Scottish Parliament e-Brief

Issue 134, 7^th October 2002

SECTION 1 - BUSINESS THIS WEEK

THE CHAMBER

IN COMMITTEE
The likely highlights in the Committee Rooms this week include:

• Finance will take evidence on the Quarterly Report of the Scottish Parliament Building Project.
• Local Government is out and about, meeting in the Highland Council Chambers in Inverness to take evidence on its Renewing Local Democracy - Phase 2 Inquiry. Highland Council will give evidence along with Learning and Teaching Scotland.
• Justice 1 will take evidence on Prisons from the Director of Rehabilitation & Care of the Scottish Prison Service.
• Education will take evidence on the Protection of Children Bill from a wide range of witnesses including Education Minister, Cathy Jamieson, sporting organisations, and representatives of independent schools and nurseries.
• European will take evidence from Rural Development Minister, Ross Finnie, on the Common Fisheries Policy and from CoSLA and the Scottish Executive European Union Office on the Committee’s Inquiry into Scotland's representation in the European Union.
• Rural Development will take evidence on the Scallop Industry from the Scallop Association, the Scottish Executive, the Food Standards Agency and a variety of fishermen’s organisations.
• Health and Community Care will take evidence on the Mental Health Bill. Those giving evidence include the mental Health Association and the RCN.
• Social Justice will consider the Debt Arrangement and Attachment Bill at Stage 2.
• Standards will take evidence on the Scottish Parliament Business Exchange.

SECTION 2 - NEWS

LAUNCH OF STRATEGY TO TACKLE CORONARY HEART DISEASE AND STROKES
Scotland’s first Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) / Stroke Strategy – which aims to improve the prevention and treatment of CHD and stroke for patients throughout the country - has been launched by First Minister, Jack McConnell, and Health Minister, Malcolm Chisholm.

An additional £40m from Scotland’s budget has been set aside to implement the Strategy and drive forward a target of reducing deaths from CHD and Stroke among the under 75s by 50% between 1995 and 2010.

The strategy will also support work to reduce maximum patient waiting times for angiography from 12 to 8 weeks by 2004, and for surgery or angioplasty from 24 to 18 weeks by 2004.

Key features of the new Strategy will include:

• Creation of local Managed Clinical Networks for CHD and stroke in each every NHS Board area by 2004, which will put clinicians and patients at the heart of the planning and delivery of services.
• Creation of national databases for CHD and stroke. This will provide detailed information about the care patients are receiving from their GPs so that the Clinical Standards Board for Scotland can assess this care and help drive forward quality improvements. It will also ensure patient services’ are planned against detailed information on needs and that waiting times can be fully monitored.
• A commitment to create additional specialist stroke units to treat 5000 more patients a year, prevent 200 deaths and provide support to 300 more patients returning home after stroke.
• In addition, the Scottish Executive will be discussing with NHS Education for Scotland and the new Advisory Groups of CHD and Stroke, training for existing and new NHS staff to support the implementation of the Strategy.

Full Story

TOURISM TAKES SUSTAINABILITY TO HEART
The ongoing drive to encourage more visitors to Scotland can be enhanced by placing sustainability at the heart of tourism developments across the country, a conference of European Tourism representatives has been told.

Tourism Minister, Mike Watson, added that partnership was the key to a successful future for Scottish tourism.

He said:

"In building a sustainable Scotland, we can make real progress in tourism, for example through managing sustainable forests, delivering better public transport and helping tourist businesses become more ‘green’.

"In addition to promoting sustainable development across Scotland, we are committed to delivering real improvements through such actions as enhanced access to the countryside by investing in path networks and management, and implementing the Scottish Forestry Strategy with additional resources for recreational and tourist-related facilities.

"Tourism is and has to remain everyone’s business. Tourism is a vital industry in Scotland. Partnership is the key to a successful future. We need to work better together and take advantage of all the opportunities available to us."

Full Story

SECTION 3 - NOTES ON THIS WEEK’S CHAMBER BUSINESS

WEDNESDAY begins with a Ministerial Statement on the National Debate on Education.

Launched by Minister for Education and Young People, Cathy Jamieson, on 20^th March 2002, the National Debate on Education initiated a wide-ranging debate on the future shape of school education.

Organisations and individuals inside and outside the education system were asked for their views as the first step towards producing a long term vision for Scottish education. The discussion phase ran until 30^th June and the deadline for feedback was 12^th July.

While the contents on Wednesday's statement are not yet known, the timetable set out when the debate was launched stated that a draft action plan would be drawn together by the autumn. It is possible, therefore, that the Minister will use the statement to set out this action plan.

This is followed by an Executive Debate on the Future of Air Transport in Scotland.

As has been widely reported in the press, a major Scottish Executive / UK Transport Department consultation exercise, seeking views on how aviation services should develop in Scotland over the next 30 years was launched on 23^rd July 2002.

The consultation forms part of a nation-wide exercise covering all regions and devolved administrations and will help the Government develop its aviation policy for the whole of the UK up to the year 2030, in the face of growing demand for air travel.

Information about the consultation process and copies of all the consultation documents and some main background documents are available at www.airconsult.gov.uk. The telephone number for public enquiries about the consultation is 0845 100 5554.

The deadline for responses to the consultation is November 30^th 2002.

While the motion has not yet been published, it is likely that this consultation will feature in the debate.

The day concludes with a Member’s Business debate on the Closure of Prison Officers' Social Club at HM Prison Polmont from the SNP's Michael Matheson.

THURSDAY is another Committee Day and begins with a Justice 1 Committee Debate on its report into the Prison Estates Review.

The Report, published on 2^nd July 2002, recommends that HMP Peterhead be retained. On HMP Barlinnie, the Committee expressed some concerns if the prison's capacity were reduced to 530 places, it would quickly become overcrowded. The Committee also supported the Executive's proposal to close HMP Low Moss.

Slopping out, the report says, should be eradicated as soon as possible, by either refurbishing existing accommodation or by building new houseblocks on existing sites.

The Committee argued that the Estates Review has not adequately explored the option of privately built, publicly operated prisons, and took the view that more research into these options should have been undertaken by the Executive.

Much of the Executive's response to this, of course, was set out in the Justice Minister's statement to the Parliament on 5^th September 2002. It is likely, then, that this debate will be a chance to recap on progress which is being made and / or revisit issues on which the Executive and Committee still do not concur.

Click here to read the report in full

This is followed by a Transport and the Environment Committee Debate on its Report into Organic Waste.

It may sound fairly harmless, but "organic waste" is a euphemism for blood and guts from animals and sewerage sludge. Under the current law, individuals are permitted to spread such waste products on land without proper regard for health and environmental factors. Also, the law does not allow residents a proper mechanism to substantiate complaints against odour problems.

Following a petition from campaigners from the Kinross-shire hamlet of Blairingone, the Transport and Environment Committee carried out an investigation into the issue. The report of its Inquiry supports the petition and calls for the Executive to strengthen guidance relating to practices such as waste injection in land and the storing and spreading of sewage sludge.

The main recommendations of the Committee's report include:

• The Committee supports SEPA in its objective of strengthening the guidance relating to the storage and spreading of sewage sludge;
• That a review of injecting waste in land with field drains should be established, and that this review should consider possible changes in regulations in order to address the health and environmental concerns arising from the practice;
• That the Scottish Executive should investigate more effective mechanisms for substantiating genuine odour nuisances, with a view to changing the current system so it is more responsive to residents' complaints;
• That spreading outwith daylight hours should be prohibited; and
• That the Executive provides a detailed response to SEPA setting out the explaining why the concept of land management plans was rejected, which fully sets out the possible advantages and disadvantages of such plans, and which takes into account the views of all relevant parties.

Click here to read the report in full

In the afternoon, after Question Time and First Minister's Question Time, there will be an Executive Debate on Closing the Opportunity Gap.

Unfortunately, at the time of writing the motion has not yet been published and the focus of the debate and whether any announcement can be expected both remain unclear.

The full text of the motion will be published in the Business Bulletin in due course and a transcript of the debate will be available from the Official Report from 08:00 on Friday.

The day concludes with a Member's Business debate on European Capital of Culture Bid - Inverness 2008 from Labour's Rhoda Grant.

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