SECTION 1 - BUSINESS THIS WEEK

THE CHAMBER

IN COMMITTEE
This week’s likely highlights in the Committee Corridors include: 
 

SECTION 2 – NEWS

Pledge to most vulnerable children
The next steps in the government's three-year programme of reform for child protection services were outlined today.

First Minister, Jack McConnell, told the second Child Protection Summit in Edinburgh that government must be prepared to intervene in every stage where a child is at risk.

The programme is:

• The publication of a Children's Charter, which is written from a child's perspective, and sets out what every child has the right to expect from the adults who care for them;
• A tough new inspection system which will regularly check the quality of care which each vulnerable child receives. Inspections will also provide information on how well agencies work together and on how far an integrated system is working for children and young people;
• A new national framework of standards for child protection which provides clear guidelines for all agencies, whether health, social services, education, police or justice;
• £600,000 government funding to train 300 social workers, particularly those who work with children whose parents abuse drugs or alcohol; and
• Developing and strengthening the role of local Child Protection Committees. These multi-agency committees will work to improve protocols, guidance, and training in their local area.

Full story
(Although note that the link on the Executive website to the review team’s November 2002 report is incorrect.  It should be: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/childprotection)

Investment in NHS dentistry
An investment of £4.5 million to support NHS dentistry was announced today.

Dentists will receive £3 million for improvements such as making practices more accessible to disabled people or to purchase new equipment.

In addition, the general dental practice allowance, designed to help dentists with administrative costs such as health and safety and training and supporting staff, is to be increased by 50% this year to £4.5 million – an increase of £1.5 million.

The consultation, Modernising NHS Dental Services in Scotland, is currently underway and aims to identify ways forward for NHS dentistry in Scotland. The consultation ends on Friday 2^nd April.

Practice Improvement funding will be distributed to dentists via NHS Boards. Argyll and Clyde will receive £260,400.

Full Story

SECTION 3 - NOTES ON THIS WEEK’S CHAMBER BUSINESS

Business in the Chamber on WEDNESDAY begins with the Stage 1 debate on the Local Governance (Scotland) Bill.

A controversial piece of legislation in certain quarters, the Bill seeks to reform the voting system for local council elections in Scotland, by introducing of the Single Transferable Vote (STV) and creating larger wards represented by either three or four councillors.  The Bill also proposes changes on remuneration of councillors, changes to the rules concerning political restrictions on council staff and introduces other measures aimed at widening access to council membership.

At the end of last week, the Scottish Parliament's Local Government and Transport Committee endorsed the general principles of the Bill, accepting in its report the principle of the introduction of STV. The report also:

·         Acknowledges the evidence that the degree of proportionality in an STV system depends on the number of seats in the electoral ward, with higher numbers delivering the most proportional results. It concludes that the proposed system is “moderately proportional.” The Committee accepts the Bill's proposals for three and four member wards, although the Executive's working group has recommended three to five, with two in exceptional circumstances.

·         Concludes that risks over voter confusion and spoilt papers can be minimised by voter education.

·         Calls on the Executive to introduce e-counting, but not e-voting, in time for the next election.

·         Concludes that the proposed system would neither advantage nor disadvantage independent candidates.

·         Recommends that the new wards should be drawn up “from scratch” by the Local Government Boundary Commission, rather than being “bolted together” from existing single-member wards.

·         Broadly welcomes proposals to revise the remuneration arrangements for councillors, but concludes that the severance scheme should be extended to include councillors who stood at the 2007 election but were defeated.

However, while seven out of the nine Committee Members agreed to the general principles of the Bill, Paul Martin (LAB) and David Mundell (CON) dissented.

Click here to read the Bill as introduced
Click here to read the Explanatory Notes
Click here to read the Policy Memorandum
Click here to read the Committee’s Stage 1 report in full

The day concludes with a Member’s Business debate on Millennium Development Goals from Des McNulty (LAB).

THURSDAY begins with two debates from the Green Party on Zero Waste and GM.

As is normal with opposition debates, their precise focus is not yet known as the motions have not been published.  However, it can be surmised that the latter is likely to return to the issue of the growing of GM crops in Scotland, which has been raised in the Chamber on several occasions over the past few weeks.

The motions will, as always, be published in the Business Bulletin in due course and full transcripts of both debates will be available from the Official Report on Friday.

This is followed by First Minister’s Question Time.

In the afternoon, after the second new-style Question Time (for the departments featured in the themed section this week, see Section 1 above), there is an Executive debate on Protecting Communities – Reforming the Role of Non-Jury Courts.

This refers to Summary Procedure – cases heard by a Sheriff in the Sheriff Court or by a bench of one or more lay justices (or, in a few cases, a paid magistrate) in the District Court.  The types of offence dealt with range from minor breaches of the peace through to assaults and weapons offences - and include nearly all road traffic offences. In summary cases the judge sits without a jury and decides questions of both law and fact.

Courts operating under summary procedure deal with over 130,000 proceedings every year. Summary criminal cases are the most common form of criminal court case in Scotland, accounting for 96% of criminal court business. 

However, concerns have been expressed that the system has become slow and congested and is in need of urgent attention.  Accordingly, Sheriff Principal John McInnes was appointed to chair a review of the system. His report, published last week, recommends changes aimed at delivering more consistent and effective justice across Scotland, allied with greater accountability and a capacity to deal with more serious business in the summary courts.

The report recommends:

·         The creation of a single unified summary court, managed by the Scottish Court Service (currently the management of summary courts is split between local authorities and the Scottish Court Service);

·         An all professional judiciary – consisting of Sheriffs and new “Summary Sheriffs” - both with identical sentencing powers in summary cases;

·         Considerably enhanced sentencing powers to allow summary courts to impose sentences of one year imprisonment and a maximum £20,000 fine;

·         A considerable expansion of the use of alternatives to prosecution - for example, the introduction of formal police warnings and greater use by police of fixed penalty notices and fiscal fines;

·         The introduction of a new fiscal compensation order, designed to ensure that victims of offending behaviour can be directly compensated by the perpetrator in appropriate circumstances;

·         The collection and enforcement of fines should be improved.  They should, it is recommended, be administered by a single public sector organisation. Such an organisation would have new enforcement powers relieving police of their current role in enforcing means warrants - freeing up police to carry out other duties; and

·         Also makes a wide range of recommendations to provide for more efficient handling of cases which do require prosecution.  These recommendations are designed to ensure:

1.      Cases reach court more quickly;

2.      Cases are prepared earlier and more effectively by both prosecution and defence;

3.      Those who will plead guilty do so at the appropriate time; and

4.      Trials are efficient, requiring the attendance only of those witnesses whose evidence is in contention.

Click here to read the report in full

The day is rounded off with a Member’s Debate on the Crisis for Borders Schools from Christine Grahame (SNP).

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