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Our regular Updates on Parliamentary Activity are placed on this website and are renewed monthly during Parliamentary session. 

SCPO PARLIAMENTARY UPDATE OCTOBER 2007 

- Continued

DEBT

Fergus Ewing announced plans for a new debt relief scheme which will be available to those with an income of less than £220 (the Minimum Wage for a 40 hour week) and no assets worth more than £1,000 – they will be able to be declared bankrupt for the minimal cost of £100. The Government will lay regulations to bring in the Low Income Low Asset scheme to let the Accountant in Bankruptcy provide this service.

DRUGS & ADDICTIONS

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill, announced that, in line with the new relationship with local government, licensing boards will be able to set the majority of fees at a local level, which will allow them to recoup the full cost of their work for the first time (although to prevent licensees being over-charged, he has capped fees at certain levels). Independent research showed that boards received £2.85m in fees compared to the £4.5m for the cost of operating and managing the system, so fee income currently meets around 63% of costs.

Mr MacAskill said that he was also looking closely at how to deal with the costs associated with alcohol misuse and will bring forward proposals on a "polluter pays" approach to funding services such as taxi marshals, places of safety and additional policing. "I want to hear views on that before formulating proposals".

EDUCATION & CHILDREN

In evidence to the Education Committee, representatives from COSLA said that there will be year-on-year progress to reduce class sizes across local government, but that the commitment to reduce class sizes in P1-P3 will not be met in this parliamentary session. Fiona Hyslop acknowledged that this manifesto commitment will not be met. 

The OECD report, Quality and Equity of Schooling in Scotland highlighted some positive trends, such as a larger proportion of children than previously reported passing at the highest level in examinations in the final year of compulsory education, but there were also some serious challenges including a widening gap in achievement between those from disadvantaged backgrounds and others, and an increasing number of children leaving school with minimal qualifications. 

MSPs agreed the general principles of the Graduate Endowment (Abolition) Bill as it completed Stage 1 of the parliamentary process. A Lib Dem amendment placing a statutory duty on Ministers to provide student support was also passed.

The Intensive Support and Monitoring Service (available through the Children’s Hearings system for children who are likely to abscond or injure themselves or someone else) is to be extended from the current 7 areas to apply across Scotland.

ENERGY AND TRANSPORT

Energy Minister Jim Mather said that decisions on renewable energy developments should be speeded up (the current average decision time is 2 years); the Government will consider a target of 9 months for new applications where there is no public inquiry.

An expert panel appointed to look at ways to make homes and buildings more energy efficient made 56 recommendations to Ministers, including: the aim of net zero carbon emissions for space heating, hot water, lighting and ventilation within the next 10 years; the ambition of total-life zero-carbon buildings by 2030; and consideration of zero fees for building warrant application where new buildings are to be significantly above the current energy standards.

Joe Fitzpatrick asked Alex Salmond what steps the Government will take to ensure "that the discriminatory connection charge regime comes to an end"; the First Minister said that the Government had put together "an unanswerable case for a level playing field in terms of access to grid connection in Scotland", which he hoped would persuade Ofgem to rectify the current situation.

The latest Energy Trends Report showed that between 2005 and 2006 electricity generated in Scotland increased by 9%. Electricity generated from nuclear power decreased by 24%, mainly due to unplanned outages at nuclear stations, so nuclear’s share of generation fell from 38% to 26%. Electricity from renewable sources (apart from hydro natural flow) increased by 46%. Scotland in 2006 could have supplied 92.5% of its energy needs from fossil fuels, renewables and pumped storage, (increased from 72.9% in 2005). This rate of growth in these other renewables would result in achievement of Scottish renewable electricity targets of 31% by 2011 and 50% by 2020.

In response to John Hutton’s statement on nuclear power and the publication of the UK Energy Bill John Swinney said "Scotland does not want or need new nuclear power. Through the further development of new technologies, like carbon capture and storage, we can build a low carbon future without having to deal with the legacy of toxic radioactive waste for thousands of years".

Bashir Ahmad put down a motion highlighting that the British Transport Police stopped and searched 9,563 individuals and 4,371 vehicles in Scotland between July 2007 and 11 December 2007 and that 12% of those searched were ethnic minorities – "a disproportionate number given the size of the ethnic minority community in Scotland". In comparison, Scottish police forces carried out stop and searches on only 84 individuals and 51 vehicles in the whole of 2007. He called on the Scottish Government to meet the British Transport Police to express concern at the number of searches.

John Swinney announced a new Forth Road Bridge (west of the current road bridge).

FINANCE

John Swinney said that the Government believe that there is a more effective way of funding vital public infrastructure than "traditional costly PFI" and so a consultation has been published on the Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) which will provide an alternative to current arrangements for the funding of public infrastructure projects. Any surplus money will be recycled for further investment and community benefit under Non-Profit Distributing principles.

The Government has introduced a new service, the Single Point of Enquiry, to give advice on procurement issues for suppliers to the public sector in Scotland.

MSPs narrowly voted in favour of an SNP amendment which welcomed the ring fencing of council funding being replaced with new outcome agreements. John Swinney told MSPs that 90% of funding from central Government to local government will not be ring fenced and that he wants local agreements to be in place by 1 April.

Mr Swinney again told MSPs that council tax rates in each local authority will be frozen at 2007/08 levels, to which Andy Kerr responded that such a freeze will benefit the better off and not the poorest 20% of households (as they will be in receipt of housing benefit). He also said that the concordat with local authorities would lead to service cuts in communities throughout Scotland.

The Princes Trust led concerns that the end of ring-fencing may threaten money currently used to fund the work of children's charities, as councils gain power to set some of their own priorities.

Health & Community Care

The Government published its Action Plan for Health and Wellbeing, which aims to put tackling health inequalities, improving public health, patient participation and improved healthcare access at its heart. The Better Health, Better Care strategy has also been published which sets out details of a package of measures to improve Scotland’s primary care system over the next 3 years. Nicola Sturgeon said that she would like to see "more flexible GP access; a development of the Keep Well model of anticipatory care; and easy, walk-in access to a range of primary care services". By the end of March, 5 pilot projects will be established to provide walk-in access to a range of primary care services (such as simple diagnostic tests, sexual health screening and some adult immunisations) via community pharmacies.

A consultation on the proposed Local Healthcare Bill has been published; the Bill seeks to enhance the role that patients and the public play in decisions about how local health services are designed and delivered, including enhanced public involvement and direct elections to health boards. A separate consultation was recently begun on independent scrutiny of proposals to change NHS services.

Kenneth Gibson asked Shona Robison about the survival rates of babies born at 28 weeks or less and was given the following information by the Minister: in 2005 there were 290 live births and 89 stillbirths; there were 91 deaths within the first month, 199 babies surviving at 28 days, and 180 babies surviving at one year.

Nicola Sturgeon announced that until work is done to determine the appropriate level of a maximum charge for hospital car parking, she has decided to introduce a cap of £3 a day. She added that the presumption is that car parking at hospitals should be free and that charges should only be a last resort for NHS boards when other measures to manage parking pressures have failed.

Shona Robison launched the second Annual Report of Respect and Responsibility - Scotland's National Sexual Health Strategy and announced £1m funding to increase access to independent sexual health information - particularly in rural areas. Ms Robison acknowledged that more needs to be done to address the rising rate of sexually transmitted infections and teenage pregnancy.

The Organ Donation Task Force's report Organs for Transplant was published, setting a new target of increasing the number of donors by 50% over the next 5 years. The report contains a raft of recommendations for improving organ donation rates in Scotland, as well as the rest of the UK.

A separate piece of work is still being carried out on a UK-wide basis to look at the issue of presumed consent. Nicola Sturgeon said that she was "sympathetic towards the idea of introducing a system of presumed consent".

HOUSING & HOMELESSNESS

The Rural Affairs and Environment Committee issued a call for evidence on rural housing. The Committee say that as a large volume of material already exists on rural housing they do not wish to replicate it, but instead want to focus on new ideas that could make a practical difference. The closing date for evidence is 4 April. The Committee plan to take oral evidence in May and June and to report in September.

Reporting back on the rural housing seminar that the Committee organised, Convener Roseanna Cunningham told her colleagues that the prioritisation exercise at the end of the day put the role of the planning system first, land supply second but surprisingly financial considerations came third – the Committee had expected that water and sewerage infrastructure would be a higher priority. Ms Cunningham said that there seemed to be a feeling that infrastructure issues were on their way to being resolved.

A planning policy consultation has been published which encourages local councils to identify and release more land for housing. Stewart Stevenson said that the new policy requires councils to take a strategic look at housing need and supply and where there are particular pressures on housing supply, the policy will allow quicker release of appropriate land and more effective use of existing land already allocated to housing.

INTERNATIONAL

Parliament called on the UK Government to hold a referendum on the EU Reform Treaty.

LAND REFORM

A new consultation proposes to extend crofting to areas outside the traditional Crofting Counties. Environment Minister Michael Russell is seeking views on whether crofting tenure should be extended to include the islands of Arran and Cumbrae and the remaining parts of the Highlands and Islands not currently designated. The consultation (which runs till 12 March) will run alongside the on-going work of the Committee of Inquiry which is considering a vision for the future of crofting and is due to report early this year.

Law Reform & Justice

Fergus Ewing announced the details of a pilot of a new model of drug treatment and testing orders (DTTOs) which are to be tested in the Lothians and Borders Community Justice Authority. To date DTTOs have been primarily used with high tariff offenders but as part of the pilot they will be adapted for use with offenders who are at an earlier stage in their offending career.

As part of an SNP led debate on serious and organised crime, a majority of MSPs voted in favour of a Lib Dem amendment regretting the Government’s "continued failure" to implement the promise of 1,000 extra police.

After the Scottish Law Commission published its report on rape and other sexual offences, the Government launched a public consultation on the Commission’s proposals. The report argues that rape should be re-defined to cover both male and female victims and to apply to a much wider form of sexual attack on a victim. It also recommends creating the offence of sexual assault and that there should be new offences where a victim is coerced into taking part or seeing sexual activity without their consent. The Commission also recommended a detailed definition of "consent".

Stewart Maxwell and Elish Angiolini launched the first round-the-clock support centre for sex-attack victims in Glasgow.

MSPs debated summary justice reform and agreed that the success of the new provisions in the Criminal Proceedings Reform Act would depend on fine payments being enforced and much tighter and rigorous control of community service orders.

Recently published statistics revealed that there was a 26% rise in the number of homicide victims in Scotland last year, with 118 cases recorded in 2006/07 (24 more than in 2005/06), involving 119 victims. 45% of victims in 2006/07 were killed with a sharp instrument. 47% of those accused in homicide cases in 2006/07 were reported to have been drunk or under the influence of drugs at the time (30% were drunk, 8% were on drugs and 9% were both drunk and on drugs); in 41% of cases it was not known if the accused was drunk or under the influence of drugs.

Kenny MacAskill said that he intends to build on the previous administration’s approach of tough enforcement initiatives on knives, on alcohol-fuelled violence and on gangs, backed by a long term approach to educate and shift attitudes among young people.

Mr MacAskill announced that he will host a summit to identify how best to reform the law on firearms. He has invited the Home Secretary to join the Scottish Government in holding the event. Mr MacAskill said: "I'm frustrated the UK Government has refused to consider allowing the Scottish Parliament to act on this issue as our communities want".

Stewart Maxwell told Christine Grahame that in 2008 he intends to consult on whether civil legislation should be introduced to protect those affected by forced marriage, or whether there is currently sufficient legal protection.

The Government announced that plans to expand Scotland’s youth courts have been delayed for at least a year, awaiting the outcome of a wider review of summary justice reforms. The delay has been criticised by opposition parties who said that the SNP had previously supported the expansion. A report by Audit Scotland last year questioned whether youth courts offered value for money.

Mike Pringle put down a motion pointing out that over the last decade the number of female prisoners in Scotland has almost doubled, with the number of prisoners in Cornton Vale rising from 184 in 1997 to 365 in 2006. He called on the Government to recognise that alternatives to custody such as drug rehabilitation programmes, effective community sentences and the appropriate use of mental health facilities should form part of a determined drive to address the particular issues relating to female prisoners in Scotland.

There was an error in statistics published in December 2007 relating to breaches of Restriction of Liberty Orders (RLOs). The revised figures actually show a 7.6% decrease in the number of breaches of RLOs on the previous year, not a 61% increase as was published previously.

Kenny MacAskill was quizzed by the Justice Committee about the budget in respect to community penalties and said that one of the major problems was that there were too many delays while people wait to do their community service; throughput times had to be reduced to ensure a clear link between offences and penalties. "We also want community service to be visible in our communities. I am not suggesting that offenders wear fluorescent jackets – this is 21^st century Scotland, not 1960s Alabama – but communities should be able to see the work that has been done and the improvements and repair that have been delivered".

RURAL AFFAIRS & GM FOOD

The Rural Affairs and Environment Committee agreed that they would not continue further scrutiny of the issues raised by the Crown Estate Review Working Group report The Crown Estate in Scotland: new opportunities for public benefit until they take evidence from The Crown Estate. However, in the meantime they are seeking clarification from the Parliament’s directorate of legal services on where the boundary between reserved and devolved matters lies in relation to the Crown Estate and its management.

SOCIAL JUSTICE & INCLUSION

The Government gave backing to Green MSP Patrick Harvie's proposal for a Sentencing of Offences Aggravated by Prejudice (Scotland) Bill. His Bill would extend hate crime legislation to recognise crimes based on hatred of disabled people and those from the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered communities as an aggravating factor in sentencing. The legislation will be taken forward early this year as a "Handout Member's Bill" (a Member's Bill which is sponsored and supported by the Government).

The Scottish Social Attitudes Survey 2006: Attitudes to Discrimination in Scotland, found that 15-20% of Scots believed that a gay man or a lesbian or a Muslim person would be unsuitable as a primary school teacher. 51% of people said it should be permissible for a bed and breakfast owner to refuse a booking to a same-sex couple and 50% thought that Scotland would begin to lose its identity if more Muslims came to live here.

The Equal Opportunities Committee will undertake a ‘stock taking’ exercise in relation to religion and belief in the way they have for the other five equality strands. 

Recommendations to Parliament on the 2011 census will propose that the question on religion of upbringing will be dropped from the 2011 census but the question on current religion will be included with the addition of a new category for ‘Pagan’. Unlike the rest of the census this question will remain voluntary. 

Communities Minister Stewart Maxwell urged UK Ministers and energy companies to work with the Scottish Government to make sure all is done to help people in fuel poverty. His comments came after figures in the latest Scottish House Condition Survey showed a rise in fuel poverty levels between 2004/05 and 2005/06; the percentage of people in fuel poverty rose from 18% to 23% (543,000 households) in 2005/06. Mr Maxwell said that he has written to Ministers at Westminster asking for the UK Ministerial Fuel Poverty Group to reconvene "at the soonest opportunity" to allow all the relevant partners to have their say.

Mr Maxwell added that the Government’s efforts to end fuel poverty were being thwarted by high fuel prices set by private companies and that most of the mechanisms to raise people’s incomes, such as tax and benefits, were reserved to Westminster.

A motion by Jackie Baillie expressed concern that customers using prepayment meters to pay for their energy are currently paying an average of £214 per year more than those who have signed up for suppliers’ online tariffs and £137 more than those paying by direct debit, noting that 1 in 3 households do not have home access to the internet and 1 in 11 do not have a bank account. She called on the Scottish Government to make representations to Ofgem to undertake a comprehensive review of charges for prepayment meter customers.

Communities Minister Stewart Maxwell announced £30m of regeneration funding for communities that have "been neglected for too long" (eg Inverclyde, Irvine Bay and Clydebank).

Kenneth Gibson noted that the gap between rich and poor has reached levels "not seen for more than 40 years" with the level of social mobility in the UK among the lowest of any developed country. In his motion he said that this inequality would only be exacerbated by the abolition of the 10% tax rate (to be implemented from April 2008) announced by the Prime Minister, as it will hit those earning less than £17,000 per annum and according to figures published by Deloitte more than 50% of workers will be worse off in 22 Scottish Westminster parliamentary constituencies. He urged the Scottish Government to lobby the UK Government to reconsider abolishing the 10% tax rate.

Christine Grahame put down a motion highlighting the conclusion of the Save the Children report Robbing Peter to Pay Paul that lack of access to affordable credit adversely affects children living in poverty and she urged the Government to take steps to improve access to affordable credit, such as credit unions, for those on the lowest incomes.

Kenneth Gibson put down a motion condemning the fact that Farepak savers have yet to receive any compensation and he called on the UK Government to assist them and asked that small savers be given as much protection as big savers. He also asked that the Companies Investigations Branch report into the Farepak collapse be published "in the interests of transparency".

The Petitions Committee agreed to close Dundee Anti-Poverty Forum’s petition which asked for a review of the school clothing grant system, as the Government had agreed to carry out a review and the petitioner had been given a seat on the working group involved in the review.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT & ENVIRONMENT

The Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change Committee spent some time discussing the extensive legislative consent memorandum on the UK Climate Change Bill with Stewart Stevenson. Mr Stevenson told the Committee that the Bill provided a supporting framework and that substantial amounts of secondary legislation will be introduced under it. He explained to MSPs that the Secretary of State will carry the duty to achieve the emissions reductions targets but Scotland will have to contribute to them. The UK Bill does not set targets for Scotland, it simply sets an overall target level for the UK without specifying what the individual countries will have to contribute. Mr Stevenson said that the Scottish Government intend to consult on an emissions reduction target of 80%.

The consultation on proposals for the Scottish Climate Change Bill is due out imminently.

John Park asked Michael Russell what discussions the Scottish Government had had with the UK Government on proposed ship-to-ship oil transfers and was told that Richard Lochhead had written to Ruth Kelly to express concerns about threats to the environment in the Forth that arise from the proposals. Mr Russell added that the Scottish Government supported the Bill Mark Lazarowicz MP has introduced at Westminster, designed to give further protection to the marine environment.

Richard Lochhead launched a discussion on a national policy for food. The discussion paper Choosing the Right Ingredients: The Future for Food in Scotland includes: new traceability schemes so people know where their food comes from, and the promotion and sale of more affordable, healthier and clearly labelled Scottish produce. The food policy, which would be the first of its kind in the UK, aims to join up Government policy on every part of the food chain from farm gate to plate.

Alex Salmond agreed to be questioned by the Local Government and Communities Committee on the "Trump affair", the first First Minister to be held accountable in this way.

VOLUNTARY ISSUES

The Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee discussed with Jim Mather a legislative consent memorandum lodged by John Swinney for the UK Dormant Bank and Building Society Accounts Bill (this Bill will distribute money that has lain dormant in bank accounts to support the work of the voluntary sector). Mr Mather said that the Scottish Government agreed with the other devolved regions and the UK Government that the nominated distributor should be the Big Lottery Fund.

Mr Mather said that, while the Westminster Government had decided to use its share of the money for youth services and financial inclusion, the Scottish Government intend to consult on the matter early this year.

Jackson Carlaw asked the First Minister if he would give sympathetic consideration to providing financial support to the Jewish community as it acts on Strathclyde Police’s recommendation to review security after the terrorist attach at Glasgow airport and was told by Mr Salmond the Government "will indeed give sympathetic consideration to requests as they come forward".

Sportscotland (which worked at a grassroots level) is to merge with the Scottish Institute of Sport (which worked at an elite performance level) but will retain the name sportscotland. In December a majority of MSPs supported a Lib Dem motion rejecting the abolition of sportscotland.

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