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Meeting of the Parliament Thursday 16 December 2004 Note: (DT) signifies a decision taken at Decision Time. The meeting opened at 9.30 am. 1. Proposed Defence Reviews from a Scottish Perspective: Murdo Fraser moved S2M-2165—That the Parliament notes the proposed cuts in manpower from the Royal Air Force, the Royal Navy and Army throughout the United Kingdom; further notes that this would mean the merger of the Royal Scots and the King’s Own Scottish Borderers into one battalion and the amalgamation of all five battalions into a super regiment of five battalions and a reduction in jobs and operations at RAF Lossiemouth and Kinloss; believes that this will have an adverse economic impact on the areas affected by the cuts; further believes that the Scottish regiments are an important part of the tradition and heritage of Scotland; notes that the recent war in Iraq was the latest conflict which showed Scotland’s regiments to be a modern, effective fighting force; believes that, in a time of increased commitments across the globe, our armed forces must have the necessary resources and structure to protect our country, deter aggression and safeguard our vital interests in the wider world, and, accordingly, condemns any cuts and mergers and, in particular, believes that the six existing single battalion Scottish infantry regiments should be retained. Mr John Home Robertson moved amendment S2M-2165.4 to motion S2M-2165— Leave out from first “notes” to end and insert—
After debate, the amendment was disagreed to ((DT) by division: For 50, Against 66, Abstentions 11). Roseanna Cunningham moved amendment S2M-2165.3 to motion S2M-2165— Insert at end—
After debate, the amendment was disagreed to ((DT) by division: For 50, Against 72, Abstentions 5). Mike Rumbles moved amendment S2M-2165.1 to motion S2M-2165— Insert at end—
After debate, the amendment was agreed to ((DT) by division: For 60, Against 55, Abstentions 12). The motion, as amended, was then agreed to ((DT) by division: For 61, Against 59, Abstentions 7). Accordingly the Parliament resolved—That the Parliament notes the proposed cuts in manpower from the Royal Air Force, the Royal Navy and Army throughout the United Kingdom; further notes that this would mean the merger of the Royal Scots and the King’s Own Scottish Borderers into one battalion and the amalgamation of all five battalions into a super regiment of five battalions and a reduction in jobs and operations at RAF Lossiemouth and Kinloss; believes that this will have an adverse economic impact on the areas affected by the cuts; further believes that the Scottish regiments are an important part of the tradition and heritage of Scotland; notes that the recent war in Iraq was the latest conflict which showed Scotland’s regiments to be a modern, effective fighting force; believes that, in a time of increased commitments across the globe, our armed forces must have the necessary resources and structure to protect our country, deter aggression and safeguard our vital interests in the wider world, and, accordingly, condemns any cuts and mergers and, in particular, believes that the six existing single battalion Scottish infantry regiments should be retained as the best way to maintain the operational effectiveness of the Scottish infantry. 2. Justice Issues with Specific Relevance to Reoffending: Miss Annabel Goldie moved S2M-2158—That the Parliament notes the unacceptable rate of reoffending occurring in Scotland today; accepts that there is a place in our criminal justice system for a range of different sentencing options to address this problem but recognises that when a prison sentence is the appropriate disposal then prison is not simply a punishment but is intended to rehabilitate, deter and protect the public; believes that the way to reduce reoffending and subsequently the prison population is to reduce the overall incidence of crime in Scotland, and therefore calls on the Scottish Executive to increase the police presence in our communities to deter and detect crime and to end automatic early release from our prisons to ensure honesty in sentencing. The Deputy Minister for Justice (Hugh Henry) moved amendment S2M-2158.3 to motion S2M-2158— Leave out from “unacceptable” to end and insert—
Mr Kenny MacAskill moved amendment S2M-2158.2 to motion S2M-2158— Leave out from “accepts” to end and insert—
Colin Fox moved amendment S2M-2158.1 to motion S2M-2158— Leave out from “the way” to end and insert
After debate, amendment S2M-2158.3 was agreed to ((DT) by division: For 93, Against 24, Abstentions 10). As a result, amendments S2M-2158.2 and S2M-2158.1 were pre-empted. The motion, as amended, was then agreed to ((DT) by division: For 95, Against 19, Abstentions 13). Accordingly the Parliament resolved—That the Parliament notes the Criminal Justice Plan’s acknowledgement that the rate of reoffending occurring in Scotland today is unacceptable; agrees that prison should be used where prison is the appropriate punishment but notes that prison is also intended to rehabilitate the offender, deter the prospective offender and protect the public; agrees that prison must sit within a range of different sentencing options to address reoffending, and therefore notes the increase in police numbers compared to the numbers delivered by the Conservatives, the establishment of the Sentencing Commission to consider a number of issues including early release, and that the recently published Criminal Justice Plan includes measures to tackle Scotland's high reoffending rates, reduce crime and the fear of crime and strengthen confidence in the country's criminal justice services. 3. First Minister’s Question Time: Questions were answered by the First Minister (Mr Jack McConnell). 4. Question Time: Questions were answered by the Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning (Mr Jim Wallace) and the Minister for Transport (Nicol Stephen); by the Minister for Justice (Cathy Jamieson) and the Lord Advocate (Colin Boyd); and by other Ministers and junior Scottish Ministers. 5. Tourism – Ambitions for Scotland: The Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport (Patricia Ferguson) moved S2M-2166—That the Parliament recognises the economic benefits of promoting the long-term growth of Scotland’s tourism industry; approves of the Scottish Executive’s ambition, shared with VisitScotland and the tourism sector, of achieving 50% revenue growth over the next decade; notes that this will benefit the economies of rural as well as city and urban areas in every part of the country; appreciates that this long-term growth can only be achieved by ensuring that the marketing of Scotland in UK and overseas tourism markets is further strengthened and that the businesses that comprise the tourism and hospitality sectors are encouraged to compete even more strongly and coherently in this most competitive of global industries, and welcomes the additional funding given to VisitScotland to help achieve this. Brian Adam moved amendment S2M-2166.2 to motion S2M-2166— Leave out from “approves” to end and insert—
After debate, the amendment was disagreed to ((DT) by division: For 35, Against 92, Abstentions 0). Mr Jamie McGrigor moved amendment S2M-2166.3 to motion S2M-2166— Leave out from “approves” to end and insert—
After debate, the amendment was disagreed to ((DT) by division: For 18, Against 82, Abstentions 27). The motion was then agreed to ((DT) by division: For 95, Against 18, Abstentions 14). 6. Business Motion: Ms Margaret Curran, on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau, moved S2M-2173—That the Parliament agrees— (a) that the timetable for completion of consideration of the Further and Higher Education ( Scotland) Bill at Stage 1 be extended to 21 January 2005; (b) that the Justice 2 Committee reports to the Justice 1 Committee by 24 December 2004 on the Part 1 Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003: Draft Guidance for Local Authorities and National Park Authorities (SE/2004/276) and by 7 January 2005 on the Act of Sederunt (Fees of Sheriff Officers) 2004 (SSI 2004/513); and (c) that the Justice 1 Committee reports to the Justice 2 Committee by 24 December 2004 on the Fire Services (Appointments and Promotion) (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (SSI 2004/527). The motion was agreed to. 7. Business Motion: Margaret Curran, on behalf of the Parliamentary Bureau, moved S2M-2174—That the Parliament agrees that consideration of the Council Tax Abolition and Service Tax Introduction ( Scotland) Bill at Stage 1 be completed by 23 December 2005. After debate, the motion was agreed to (by division: For 84, Against 42, Abstentions 1). 8. Decision Time: The Parliament took decisions on items 1, 2, and 5 as noted above. 9. Knife Crime in Glasgow: The Parliament debated S2M-2038 in the name of Mr Frank McAveety—That the Parliament recognises the unacceptable number of incidents involving knife crime in Scotland and particularly in the east end of Glasgow; believes that the Scottish Executive, Strathclyde police and other key agencies need to work more effectively to tackle this problem; considers that a range of measures to deal with knife crime are required, and believes that the Executive should consider measures such as restricting access to the purchase of knives, ensuring appropriate programmes are in place to educate young people on the dangers and consequences of carrying and using knives, speedier and effective sentencing for those convicted of knife crime and ensuring that the police have effective powers to deal with those who carry and use knives. 10. Motion without Notice: The Deputy Minister for Justice (Hugh Henry) moved without notice that, under Rule 8.14.3, the debate be extended by 10 minutes. The motion was agreed to. The meeting closed at 6.19 pm . P E Grice 16 December 2004 Appendix (Note: this Appendix does not form part of the Minutes) New Bills introduced or reprinted on 15 December 2004 Water Services etc. ( Scotland) Bill —The Bill was reprinted as amended at Stage 2. (SP Bill 23A) (Executive Bill) Subordinate Legislation Affirmative Instruments The following instrument was laid in draft before the Parliament on 16 December 2004 for approval by resolution
Negative Instruments The following instrument was laid before the Parliament on 16 December 2004 and is subject to annulment
Other Documents The following documents were laid before the Parliament on 16 December 2004 and are not subject to any Parliamentary procedure
Committee Reports The following Report was published on 16 December 2004
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