Scottish Parliament e-Brief
Issue 202, 17^th May 2004

SECTION 1 - BUSINESS THIS WEEK

THE CHAMBER
Following last week’s Committee week, this week sees 3 full days of plenary business in the Chamber.

IN COMMITTEE
As there are there full days of plenary business this week, Committee activity is severely curtailed, with only a few meetings – chiefly of Private Bill Committees.

SECTION 2 – NEWS

Overhaul of licensing laws
An overhaul of Scotland’s licensing laws was outlined in a White Paper published today.

Under the Executive’s proposals there will be: 

• Improved monitoring of licence condition compliance and tougher sanctions against those who flout them – protecting individuals and protecting communities;

• A crackdown on irresponsible drinks promotions which encourage binge drinking and lead to antisocial behaviour;

• Local flexibility within a clear national framework – with national licence conditions and a national licensing forum to ensure consistency across Scotland;

• New requirements for licensing boards to assess local provision – to determine when a saturation point has been reached;

• Improvements to the objection process including widening the range of local people able to object; and

• The replacement of the present inflexible system of “fixed” opening hours with extensions, to a tailored “premises by premises” approach to hours.

These proposals and others will form the basis of a new Licensing Act and build on the Nicholson Committee’s review of current licensing law and the Daniels Working Group on off-sales. 

Consultation on the proposals will run until 31^st August 2004.  

An Expert Working Group will be established to advise on areas such as: defining irresponsible promotions; use of Statutory Ministerial Guidance; licences, specifically Standard National Licensing conditions; sanctions and penalties; governance issues for Liquor Licensing Standards Officers; procedural issues for Boards; fee review.

The report of the Nicholson Committee is available online at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/00017590 and the report of the Daniels Working Group on Off-Sales is at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/00018764

Full story

UN International Year of the Family
All parents should have a greater involvement in their children's education, Education Minister, Peter Peacock, said ahead of last weekend’s United Nations International Day of the Family.

A working group – involving teachers and children’s groups – is developing plans to help parents whose children are having problems at school. The group has looked at good work currently taking place in schools to consider how staff can best engage with parents and pupils.

This autumn its findings will be sent to Scottish schools and education authorities, including practical ideas such as:

• Regularly letting parents know what is going well for their child – this makes the task of involving them in resolving difficulties much easier. Too often for parents communications from the schools is always “bad news.”

• Holding open afternoons where parents can join their children (in a fun activity) to involve them in school events beyond the typical once-a-year school play.

• Making sure that the reception area is welcoming and that reception staff make parents feel welcome – the first point of contact is often the most important.

• Examining how parents are currently contacted by schools e.g. the kind of letters and leaflets used to inform parents about issues such as exclusion and truancy.

The Executive is currently working with the UK government and Welsh Assembly to mark the anniversary, and has launched a website to give details of planned events.

Full story

SECTION 3 - NOTES ON THIS WEEK’S CHAMBER BUSINESS

Three days of Chamber Business begins on TUESDAY with a lengthy Executive debate on the Hearings Review – Getting it Right for Every Child.

Launched last month, the review of Scotland's children’s hearings system is designed to ensure that it provides the best possible support for today’s vulnerable youngsters.

The system, in place since 1971, dealt with around 38,000 children last year who needed care and protection, were involved in offending, or both. The review aims to encourage wide discussion on issues and challenges facing the system, its principles and its key objectives.

It will allow the public an opportunity to influence the future development of the system and the results it produces for children involved in it.

The consultation also aims to raise awareness of the work of the system. The balance of cases the system deals with has changed significantly over the years, with 60% of referrals now based on care and protection compared to 16% in 1976. There has also been a change in the profile of cases going through the system and the groups involved have changed too. For example, social workers have always had a key role but, increasingly, other local authority services and the voluntary sector are involved too.

The Ministers have been participating in a number of public meetings around the country listening to views on what changes are needed to the current system.

The results of this consultation, to run until July 21^st, will be used to develop firm proposals for the future shape of the system, which will be published for consultation before the end of the year.

The day concludes with a Member’s Business debate on Stamping Out Racism in Football from Bill Butler (LAB).

WEDNESDAY begins with a Conservative debate on Health Issues.

As is normal with opposition debates, the motion to be debated has not been published.  It is not, therefore, clear whether this will be a wide ranging or more narrowly focussed debate.

As always, however, the text of the motion will be published in the Business Bulletin in due course and a full transcript of the debate will be available in the Official Report from Thursday.

The afternoon sees an Executive debate on Sustainable Management of Scotland’s Marine Environment.

Although often projected as a land of hills and glens, Scotland is in fact a very coastal country with one of the largest inshore areas of any country in the EU. Most of Scotland’s population lives within a few miles of the coast and people live on 130 of our many islands. The coastal and maritime influence on Scottish life and its economy is therefore pervasive. For the thousands involved in tourism, fishing, aquaculture, offshore oil and gas production, shipping and the ancillary services which support these industries it provides a living.

The quality and diversity of our coasts and inshore waters make the coastal zone one of Scotland’s prime assets – economically, culturally and environmentally. The northeast Atlantic is one of the most productive oceans in the world and this is reflected in the economic importance of fishing and aquaculture. Other industries that draw on the resources of the coastal zone are those associated with oil and gas, shipping and tourism.

Scotland’s coast and inshore waters clearly represent a huge resource. However, there has been environmental degradation through overexploitation or long-term neglect which is not always obvious or even visible. This has reduced the coastal zone’s productivity in some areas with knock-on socioeconomic effects.

The Scottish Executive is therefore committed to ensuring the sustainable use of seas and the resources contained therein. It has a wide range of responsibilities relating to marine environment including:

• Fisheries (freshwater and sea).

• Aquaculture.

• Energy (oil & gas and renewable).

• Ports & Harbours.

• Nature conservation.

• Water quality.

• Waste regulation.

• Global climate change.

• Tourism.

On 30^th May 2002, the European Union adopted a recommendation on implementing integral coastal zone management (ICZM) in Europe. Member states were asked to undertake a stocktaking exercise to establish which major laws and institutions influence the management of their coastal zones. The information collated will be used to develop national ICZM strategies by 2006.

In December 2002 the Executive established an internal Marine Environment Co-ordination Group bringing together diverse interests to develop an integrated approach to marine activities across the Scottish Executive. The Marine Protection Team in the Environment and Rural Affairs Department organises the Co-ordination Group.

The day concludes with a Member’s Business debate on the Livestock Improvement Scheme from Jamie McGrigor (CON).

THURSDAY begins with an Executive debate on Skills and Continued Learning.

Sadly, at the time of writing, the motion to be debated has not been published and it is not, therefore, clear whether the debate will focus on any specific developments in this area.

As always, however, the text of the motion will be published in the Business Bulletin in due course and a full transcript of the debate will be available in the Official Report from Friday.

This is followed by First Minister’s Question Time.

In the afternoon, after Question Time (for the departments featured in the themed section this week, see Section 1 above), there is an Executive debate on Major Events and Festivals in Scotland.

While, again, no motion is available, it could be surmised that this follows the success of the MTV Europe Music Awards in Edinburgh last year (it generated some £8.9 million in direct economic benefits - more than double the original estimate of £4.2 million in economic benefit to the city and to to Scotland).

When these figures were released, Tourism Minister Frank McAveety, said he looked "forward to building on this success to attract other world class events."  This debate may offer an opportunity to the Executive to set out his it plans to achieve this goal.

As always, however, the text of the motion will be published in the Business Bulletin in due course and a full transcript of the debate will be available in the Official Report from Friday.

The week concludes with a Member’s Business debate on Local Television from Linda Fabiani (SNP).

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