Scottish Parliament e-Brief

Issue 82, 3^rd September 2001

SECTION 1 - BUSINESS THIS WEEK

THE CHAMBER

Please note that, in the light of the recent developments surrounding the Erskine Bridge, Parliamentary Business in the next few weeks may be subject to change so that the necessary legislative changes can be made.

IN COMMITTEE

This week's likely highlights are:

• Audit considers the Executive responses to several of their reports: on the Scottish Ambulance Service, Skillseekers, and the NHS in Tayside.
• Local Government takes stage 1 evidence on the Police & Fire Services Bill.
• Enterprise & Lifelong Learning considers in private their report into SHEFC teaching and research funding.
• Transport & the Environment has a number of petitions, including the ongoing saga of sea cage fish farming.

More detail will follow in tomorrow's Committee News.

SECTION 2 - NEWS

NEW SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE NEWS WEBSITE LAUNCHED

From this week, Executive News Online will be a prime source of information on all events and issues associated with the devolved government of Scotland, offering a direct channel of communication to the public as the Internet becomes an increasingly important and mainstream medium for the dissemination of news.

It is designed to add a new dimension to the Executive's strategy of public communication and also to contribute towards more open and accountable government. Once it has proved itself as an efficient and accessible source of information, it aspires to be the communications flagship of a modern, forward-looking Executive.

Welcoming its establishment, First Minister, Henry McLeish said:

"Executive News online is a practical commitment to open, inclusive and accountable government. It will enhance and expand the relationship the Executive has with the people who elected it and have a right to know exactly what it is doing.

"By creating such a comprehensive online news service, it allows ministers not only to present their policies and initiatives more effectively, but also to have the scope to explain more fully the reasoning behind decisions and actions."

Minister for Parliament, Tom McCabe, said:

"Any organisation wishing to communicate effectively in the 21st century will see the Internet as an indispensable tool. The Executive has a duty to inform members of the public of what it is doing on their behalf and I believe this website is a significant development towards more effective communication.

"With facts and statistics, attractively presented, it is not just another outlet for press releases, but an expansion and enhancement of that basic service. It will not only explain our decisions but the thinking behind our decisions. All this then builds into a permanent online record."

Full Story

HIGH SPEED WEB ACCESS SPREADS OVER SCOTLAND

All Scots and all areas of the country will reap the opportunities of a connected Scotland under new plans to extend access to high speed Internet services, says Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Minister Wendy Alexander.

Publishing "Connecting Scotland - Our Broadband Future", Ms Alexander explained her proposals to extend the availability of broadband telecommunications services in two pathfinder areas in the north and south.

Responding at the same time to the Parliament’s Enterprise Committee report on the New Economy, Ms Alexander detailed the steps taken by the Executive to develop skills and use of Internet services.

The strategy to create a connected Scotland includes:

• The appointment of Digital Champions for each Social Inclusion Partnership area in Scotland;
• The creation of 300 new e-enabled learning centres;
• An 80% discount on IT training;
• Publication of a comprehensive guide to public access points for Internet services; and
• A target to help 1000 additional businesses go online over the next year.

It is hoped that faster, more reliable, "always on" access to the Internet, high quality video streaming and high speed information transfer will help to improve public services and create the conditions for new high-skilled, high tech employment across Scotland.

Joined up public service purchasing of broadband capacity will ensure that:

• Every school has access to a rich online world where pupils can communicate through text, voice or video;
• All parts of the health service can send and receive information and use telemedicine; and
• All local authorities can provide modern, customer focused services.

Full Story

SECTION 3 - NOTES ON THIS WEEK’S CHAMBER BUSINESS

WEDNESDAY begins with First Minister, Henry McLeish, setting out the Executive's Programme for the coming parliamentary session in a statement. The statement will then be debated. However, as the statement will be made first to Parliament, no details of what will be announced are available.

The first Member's Business of the new session comes from the SNP's Gil Paterson and discusses James Wilson, John Baird and Andrew Hardie - the three 1820 martyrs.

THURSAY morning is given over to the Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Committee, to debate the report on their Inquiry into the Impact of the New Economy.

The report claims that a widening skills gap and poor IT infrastructure could jeopardise Scotland's ability to compete in the new economy. But the findings also show that "middle ranking" Scotland does have the potential to step up a division.

It therefore calls for the creation of an "e-advocate" to oversee the introduction of broadband communication links to all homes and businesses.

The Committee report also outlines the following key elements it wishes to see in an e-strategy:

• A target date to establish broadband communication links to all businesses and homes in Scotland;
• The construction of a direct Scottish link ('inter-connector') to the global cable network, for which there is already a viable commercial case;
• Selective public investment in telecommunications infrastructure, where this would not otherwise be provided by the private sector;
• Initiatives to address the potential shortfall of suitably qualified new graduates;
• The creation of a universally IT-literate population;
• The creation of an industry-Executive electronics sector group, on the model of the successful PILOT initiative for oil and gas;
• The Scottish Executive offering itself as an exemplar through e-government;
• Training for all Scottish Executive members and staff in the implications of the new technology;
• An examination of whether new technology allows the dispersal of more Scottish Executive jobs;
• An extension of the remit of the Scottish Executive's Improving Regulations in Scotland (IRIS) unit to assess the impact of proposed new legislation on e-business.

For a note of the Executive's response, see the full story of the second news story, above.

Click here for a short summary of the report

Click here for the accompanying press release

Click here to read the full report

After Question Time and First Minister's Question Time, there will be an Executive debate on Investment in Education. The likely focus of this debate will be on the recent announcements of funds to improve school infrastructure. For more information, see e-Brief 81 and the Report to the People of 13th August.

The day concludes with a Member's Business debate on the Centenary of Donibristle Pit Disaster from Labour's Helen Eadie.

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