Section A - Daily Business List

BUSINESS BULLETIN 34 / 2000

Thursday 24 February 2000

Section A – Daily Business List

Meeting of the Parliament

9.30 am Motion by Henry McLeish-

S1M-575 Henry McLeish: E-Commerce—That the Parliament notes the Scottish Executive’s commitment to helping Scottish business take advantage of the revolution in information technology; supports the publication by Scottish Enterprise of an action plan to accelerate the take-up of e-commerce by business and develop supplier industries, and welcomes all actions by the public and private sectors which will contribute to Scotland becoming the e-commerce hub of Europe.

The Presiding Officer has selected the following amendment

S1M-575.1 David Mundell: E-Commerce—As an amendment to motion (S1M-575) in the name of Henry McLeish, insert at end "and calls upon the Scottish Executive to report to the Parliament on progress in achieving this aim on a quarterly basis." R

11.00 am Motion by Mr Jim Wallace-

S1M-586 Mr Jim Wallace: Physical Punishment of Children—That the Parliament welcomes the publication by the Scottish Executive of the consultation paper The Physical Punishment of Children in Scotland and commends this opportunity to seek the views of the Scottish people on this important matter.

The Presiding Officer has selected the following amendments

S1M-586.2 Nicola Sturgeon: Physical Punishment of Children—As an amendment to motion (S1M-586) in the name of Mr Jim Wallace, insert at end " and further calls upon the Executive to take full account of all views expressed in the consultation, to ensure that the rights of parents and children are mutually respected and that Scots law complies with the European Convention on Human Rights."

S1M-586.1 Mrs Lyndsay McIntosh: Physical Punishment of Children—As an amendment to motion (S1M-586) in the name of Mr Jim Wallace, insert after "Scotland’s", "agrees with its view that parents should continue to have the right to physically rebuke their children by reasonable means, if they so choose, in order to maintain discipline both in the present day and for future generations, calls upon the Scottish Executive to clarify the definition of reasonable chastisement so that both parents and children are sure of their rights within the law."

The Clerk has been informed that the following document(s) are relevant to this debate.

The Physical Punishment of Children in Scotland – a Consultation: (Scottish Executive Consultation Paper)

followed by Business Motion

2.30 pm Question Time

1. Alex Johnstone: To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to outlaw the use of mineral supplements in the livestock farming industry. R (S1O-1215)

2. Tommy Sheridan: To ask the Scottish Executive when the Steering Group established to discuss the transfer of Glasgow’s housing stock last met, what was discussed and who attended the meeting. (S1O-1190)

3. Patricia Ferguson: To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to give powers to local authorities and Scottish Homes to allow them to provide a subsidy to home owners, particularly elderly home owners, which will allow them to make use of the equity tied up in their homes to meet the cost of repair and maintenance. (S1O-1239)

4. Mr Kenneth Gibson: To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase the number of neurosurgery beds, neurosurgery intensive care beds and trained staff in order to reduce the number of people dying from head injuries due to a lack of specialist beds in neurosurgical units. (S1O-1221)

5. Mr Gil Paterson: To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has, within its own areas of responsibility, to assist in securing the future of rural post offices. (S1O-1238)

6. Mr Jamie McGrigor: To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has for the future of the crofting industry in the Highlands and Islands. (S1O-1224)

7. Mr Brian Monteith: To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to change the arrangements governing parental choice in the selection of schools and whether or not it will consider further amendments to its proposals. (S1O-1223)

8. Ms Sandra White: To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the ministerial statement by the Minister for Transport and the Environment on 10 February 2000, whether it is aware of the concerns of local traders in Glasgow regarding the possible loss of business due to the proposed introduction of new bus lanes. (S1O-1209)

9. Elaine Thomson: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to introduce pilot studies on the use of digital hearing aids. (S1O-1196)

10. David Mundell: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of difficulties which the residents of Moffat in Dumfriesshire are experiencing with the water supply and what powers it has to require West of Scotland Water to take the necessary remedial action. (S1O-1192)

11. Elaine Smith: To ask the Scottish Executive whether there have been any reported cases of necrotising fasciitis in the areas covered by NHS Trusts in Lanarkshire during the past two years, how this level of cases compares with the national average and what action it plans to take to maintain public confidence in the light of any recent reported cases. (S1O-1187)

12. Mr Andrew Welsh: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make a statement on the establishment of the Task Force set up to oversee the management of NHS services in Tayside. (S1O-1233)

13. Alasdair Morgan: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make representations to Her Majesty’s Treasury regarding participation in the EU agrimonetary compensation scheme for Scottish farmers. (S1O-1197)

14. Dennis Canavan: To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it is taking to improve access to fresh water fishing. (S1O-1186)

15. Tricia Marwick: To ask the Scottish Executive what factors contributed to its decision to extend the scope of the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute study into the effect on the rural economy of banning hunting with dogs. (S1O-1204)

16. Bristow Muldoon: To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in Scotland will benefit from the forthcoming uprating of the National Minimum Wage. (S1O-1236)

17. Rhoda Grant: To ask the Scottish Executive when the Minister for Rural Affairs last met representatives of the Scottish Crofters’ Union and what issues they discussed. (S1O-1194)

18. Allan Wilson: To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to review the methodology employed by the Scottish criminal records office in compiling fingerprint evidence. (S1O-1189)

19. Mrs Mary Mulligan: To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are in place to assist local authorities to maintain an appropriate number of supply teachers. (S1O-1229)

20. Pauline McNeill: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider undertaking a detailed appraisal of cable companies operating 999 emergency services with particular regard to the safe provision of ambulance, police and fire services. (S1O-1222)

21. Richard Lochhead: To ask the Scottish Executive what salaries and bonus schemes will be offered to the successful applicants for the chief executive posts currently being advertised by water authorities and to what extent, if any, these will be an increase on previous levels. (S1O-1205)

22. Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is towards NHS Trust deficits. (S1O-1193)

23. Phil Gallie: To ask the Scottish Executive how many secure residential schools there are in Scotland; what the total number of places available within them is, and what steps it is taking to ensure that supply meets the need for such places. (S1O-1235)

24. Scott Barrie: To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in tackling youth unemployment. (S1O-1199)

25. Ms Margaret Curran: To ask the Scottish Executive what new measures are being introduced to address school exclusions. (S1O-1230)

26. Mike Watson: To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are being introduced to support the voluntary and community sector. (S1O-1227)

27. Karen Whitefield: To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it is taking to ensure that the establishment of New Housing Partnerships in the proposed Housing Bill will not disrupt the work of the various national witness protection programmes with regard to resettlement of witnesses. (S1O-1206)

28. Ms Irene Oldfather: To ask the Scottish Executive when it intends to announce the results of the "Make Our Communities Safer" challenge competition. (S1O-1191)

29. Ben Wallace: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has plans to exempt Scottish students on specialist courses in England which are unavailable at Scottish institutions from paying tuition fees. (S1O-1226)

30. Dr Sylvia Jackson: To ask the Scottish Executive what support mechanisms it presently has in place to support carers within our communities. (S1O-1225)

3.10 pm First Minister's Question Time

1. Mr Alex Salmond: To ask the First Minister when he next plans to meet the Secretary of State for Scotland and what issues are likely to be discussed. (S1F-138)

2. David McLetchie: To ask the First Minister whether he has any plans to reshuffle Ministerial responsibilities. (S1F-137)

3. Pauline McNeill: To ask the First Minister what action is being taken to increase the number of emergency beds available in the NHS in Scotland. (S1F-149)

4. Mr Jamie Stone: To ask the First Minister what plans the Scottish Executive has to increase democratic accountability of Scottish police forces. (S1F-143)

5. Alex Neil: To ask the First Minister whether a progress report on the alleviation of child poverty in Scotland will be issued. (S1F-141)

6. Mike Watson: To ask the First Minister what steps the Scottish Executive is taking to support manufacturing exports. (S1F-147)

3.30 pm Motion by Mr Mike Rumbles-

S1M-517 Mr Mike Rumbles on behalf of the Standards Committee: Code of Conduct for Members—That the Parliament agrees to adopt the Code of Conduct for Members annexed to the 1st Report, 2000, of the Standards Committee; that the provisions of the code shall have immediate effect and shall apply to all Members, and that the code be printed and published for sale in hard copy and made available on the Parliament’s website.

The Presiding Officer has selected the following amendment

S1M-517.1 Dennis Canavan: Code of Conduct for Members—As an amendment to motion (S1M-517) in the name of Mr Mike Rumbles, insert after "Committee" "with the exception of paragraph 2.3 of section 2 of the code of conduct"

followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions

5.00 pm Decision Time

followed by Members' Business

debate on the subject of –

S1M-351 Alex Fergusson: Beauforts Dyke Disturbance—That the Parliament recognises the work done by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, South Ayrshire Council and other agencies in seeking to improve the marine environment of South West Scotland, but is concerned at the prospect of hazardous materials and munitions being distributed by the laying of underwater cables through the Beauforts Dyke region of the Irish Sea in order to service the Scotland to Northern Ireland Interconnector.