Scottish Parliament e-Brief

Issue 113, 7^th May 2002

SECTION 1 - BUSINESS THIS WEEK

THE CHAMBER

IN COMMITTEE

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

• Finance considers its PFI / PPP Inquiry in private;
• Justice 1& 2 take evidence from Justice Minister, Jim Wallace, on the 2003 - 04 Budget;
• Justice 1 continues with the Prison Estates Review;
• Justice 2 continues with stage 1 of the Criminal Justice Bill;
• Education begins stage 1 evidence of the School Meals Bill;
• Local Government discusses the Braehead boundary amendment order;
• Enterprise and Lifelong Learning takes evidence on the Bill enabling St Andrews University to award Postgraduate Medical Degrees.

SECTION 2 - NEWS

IAIN GRAY MOVES TO BECOME ENTERPRISE MINISTER
Iain Gray, currently the Minister for Social Justice, will become the new Minister for Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning in the Cabinet.

He takes over the portfolio from Wendy Alexander who resigned on Friday. Mr Gray’s former deputy at Social Justice, Margaret Curran, is appointed Social Justice Minister.

The Deputy Health Minister, Hugh Henry, has moved to fill the vacancy left by Ms Curran and his place is taken by Shettleston MSP, Frank McAveety.

Full Story

ROAD SAFETY BUS BEGINS SIX MONTH TOUR
The Children’s Traffic Club in Scotland set off on a six month tour of the country today, offering free road safety training to all three and four year olds.

Launching the tour bus Lewis Macdonald, Deputy Minister for Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning said:

"It is extremely important that children learn about traffic dangers from a very early age. Road safety education is vital to reduce the number of children and young people who die on Scotland’s roads each year. I am committed to halving the number of child road deaths and serious injuries by 2010.

"For the next six months the tour bus will visit areas of Scotland where there has been a low uptake of the Children’s Traffic Club and I hope parents and children will jump aboard and learn how to keep safe on Scotland roads."

The Children’s Traffic Club in Scotland (CTCS) was launched by the Scottish Road Safety Campaign in 1995. Research published in 1999 showed that although the Club was having a positive effect on many children and their parents, the uptake of the scheme was significantly lower in lower income groups.

Full Story

SECTION 3 - NOTES ON THIS WEEK’S CHAMBER BUSINESS

WEDNESDAY begins with debate of two motions on the appointment of Ministers and Deputy Ministers, which will give effect to the changes to the ministerial team announced at the weekend as a result of the resignation of former Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Minister, Wendy Alexander.

For details of the changes, see the news section above.

This is followed by an Executive debate on Sustainable Development.

This debate follows the publication last week of the Executive statement Meeting the Needs – Priorities, Actions & Targets for sustainable development in Scotland. This says that energy conservation, renewable energy, better infrastructure planning, and a long-term approach to resource use are the keys to securing a sustainable future.

The Statement and the indicators it contains will provide the focus for the work which the Executive is carrying out in areas such as on health, education, transport, crime and jobs.

Amongst the priorities identified in Meeting the Needs: Priorities Actions and Targets for sustainable development in Scotland are:

Energy
Making best use of energy, conserving fossil fuels and expanding the use of renewables will help against climate change. In addition, work to increase energy efficiency will make it easier and cheaper for people to heat their homes.

Travel
Better planning, putting home, work, services and leisure together can improve quality of life, revitalise Scotland's communities and reduce the negative impact of excessive congestion and pollution.

Resources
The principle that taking care over the use of resources will mean that they will be available for future generations will underpin Executive work such as minimising waste, encouraging sustainable management of forests, and improving water quality.

Click here to read the Executive statement in full

The day concludes with a Member's Business debate from the Liberal Democrat, Margaret Smith, on World Asthma Day.

THURSDAY morning is dedicated to a debate from the Social Justice Committee on the report of its Inquiry into the Voluntary Sector.

Published on 7^th March 2002, the report makes a series of recommendations to be addressed by the Scottish Executive and key players in the voluntary sector.

The main recommendations of the report are as follows:

• The Scottish Executive should promote mainstreaming of voluntary issues in all its departments;
• Funding organisations should normally be encouraged to allow funding periods to be on a longer than annual cycle to facilitate realistic planning, while at the same time there should be an honest assessment of the level of service which can be provided in return for the allocated funding;
• The benefits of establishing local compacts through a community planning partnership, involving local authorities, other statutory agencies and the voluntary sector should be promoted;
• The Executive is encouraged to increase targeting of volunteering initiatives in deprived communities;
• Greater opportunities should be sought to allow for capacity building through training and development initiatives involving the voluntary sector, local authorities, health boards and local enterprise companies in order to increase mutual understanding;
• The Executive should clarify how the problem of rurality is dealt with in funding arrangements for the sector; and
• Consideration should be given to developing a meaningful period of consultation and there should be feedback on the outcome of consultations.

Click here to read the Committee's report in Full

In the afternoon, after Question Time and First Minister's Question Time, there will be an Executive debate on Action to Recruit, Retain and Value Nurses.

While the motion has not yet been published, it is likely that the debate will focus on how the Executive plans to make nursing a more popular career choice.

As always, the full text of the motion will be published in the Business Bulletin shortly and the full transcript will be available from the Official Report at 08:00 on Thursday morning.

Rounding off the day is a Member's Business debate from Irene Oldfather (LAB) on Scotland and Europe Day.

[ HOME ] [ News ] [ Articles ] [ Calendar ] [ Contacts ] [ Links ] [ E-Mail ]

[ Copyright ] [ UK Online ] [ Scottish Parliament ]

Previous Page