Scottish Parliament e-Brief
Issue 286, 27th March 2006

SECTION 1 - BUSINESS THIS WEEK

THE CHAMBER

In Committee

SECTION 2 - NEWS

Anti violence campaign begins
A commitment to join forces to tackle violence in Scotland was made today by more than 250 senior representatives from police, health, education, social work and other organisations.

A strategic conference - An Alliance for a Safer Future - was held in Glasgow with the aim of increasing public awareness of the need for violence reduction and launching a 12-month anti-violence campaign under the banner of Safer Scotland.

The Violence Reduction Unit will present a report on its work since it was formally established in January last year.  Entitled "Reducing Violence - An Alliance for a Safer Future", the document will outline the initiatives and policy introduced by the Unit.

Detective Chief Superintendent John Carnochan, Head of the Violence Reduction Unit, said:

"Violence has a devastating effect on communities throughout Scotland. Violence infects every community to a greater or lesser degree, and its impact affects every public agency, including health, education, enterprise and social work.

"We know from our work over the past 15 months, that the efforts of criminal justice agencies alone will not solve the problem of violence. However, there is no doubt that concerted and co-ordinated action involving every individual and organisation with a responsibility or interest in reducing violence will make Scotland a safer place for everyone."

Det Chief Supt Carnochan continued:

"For decades the police in Scotland have reacted to all types of crime, and in the main we are good at that - a crime is reported, we investigate and we detect the offender.

"In recent years there have been welcome reductions in many areas of crime. Our detection rates in Scotland for all types of crime are the envy of many Forces elsewhere. The public can be assured that we will continue our efforts to detect offenders and ensure they are dealt with appropriately by the criminal justice system.

"Yet, we have been taking this approach for decades - and despite slight reductions along the way - levels of violence have remained relatively constant for the past four decades.

"This conference aims to focus our collective energies towards identifying and addressing some of the causes of violent behaviour, rather than treat only the symptoms. We want to try and prevent violence from happening in the first place. Our aspirations are ambitious and, undoubtedly it will take time, but aiming for a safer Scotland is a legitimate and worthwhile endeavour."

Full Story

Smoke free Scotland
Scotland woke up yesterday morning to become the first part of the UK to implement a smoking ban in enclosed public places.

The ban came into effect at 6am yesterday, making it illegal to smoke in restaurants, bars, cafes, hotels, theatres, bingo halls, church halls, sports centres, shopping centres, public transport, schools, hospitals, clubs, and workplaces, including lorries and vans.

First Minister, Jack McConnell, said Scotland could now look forward to a healthier future while Health Minister Andy Kerr said there had never been a better time for smokers to quit than now.

In Scotland, seven out of 10 people don't smoke and, of those who do, seven out of 10 want to give up. Calls to the national quitline in 2005, at over 60,000, were almost double the number calling in 2003.

In Ireland there has also been a significant drop in the number of cigarettes being smoked, particularly among heavy smokers since 2003. And in New York there are now nearly 200,000 fewer smokers since 2002.

Full Story

SECTION 3 - NOTES ON THIS WEEK’S CHAMBER BUSINESS

WEDNESDAY begins with Final Stage Proceedings of the Edinburgh Tram (Line One) Bill.

After the Line Two Bill last week, this Bill will authorise the construction and operation of a tram line in Edinburgh which will form a loop from St Andrews Square, along Leith Walk to Leith, west to Granton, south to Haymarket and back to St Andrew Square along Princes Street.

The day concludes with a Member's Business debate on the 50th Anniversary of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award from Karen Whitefield (LAB).

THURSDAY morning begins with two SNP debates on Sport and Bridge Tolls.

As is usual with opposition debates, no motions have yet been published, so the precise focus of the debates is unclear.  It is likely, however, that the recent announcement concerning tolled bridges will feature in the latter.  As always, the motions will be published in Section F of the Business Bulletin in due course and a full transcript of the debates will be available in the Official Report from 08:00 on Friday.

This is followed by General Question Time and First Minister’s Question Time.

The day closes with a Member's Business debate on Post Office Card Accounts from Richard Lochhead (SNP).

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

[ Copyright ] [ Directgov ] [ Scottish Parliament ]

Previous Page