Scottish
Parliament e-Brief
SECTION
1 - BUSINESS THIS WEEK
THE
CHAMBER
|
Wednesday 1st November 2006 |
|
| 14:30 – 17:00 | European and External Relations Committee Debate: 4th Report 2006, Inquiry into the Scottish Executive’s Plans for Future Structural Funds Programmes 2007-13 |
| 17:00 – 17:30 | Member's Business: Public Inquiries into Wind Farm Proposals in the Ochil Hills (Roseanna Cunningham (SNP)) |
|
|
|
|
Thursday 2nd November 2006 |
|
| 09:15 – 10:25 | Scottish National Party Debate - The Scottish Executive Budget Review |
| 10:25 – 11:40 | Scottish National Party Debate - The Financial Powers of the Parliament |
|
11:40 – 12:00 |
|
|
12:00 – 12:30 |
First Minister's Question Time |
| 14:15 – 14:55 |
*
Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning; |
|
14:55 – 17:30 |
Stage 3 Proceedings: Scottish Commissioner for Human Rights Bill |
| 17:30 – 18:00 | Member's Business: Clydesdale Parks (Karen Gillon (LAB)) |
In Committee
| Monday 30th October 2006 | ||
| Public
Petitions |
The Committee meets in All
Saints Secondary School, in Springburn, Glasgow, to consider new
petitions which cover topics including the health
implications of the sale of cheap alcohol; the preparedness of
Scotland’s schools to deal with the consequences of nuclear
accidents/incidents; an inquiry into the number
of drug related deaths in Scotland; a national framework of support
for carers of children; and prescribing arrangements for Mesothelioma
sufferers. (Bob Dickie, Tommy Gorman and Joan Baird will be speaking
to this last petition.) The
Committee will also return to the current petitions on institutional
child abuse; parental consultation over school closures; and the right
of children to safe, accessible and challenging play environments. |
|
| Tuesday 31st October 2006 | ||
| AM | Justice 2 Sub-Committee | The
Sub-Committee will take evidence for its Child-Sex Offender Inquiry
from the Association of Directors of Social Work, senior detectives,
the Scottish Prison Service and housing organisations. |
| Equal
Opportunities |
Communities Minister,
Malcolm Chisholm, gives evidence on the budget process 2007-08. |
|
| Finance |
Representatives of CoSLA and Glasgow City Council give evidence on the Financial Memoranda for the Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill and the Education (School Meals etc.) (Scotland) Bill. Alex Neil MSP and officials from the Non-Executive Bills Unit then give evidence on the Financial Memorandum for the Commissioner for Older People (Scotland) Bill. |
|
| PM | Justice
1 and Justice 2 |
The Committee's will consider jointly the budget process 2007-08, with evidence from the Scottish Prison Service; the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland; and Justice Minister, Cathy Jamieson and her officials. |
| Enterprise
and Culture |
Another Committee taking evidence on the b udget process 2007-08, Enterprise and Culture hears from the Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, Nicol Stephen and officials on the enterprise budget and lifelong learning budget. The Committee also looks at a petition tabled by the Scotsman newspaper, calling for the Parliament to support the establishment of the golden eagle as the national bird of Scotland. |
|
| Health |
NHS staff representatives such as BMA Scotland; RCN Scotland; the STUC; and UNISON Scotland; the Scottish Health Campaigns Network; Voluntary Health Scotland; Fairshare Voting Reform; and the Association of Electoral Administrators all give evidence on the Health Board Elections (Scotland) Bill. |
|
| Local
Government and Transport |
Stage 1 evidence on the Prostitution (Public
Places) (Scotland) Bill comes from local government figures;
senior police officers; and academics. |
|
| Justice
2 |
Stage 2 of the Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Bill continues. |
|
| Wednesday 1st November 2006 | ||
| Communities
|
Evidence on the Schools
(Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Bill comes from the
Scottish Consumer Council; the Scottish Parent Teacher Council; the
Scottish Schools Boards Association; the Child Poverty Action Group in
Scotland; the Scottish Executive's Scottish Food and Health
Coordinator; Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education; and Learning
and Teaching Scotland. |
|
|
|
Environment
and Rural Development |
A range of organisations give Stage 1 evidence on the Aquaculture and Fisheries (Scotland) Bill. These include the Association of Salmon Fishery Boards; Scottish Rural Property and Business Association; Association of Scottish Stillwater Fisheries; Tay Liaison Committee; Salmon and Trout Association; Scottish Anglers National Association; and Scottish Federation of Coarse Anglers. |
| Justice
1 |
The Committee will
consider petitions referred to it by the Public Petitions Committee:
one regarding amending criminal justice legislation to require
criminals to make financial reparations to the victim(s) of their
crime; and another on amending criminal procedures to ensure that,
when a Procurator Fiscal does not consider it in the public interest
to pursue criminal proceedings, a full written explanation is provided
to the alleged victim of the crime. |
|
| Education |
Stage 2 of the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Bill continues. |
|
SECTION 2 - NEWS
Fresh
Talent research reports
Three research reports which all
relate to the Fresh Talent initiative were published today. The research
includes an evaluation of the first year of the Relocation Advisory Service, a
progress report on Fresh Talent and a study of the experiences of people who
relocate to Scotland.
The Relocation Advisory Service has dealt with more than 12,000 enquiries and the latest population figures for Scotland have been enormously encouraging - showing the population is rising and that Scotland has benefited from the biggest in-migration figures in 50 years.
The research can be found at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Research/Research/17692/SocialResearchPubs/LocalGovernment
For more information about the Relocation Advisory Service and the Fresh Talent initiative, please visit: www.scotlandistheplace.com
Other work and achievements under the Fresh Talent initiative include:
Extensive promotional work around Scotland at home and abroad;
Targeted visits to China, India, Singapore and Malaysia;
Scottish International Scholarship Programme - 22 international scholars studying for a Masters degree in Scotland;
Fresh Talent: Supporting International Students Challenge Fund - supports 12 projects to help students settle into Scottish life and hear about opportunities to stay in Scotland at the end of their studies; and
Scottish Networks International - given £225,000 funding over three years to provide around 20 work placements for international postgraduates in Scotland, and enhance the experience of a further 200 overseas postgraduates.
Record
response to recruitment campaign
More people than ever before
have responded to the annual call to find new Children's Panel members.
This year's month-long campaign attracted 4,371 responses - up 541 from last year. The number of men responding (1,185) was up 9% from last year and 35% from the year before.
The national campaign - with the message 'Ex-children wanted' ran from 28th August to 25th September and had celebrity endorsement from Dougray Scott, Kaye Adams, Nick Nairn and Atta Yaqub.
Responses to the campaign in previous years have been:
2003 - 3,816 responses
2004 - 3,072 responses
2005 - 3,830 responses
2006 - 4,371 responses
The Children's Hearings System is unique to Scotland and was established in 1971 to address the needs and behaviour of children and young people who face serious problems in their lives. These problems can include, for example, a child committing an offence, the child's parents having difficulty looking after them or a child failing to attend school. A Children's Hearing is a lay tribunal of three Panel members. The Children's Hearing considers and makes decisions on the needs of the child or young person before them.
SECTION 3 - NOTES ON THIS WEEK’S CHAMBER BUSINESS
WEDNESDAY begins with a European and External Relations Committee debate on the report of its Inquiry into the Scottish Executive’s Plans for Future Structural Funds Programmes 2007-13.
Published on 27th June, the report says that the Executive must act quickly to maximise the potential of EU Structural Funds. It highlights that Scotland will receive between 40 and 60% less in Structural Funding when new programmes begin on 1st January 2007 and argues that plans must be put in place to ensure that Scottish projects do not lose out. Transitional arrangements, the Committee advisees, could avoid the instability and uncertainty which could have a serious, negative economic impact on current and future projects.
The report therefore urges the Executive to:
Examine alternative funding sources for Scotland;
Ensure all efforts are made to enable new programmes to begin on time;
Assess the potential impact reduced funding could have on infrastructure and tourism projects;
Maximise the amount of funding coming to Scotland by working closely with the UK Government; and
Undertake a comprehensive consultation engaging fully with stakeholders.
The enlargement of the EU in 2004, when 10 new Member States joined, has placed significant demands on the Union's budget. As many of the new member States' economies are poorer than the EU15 average, the majority of Structural Funds will be re-directed to the new member States.
Structural Funds make up a relatively small and decreasing amount of the total funds available for regional and economic development in Scotland and are likely to continue to reduce in future programming periods. However, it is important that the best use is made of the funding available. The European Commission has also made additional stipulations for the 2007-13 programmes which state that between 60 and 75% of the Funds must be spent on activities which will help achieve the Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs targets.
The day concludes with a Member's Business debate on Public Inquiries into Wind Farm Proposals in the Ochil Hills from Roseanna Cunningham (SNP).
THURSDAY morning begins with two SNP debates on The Scottish Executive Budget Review and The Financial Powers of the Parliament.
As is usual with opposition debates, no motions have yet been published and so the focus of both debates and exactly will be proposed are unclear. The motions will, as always, be published in the Business Bulletin in due course and a full transcript 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, Stage 3 of the Scottish Commissioner for Human Rights Bill takes place.
The Bill, as introduced, proposes to establish a Scottish Commissioner for Human Rights (SCHR) which will work closely - guided by a memorandum of understanding - with the new Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR), which is being established at Westminster.
An SCHR would be independent - accountable to the Scottish Parliament and not to the Executive. Its general function would be to promote awareness and understanding of, and respect for, human rights. An SCHR would, therefore, be a promotional office, rather than one of enforcement. It would have no power to investigate individual complaints, although such complaints may prompt it to conduct an inquiry into a particular issue. Neither would it be able to decide whether an individual’s human rights have been breached. This will continue to be decided by the courts. (It is worth noting, incidentally, that there have been only three legal challenges to legislation created by the Scottish Parliament based on human rights. None of these has been successful.)
Consideration of this Bill has been controversial, however. The Justice 1 Committee reached no overall conclusion in its report on whether or not to recommend that Parliament pass the general principles of the Bill.
It noted that the number of bodies promoting and protecting the human rights of specific groups or the public at large. However, it also accepts that the establishment of the GB commission will mean that there will be a narrow gap on devolved issues which has to be filled. There was, though, no overall majority on how this gap should be filled. Concerns were also raised by the Finance Committee in its report on the Financial Memorandum over the financial accountability of the Commissioner and the costings in respect of the Commissioner.Significant changes, therefore, were made at Stage 2, including:
An explicit requirement for Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) to approve the SCHR’s budget was added;
There is a statement of specific grounds on which a Commissioner or deputy can be removed;
The requirement for the SCHR to have a chief executive has been removed;
The SCHR will be required to have regard to the desirability of co-location with another body;
The SCHR will be required to consult on and publish a strategic plan every 4 years;
The SCHR will have a duty to have regard to needs of groups whose human rights are not being sufficiently promoted;
The SCHR's function of encouraging public authorities to comply with the ECHR has been removed; and
The need for the SCHR to give prior notice when exercising its power to enter places of detention has been removed.
In addition, the Executive has agreed to consider making the following further changes at Stage 3:
Creating a Commission instead of a single Commissioner;
Giving the SCHR an explicit grant-making power; and
Requiring the SCHR to have regard to desirability of sharing services with other bodies, similar to change made at Stage 2 on co-location.
Mary Mulligan (LAB) has also tabled an amendment which would allow the SPCB to determine location of Commissioner’s offices etc. in advance of the Commission being set up, which would also allow SPCB to insist on e.g. co-location.
The day
closes with a Member's
Business debate on Clydesdale Parks from
Karen Gillon (LAB).
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