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Vol. 2, No. 55 Session 1 Meeting of the Parliament Thursday 15 February 2001
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Note: (DT) signifies a decision taken at Decision Time. The meeting opened at 9.30 am. 1. Motion of No Confidence: Bruce Crawford moved S1M-1621—That the Parliament has no confidence in the Minister for Transport on account of her handling of the trunk road management and maintenance tendering process. Mr Murray Tosh moved amendment S1M-1621.1 to motion S1M-1621— Leave out from "has no confidence" to end and insert— "supports the principle of competitive tendering in relation to public works contracts such as the contract for trunk roads management and maintenance, in view of the paramount importance of securing best value for the taxpayer at both local and national level; notes the concerns raised in relation to the award of the trunk roads contracts and the intention of the Transport and the Environment Committee to investigate relevant aspects of the process; endorses the Minister for Transport’s invitation to the Auditor General for Scotland to review the tendering process and the evaluation in this case, and calls upon the Scottish Executive to clarify how the client and monitoring functions will be exercised under the new contracts and to review and report further to the Parliament on the implications of disaggregation of trunk and local services for local authorities." After debate, the amendment was disagreed to ((DT) by division: For 16, Against 102, Abstentions 1). The motion was then disagreed to ((DT) by division: For 33, Against 70, Abstentions 16). 2. Future of Scottish Education: Michael Russell moved S1M-1656—That the Parliament welcomes the acceptance of the McCrone settlement by Scottish teachers and looks forward to a new era of co-operation and consultation between government, teachers, parents and education authorities which could result in much beneficial development of our educational system; rejects the moves towards selection and privatisation of education outlined by the Prime Minister in recent speeches; expects the Scottish Executive to make no attempt to imitate such policies which are not only directly contrary to the Scottish educational ethos but would re-create resentment and division in our schools; calls upon the Scottish Executive to emphasise its desire to improve Scotland’s distinctive education system by following the example of the Northern Ireland Executive in abandoning league tables, and further encourages the Scottish Executive to re-examine critically target setting for schools and the burden of externally imposed assessment on Scotland’s young people. The Minister for Education, Europe and External Affairs moved amendment S1M-1656.1 to motion S1M-1656— Leave out from "which could result in" to end and insert— "; believes that world class education is essential to give every child the best possible start in life and is critical to the future prosperity of Scotland; welcomes the clear vision that puts the interests of the child at the centre of the improvement of Scottish education embodied in the Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc. Act 2000; and recognises the clear priority which the Executive has given to raising standards and promoting ambition for all." After debate, the amendment was agreed to ((DT) by division: For 69, Against 48, Abstentions 0). Mr Brian Monteith moved amendment S1M-1656.2 to motion S1M-1656— Leave out from "looks" to end and insert— "the acknowledgement by the Prime Minister that a "one size fits all" comprehensive system of education is failing Britain’s children; believes that choice through diversity and competition, together with the involvement of parents and the professional commitment of headteachers and teachers are the crucial factors in raising educational standards for all children; recognises that specialisation in subjects, selection and streaming are a necessary requirement for such diversity, and reaffirms that league tables provide a valuable source of information to parents to assess their local schools." After debate, the amendment was disagreed to ((DT) by division: For 16, Against 102, Abstentions 0). The motion as amended was then agreed to ((DT) by division: For 70, Against 16, Abstentions 33). Accordingly, the Parliament resolved—That the Parliament welcomes the acceptance of the McCrone settlement by Scottish teachers and looks forward to a new era of co-operation and consultation between government, teachers, parents and education authorities; believes that world class education is essential to give every child the best possible start in life and is critical to the future prosperity of Scotland; welcomes the clear vision that puts the interests of the child at the centre of the improvement of Scottish education embodied in the Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc. Act 2000 and recognises the clear priority which the Executive has given to raising standards and promoting ambition for all. 3. Business Motion: Mr Tavish Scott, on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau, moved S1M-1664—That the Parliament agrees: (a) the following programme of business— Wednesday 28 February 2001
Thursday 1 March 2001
Wednesday 7 March 2001
Thursday 8 March 2001
and (b) that the Justice 1 Committee reports to the Justice 2 Committee by 9 March 2001 on the draft Civil Defence (Scotland) Regulations 2001 and the European Communities (Matrimonial Jurisdiction and Judgments) (Scotland) Regulations 2001 (SSI 2001/36) After debate, the motion was agreed to (by division: For 27, Against 1, Abstentions 1). 4. Question Time: Questions were answered by the First Minister and other Ministers and junior Scottish Ministers. 5. Children’s Services: The Minister for Education, Europe and External Affairs moved S1M-1663—That the Parliament agrees that every child should get the best possible start in life and support through difficult periods as they grow older; welcomes a consideration of a remit and role for a Children’s Commissioner; approves the measures being taken to support parents and improve the life chances of children and young people through early intervention, and endorses the action being taken to strengthen partnership working between local councils, the health service and the voluntary sector. After debate, the motion was agreed to (DT). 6. Approval of SSIs: Mr Tavish Scott, on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau, moved S1M-1665—That the Parliament agrees that the following instruments be approved—
The motion was agreed to (DT). 7. Approval of SSI: Mr Tavish Scott, on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau, moved S1M-1666—That the Parliament agrees that the draft Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986 Amendment Regulations 2001 be approved. After debate, the motion was agreed to ((DT) by division: For 100, Against 15, Abstentions 0). 8. Decision Time: The Parliament took decisions on items 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7 as noted above. 9. Hospices: The Parliament debated S1M-1614 in the name of Trish Godman—That the Parliament praises the contribution of hospices across Scotland in providing loving care and support to both patients and their families; acknowledges the contribution of staff, volunteers and local fundraisers to the hospice service; believes that the health boards should meet 50% of the running costs of hospices set out in Management Executive Letter NHS MEL (1994) 104, and urges the Scottish Executive to address the funding shortfall for Scotland’s only children’s hospice, Rachel House in Kinross. The meeting closed at 5.57 pm. P
E Grice
Appendix (Note: this Appendix does not form part of the Minutes) Subordinate Legislation Negative Instruments The following instrument was laid before the Parliament on 15 February 2001 and is subject to annulment
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