Scottish
Parliament e-Brief
SECTION
1 - BUSINESS THIS WEEK
THE
CHAMBER
|
Wednesday 4th October 2006 |
|
| 14:05 – 16:00 | Environment and Rural Development Committee Debate: Report on an Inquiry into the Food Supply Chain |
| 16:00 – 17:00 | European and External Relations Committee Debate: Report on an Inquiry into Possible Co-operation Between Scotland and Ireland |
| 17:00 – 17:30 | Member's Business: No Need to Shout... Just Learn to Sign! (Cathie Craigie (LAB)) |
|
|
|
|
Thursday 5th October 2006 |
|
| 09:15 – 10:25 | Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Debate: Scotland’s Duty to its Senior Citizens |
|
11:40 – 12:00 |
|
|
12:00 – 12:30 |
First Minister's Question Time |
| 14:15 – 14:55 |
* Finance and Public Services and Communities; * Education and Young People, Tourism, Culture and Sport |
|
14:55 – 16:30 |
Procedures Committee Debate: Report on Motions and Decisions and Consultation Report on Parliamentary Time |
| 16:30 - 17:00 | Legislative Consent Motion: Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill |
| 17:00 – 17:30 | Member's Business: Knife Crime Education (Alex Johnstone (CON)) |
In Committee
| Monday 2nd October 2006 | ||
| AM | Glasgow
Airport Rail Link Bill |
The Committee will take evidence on issues outstanding from its Preliminary Stage report and arising from evidence on phase one of the Consideration Stage. The chief witnesses are representatives of SPT and contractors. |
| Tuesday 3rd October 2006 | ||
| AM | Equal
Opportunities |
Professor Arthur Midwinter, Budget Adviser to the
Finance Committee and representatives from the Commission for Racial
Equality; Disability Rights Commission; Equality Network; Equality
Proofing Budget and Policy Advisory Group; Equal Opportunities
Commission; and Scottish Women’s Budget Group contribute to a
round-table discussion on the budget process 2007-08. |
| Justice
2 Sub-Committee |
The Child-Sex Offenders inquiry hears from witnesses
including Paul Martin MSP, Professor George Irving and representatives
of the Scottish Criminal Records Office; Disclosure Scotland; and Risk
Management Authority. |
|
| Finance |
The Committee will consider a response from Unison to its report on the cost of the local authority single status agreement and correspondence from the Equal Opportunities Commission. It will also consider a response from the Scottish Executive to its report on its cross-cutting expenditure review of deprivation. Members then move on to taking evidence on the budget process 2007-08 from academics from Caledonian Business School. |
|
| Glasgow
Airport Rail Link Bill |
The Committee will take evidence on issues outstanding from its Preliminary Stage report from the Transport Minister and officials from Transport Scotland. |
|
| Procedures |
Evidence on Members' interests comes from Brian Adam MSP, Convener of the Standards and Public Appointments Committee, and that Committee's Senior Assistant Clerk. |
|
| PM | Enterprise
and Culture |
Historic Scotland and the National Library of Scotland give evidence on the Budget process 2007-08, before Stage 2 of the Bankruptcy and Diligence etc. (Scotland) Bill continues. |
| Health |
Senior Health Board officials and a range of figures
in the field of mental health take part in a roundtable discussion on
the Scottish Mental Health Budget 2007-08. The Committee then
takes evidence on the matter from Deputy Minister for Health and
Community Care, Lewis Macdonald MSP. The Minister will then go
on to give evidence on the Adult Support and Protection (Scotland)
Bill. |
|
| Justice
2 |
Stage 2 of the Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Bill continues. |
|
| Local
Government and Transport |
The Transport Minister,
Executive officials and Transport Scotland give Stage 1 evidence on
the Transport and Works (Scotland) Bill. Officials and
Margo MacDonald MSP then give Stage 1 evidence on the Prostitution
(Public Places) (Scotland) Bill. |
|
| Wednesday 4th October 2006 | ||
|
AM |
Communities |
Stage 2 of the Planning etc. (Scotland) Bill
enters its 6th day. |
| Environment
and Rural Development |
Stage 1 evidence on the Aquaculture and Fisheries (Scotland) Bill comes from vets; the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA); the Crown Estate; the Fisheries Research Service; various local authorities; and seafood producers. |
|
| Education |
The Committee will decide whether to approve the draft Social Work Inspections (Scotland) Regulations 2006, following evidence thereon from Deputy Minister for Education and Young People, Robert Brown, and an official. Stage 2 of the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Bill also begins. |
|
| Justice
1 |
Stage 2 of the Criminal Proceedings etc. (Reform) (Scotland) Bill begins. |
|
| Public
Petitions |
New petitions cover topics including Palestine; the school clothing grant system; banning the use of microchip implants on young people in Scotland; complaints regarding vigorous growing trees, hedges, shrubs, vines or other plants; ship to ship transfer of oil in the Forth Estuary; and a statutory requirement to provide religious observance in Scottish schools.The Committee also returns to the petitions on the Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1980; the Scottish Public Service Ombudsman’s Act; Supporting People Funding; the Traffic Orders (Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 1999; the provision of school lockers; the siting of oil depots; and public consultation over health services. |
|
SECTION 2 - NEWS
Improving
school discipline
A joint action plan designed to
continue tackling indiscipline in Scottish schools - signed by the Education
Minister, teaching unions and other education leaders - has been launched today.
The Discipline Stakeholder Group - made up of the Scottish Executive, teaching unions, the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland, General Teaching Council for Scotland and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, and advised by HMIe - has been working since 2004 to improve behaviour in schools.
Today's action plan is in response to the Behaviour in Scottish Schools survey, carried out by the National Foundation for Educational Research, which builds on similar studies carried out in 1990, 1996 and 2004. This is the most comprehensive survey to date, covering a wider range of questions about behaviour and including the perspectives of councils, headteachers, teachers, additional support staff, and pupils.
Under the action plan:
The Positive Behaviour Team funded by the Scottish Executive will work with teachers, schools and councils to develop and sustain proven approaches to positive behaviour;
Every council and headteacher will be expected to use an appropriate mix of new approaches known to improve behaviour such as:
1. Behaviour co-ordinators;
2. Staged Intervention/Framework for Intervention;
3. Restorative practices;
4. The Motivated School;
5. Solution Oriented School; and
6. Cool in School.
The Executive will also do more to support quality improvement in on-site and off-site behaviour units by:
Creating a network for staff who deliver this provision to meet and share good practice and improve understanding of what works best;
Publishing a good practice guide in relation to on-site and off-site provision for children showing behaviour difficulties;
Working with teaching unions, schools and councils to publish new practice guidance on better behaviour in corridors, playgrounds and around the school;
In addition:
Councils will gear up their actions to ensure the strong local co-ordination and leadership which is required for effective and consistent implementation of Better Behaviour - Better Learning in their schools is provided. This means working with the Positive Behaviour Team to support their schools and provide extra training to ensure staff are confident in promoting positive behaviour;
Headteachers will be expected to show engagement with all staff on discipline issues. Headteachers must involve all members of the school community, including staff, parents and pupils, in developing and sustaining behaviour policies and a range of approaches to promoting positive behaviour in school. Councils will quality assure this and HMIe will continue to monitor the effectiveness of leadership as part of their inspections;
Additional support staff in schools need to be more fully valued as members of the whole school community, better integrated into school life and decision-making, and included in in-service training on behaviour issues. The Positive Behaviour Team will develop a training package tailored to the needs of these staff which the Executive will fund;
The Executive will step up its actions to explore the behaviour of very young children and ways to support them entering mainstream education, including 'Nurture Group' demonstration projects, pre-school services for vulnerable two-year-olds and new research on behaviour in the early years; and
HMIe will continue to monitor responses of schools and councils to Better Behaviour - Better Learning, paying particular attention to evaluating the extent to which policies and strategies already developed and identified feed through into real impact on the experience of teachers and pupils in schools and classrooms.
Tribute
to Scotland's heroes
Seventy local 'heroes' from
across the country who have carried out acts of bravery against crime and
antisocial behaviour were honoured at the First Minister's Heroes Awards today.
At a reception in the Great Hall of Edinburgh Castle, FM Jack McConnell McConnell said:
"Every year I am inspired by the bravery and courage of individuals across Scotland. When I hear how they have acted instinctively to tackle often dangerous criminals, I am proud of their decency and selflessness.
"They are ordinary people like you and me. They are various ages and they come from many different backgrounds. But their bravery sets them apart - in the face of danger they have shown real courage.
"This year's Heroes are a credit to themselves, their families and their communities. We all owe them our thanks."
(Includes full list of those honoured.)
SECTION
3 - NOTES ON THIS WEEK’S CHAMBER BUSINESS
WEDNESDAY begins with and Environment and Rural Development Committee debate on the report of its Inquiry into the Food Supply Chain.
The Committee's inquiry examined relationships between farmers, producers, processors, supermarkets and other retailers in the food supply chain.
Published in June, the inquiry report concludes that the current system of regulating supermarkets is failing consumers, farmers and rural economies. It also expresses fears that consumers may not be able to continue to access good quality Scottish produce if urgent action is not taken.
The Committee also found that there is little transparency in the system and so it is impossible to know how the price consumers pay is being shared out between farmers, processors and retailers.
This Committee calls on the Executive to ensure farm businesses can add value and sustain local economies and calls on the Competition Commission to ensure greater transparency throughout the supply chain and to adopt a flexible long-term view when judging competition issues in the Scottish market. The Competition Commission is further urged to consider an extended Code of Practice and an independent supermarket regulator.
This is followed by a European and External Relations Committee debate on the report on its Inquiry into Possible Co-operation Between Scotland and Ireland.
The report of the Reporter Inquiry (i.e. an inquiry led by a single member of the Committee), concludes that the Executive should give greater priority to introducing a programme of co-operation between Scotland and the Republic of Ireland, arguing that such projects could bring social and economic benefits to Scotland , Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
In examining the potential for developing co-operation projects, the Reporter (Dennis Canavan MSP) met with Irish Government Ministers, including the Taoiseach, and received encouraging responses from Scottish Ministers, including the First Minister, and from the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
As well as highlighting the possibility and benefits of such co-operation, the report also promotes the possibility of EU funding being available to support these projects.
Due to changes in the next structural fund programme for 2007-13, Scotland will be able to apply for cross-border funding under the Territorial Co-operation Objective. This is because, for the first time, cross-border funding can be used for projects which cross a maritime border of up to 150km. This means that some projects based in part of the western seaboard of Scotland will be eligible to apply for this funding.
The day concludes with a Member's Business debate entitled No Need to Shout... Just Learn to Sign! from Cathie Craigie (LAB).
THURSDAY morning begins with a Conservative Party debate on Scotland’s Duty to its Senior Citizens.
As is normal with opposition debates, no motion has yet been published and so the focus of the debate, and what will be proposed, is unclear. The motion will, as always, be published in the Business Bulletin in due course and a full transcript 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 yet another Committee debate - this time from the Procedures Committee on its report on Motions and Decisions and the Consultation Report on Parliamentary Time.
Of limited interest outside parliamentary circles, the former report recommends a number of minor changes to the Rules which govern how motions and amendments are dealt with and how decisions are taken. In each case, the aim is not to make changes of substance to how procedures operate, but merely to ensure that the Rules clearly and accurately reflect established practice.
The latter invites comments from MSPs on potential changes to the organisation of parliamentary time.
The Committee has been undertaking a major review of parliamentary time, looking at:
The Parliament’s sitting pattern – the times at which it meets throughout the session, the year and in a normal week;
The types of business considered – how that time is divided up among debates of different sorts, oral questions, legislation etc.; and
How debates are structured – within the time-frame of any particular debate, how speakers are chosen and speaking times allocated.
More recently, the Committee has been considering in detail a wide range of issues which fall into these three themes. This has led to the emergence of a number of specific proposals which, in the Committee's view, appear to have merit. None of these has yet been endorsed by the Committee as a whole, but all have some support from at least some Committee members.
This interim report, therefore, presents these proposals to the Parliament for initial consideration.
A final report setting out the Committee's recommendations is expected before the end of the year.
This is followed by a Legislative Consent Motion on the UK Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill.
A Legislative Consent Motion (LCM) supersedes the "Sewel Motion" as the mechanism through which the Scottish Parliament allows a UK Bill to legislate in devolved areas.
The Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill was introduced at Westminster by the UK Government on 11th January 2005. It makes various provisions in relation to regulatory practice. In particular, it extends the provision of Regulatory Reform Orders and makes certain provisions for a statutory code of practice on regulatory practice and regulatory principles. The Bill also introduces provisions which seek to increase flexibility in implementing EU obligations under section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 (the ECA), the key statute which gives effect to European law across the United Kingdom.
The provisions of the Bill relating to Scottish devolved matters and for which the legislative consent of the Scottish Parliament is sought are in Part 3 of the Bill. They all relate to powers to make subordinate legislation conferred by the Bill on Scottish Ministers. In the Executive’s view, the net effect of these provisions will be to widen the powers available to Scottish Ministers to implement EU obligations. The Executive also argued that this ought to provide welcome flexibility in implementing EU obligations in the future.
The LCM process requires the Executive to say why legislative consent is sought and it therefore states that, given the complexity of the reserved / devolved divide under the ECA, it considers it sensible to make the amendments in this Westminster Bill, rather than try to untangle the amendments and mirror the exercise on this side of the border.
The day
closes with a Member's
Business debate on Knife Crime Education
from Alex Johnstone (CON).
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