SECTION 1 - BUSINESS THIS WEEK

THE CHAMBER

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

SECTION 2 – NEWS

Winter flu campaign begins
The annual campaign to raise awareness and protect those most vulnerable against the complications of flu this winter begins today.

The Don't Let the Bug Bite campaign seeks to remind everyone aged 65 and over, and those under 65 with long term medical conditions such as heart, asthma, diabetes, and kidney disease, to consider protecting themselves from the virus over the winter by being immunised.  The publicity campaign for flu and pneumococcal immunisation includes national and local TV, radio and press advertising and is supported by public information leaflets and resources for health professionals.

Advice on flu, vaccination and what do to if you get flu is available from the NHS Helpline on 0800 22 44 88 and GP practices.

The flu vaccine administered each year offers protection against three strains of flu virus (Two influenza A strains and one influenza B strain). These strains are chosen on the basis of their suspected or proven ability to produce widespread community outbreaks of influenza.

While small numbers of new human cases of a highly pathogenic avian influenza (an H5N1 flu virus) continue to be reported from SE Asia, in none of these cases has widespread community involvement been recorded.

Full Story

Children’s Hearings review
Parental responsibility is likely to be a key feature of the next stage of the Children's Hearings review.

An analysis of responses to the first phase of the review shows that the role of parents and families in the Hearings system is an issue which many feel needs to be explored further.

Key questions raised by the review include:

·     Whether Hearings should be given more influence over parents;

·     Whether greater influence can be exerted through parenting orders (being introduced under the new Antisocial Behaviour Act); and

·     Whether more resources are needed for family support and family mediation projects.

The Children's Hearings system was established 33 years ago and deals with both offending behaviour and care and protection issues. Its workload has changed significantly over the years: 60% of referrals are now based on care and protection, compared to 16% in 1976. Around 38,000 children were referred to the system last year.

The Hearings review was launched on 22^nd April.  The purpose of the review is to ensure the system provides the best possible support for vulnerable youngsters in the 21st century.

Full Story

SECTION 3 - NOTES ON THIS WEEK’S CHAMBER BUSINESS

Due to preparations for the formal Opening Ceremony, Chamber business has an unfamiliar shape this week.  Also, as at the time of writing a Ministerial reshuffle is taking place, some business may change to allow for the necessary motions appointing new Ministers to be passed.

As things stand currently, however, Wednesday’s Chamber Business begins at 09:35 with a Ministerial Statement and Executive debate on Efficient Government.

While the statement must be made to Parliament in the first instance and no information regarding its contents is currently available, it is likely that this will focus on the reform of the civil service.

This is followed by Stage 3 of the School Education (Ministerial Powers and Independent Schools) (Scotland) Bill.

All the provisions in the Bill amend either the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 or the Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc. Act 2000.

Part 1 relates to local education authorities and their schools.  It will:

·         Strengthen the role of HMIE by placing a duty on them to refer to Scottish Ministers any authority that they assess as not having taken satisfactory action to secure improvement at school or authority level;

·         Introduce new powers for Scottish Ministers to serve preliminary notices on any authority that has been referred by HMIE. This allows the authority to explain its position;

·         Introduce new powers for Scottish Ministers to serve an enforcement direction on an authority, if, after the preliminary notice, they are still of the opinion that satisfactory action to secure improvement is not being taken;

·         An enforcement direction will set out the steps the authority must take to secure improvement – either at school or authority level; and

·         Place a new duty on authorities to comply with an enforcement direction.

Provisions for grant aided schools are the equivalent of those for authority schools. Any notice or direction will be addressed to the manager of the school rather than an authority.

Part 2 relates to independent schools.  It will:

·         Extend the definition of an independent school to include those with fewer than 5 pupils;

·         Abolish the concept of ‘provisional registration’ and replace it with a power for Ministers to set conditions on the operation of the school;

·         Tighten the registration procedure by increasing the grounds on which registration can be refused;

·         Ensure that immediate action can be required in schools where serious concerns have been identified;

·         Ensure consistent rights of appeal for applicants, proprietors and teachers against all decisions addressed at them; and

·         Replace the Independent Schools Tribunal with a right of appeal to the Sheriff Principal.

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

There is then a Member’s Business debate on the Closure of Public Telephone Boxes by BT from Bruce Crawford (SNP).

The afternoon session begins with Question Time (for the departments featured in the themed section this week, see Section 1 above).  After this, there is an Enterprise and Culture Committee Debate on its report on Renewable Energy in Scotland.

Published on 30^th June this year, the report calls on the Executive and Westminster to develop a fully-fledged Scottish energy policy to meet Scotland ’s future energy needs.  The Committee also concluded that the opportunities and benefits of renewable energy are so great that the Executive should invest significantly in the sector, but should now focus investment on developing marine technologies.

The main conclusions from the report include that:

·     The Committee is wholly supportive of the Executive's ambitious renewable energy targets. It is clear from the evidence that the Committee has taken that the Executive will meet its short term target of 18% of electricity from renewable sources by 2010.

·     The Renewables Obligation (Scotland) scheme has been successful, but in a single direction – that of promoting onshore wind power. It has led to the invigoration of the market for wind power by energy companies, but without developing other sectors.

·     The Executive’s current renewables policy is unintentionally working against the development of renewable energy sources other than onshore wind power.

·     This over-reliance on one source of renewable energy is not good energy policy.

·     As things stand, if the Executive’s 40% renewables target for 2020 is to be met, it will be almost entirely through onshore wind power.

·     The Committee firmly supports the Executive’s commitment to increase renewable energy generation and believes that onshore wind must form an important part of that increased capacity. To achieve this, there will need to be more onshore wind farms. However, there does currently appear to be a proliferation of large onshore, wind farm proposals concentrated in sensitive geographical areas, with which the planning system is struggling to cope.

·     Scotland is in a unique position to be able to create significant numbers of green jobs through encouraging and investing in leading edge renewables technologies.

The day is then rounded off with a Member’s Business debate on Reserved Contracts to Support Remploy from Helen Eadie (LAB).

THURSDAY begins with an Executive debate on Scotland’s International Image.

Sadly, the motion has yet to be published and so the precise focus and details of any policy announcements are not clear. 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 week concludes with First Minister’s Question Time.

[ HOME ] [ News ] [ Report to the People ] [ Interact ] [ Links ] [ E-Mail ]

[ Copyright ] [ Directgov ] [ Scottish Parliament ]

Previous Page