Note: (DT) signifies
a decision taken at Decision Time.
The
meeting opened at 9.30 am.
1. Tourism:
Mr David Davidson moved S1M-1914—That the Parliament notes the
failure of the Scottish Executive to complete the restructuring
of the Scottish Tourist Board/visitscotland which has undermined
efforts to regenerate Scottish tourism following two years of
decline; calls upon the Scottish Executive to implement a survival
and recovery plan for Scottish businesses affected by the foot-and-mouth
disease outbreak which includes a hardship fund to provide interest-free
loans to supplement the limited measures announced to date, and
further calls upon the Scottish Executive to expedite the opening
up of the countryside via the risk assessment procedure.
The
Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning moved amendment
S1M-1914.2 to motion S1M-1914—
Leave
out from "notes" to end and insert—
"welcomes
the actions being taken by the Executive to assist the tourism
industry to recover from the effects of foot-and-mouth disease
and supports its commitment to work with the relevant agencies
including visitscotland and the industry to prepare and implement
an appropriate and effective strategy to ensure the future growth
of the industry."
Mr
Kenny MacAskill moved amendment S1M-1914.1 to motion S1M-1914—
Leave
out from "notes" to end and insert—
"believes
that policies being pursued by successive Westminster Governments,
in particular a high pound, high fuel costs and high VAT, have
been damaging to the tourist industry; further believes that the
aims of visitscotland/the Scottish Tourist Board should be sharply
refocused so that it is a marketing rather than a regulatory body;
notes the relief package as proposed by the Scottish Tourism Forum
and calls for its full implementation, and believes that direct
transport links between Scotland and Europe and Scotland and America
are essential."
After
debate, amendment S1M-1914.2 was agreed to ((DT) by division:
For 63, Against 45, Abstentions 2). As a result, amendment S1M-1914.1
was pre-empted.
The
motion as amended was then agreed to ((DT) by division: For 65,
Against 18, Abstentions 27).
Accordingly,
the Parliament resolved—That the Parliament welcomes the actions
being taken by the Executive to assist the tourism industry to
recover from the effects of foot-and-mouth disease and supports
its commitment to work with the relevant agencies including visitscotland
and the industry to prepare and implement an appropriate and effective
strategy to ensure the future growth of the industry.
2. Holyrood:
David McLetchie moved S1M-1918—That the Parliament notes its resolution
of 5 April 2000 which approved expenditure of up to £195 million
on the Holyrood Project and now calls on the Scottish Executive
to advise the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body that this
figure is a cash limit within which the building is to be completed
and that no further sums of public money will be allocated towards
the project.
Michael
Russell moved amendment S1M-1918.2 to motion S1M-1918—
Leave
out from "and now" to end and insert—
";
expresses considerable concern that this figure is likely to be
exceeded and therefore calls upon the Corporate Body to ensure
that any revised costs above that figure, as well as any changes
to quality standards and completion dates that affect that figure,
are laid before the Parliament for debate and approval; further
calls upon the Conservatives to cease their boycott of the Holyrood
Progress Group so that all the principal parties in the Parliament
supervise this Parliamentary project together; asks the Scottish
Executive to nominate a Minister to the Group, and expresses the
wish that the Progress Group should become a sub-committee of
the Corporate Body and that, following such a change, the Progress
Group itself should report regularly and directly to formal meetings
of the Parliament, rather than to informal meetings of members
as at present, thus strengthening direct Parliamentary accountability
for the project."
After
debate, the amendment was disagreed to ((DT) by division: For
31, Against 76, Abstentions 3).
Mr
John Home Robertson moved amendment S1M-1918.1 to motion S1M-1918—
Leave
out from "and now" to end and insert—
"and
notes the good progress of the construction of the Holyrood Parliament
Building; welcomes the fact that most of the tender packages have
come in at prices in line with the cost estimates but recognises
the effect of an above-average inflation rate in the construction
industry in the Edinburgh area; further notes the identification
of possible savings by the Holyrood Progress Group, which has
led to unanimous decisions by both the Progress Group and the
Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body to authorise savings of
£2.5 million, but endorses their firm commitment not to compromise
the quality of Scotland’s new Parliament Building; acknowledges
the rigorous work of the Project Team and the Holyrood Progress
Group to achieve good value for money, and directs them to continue
to work towards the completion of the construction of the building
in December 2002 as an international recognised home for our new
democracy which will be a source of pride for people throughout
Scotland."
After
debate, the amendment was agreed to ((DT) by division: For 61,
Against 19, Abstentions 30).
The
motion as amended was then agreed to ((DT) by division: For 61,
Against 19, Abstentions 30).
Accordingly,
the Parliament resolved—That the Parliament notes its resolution
of 5 April 2000 which approved expenditure of up to £195 million
on the Holyrood Project and notes the good progress of the construction
of the Holyrood Parliament Building; welcomes the fact that most
of the tender packages have come in at prices in line with the
cost estimates but recognises the effect of an above-average inflation
rate in the construction industry in the Edinburgh area; further
notes the identification of possible savings by the Holyrood Progress
Group, which has led to unanimous decisions by both the Progress
Group and the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body to authorise
savings of £2.5 million, but endorses their firm commitment not
to compromise the quality of Scotland’s new Parliament Building;
acknowledges the rigorous work of the Project Team and the Holyrood
Progress Group to achieve good value for money, and directs them
to continue to work towards the completion of the construction
of the building in December 2002 as an international recognised
home for our new democracy which will be a source of pride for
people throughout Scotland.
3. Business
Motion: Euan Robson, on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau,
moved S1M-1919—That the Parliament agrees:
(a)
the following programme of business—
Wednesday
16 May 2001
2.30
pm Time for Reflection
followed
by Executive Debate on Architecture and the Built Environment
followed
by Parliamentary Bureau Motions
5.00
pm Decision Time
followed
by Members' Business - debate on the subject
of S1M-1897 Tavish Scott: Rural and Islands GPs
Thursday
17 May 2001
9.30
am Education, Culture and Sport Committee Debate
on its Report on Special Educational Needs
followed
by Business Motion
2.30
pm Question Time
3.10
pm First Minister's Question Time
3.30
pm Stage 1 Debate on Scottish Local Authorities (Tendering)
Bill
followed
by Parliamentary Bureau Motions
5.00
pm Decision Time
followed
by Members' Business - debate on the subject
of S1M-1859 Elaine Smith: National Breastfeeding Awareness
Week
Wednesday
23 May 2001
2.30
pm Time for Reflection
followed
by Committee Business
followed
by Parliamentary Bureau Motions
5.00
pm Decision Time
followed
by Members' Business
Thursday
24 May 2001
9.30
am Scottish National Party Business
followed
by Business Motion
2.30
pm Question Time
3.10
pm First Minister's Question Time
3.30
pm Executive Business
followed
by Parliamentary Bureau Motions
5.00
pm Decision Time
followed
by Members' Business
and,
(b) that the Justice 1 Committee reports to the Justice 2 Committee
by 14 May 2001 on the draft Sex Offenders (Notice Requirements)
(Foreign Travel) (Scotland) Regulations 2001.
The
motion was agreed to.
4. Question
Time: Questions were answered by the First Minister and other
Ministers and junior Scottish Ministers.
5. Urban
Regeneration: The Minister for Social Justice moved S1M-1922—That
the Parliament endorses the Executive’s approach to urban regeneration
and the steps it has taken to enable the people in some of our
most disadvantaged communities to become involved in regenerating
their areas and welcomes the Executive’s intention to engage in
discussions to formulate the Neighbourhood Renewal statement for
Scotland.
Mr
Kenneth Gibson moved amendment S1M-1922.3 to motion S1M-1922—
Leave
out from "endorses" to end and insert—
"notes
the activities being undertaken by the Executive with regard to
urban regeneration; congratulates the key agencies, organisations
and citizens involved in regenerating urban Scotland; recognises
that despite these efforts, levels of poverty, sickness and unemployment
remain stubbornly high across much of urban Scotland, and undertakes
to carry out a comprehensive review of regeneration policy in
our towns and cities with specific regard to infrastructure and
employment, examining the successes and failures of the past and
including an analysis of thriving models of urban renewal across
the United Kingdom and beyond."
After
debate, the amendment was disagreed to ((DT) by division: For
30, Against 80, Abstentions 0).
Bill
Aitken moved amendment S1M-1922.2 to motion S1M-1922—
Leave
out from "endorses" to end and insert—
"notes
the Scottish Executive’s approach to urban regeneration but considers
this to be inadequate to achieve the desired result of regenerating
both inner city areas and peripheral estates."
After
debate, the amendment was disagreed to ((DT) by division: For
45, Against 63, Abstentions 0).
The
motion was then agreed to ((DT) by division: For 63, Against 2,
Abstentions 45).
6. Decision
Time: The Parliament took decisions on items 1, 2 and 5 as
noted above.
7. Foot-and-Mouth
Disease in Dumfries and Galloway: The Parliament debated S1M-1742
in the name of Dr Elaine Murray—That the Parliament recognises
the severe problems being faced in parts of Dumfries and Galloway
as a result of the current outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease;
notes that the effects are not confined to the farming industry
but also affect slaughterhouses, hauliers, food producers, tourism
and retailing businesses; notes with concern that workers have
already been laid off by several firms and that many more workers
may imminently be laid off, and urges the Scottish Executive to
work in partnership with other agencies to seek ways of ameliorating
the situation as a matter of urgency.
The
meeting closed at 6.01 pm.
P
E Grice
Clerk
of the Parliament
10 May
2001
Appendix
(Note:
this Appendix does not form part of the Minutes)
Subordinate
Legislation
Negative
Instruments
The
following instrument was laid before the Parliament on 10 May
2001 and is subject to annulment
The
Water (Prevention of Pollution) (Code of Practice) (Scotland)
Amendment Order 2001 (SSI 2001/175)
laid
under the Control of Pollution Act 1974
Other
Documents
The
following document was laid before the Parliament on 10 May 2001
and is not subject to any Parliamentary procedure
Nitrogen
and Phosphorus Supplement to the Code of Good Practice on
Prevention of Environmental Pollution From Agriculture Activity
(SE/2001/114)
Committee
Reports
The
following Reports were published on 10 May 2001—
Rural
Development Committee, 7th Report 2001: Report
on Subordinate Legislation (SP 326)
Health
and Community Care Committee, 10th Report 2001:
Report on Subordinate Legislation (SP Paper 327)