Scottish Parliament e-Brief, Issue 236

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

Bill aims to tackle reoffending
Measures to tackle Scotland’s high re-offending rates and improve the way criminal justice services manage offenders were published today as part of the new Management of Offenders etc. (Scotland) Bill.

The Bill takes forward a number of policy commitments from the Criminal Justice Plan launched in December and among its key provisions are plans to:

Around six out of 10 prisoners are reconvicted within two years of their release from prison. The key objective of the Bill is therefore to improve the management of offenders - in prison and in the community - to reduce these unacceptably high re-offending rates.

Affordable housing benchmark for new developments
First time buyers and families seeking affordable rented homes will be among those to benefit from the effect of new planning guidance issued today.

A quarter of homes on all new housing developments in areas identified as having affordable housing needs should be provided for rent or low cost ownership according to the guidelines. The Planning Advice Note (PAN) 74 “Affordable Housing” provides advice and information, including existing examples of best practice, and seeks to speed up the development of both market and affordable housing by ensuring that any affordable housing requirement included in a development plan is realistic.

Where councils identify affordable housing needs through their local housing strategy development, and where they plan to use the planning system to support affordable housing provision, the PAN says this must be set out in Local Plan policy, and must be justified by a housing needs assessment.

Where the Local Plan sets a percentage affordable housing figure for a housing development site, the general expectation will be that the developer should contribute a proportion of the site to be developed, at a reduced price, to a housing association. The affordable housing component should be well-integrated into the overall development and have good linkage to services, including public transport.

SECTION 3 - NOTES ON THIS WEEK’S CHAMBER BUSINESS

WEDNESDAY begins with Stage 1 of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Bill.

It is estimated that there are over 28,000 charities in Scotland, 67% of which have an income of less than £25,000 per annum.

Charity law has developed differently in each of the jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. In England and Wales, legislation concerning charities has been passed at numerous points over the past several centuries (the definition of a charity used by the Inland Revenue and the Charity Commission of England and Wales dates back to the Charitable Uses Act 1601), whilst in Scotland a “laissez faire” approach to charities existed until the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990.

Since the 1990 Act, there have been several reviews of charity law in Scotland culminating in the Scottish Charity Law Review Commission (“the McFadden Commission”), which reported in 2001. After a lengthy consultation process, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Bill was introduced on 15^th November 2004. The Bill removes the presumption of public benefit for all charities and introduces the two-part “Charity Test” - the first part being a list of 13 charitable purposes (such as the prevention or relief of poverty, the advancement of health and the advancement of the arts, heritage, culture or science), alongside a separate public benefit test.

The Bill also allows for a proportionate regulatory regime to be introduced by Ministers and introduces a new legal form for charities to take on corporate status, and limit liability for their members.

The day concludes with a Member’s Business debate on Deafblindness from Margaret Mitchell (CON).

THURSDAY morning is given over to the SNP. Unfortunately, not only (as is normal with opposition debates) has no motion been published, the topic(s) to be debated is/are also unavailable. As always, however, the motion will be published in Section F of the Business Bulletin in due course and a full transcript of the debate will be available in the Official Report from 08:00 on 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 the Infrastructure Investment Plan.

At the end of last month, the Scottish Executive published the first ever infrastructure investment plan, which sets out its long term plan for improving Scotland's public services and investment opportunities for business. Infrastructure Investment Plan: Investing in the Future of Scotland sets out detailed investment plans in schools, hospitals, housing and transport projects. The Executive will increase capital spending by 5% in real terms each year from 2005 to 2008.

The Plan shows where the Executive will target investment to grow the economy and provide better public services. It provides a longer term vision of investment plans to enable the private sector to plan ahead and take advantage of the opportunities. It will also ensure that people in communities across Scotland will be able to see and measure investment in their area.

The main aims of the Plan are to improve:

The co-ordination of infrastructure investment by geographical area and between portfolios;
The business economy by enabling employment and training opportunities for Scotland's workforce;
The standard of infrastructure such as the transport network and school buildings;
The efficiency of how services are being delivered; and
The co-ordination with the private sector and secure a mixed economy and mixed tenure of investment, i.e. Executive capital investment and use of private finance.

The Plan sets out the Executive's future investment plans by portfolio area and includes:

£3 billion investment, over 10 years, in Scotland's transport infrastructure;
£3 billion to meet the target of renewing and modernising 300 schools by 2009;
A Strategic Waste Fund of more than £500 million for local authorities to improve recycling and waste treatment;
A substantial investment to improve and modernise Scotland's colleges and universities with over £420 million being spent over the next three years;
Substantial investment in the health estate to ensure patients have access to the best facilities; and
Regeneration of Scotland's communities including improvements to affordable housing, eradicating fuel poverty and building to sustainable standards.

The Infrastructure Investment Plan completes the series of documents on the Executive's spending plans. It should be seen alongside the Scottish Budget - Spending Proposals 2005-08: Enterprise , Opportunity , Fairness - and the Efficient Government Plan - Efficient Government - Securing Efficiency, Effectiveness and Productivity. These documents can be accessed using the following links: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/enterprise/babs-00.asp and http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/government/egrseep-00.asp

The day concludes with a Member’s Business debate on the Scottish Mini-Olympics from Robert Brown (LD).

Wednesday 9^th March 2005
14:35 – 17:00	Stage 1 Debate: Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Bill
17:00 - 17:30	Member’s Business: Deafblindness (Margaret Mitchell (CON))

Thursday 10^th March 2005
09:30 – 12:00	Scottish National Party Business: Subject TBA
12:00 – 12:30	First Minister's Question Time
14:00 – 15:00	Question Time: * Enterprise, Lifelong Learning and Transport; * Justice and Law Officers; and * General Questions
15:00 – 17:00	Executive Debate: Infrastructure Investment Plan
17:00 – 17:30	Member’s Business: Scottish Mini-Olympics (Robert Brown (LD))

Monday 7^th March 2005
AM	Waverley Railway (Scotland) Bill Committee	A wide range (to put it mildly) of interested parties give evidence on the general principles of the Bill when the Committee meets in the Scottish Mining Museum, Newtongrange.
Tuesday 8^th March 2005
PM	Enterprise and Culture	The Convenor will report to the Committee on discussions with BBC Scotland management about the internal reviews of the BBC announced in December 2004.
	European and External Relations	The Committee takes evidence on Scotland’s contribution to the G8 Summit and the UK Presidency of the EU 2005.
	Health	Another squad of witnesses is drafted in to give evidence on the Smoking, Health and Social Care (Scotland) Bill. This week, the focus is on authorisation of medical treatment and joint ventures.
	Local Government and Transport	Trade Unions give evidence on the Tendering of Ferry Services in the Clyde and Hebrides.
Wednesday 9^th March 2005
AM	Communities	The Committee will take evidence on the Executive’s draft planning guidance on the working of opencast coal from Deputy Minister for Communities, Johann Lamont.