Scottish Parliament e-Brief
Issue 40, 30th October 2000
SECTION 1 - BUSINESS THIS WEEK
THE CHAMBER
Wednesday 1st November
Thursday 2nd November
COMMITTEE BUSINESS
The main events in the Parliamentary Committees are the Health Committee approaching the end of its community care inquiry, and the Education Committee taking evidence from Sam Galbraith as part of its inquiry into the SQA.
For more details on this week’s Committee Business, please see tomorrow’s Committee Brief.
SECTION 2 - NEWS
DETAILS OF NEW MINISTERIAL TEAM
Henry McLeish has announced his new ministerial team.
The main points are the promotion of Jackie Baillie and Angus MacKay into the Cabinet and the moving of Wendy Alexander, Jack McConnell and Sam Galbraith to new Cabinet posts.
Frank McAveety, John Home Robertson and Iain Smith leave the Executive to make room for new deputy ministers Malcolm Chisholm, Margaret Curran, Tavish Scott and Allan Wilson.
The full new ministerial line-up is:
Cabinet:
Law Officers:
Deputy Ministers:
DOUBLE FIRST FOR GORBALS - ALEXANDER OPENS BUSINESS PARK AND HOTEL
The first business park in the Gorbals for 30 years and the first hotel in the area for 100 years were opened on Friday by then Communities Minister, Wendy Alexander.
Part of the Crown Street Regeneration Project, the Riverside Business Park and Scotland's only Days Inn Hotel will create 140 new jobs.
The Riverside Business Park in Moffat Street will create 218 full time jobs, of which 115 are new jobs. It is hoped that the business park will generate £1.84 million per year of new business within the local economy. The Park is the first new property development by Gorbals Initiative, with financial support from Scottish Enterprise Glasgow, Strathclyde European Partnership and the Bank of Scotland.
The Days Inn in Ballater Street is the first Days Inn hotel in Scotland and will create 25 jobs. It is a £5 million, 114-room hotel, built under a franchise agreement by Premier Hotels. The opening of the Days Inn in Ballater Street is part of a major hotel expansion programme for Premier Hotels PLC in Scotland, who also operate one of America's other leading budget hotel brands, Howard Johnson. Premier Hotels have worked closely with the Crown Street Regeneration Project in developing the site.
The Crown Street Regeneration Project was set up in 1990 to redevelop the former Hutchesontown 'E' site. It brings together Scottish Enterprise Glasgow, Glasgow City Council, Scottish Homes and the local community. Gorbals Initiative is a Local Development Company set up in 1991 to lead the economic regeneration of the area.
On Friday, then Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, Nicol Stephen, announced the winning companies in the second round of the 2000 SMART: SCOTLAND Competition.
SMART: SCOTLAND is a Scottish Executive initiative that provides small firms with funding to pursue research and development projects.
Entries can be submitted at any time of the year by individuals planning to start a business in Scotland and by existing organisations with less than 50 employees.
Announcing the Awards Mr Stephen said:
"Funding for early stage Research and Development can be difficult to secure and SMART: SCOTLAND can be crucial for companies to bridge this gap and fully exploit their leading edge projects. It also provides a highly effective commercialisation route for the research being undertaken in Scottish Higher Education Institutes and the rest of our science base."
Total grants of £315,000 will be provided for the feasibility stages of the winning projects and further funds of £735,000 are available to take the projects through to the pre-production prototype stage.
Entries for SMART: SCOTLAND can be submitted at any time of the year by individuals planning to start a business in Scotland and by existing small firms/groups with less than 50 employees. Applicants should have either an annual turnover not exceeding EURO 7 million (approx. £4.35 million) or a balance sheet total not exceeding EURO 5 million (approx. £3.11 million). The aim is to help small businesses improve their competitiveness by developing new, highly innovative and commercially viable products and processes to the benefit of the national economy.
There are three rounds of judging each year for entries received by 5pm on the second Mondays in January, May and September. Winners receive a grant of 75% of the costs of carrying out a technical and commercial feasibility study lasting between six and eighteen months. The maximum award is £45,000. Winners who successfully complete their projects and who require additional assistance to develop a pre-production prototype can apply for further funding under the second stage of SMART. This stage is non-competitive and grant is available at 35 per cent of the eligible project costs, subject to a maximum grant of £150,000 for both stages. Second stage projects must last between six and thirty six months.
SECTION 3 - NOTES ON THIS WEEK’S CHAMBER BUSINESS
The week’s chamber business begins on Wednesday afternoon with a debate on the appointment of the First Minister’s new ministerial team.
This is followed by the enigmatically entitled debate on "Official Information and Accountability to Parliament - the Executive Policy." This debate concerns the Executive’s policy on disclosure of information and is prompted in part by recent discussions in the context of the SQA inquiries. (See Committee Briefs passim)
The Executive will set out how it intends to strike the balance between the competing interests of freedom of information and the need for confidentiality and frankness in government decision making.
Member’s Business will be a debate on a motion from Mary Mulligan regarding the Sydney Paralympics and Olympic Games.
Thursday is an Opposition Day and opens with debates on Drug Courts and Business Rates.
After Question Time, there will be a debate on the National Cultural Strategy. Click here to read the National Cultural Strategy in full.
Finally, Member’s Business is in the shape Alex Ferguson’s motion on the Waiver of Groundwater Maintenance Charges.
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