Scottish
Parliament e-Brief
SECTION
1 - BUSINESS THIS WEEK
THE
CHAMBER
|
Wednesday 10th May 2006 |
|
| 14:20 - 14:35 | Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body Question Time |
| 14:35 – 17:00 | Stage 3: Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Bill |
| 17:00 – 17:30 | Member's Business: New Powers for Credit Unions (Christine May (LAB)) |
|
|
|
|
Thursday 11th May 2006 |
|
| 09:15 – 10:30 | Scottish National Party Debate: Council Tax and Pensioner Poverty |
| 10:30 - 11:40 | Scottish National Party Debate: Scottish Enterprise |
|
11:40 – 12:00 |
|
|
12:00 – 12:30 |
First Minister's Question Time |
| 14:15 – 14:55 |
* Finance and Public Services and Communities; and * Education and Young People, Tourism, Culture and Sport |
|
14:55 – 17:00 |
Executive Debate: Drugs and Hidden Harm |
| 17:00 – 17:30 | Member's Business: Ensuring the Independence of Scottish National Statistics (Jim Mather (SNP)) |
In Committee
| Monday 8th May 2006 | ||
| Glasgow
Airport Rail Link Bill |
3 panels of witnesses give evidence on the general
principles of the Bill. |
|
| Environment
and Rural Development |
The Committee meets in the Corran Halls, Oban, to take Stage 1 evidence on the Crofting Reform etc. Bill from 4 panels of witnesses. |
|
| Tuesday 9th May 2006 | ||
|
AM |
Audit |
This week's meeting is held in Highland Council Headquarters, Inverness, to take evidence for the inquiry into the AGS' section 22 report on Inverness College. The Chair of the Board of Management and Director of Finance & Commercialisation at Inverness College; and the Scottish Funding Council give evidence. |
| Equal
Opportunities |
Transport and Telecommunications Minister, Tavish
Scott, is among this week's witnesses giving evidence to the
disability inquiry. |
|
| PM | Enterprise
and Culture |
The Committee will consider a request by Michael
Matheson (SNP) that the Committee should discuss a national anthem for
Scotland. |
| European
and External Relations |
Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport, Patricia
Ferguson and officials give evidence on the Scottish Executive's
International Development Policy. |
|
| Justice
2 |
Citizens Advice Scotland, academics and
"Scotland Against Crooked Lawyers" give evidence on the Legal
Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Bill. |
|
| Local
Government and Transport |
The freight transport inquiry takes evidence from Scottish Enterprise; the Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland; Minister for Transport and Telecommunications, Tavish Scott MSP; Transport Scotland; and the Scottish Executive's Transport Department. The Committee will also consider a European Commission consultation document on strengthening the protection of the rights of passengers travelling by sea or inland waterway in the European Union. |
|
| Wednesday 10th May 2006 | ||
|
AM |
Communities |
Local authority officials; housing bodies and
homelessness lobby groups give evidence on homelessness. |
| Justice
1 |
A range of witnesses from the District Courts
Association take part in a round-table discussion on the Criminal
Proceedings etc. (Reform) (Scotland) Bill. |
|
| Education |
Children's interest groups and the British Association for Adoption and Fostering Scotland give evidence on the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Bill. |
|
SECTION 2 - NEWS
Proceeds
of Crime Act
The Proceeds of Crime Act
2003 has meant that almost £10 million has been taken back from
criminals since it was introduced in 2003.
In addition to cash and bank accounts, criminals can also be forced to surrender expensive property and investments. Since 2003 a total of £9.9m has been recovered from criminals, including more than £4.8m in the past year alone.
The Financial Crime Unit, which deals with the confiscation of the proceeds of crime following conviction, recouped £3.4m from 92 confiscation orders against convicted drug dealers, money launderers and fraudsters during the past financial year. In the same period, the courts ordered the recovery of £1.4m following proceedings by the Civil Recovery Unit. This is money which the courts have concluded was the result of a variety of types of criminal activity. It includes profits from the sale of two Glasgow properties.
The Financial Crime Unit raised restraint proceedings in 175 cases in the year to 31st March. While these cases are still going through the courts, the total value of assets restrained in these cases is estimated at more than £16 million. As well as cash, this includes expensive Rolex watches, quad bikes and a half-share in a fishing vessel.
Money recovered under the Act, up to a maximum of £17 million a year, is invested by Scottish Ministers in community projects aimed at alleviating the effects of crime.
Call
for greater use of ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOUR powers
First Minister, Jack McConnell,
has called on Scotland's communities to demand greater use of antisocial
behaviour powers at a local level.
Mr McConnell told a conference in North Lanarkshire that the area had led the way on the use of antisocial behaviour powers and it was now time for others across Scotland to follow their lead.
He said communities must demand greater use of the powers available within their neighbourhoods if there is to be an end to violence and public disorder.
The Antisocial Behaviour (Scotland) Act 2004 was passed overwhelmingly by Scottish Parliament. The Bill was approved by Parliament in June 2004 and received royal assent on 26 July 2004. £130m has been allocated nationally over 2004-2008 to tackle antisocial behaviour and promote community safety.
In 2004/05 alone there was a 60% increase in the number of Anti-social Behaviour Orders being used to stem the behaviour of a mindless few. 12 communities, the length and breadth of Scotland have been given immediate respite and relief with Closure Orders shutting down properties with a track record of intimidation, noise nuisance or disorder. Just over a year ago, Scotland's first Dispersal Order came into force in Aberdeen's Beach Boulevard. These powers have been used in other hard pressed communities since then. In addition, 1093 'boy racers' have now had their activities curtailed with the new Seizure of Vehicles power.
SECTION
3 - NOTES ON THIS WEEK’S CHAMBER BUSINESS
WEDNESDAY begins with Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body Question Time.
This is followed by Stage 3 of the Scottish Schools (Parental Involvement) Bill.
This Bill aims to achieve stronger, more inclusive and effective parental involvement in all aspects of education. It will:
Place a new statutory duty on Scottish Ministers to promote parental involvement in education at national and local level;
Place a new statutory duty on education authorities to promote parental involvement and to prepare strategies for parental involvement which will be reflected in individual school development plans;
Replace the current School Boards system with a new representative system for parents which places more emphasis on including and consulting the wider parent body in the school and gives parents more flexibility to decide on arrangements which suit them and their school;
Ensure that education authorities support parents in setting up and operating their new arrangements for representation;
Give parents a new right to request and receive advice and information on any matter relating to their own child’s education;
Ensure that education authorities establish a complaints procedure relating to their duties under the Bill; and
Provide for education authorities to modernise their appointments systems for headteachers and deputy headteachers while retaining the principle of parental involvement.
The day concludes with a Member's Business debate on New Powers for Credit Unions from Christine May (LAB).
THURSDAY morning begins with two SNP debates on Council Tax and Pensioner Poverty and Scottish Enterprise.
As is usual with opposition debates, no motions have yet been tabled. However the motions will, as always, be published in the Business Bulletin in due course and full transcripts of both debates will be available from the Official Report on Friday.
This is followed by General Question Time and First Minister's Question Time.
In the afternoon, following Themed Question Time, there is an Executive debate entitled Drugs and Hidden Harm.
This debate follow today's publication of the Executive document, Hidden Harm - Next Steps which identifies a range of actions and initiatives to improve the way in which young people living in substance misusing households are supported and protected. An estimated 40,000-60,000 children in Scotland are affected by parental drug use.
Speaking today, First Minister Jack McConnell said that the safety of children must always be the primary concern of professionals when deciding if children should remain in drug-abusing households. He went on:
"Over the coming months Justice, Health and Education Ministers will examine what more needs to be done to ensure that we have the right operational and legal framework in place, that local service providers are absolutely clear about their responsibilities, and that children and young people do not have their lives seriously or irreparably damaged by the substance misuse of their parents or carers."
As well as outlining work already underway, Hidden Harm - Next Steps identifies the following areas for further action in the coming months:
More effective identification of children at risk, including at the stage of pregnancy - enabling appropriate support at the earliest possible stage;
Ensuring that drug users with children undergo a multi-agency assessment, so that decisions can be taken on parental capability and care plans with timetables that can be agreed and implemented - with the possibility of "contracts" between service providers and parents;
More effective communication between agencies, particularly between those dealing with adults and children, and including the sharing of information - building on proposed legislation to introduce a duty to share information for child protection purposes;
To consider how barriers and cultures about confidentiality which act as an impediment to sharing information can be broken down;
Re-training social workers and other frontline staff in child protection;
Examining governance, capacity and training to ensure that those working in this complex and challenging area have adequate support and advice, that they are clear about their and others' responsibilities and that they have the skills to do their jobs well; and
Developing a new national fostering strategy, to build on work already going on to help support fostering even more effectively in the future.
The day closes with a Member's Business debate on Ensuring the Independence of Scottish National Statistics from Jim Mather (SNP).
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