Scottish Parliament e-Brief
Issue 203, 24th May 2004

 

SECTION 1 - BUSINESS THIS WEEK

THE CHAMBER
Following the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland sitting in the Assembly Hall last week, there is no Chamber business this week. Normal Chamber business resumes Wednesday 2nd June.

 

IN COMMITTEE
Over Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, the Health Committee is carrying out visits and public events for its Workforce Planning Inquiry in Greenock; Hawick and Galshiels; Glasgow; and Barra and Benbecula.

 

Tuesday 25th May 2004

AM

Audit
 

The Committee takes evidence on medical equipment.
 

 

Finance
 

Members consider a paper on trends in capital spending by the Scottish Executive in the past five years and take evidence for Stage one of the Budget Process from Deputy Finance and Public Services Minister, Tavish Scott.  They then proceed to consider correspondence relating to the Holyrood Building Project.
  

 

Standards
 

An application to establish a Cross-Party Group on Tackling Debt will be considered, as will a paper on replacing the Members’ Interests Order.
 

PM 

European and External Relations
 

The Committee will discuss the agendas and information received from the Scottish Executive on a series of meetings of the Council of the EU, past and forthcoming.
 

 

Enterprise and Culture
 

3 panels of witnesses give evidence on the Area Tourist Board Review.
 

 

Local Government and Transport Committee
 

This week sees evidence on the rail industry in Scotland the Prostitution Tolerance Zones (Scotland) Bill.
 

Wednesday 26th May 2004

 AM

Communities
 

Stage 2 of the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Bill continues.
  

 

Justice 1
 

The Committee takes evidence on the Emergency Workers (Scotland) Bill and considers written representations on the UK Civil Partnership Bill.
 

 

Public Petitions
 

New petitions cover topics including Carstairs State Hospital and the review of new housing development guidelines to ensure a larger proportion is allocated to affordable housing.  Further consideration is given to current petitions, including those on patients who are ready for release or transfer from Carstairs State Hospital; preventing convicted murderers selling accounts of their crimes; and stopping larger shops opening on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.
 

 ALL DAY

Education
 

In the morning, the Committee takes evidence on the child protection inquiry, before taking evidence on school closures from Minister for Education and Young People, Peter Peacock, in the afternoon.  Members then return to the child protection inquiry, with evidence from the Minister.
 

 

SECTION 2 – NEWS

Increased funding for drug services
Rises for drug treatment projects across Scotland have been confirmed, bringing support to £19.75 million for 2004-05.

The aim of the increased funding to NHS Boards is to reduce waiting times for drug treatment and provide consistent high-quality services.  Three NHS Boards - Greater Glasgow, Grampian and Argyll and Clyde - will receive increases of up to 50%.  Argyll & Clyde is to receive £1,988,000, an increase of 43% on 2003-04.

The announcement of funding comes ahead of finalising the Partnership Agreement review of drug treatment and rehabilitation services. The scope of the review has been widened to look at family and social issues. The financial allocations for 2005-06 and beyond will be influenced by the recommendations in the review, and new information on prevalence and drug-related deaths.

These factors will also be considered as part of the Executive’s 2004 Spending Review.

Full story

SMART:SCOTLAND Awards
A new range of instruments for bowel keyhole surgery is one of 17 research and development projects to receive a share of £850,000 from a special innovation fund.  Deputy Enterprise Minister, Lewis Macdonald, today announced the first round of winning companies from the 2004 SMART:SCOTLAND awards scheme.

The SMART awards are designed to help new and existing businesses with less than 50 employees gain a competitive edge in the market by funding the development of innovative and commercially viable products and processes.

Entries for SMART:SCOTLAND can be submitted by individuals planning to start a business in Scotland, and by existing small firms / groups with less than 50 employees. The Executive meets 75% of the project costs and the maximum award payable has recently been raised to £50,000. Projects last between 6 and 18 months.

Winners who successfully complete their projects and require additional assistance to develop a pre-production prototype can apply for further funding under the SPUR scheme.  SPUR is a non-competitive scheme and grant is available at 35% of the eligible project costs, subject to a maximum grant of £150,000.  These projects should last between six months and three years.

The SMART:SCOTLAND Programme is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

Full story

 

SECTION 3 - NOTES ON THIS WEEK’S CHAMBER BUSINESS

There is no Chamber Business this week.

 

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