Scottish Parliament e-Brief
Issue 48, 8th January 2001
SECTION 1 - BUSINESS THIS WEEK
THE CHAMBER
Wednesday 10th January
Thursday 11th January
COMMITTEE BUSINESS
The highlights of the first week back in the Committee Chambers are:
For a fuller account on the work of the committees, please see tomorrow’s Committee Brief.
SECTION 2 - NEWS
MENINGITIS CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED
Scottish health minister Susan Deacon has launched a campaign to ensure all children are immunised against the potentially fatal brain disease, meningitis C.
The Scottish Executive has taken out newspaper advertisements urging parents of children who have not been vaccinated to contact their family doctor.
All Scottish schoolchildren and students under 18 have been offered the jab as part of a nation-wide campaign to reduce the number of cases of meningitis C, the most fatal form of the disease.
Figures published last week by the Department of Health showed that the vaccine had led to a 75% cut in the number of cases in England and Wales in its first year, with experts estimating it had prevented 50 deaths.
South of the border, just six babies under one year old contracted the disease in 2000 compared to 32 in 1999, while among 15 to 17-year-olds the figure fell from 50 to five.
The Executive's campaign is aimed at youngsters who missed out on the autumn vaccination programme because they were either ill or not at school or college.
About 40% of meningitis cases in the UK relate to the C strain of the disease. The other 60%, however, are accounted for by the B strain, for which there is still no protection.
FUNDING BOOST FOR INVERCLYDE
Inverclyde is to receive a £5 million boost to tackle poverty and social exclusion, Deputy Minister for Social Justice Margaret Curran has announced.
A total of £105.5 million has been allocated over two years from 2002-2004 to Social Inclusion Partnerships (SIP) across Scotland: a 2.5% increase on provisional allocations.
The Inverclyde SIP is to receive £5 million over two years from 2002-2004.
The SIP programme brings together public, private and voluntary sectors to co-ordinate work in local areas to address the causes and symptoms of poverty. SIPs across Scotland are delivering innovation and resources at a local level. They make a vital contribution to community regeneration, and enable local people to have a say in their locality.
Work in Inverclyde has involved tackling social exclusion in a number of ways. For example, voluntary groups are being equipped with new technology to enable local people to participate in education, training and learning initiatives through the Internet.
A consultation event was organised in March to provide the opportunity for young people from across Inverclyde to give their views on what issues affected them and what they saw as their priorities. Information gathered is now being used to identify activities within the SIP’s youth strategy.
The Social Inclusion Programme focuses on people as well as places. Some SIPs are area based, and others focus on specific groups including: young people, young carers, and ethnic minorities.
SECTION 3 - NOTES ON THIS WEEK’S CHAMBER BUSINESS
The 2001 Parliamentary session opens on Wednesday with a Ministerial Statement, the subject of which will be confirmed tomorrow.
This is followed by Stage 1 of the Leasehold Casualties (Scotland) Bill. This fairly straightforward bill will abolish a particular kind of clause in Scottish leases of very long duration. Such clauses allow for additional payments of rent at given intervals. It will thereby get rid of situations where a landlord can resurrect forgotten clauses and demand considerable sums of money from tenants. The bill will also makes void provisions allowing repossession of a property where such a lease provision is broken; and allows for the payment of compensation to landlords.
The final item of business is debate on a private member’s motion from Euan Robson (Lib Dem) on the Scottish Borders Labour Force.
After parliamentary bureau motions on Thursday morning, there will be a Ministerial Statement, the subject of which will be announced on Tuesday.
This will be followed by Stage 3 of the Salmon Conservation (Scotland) Bill. This Bill will give the Scottish Executive some more powers to protect the stocks of wild (not farmed) salmon and sea trout in Scotland. The Bill gives the Executive the power to make regulations (via statutory instruments to be approved by the Scottish Parliament) which will conserve salmon.
Although the Bill gives powers to the Executive, regulations will be largely at the bequest of local level organisations (namely District Salmon Fisheries Boards).
The Bill will have no effect on the salmon which appears on Scottish plates, most of which is farmed salmon. This Bill will have no direct effect on salmon farming, but only on wild salmon in Scotland’s rivers and seas.
For further information, see e-Brief issue 43.
After Question Time, there will be a debate on an Executive Motion on its policy on Stalking and Harassment. There has been a wide spread consensus on the need for tougher measures in this area and reform of the law is currently being considered.
All parties agree the need for action but the key issue of the debate will be precisely what action the Executive should take. The Stalking and Harassment Consultation Document brought forward several options for the way forward.
The day closes with a debate on a private member’s motion from Lloyd Quinan (SNP) on Autistic Spectrum Disorder.
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