Scottish Parliament e-Brief

Issue 150, 17^th February 2003

SECTION 1 - BUSINESS THIS WEEK

THE CHAMBER

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

• Social Justice considers a draft report on mandatory licensing of houses in multiple occupation.
• Rural Development takes evidence on the Scottish fishing industry from fishermen’s associations, as well as from Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Elliot Morley MP, and Rural Affairs Minister, Ross Finnie.
• Audit considers a number of responses from the Scottish Executive and continues to take evidence on Dealing with Offending by Young People.
• Justice 1 begins stage 2 consideration of the Council of the Law Society of Scotland Bill and takes evidence on its Inquiry into alternatives to custody. It also considers a petition on legal rights of grandparents from the Grandparents-Apart Self-Help Group.
• Justice 2 considers its draft annual report.
• Health meets to continue stage 2 consideration of the Mental Health Bill.
• Education will consider a draft Stage 1 report on the Gaelic Language Bill and a draft report on the Purposes of Scottish Education Inquiry.

SECTION 2 - NEWS

CYSTIC FIBROSIS SCREENING
All new parents will be invited to have their new-born babies tested for cystic fibrosis in the first few days after birth to ensure earlier detection and better treatment of the chronic disease, it was announced today.

It is hoped that the screening programme will find earlier the 20 to 30 children born with cystic fibrosis a year.

At present most new-born babies have a dried blood spot specimen taken around the sixth day of life to test for phenylketonuria and congenital hypothyroidism. New-born screening for cystic fibrosis will be introduced using the same blood spot.

Cystic fibrosis is an inherited disease which mainly effects the lungs and can cause recurrent and persistent chest infections and malnourishment. There are currently 389 children in Scotland affected by the condition. About half of patients born recently can expect to survive to age 60 years compared with 19 years three decades ago.

Full Story

PUBLIC FINDS TASTE FOR HEALTHY EATING
The Scottish Executive's new Healthy Eating telephone advice service has received more than 12,000 calls during its first month in operation, it has been announced.

Between the launch on 7^th January 2003 and 7^th February 2003, there were also 17,045 requests for healthyliving packs, almost evenly split between requests from the hotline (0845 2 78 88 78) and via the website. (http://www.healthylivingscotland.gov.uk/)

In total the website was visited 43,214 times, giving an average of around 1,400 visits a day, with each user spending on average 10 minutes 12 seconds on the site.

The actual figure for calls in the first month was 12,045 against a target of 10,500. There were 8,866 requests for healthyliving packs via the hotline and 8,359 requests via the website. The target figure was 8,400.

Full Story

SECTION 3 - NOTES ON THIS WEEK’S CHAMBER BUSINESS

The main business this week is the final stages of two Bills - the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill and the Building (Scotland) Bill.

Before they can get underway, however, there is, at the beginning of WEDNESDAY's business, the Executive debate on Fisheries which was postponed from last week.

This is the third debate on the issue since October. The focus this week will be the outcome of the EU Fisheries Council meeting in December - which covers three separate issues.

1. Reform of the Common Fisheries Policy
Scotland and the UK achieved almost all their objectives here, including:

• Long-term management plans for species which fall below safe numbers;
• All aid for renewing vessels to be phased out after 2004;
• Regional management and increased inspection powers;
• ‘Relative stability’, which means that historic fishing rights are respected, will continue;
• Inshore limits for the 12 miles closest to shore will be maintained to 2012; and
• Short-term aid can be given where fishing has to cease suddenly.

2. The setting of quotas for 2003
Rural Affairs Minister, Ross Finnie has expressed his disappointment on this; and

3. Movement towards a species recovery plan for cod

Taking 2 & 3 together, following its annual review of fish stocks, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, which provides scientific advice on these matters, recommended severe restrictions on all North Sea cod fishing in order to save the species from extinction.

This scientific advice was for a 100% ban. The European Commission reduced this to 80%. The final outcome was a 65% reduction, with Germany and Sweden still opposed on environmental grounds.

Final agreement on a cod recovery plan was deferred, but meanwhile Scottish fishermen (in all cod related fisheries) will be permitted to fish for fifteen days per month - starting from 1^st February 2003 - as part of a package of measures to reduce fish mortality. The original proposal was for just seven days a month.

This is followed by the first of the week's Stage 3 debates - on the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill.

A substantial piece of legislation, the main provisions of the Bill as introduced are:

Stage 2
During Stage 2 consideration at the Justice 2 Committee, a number of important amendments were brought forward:

• One introduces a new offence of trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation.
• Another repeals the existing mandatory detention requirement under law for those who are acquitted of murder by reason of insanity. This is to ensure compliance with the ECHR.
• In line with the wishes of the Labour Group, the Executive withdrew the power to enable Scottish ministers to set up pilot schemes to enable children's hearings to deal with 16 to 17-year-old offenders.
• A new section was added dealing with wildlife crime, increasing the penalties for offences such as egg-stealing.
• Despite scepticism about the workability of the amendment, the Committee passed Donald Gorrie’s (LIB DEM) amendment to make religious hatred an aggravation under the Crime & Disorder Act 1998 – equivalent to the existing provision on race.

Outstanding Issues for Stage 3
Amongst the issues likely to cause debate this week are:

Anti-social Behaviour
Johann Lamont (LAB), backed by the Labour Group, has led the way in calling for tougher action on anti-social behaviour. The Executive will be backing amendments this week to facilitate information exchange between agencies, and to allow social landlords other than local authorities to apply for both Anti-social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) and interim ASBOs.

Chastisement of Children
This issue is still not resolved. Bill Aitken (CON) will attempt to continue to allow children to be beaten with implements, and Duncan Hamilton (SNP) will attempt to continue to allow children to be shaken.

Victim Statements
Whilst broadly supportive in principle, Justice 2 Committee members continue to be unclear about the process and use of the proposed statements.

Sectarianism
Robin Harper (GRN) is seeking to extend aggravation further, to include other groups subject to discriminatory violence such as gay men. The Executive is not unsympathetic, but is concerned about the wording and feels that the issue has had insufficient consultation.

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

This is followed by Member's Business Debate on Location of a New Hospital for Forth Valley from the Conservatives' Brian Monteith.

The Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill continues in the afternoon…

…and concludes on THURSDAY morning.

This is followed by Stage 3 of the Building (Scotland) Bill.

Introduced to Parliament on 18^th September by Social Justice Minister, Margaret Curran, the Bill aims modernise the Scottish building control system, which is currently based on the Building (Scotland) Act 1959, allowing greater flexibility and innovation in building design

Passed at Stage 1 on Thursday 5^th December 2002, Stage 2 consideration at the Transport and Environment Committee was fairly consensual.

Deputy Social Justice Minister, Des McNulty, promised to deal at Stage 3 with a suggestion from Angus Mackay (LAB) to give emergency repair powers to local authorities. He also wrote to confirm that Ministers will be able to set standards on fuel poverty and sustainable development.

See e-Brief 141 for more background information.

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

In the afternoon, after Question Time and First Minister's Question Time, there is the Stage 3 of the Building (Scotland) Bill is concluded.

The day is rounded off with a Member's Business debate on the Arbroath Café Project from the SNP's Andrew Welsh.

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