two activity based strands: Out of school hours projects offering a wide range of sporting and cultural activities and projects promoting the role of sport and helping provide positive life choices for young people.

Full Story

SCOTLAND GAINS £4.4 MILLION FROM BROADBAND FUND
Scotland has been allocated £4.4 million from the UK-wide Department of Trade and Industry Fund designed to encourage innovative uses of broadband technology.

The cash injection from a new £30 million UK Fund will be used to support projects such as the Western Isles Wireless Network and the Centre for Excellence for Wireless Broadband Rural Applications. These projects, along with a host of others, aim to stimulate demand for and increase the supply of high-speed broadband Internet access.

The UK Broadband Fund is intended to allow devolved administrations and Regional Development Agencies to build upon their work in the broadband field. The aim is to develop innovative schemes for extending broadband networks to a wider range of customers than those who appear commercially viable.

Full Story

SECTION 3 - NOTES ON THIS WEEK’S CHAMBER BUSINESS

WEDNESDAY's business in the Chamber begins slightly earlier than usual, with a Ministerial Statement on The National Debate on Education.

As the contents of such statements must first be made available to the Parliament, no further information on exactly what will be announced is currently available.

The statement, however, will be reproduced in full in the Official Report which will be available by 08:00 on Thursday.

This is followed by stage 1 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill.

Although there has been much discussion about land access, the Bill in fact deals with three separate issues:

• Public access to the countryside (the "right to roam");
• A right for communities to buy the land around them when it comes up for sale; and
• The right for crofting communities to buy their croft land at any time.

Part 1: Access

There will be a right to responsible access to all land in Scotland and to inland water. The access will be for the purpose of informal recreation or passage. People will be able to enjoy access individually or in a group. The Scottish Executive will require Scottish Natural Heritage to produce a Scottish Access Code, which will be the authoritative guide for landowners and those wishing to access the land.

Liability
There will be specific provision so that occupiers' liability is not affected by this legislation. The effect of this is that the fact that someone was exercising access rights when injured is to be ignored in determining the duty of care in the particular circumstances.

Restrictions on access
The right will not include buildings or the curtilages to buildings. It will not include access to school grounds because of child-safety concerns. There will be no access to areas of land such as railway property, quarries, and military bases which are currently proscribed. In addition, the right of access will not automatically apply all year round - for example, during the felling of trees or when crops are growing. The legislation will include provision for temporary constraints on the basis of damage to land or danger to persons. It will not include access to golf courses, except for passage.

Responsible access
Scottish Natural Heritage will be required to prepare and promote the "Scottish Countryside Access Code". The code will set out guidelines on what is regarded as responsible behaviour. Key elements will be the safeguarding of animals' welfare, the protection of natural and cultural heritage, ensuring a safe and viable working environment and that the countryside is not spoilt for others.

Public agencies
Agencies will be expected to make a significant contribution to the process of opening up of access to the public. The Bill will place a number of new duties on public agencies, in particular local authorities. The most important duties are those which require councils to provide and maintain paths, tracks and other routes of access (in particular, each Council will be required to set-up maintain a core path network within two years of the Bill becoming law).

Disputes will be dealt with at a local level by local access forums which are to be created within each local authority.

Part 2: Community Right to Buy

Register of community interest
This will give properly constituted community bodies the means of registering their interest in the land where they live / work so that the land cannot be sold without their interest being taken into account. There will be no exemption for Crown bodies or public sector landowners.

Eligibility to register:

• The land must be in rural Scotland – using the Scottish Executive’s general definition of rural;
• Community bodies, with a minimum membership of twenty people, have to be properly constituted and have sustainable development of their community as its primary role;
• Most members have to live or work in the area covered, defined normally within a polling district; and
• The body must be representative of and supported by community.

The register will be updated regularly, available on the web and re-registration will be required every five years. There will be an appeal process against exclusions.

Providing time to assess sales
The legislation will require landowners to give notice of forthcoming sales. There will be a set minimum period between notice to sell and the closing date for bids (30 days), regardless of whether the sale is on the open market, private sale or a transfer of value. The owner will be obliged to check whether the property is in the register and if so, give notice to the Scottish Executive. The Scottish Executive will have the ability to make compensation to the seller for costs incurred in notifying the Executive, appealable to the Lands Tribunal for Scotland.

Community right to buy
Having legislated to provide a register, community bodies will have the opportunity to buy the land when it comes onto the market. The community body must notify the Executive and landowner of its intention prior to the end of the 30 day period. The body will then have first refusal – in the same way that a compulsory purchase would be implemented. An Executive-appointed valuer will then determine the price (appeals will go to the Lands Tribunal). The community will then be balloted and if won, the Executive will give final approval for the sale.

The body will have a set period to come up with the money and if it fails to do so the seller will then be free to sell the property as normal.

Additional right to buy powers
This would be used when the Executive felt that in the public interest they should intervene in a sale.

It would normally be used where there had been a gross failure to comply with the normal Right to Buy legislation. Any individual or organisation will be able to come forward with evidence of rule breaking.

The Executive would have to be satisfied:

• That there had been a change of ownership;
• The transfer had occurred within the last ten years;
• The disposal was covered by the legislation; and
• The community body’s rights had been seriously infringed.

The Executive would then be able order the resale of the land and the community could then use the normal right to buy plans.

Tenant farmers
The Bill does not cover Tenant Farmers. The Agricultural Holdings Bill, the timetable for which will be announced shortly, will treat them as a separate issue.

Part 3: Crofting Right to Buy

The rules surrounding crofting are archaic complicated. There already exists a right to buy for crofters, however this Bill will simplify the procedures and increase the incentives for crofters.

The main difference between the crofting right to buy and the community right to buy is that it is a right which can be exercised at any time. It does not depend on the land being for sale and is in effect a forced sale similar to a compulsory purchase.

What can be bought?
The Crofter(s) can buy out the landlord’s interest in the tenanted croft land and the common grazings. It excludes from the right to buy croft land which is occupied by the owner of the croft - an exception being where the landlord is regarded as "absent".

Mineral, fishing & sporting rights
Crofters will also have the rights to the minerals under the croft land. Salmon fishing rights and any sporting lease over the land may also be acquired but the community does not have to buy them. The salmon fishing rights can be bought when the land is acquired or within the next year (a change from the Draft bill) and the mineral rights and sporting interests can be purchased when the land is acquired or within the next 5 years. The time limit is intended to provide an element of certainty as otherwise owners of these interests in land acquired by a crofting community would not be prepared to invest in development of minerals or management of sport and fishing.

Click here to read the Bill in full
Click here to read the Explanatory Notes
Click here to read the Policy Memorandum

The day concludes with a Private Member's Debate on Scottish Sub Post Offices - "Your Choice" from Robert Brown (LIB DEM).

THURSDAY morning begins with a Ministerial Statement on the Transport Development Plan.

Again, as the contents must first be made available to Parliament, no further information on exactly what will be announced is currently available.

The statement, however, will be reproduced in full in the Official Report which will be available by 08:00 on Friday.

This is followed by Stage 3 of the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman Bill.

The Bill arises from the Scotland Act 1998, fulfilling the section 91(1) requirement for the Parliament to make provision for the investigation of certain complaints of maladministration made to MSPs regarding a member of the Scottish Executive or other office-holders in the Scottish Administration.

The key change to be brought about by the Bill is the establishment of a one-stop shop headed by a new Scottish Public Service Ombudsman to deal with complaints currently dealt with by the separate organisations or individuals. (The main ones are the Scottish Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (SPCA), the Health Service Commissioner for Scotland (the "Health Service Ombudsman"), the Commissioner for Local Administration in Scotland (the "Local Government Ombudsman") and the Housing Association Ombudsman for Scotland.) In addition, the Ombudsman will take over investigation into the handling of complaints relating to mental health currently dealt with by the Mental Welfare Commission and complaints against Scottish and Highlands and Islands Enterprise whose External Complaints Adjudicators will be abolished.

The Bill aims to establish a public sector complaints system which is open, accountable, easily accessible to all and has the trust of the Scottish public. The bill aims to achieve this by legislating for:

A simpler and more effective means for members of the public to make complaints about maladministration in the public sector.
The Bill removes the need in some cases to complain through an MSP as well as allowing complaints to be made orally or electronically in certain circumstances. Bodies under the Ombudsman’s powers will be required to provide information on the right to complain. All complaints and information requests will be dealt with by the same office, using standardised procedures and avoiding the confusion that can currently arise when a complaint falls within the remit of two ombudsmen.

A reinforcement of the Ombudsman’s independence from the authorities within his or her jurisdiction.
The Ombudsman will be appointed by the Queen on the recommendation of the Parliament for a fixed term of five years, normally renewable once. The post will also be funded through the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body to minimise any conflict of interest.

Improved publicity and transparency of the Ombudsman’s functions.
The Bill requires the Ombudsman to publish all investigations and lay them before Parliament. A single organisation that deals with public sector complaints will have a higher public profile and will be easier to publicise. It will allow greater flexibility in the use of staff and other resources, together with opportunities for more joint working and sharing of information.

Click here to read the Bill as amended at Stage 2
Click here to read the Explanatory Notes
Click here to read the Policy Memorandum

This is followed by another Ministerial Statement, this time on the Prison Estates Review.

Again, no further information on exactly what will be announced is currently available, but the statement will be reproduced in full in the Official Report from 08:00 on Friday.

In the afternoon, after Question Time and First Minister's Question Time, there is an Executive debate on Civil Contingencies (in other words, emergency planning.)

While it is likely that this debate will discuss Local Authorities' plans for dealing with national emergencies, this cannot be confirmed because, at the time of writing, the motion has not been published.

It will, however, appear in the Business Bulletin in the next few days.

The week's Parliamentary Business closes with a Private Member's Debate on the Continuing Presence of BSE and New Variant CJD from Ken Macintosh (LAB).

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