Business Bulletin 1999-2011

Minutes of Proceedings 1999-2011

Journal of Parliamentary Proceedings Sessions 1 & 2

Committees Sessions 1, 2 & 3

Annual reports

Section A – Today’s Business

Meeting of the Parliament

9.15 am Parliamentary Bureau Motions

followed by Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Debate: The Future of Scottish Water—

S3M-1386 Derek Brownlee: The Future of Scottish Water—That the Parliament calls on the Scottish Government to establish a review of the structure and operations of Scottish Water with a remit to consider whether the current model delivers best value for taxpayers and customers, to consider alternative models, including mutualisation, and to report back to the Parliament on the conclusions of the review in such time as to allow any changes to the structure of Scottish Water to be in place prior to commencement of the next spending review period in 2011.

The Presiding Officer has selected the following amendments

S3M-1386.1 Des McNulty: The Future of Scottish Water—As an amendment to motion (S3M-1386) in the name of Derek Brownlee, leave out from "calls on" to end and insert "supports the retention of Scottish Water under public ownership and in that context calls on the Scottish Government to keep under review the structure and operations of Scottish Water, the regulatory arrangements for the water industry to ensure that the interests of domestic and business customers are properly protected and alternative public sector models, including mutualisation, and to report back to the Parliament in due course."

S3M-1386.2 Liam McArthur: The Future of Scottish Water—As an amendment to motion (S3M-1386) in the name of Derek Brownlee, after "mutualisation" insert "but excluding privatisation".

S3M-1385 Bill Aitken: Prisons Policy—That the Parliament acknowledges the importance of a criminal justice system in which the public has confidence and which upholds the fundamental right of the public to a secure and safe society; notes with concern the current pressure on prison capacity; believes that the courts must be supported in sentencing disposals and, where that includes custody, believes that it is the obligation of the government to ensure that adequate custodial provision exists; views with concern deficiencies in the prison regime to address drug addiction, and deplores the Scottish Government’s hostility to deploying the private sector in new prison provision.

The Presiding Officer has selected the following amendments

S3M-1385.2 Kenny MacAskill: Prisons Policy—As an amendment to motion (S3M-1385) in the name of Bill Aitken, leave out from first "with concern" to end and insert "that, while the offending rate has been falling, the number of people in prison currently stands at record levels and that Scotland has one of the highest imprisonment rates in the world; welcomes the McLeish Commission into Penal Policy and recognises that, in the case of serious and dangerous individuals, custody is the only appropriate punishment, and notes that the Scottish Government is committed to three new prisons and has increased investment in the prisons estate to an average of £120 million a year."

The Presiding Officer has selected the following amendment to amendment

S3M-1385.2.1 Margaret Smith: Prisons Policy—As an amendment to amendment (S3M-1385.2) in the name of Kenny MacAskill, insert at end "recognises the need to reduce the number of low-level receptions into custody for short-term sentences by focusing on tough community sentences that pay back into the community for the harm caused; further notes the need to improve treatment for those with mental health problems and drug and alcohol addictions, thus addressing the underlying causes of offending, and calls on the Scottish Government to build on schemes which provide offenders with education and skills training for work, not crime."

S3M-1385.1 Pauline McNeill: Prisons Policy—As an amendment to motion (S3M-1385) in the name of Bill Aitken, leave out from "acknowledges" to end and insert "notes the crucial role of the prison system in the criminal justice system and its role in dealing with a range of offenders; believes that only robust community sentences will provide a real alternative to custody for the Scottish courts and that this requires real investment in community sentences and community disposals; believes that short-term sentences are appropriate for certain types of offenders; further believes that urgent measures should be taken to provide real and appropriate alternatives to prison models for women offenders to reduce the female prison population; calls on the Scottish Government to report to the Parliament on the progress of the planned new prisons which could alleviate overcrowding in the prison estate, and further believes that sentencing policy should be clear, transparent and understood by the general public and should be driven by an underlying policy to protect the public from harm."

11.40 am General Question Time—

1. Richard Baker: To ask the Scottish Executive what impact it considers that the funding settlement for local authorities will have on the delivery of key local public services. (S3O-2297)

2. Malcolm Chisholm: To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received on the abolition of the cultural co-ordinators scheme. (S3O-2302)

3. Jim Hume: To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to improve public transport in rural areas. (S3O-2263)

4. John Farquhar Munro: To ask the Scottish Executive how many vehicular accidents on the A87 and A887 were reported to the police in December 2007 and January 2008 and how these compare with figures for December 2006 and January 2007. (S3O-2262)

5. Aileen Campbell: To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to tackle rising numbers of personal bankruptcies and home repossessions. (S3O-2274)

6. Irene Oldfather: To ask the Scottish Executive what importance it places on good road and rail links for the economic regeneration of Ayrshire. (S3O-2330)

7. Alasdair Allan: To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is in respect of community buy-outs of government-owned land. (S3O-2272)

8. Tricia Marwick: To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to address antisocial behaviour by restricting inappropriate advertising of alcohol in and around retail premises. (S3O-2284)

9. Mr Frank McAveety: To ask the Scottish Executive whether the referral to the European Commission of the procurement process for the M74 extension will have any impact on the start date for construction. (S3O-2320)

10. Hugh O’Donnell: To ask the Scottish Executive which public body will be responsible for taking forward the development of the former Ravenscraig site. (S3O-2261)

12 noon First Minister’s Question Time—

2. Annabel Goldie: To ask the First Minister when he will next meet the Secretary of State for Scotland. (S3F-517)

3. Nicol Stephen: To ask the First Minister what issues will be discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet. (S3F-518)

4. Bob Doris: To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government considers that lottery funding could make a contribution to building a legacy for the 2014 Commonwealth Games. (S3F-530)

5. Paul Martin: To ask the First Minister what additional measures are being taken to monitor registered sex offenders in Scotland. (S3F-519)

6. Murdo Fraser: To ask the First Minister how the NHS in Scotland will provide adequate support for war veterans and their families. (S3F-521)

2.15 pm Themed Question Time—

Health and Wellbeing

1. Keith Brown: To ask the Scottish Executive what further progress has been made in discussions with representative bodies on extending the opening hours of general practices. (S3O-2273)

2. Alison McInnes: To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with GPs about the impact of any changes to the GMS contract on the number of doctors willing to participate in out-of-hours services. (S3O-2254)

3. Mary Scanlon: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is anticipated that any NHS boards will have a financial deficit in the next financial year. (S3O-2354)

4. Sarah Boyack: To ask the Scottish Executive when it next plans to meet NHS Lothian and what topics will be discussed. (S3O-2299)

5. Nigel Don: To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made on establishing the Aberdeen dental school. (S3O-2276)

6. Johann Lamont: To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to address housing need in Glasgow. (S3O-2317)

7. Bill Aitken: To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are in place to address tooth decay. (S3O-2345)

8. Not Lodged

9. Margo MacDonald: To ask the Scottish Executive when it plans to instigate a programme of GP-prescribed exercise. (S3O-2269)

10. Ross Finnie: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to review the admissibility criteria for blood donors. (S3O-2260)

11. Dr Richard Simpson: To ask the Scottish Executive what meetings the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing has had with voluntary organisations to discuss their role in achieving health equality. (S3O-2334)

12. Joe FitzPatrick: To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to improve housing for veterans in Dundee. (S3O-2278)

13. Andy Kerr: To ask the Scottish Executive what provisions have been made for primary care services in Lanarkshire. (S3O-2316)

14. Bill Butler: To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in Scotland are diagnosed as suffering from Barrett’s oesophagus. (S3O-2301)

15. Ken Macintosh: To ask the Scottish Executive what support it is making available to community patient transport services. (S3O-2323)

16. Shirley-Anne Somerville: To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are in place to ensure parity in the bandings applied under the Agenda for Change pay system for jobs requiring comparable levels of knowledge and experience, both within each NHS board and across all boards. (S3O-2291)

17. Mary Mulligan: To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to support people with epilepsy. (S3O-2328)

18. Iain Smith: To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure that healthy living centres can continue to improve community health and wellbeing. (S3O-2268)

19. Helen Eadie: To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met NHS Fife and what issues were discussed. (S3O-2305)

20. Rhoda Grant: To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met NHS Highland and what issues were discussed. (S3O-2311)

2.55 pm Ministerial Statement: British-Irish Council Summit

followed by Scottish Government Debate: Democracy in Local Health Care

followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions

5.00 pm Decision Time

followed by Members’ Business:

Debate on the subject of—

S3M-916 Jamie Hepburn: Central Scotland Rail Improvements—That the Parliament welcomes the Scottish Government’s plans to electrify the Glasgow to Edinburgh and Cumbernauld railway lines; believes that this will have a positive effect on the commuting experience for people across Scotland, particularly those in central Scotland; recognises the importance of providing alternatives to the private car to reduce congestion and pollution and of opening up social and economic opportunities to the 32% of Scottish households that do not have access to a car; notes the campaigns by various rail user groups calling for the introduction of a national railcard scheme which would provide discounted travel to all regular train users, and believes that such a scheme should be considered for introduction in Scotland.