Scottish Parliament e-Brief

Issue 59, 26^th March 2001

SECTION 1 - BUSINESS THIS WEEK

1. THE CHAMBER

Wednesday 28^th March

4:34 SNP Debate: Tourism and the Economy

16:00 SNP Debate: the Financial Powers of the Parliament

17:00 Members Business: Drug Assisted Sexual Assault (Pauline McNeill (LAB))

Thursday 29^th March

09:30 Stage 3 Debate: the Education (Graduate Endowment and Student Support)(Scotland) (No.2) Bill (Ends 12:30)

14:30 Question Time

15:10 First Minister's Question Time

15:30 Executive Debate: Justice

16:58 Sewel Motion: The Armed Forces Bill (UK legislation, to be moved formally.)

17:00 Members Business: Homelessness in Fife (Mr Keith Harding (CON))

2. COMMITTEE BUSINESS

The likely highlights in the Committee Chambers this week are:

• Justice 1 continues its legal aid inquiry and considers responses to the UK Men’s Movement’s petition on identification of the accused in rape cases. Members also take evidence from Deputy Justice Minister, Iain Gray on the UK Armed Forces Bill, which covers devolved matters where it extends the powers of the Ministry of Defence police.
• Justice 2 is meeting to discuss drug driving and the procurator fiscal service.
• Equal Opportunities continues taking evidence for their inquiry into Travelling People and Public Sector Policies from local authorities and racial equality councils.
• Finance will consider arrangements for Stage 1 of the Budget Process 2002/03.
• Public Petitions will be invited to agree the recommendations contained in the paper on inadmissible petitions, in an attempt to make the process more efficient.
• Rural Development takes evidence on the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme from NFU, Scottish Landowners Federations and the Scottish Crofters Union.
• Local Government continues its local government finance inquiry and considers its conclusions on codes of conduct for councillors and members of devolved public bodies.
• European takes evidence into reform of the Common Fisheries Policy from Fisheries Minister, Rhona Brankin and the European Commission. Members will also receive an update on the Scottish Executive’s response to their report on football transfer fees.
• Enterprise and Lifelong Learning takes evidence from Deputy Enterprise Minister, Alasdair Morrison on the implications of foot and mouth disease on Scottish Tourism.

For more detail, please see tomorrow's Committee News.

SECTION 2 - NEWS

McLEISH AND LIDDELL BACK POLICE CLAMPDOWN ON DRUG-DRIVING

All Scottish police officers are to get training on spotting and testing suspected drug-drivers, in a crackdown backed by First Minister Henry McLeish and Secretary of State for Scotland Helen Liddell.

The Association of Chief Police Officers Scotland (ACPOS) has announced that forces will begin using a series of roadside physical co-ordination tests from early summer. A pilot of the Field Impairment Tests (FIT) in Strathclyde in 1999 showed that officers had great success in identifying drug-drivers and even which drug they had been using.

The First Minister called for urgent action last month after the Executive published research which found that one in 10 people in Scotland under 40 have driven under the influence of illegal drugs. UK research has suggested that around 50 people a year killed in road accidents in Scotland have used illegal drugs.

FIT tests have been used in the USA to test for drug-driving since the 1970s. The tests consist of an eye examination and series of ‘divided attention tests’ such as walking and turning, and standing on one leg. These are conducted in a standardised and systematic manner, with the suspect being taken back to the station for blood tests if the officer believes they show signs of drug-driving.

Full Story

UNIVERSITIES OPEN THEIR DOORS TO ALL

Higher education Principals have committed themselves to seven pledges to make it easier for people from all walks of life to have access to higher education. Minister for Lifelong Learning, Wendy Alexander, has praised University Scotland’s ‘Access to Achievement’ report.

She said:

"Education changes life chances more profoundly than ever, as levels of attainment are directly linked to earning capacity. We have to tackle to barriers to low aspiration, lack of qualification, uncertainty about where to get information and fears about finance.

"The commitment made by HE Principals is important because it recognises that there are different routes to higher education, and a range of personal circumstances that need to be supported if quality students are to be encouraged.

"The Executive is committed to opening up access to education. I want to see a significant increase in the number of applicants to HE from socio-economic Groups IV and V. And a significant rise in acceptances from the same groups.

"To help people take up FE either as an end in itself or as a steeping-stone to HE, we are providing FE students with support levels which match those available to HE students. We have abolished contributions to tuition fees for Scots in Scotland and more importantly, are reintroducing bursaries of up to £2,000 for those from the least advantaged backgrounds. There will be an extra £500 of loan available for those whose family income is less than £15,000. Taken together, this means we are increasing spending power by up to 12% - more than four times the rate of inflation – for our poorest students.

"Research has shown that an enormous barrier to wider access is lack of information and advice. The new national guidance service Careers Scotland, and Learndirect Scotland are central to our support for wider access.

"We are piloting an Educational Maintenance Allowance scheme in East Ayrshire giving 16 and 17 year olds a £40 per week incentive to stay on at school, and to promote a learning culture.

"For the first time funding for institutions has been specifically earmarked for the purpose of widening access. £18 million over 3 years will help to create the level playing field that has been missing in the past."

£18m will be spent in three main areas to provide:

• An additional 800 places targeted at under-represented groups. (Overall 2,800 new HE places will be created in this Parliament.)
• A premium payment to recognise the actual cost of recruiting, supporting and retaining students from non-traditional backgrounds. Initially this will be based on a 5% on the funding package based on posted code areas; and
• The New Access Partnership to encourage institutions to work with the private sector to develop initiatives to support the widening access agenda.

SECTION 3 - NOTES ON THIS WEEK’S CHAMBER BUSINESS

Somewhat frustratingly, the shape of the coming week's Parliamentary business is, at the time of writing, far from clear. Broad areas of debate have been outlined, but detail is scarce. The Business Bulletin, however, will fill in the gaps over the next few days.

WEDNESDAY is an opposition day. The afternoon, therefore, will be dominated by 2 debates from the SNP on Tourism and the Economy and the Financial Powers of the Parliament.

Again, neither motion has yet been published and so no information on the focus of these debates is available.

It is likely, though, that the tourism debate will focus on the impact of the current foot and mouth situation on the sector. It is also probable that the SNP's recently published document on finance will feature in the financial powers of the Parliament debate.

The evening's Members Business is on a motion on Drug Assisted Sexual Assaults from the Labour's Pauline McNeill.

THURSDAY morning is taken up with Stage 3 of the Education (Graduate Endowment and Student Support)(Scotland) (No.2) Bill - the legislation which will introduce the new system of student finance.

The 3^rd stage of a bill in Parliament is usually dominated by a long list of mainly technical Executive amendments. It remains to be seen whether the opposition will table any which are politically controversial.

The marshalled list of amendments, together with their groupings, will be published in Thursday's Business Bulletin.

After Question Time and First Minister's Question Time, there will be an Executive Debate on Justice.

Again, the focus remains to be confirmed.

The week's business in the chamber closes with a Member's Business debate from Keith Harding (CON) on Homelessness in Fife.

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