Scottish Parliament e-Brief

Issue 98, 21^st January 2002

SECTION 1 - BUSINESS THIS WEEK

THE CHAMBER

IN COMMITTEE

The main items of business in the Committee Rooms this week are:

• Rural Development meets today in Gartocharn to take evidence on the Land Reform Bill.
• Equal Opportunities considers its approach on the Chhokar report into family liaison.
• Justice 1 continues taking evidence for its Regulation of the Legal Profession Inquiry.
• Justice 2 takes evidence on the Land Reform Bill from, among others, the crofting community.
• Audit takes evidence for its inquiry into the Auditor General’s report ‘Overview of the National Health Service in Scotland 2000/01’.
• Local Government takes evidence from CoSLA and selected local authorities on the Land Reform Bill.
• Health reaches the final day of stage 2 of the Community Care and Health Bill, takes evidence for the Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Bill and considers its response to the Executive on Hepatitis C.
• Education takes evidence for stage 1 of the Education (Disability Strategies and Pupils’ Records) Bill.
• Social Justice considers an Executive consultation on homelessness and the Housing Act 2001.

SECTION 2 - NEWS

TIME CALLED ON BINGE DRINKING
Concerted action to tackle binge drinking is at the heart of a new Executive plan for action on alcohol problems.

Drawn up in partnership with health groups, the police, the drinks industry and many others, the plan seeks to kick start the cultural shift needed if Scotland is to turn away from unsavoury drinking practices that cost the country £1 billion a year.

Action over the next 12 months includes:

• A new £1.5 million national campaign, involving TV advertising, to change attitudes to binge drinking;
• Better and more widespread training for bar staff and licensees on their responsibility to encourage sensible drinking;
• Specific action targeted at children and young people, including new resources for parents to discuss alcohol issues with their children, better education in schools, promotion of healthy alternatives to drinking, and better early support when problems arise;
• Better support for local alcohol action teams – doubling funding to £1 million, publishing a framework for alcohol support and treatment services, and appointing a National Alcohol Liaison Officer to support their work;
• Better information on patterns of problem drinking to help develop future policy – including more consistent recording of problems by GPs, consultants and other health professionals to get a better picture of the extent of the problem; and
• Raising with the UK Government concerns over the advertising and marketing of drinks.

Full Story

FAST-TRACK CLINICS PRAISED BY FIRST MINISTER
The rapid expansion of fast-track NHS clinics, offering a comprehensive service and increasingly led by nurses and doctors rather than consultants, is a model for the mix of investment and reform needed to improve our health service in Scotland, First Minister Jack McConnell has said.

He was speaking as he visited a fast-track clinic specialising in tackling skin disease and skin cancer at Falkirk Royal Infirmary.

Since 1999, the number of fast-track clinics has more than trebled to over 300.

Mr McConnell said:

"Our plans for improving the NHS are centred on listening to front-line staff and empowering them to do what they are best at – organising and delivering care for patients. Fast-track clinics like this offer a one-stop service and are clearly one future model for improving care.

"These clinics can offer tests, diagnosis and treatment in just a few visits - sometime in just a single visit – and this is thanks largely to the frontline staff. They have been responsible for much of the massive expansion in availability of this type of treatment and I want to pay particular tribute to the increasing role NHS nurses are playing in leading these developments.

"The benefits to patients are also clear. These clinics mean fewer visits for treatment, less stress waiting for test results or appointments and, of course, much shorter waiting times."

Full Story

SECTION 3 - NOTES ON THIS WEEK’S CHAMBER BUSINESS

WEDNESDAY afternoon begins with stage 1 of the Budget (Scotland) Bill.

An annual occurrence, the Budget Bill represents the final stage of the annual budget process. Exceptionally keen readers will have noted in the last week before Christmas, the Finance Committee led a debate on its report on the Budget Process. (The penultimate stage.)

See e-Brief 95 for the points raised by the Committee.

Member's Business is on the subject of Research into Myalgic Encephalomyelitis from Alex Fergusson (CON).

THURSDAY morning sees a series of debates from the single member parties, beginning with three half-hour debates from the Scottish Socialist Party.

While the subject of the third remains to be announced, the first two will be on the Abolition of Council Tax and the Introduction of a Progressive Water Tax. While neither motion has been published, it is likely that the first will essentially re-run the SSP debates on the introduction of a Scottish Service Tax to replace Council Tax on 30^th March 2000 and Thursday 8^th February 2001.

See e-Briefs 12 and 52 for more information.

The second will concentrate on the SSP's proposals for the Introduction of a Progressive Water Tax. These proposals were outlined at last week's Transport and the Environment Committee, when Tommy Sheridan moved an amendment to the Water Industry Bill.

For more information, click here to read the official report.

This is followed by a Green Party debate on Employment Opportunities in Scotland, with special reference to the Environment and Recycling.

Again, the motion has not yet been published and so it is unclear to exactly what the Green Party plans to refer. The motion will appear in the Business Bulletin in the next few days. Alternatively, the full transcript will be available in the Official Report from 08:00 on Friday.

In the afternoon, after Question Time and First Minister's Question Time, there will be an Executive Debate on European Structural Funds - the money given by the EU to regenerate areas of the continent in most need.

Currently areas such as the Highlands and former-mining communities such as Fife receive structural funds. However, as the UK becomes more prosperous, and other poorer countries seek to join the EU, future distributions will be in favour of the new entrants.

The main issue at present is how best to manage EU regional policy to accommodate this change successfully by ensuring that resources are well targeted in the future.

The day concludes with a Member's Business debate on The Colin O’Riordan Trust from Labour's Angus MacKay.

[ HOME ] [ News ] [ Articles ] [ Calendar ] [ Contacts ] [ Links ] [ E-Mail ]

[ Copyright ] [ UK Online ] [ Scottish Parliament ]

Previous Page