Scottish Parliament Annual Report 2012–13 Contents Foreword from the Presiding Officer 3 Parliamentary business 5 Committees 11 International engagement 18 Engagement with the public 20 Click on the links in the page headers to access more information about the areas covered in this report. Cover photographs - clockwise from top left: Lewis Macdonald MSP and Richard Baker MSP in the Chamber Local Government and Regeneration Committee Education visit to the Parliament Special Delivery: The Letters of William Wallace exhibition Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee Festival of Politics event Welfare Reform Committee witnesses Inside cover photographs - clockwise from top left: Health and Sport Committee witnesses Carers Parliament event The Deputy First Minister and First Minister The Presiding Officer at ArtBeat studios during Parliament Day Hawick Large Hadron Collider Roadshow Published in Edinburgh by APS Group Scotland © Parliamentary copyright. Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body 2013 Information on the Scottish Parliament’s copyright policy can be found on the website - www.scottish.parliament.uk/copyright or by contacting public information on 0131 348 5000. ISBN 978-1-78351-356-7 SP Paper Number 350 Web Only Session 4 (2013) www.scottish.parliament.uk/PresidingOfficer Foreword from the Presiding Officer This annual report provides information on how the Scottish Parliament has fulfilled its role during the parliamentary year 11 May 2012 to 10 May 2013. This last year saw the introduction of reforms designed to make Parliament more agile and responsive through the most radical changes to our processes since the Parliament’s establishment in 1999. A new parliamentary sitting pattern was adopted, with the full Parliament now meeting on three days per week. This included a new opportunity for backbenchers to question Scottish Government ministers directly on important issues that have emerged over a weekend, through a Topical Questions session. Reform has also extended to our parliamentary committees. The Conveners Group has been encouraging improvements in the way committee business is conducted. This has helped to improve the profile of our committee work with the general public and in the media. We have also introduced a new engagement Western Isles have helped to inspire local initiative, the Parliament Day. Each Parliament people there to take a closer interest in the Day revolves specifically around a particular work of their Parliament. More are planned. area within Scotland. Already we hope the wide range of activities covered during the These new initiatives underpin the work we Parliament Days held in Hawick and the already undertake to deliver a parliamentary service of which we can be proud. I invite you to read this document and reflect upon our efforts over this year. Rt Hon Tricia Marwick MSP 3 1 1. Patrick Harvie MSP 2. Johann Lamont MSP 2 3. Willie Rennie MSP 3 4. MSPs and Scottish 4 Government ministers in the Chamber www.scottish.parliament.uk/Chamber Parliamentary business The Chamber is at the centre of parliamentary business, hosting meaningful and topical debates on a wide range of political issues, policy proposals and legislation. Weekly question time sessions, where members hold the First Minister and other Scottish ministers to account on current high-profile issues, tend to generate particularly lively debate. Reforming the Parliament now start with an opportunity for Topical From September 2012, changes instigated by Questions, which have short lead-in times the Presiding Officer the Rt Hon Tricia Marwick to allow questions on emerging issues. MSP as part of a package of reform measures Wednesdays begin with Portfolio Questions have seen the Chamber sit three afternoons and Thursdays start with General Questions a week – Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday followed by First Minister’s Questions. – and the committees meeting during the mornings of these days. The Chamber Business in the Chamber is at the core of The move, endorsed by the Parliament as a the Scottish Parliament’s work, with important whole, is designed to make Holyrood more and topical debates on a wide range of political topical and responsive to events, and to issues, policy proposals and legislation. provide an increased opportunity for members Parliamentary business also includes the to question and hold ministers to account. questioning of the First Minister and other Scottish ministers, ministerial statements, Each day’s Chamber business now has scrutiny of legislation and Members’ business. the potential to start with oral questions to ministers. As a new development, Tuesdays A meeting of the Parliament in the Chamber 5 www.scottish.parliament.uk/Chamber Agendas for meetings of the Parliament are proportion of debating time, held debates on a proposed by the Parliamentary Bureau on a wide range of issues, including the following: business motion which, once approved, forms a rolling programme of business for the coming ■ food policy and food safety fortnight. Membership of the Bureau currently ■ the future of Scotland comprises the Presiding Officer, who chairs ■ Leveson report the meetings, along with one representative ■ Trident from each party or grouping with five or more ■ tuition fees Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). ■ universal services In November 2012, the existing four political ■ youth employment parties were joined by a new Scottish Green Party/Independent grouping on the Bureau. Sixteen half-days were allocated to debate non-Government business in the Chamber During this year, the Presiding Officer during this parliamentary year. Once this announced the sad death of Brian Adam, allocation has been divided among the Member of the Scottish Parliament since non-Government parties and groupings by the 1999 (page 26). The Parliament also saw Bureau, these parties propose the topics and the resignation of John Park, Member of the motions for debate. Debates have taken place Scottish Parliament since 2007, who was on a range of topics, including the following: replaced by Jayne Baxter MSP. ■ further education college mergers and funding Debates ■ NHS waiting times ■ Debating time in the Chamber is allocated to police and fire reform ■ political parties on the basis of the proportion There is still such a thing as society of seats that they hold. It is each party’s responsibility to propose subjects to be Committee debates discussed during their debating time. In the Committees can request debating time in the past year, the Scottish National Party (SNP)- Chamber to bring issues to the attention of a led Scottish Government, with the largest wider audience. As part of the ongoing reform of the Parliament’s procedures, committees have been encouraged to be more innovative Scottish Government ministers and debate subjects at different stages of their inquiries, for example, at the outset rather than necessarily after the publication of a final report. Committee debates this year have included: ■ demographic change and an ageing population (Finance Committee) ■ public procurement reform (Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee) ■ public services reform (Local Government and Regeneration Committee) ■ renewable energy targets (Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee) 6 www.scottish.parliament.uk/Chamber Ministerial statements Deputy Presiding Officer John Ministerial statements are an important Scott MSP (left) and Professor A C Grayling (right) at Time for Reflection component of the work of the Parliament and are made by the First Minister and his ministerial colleagues to inform the Parliament of urgent matters or to make announcements on policy. In the past year, the First Minister made a statement on the independence referendum and on the Scottish Government’s legislative programme. Ministerial statements have also been made on a number of topics, including: ■ closure of Remploy factories ■ Common Fisheries Policy Time for Reflection ■ the Edinburgh Agreement ■ horsemeat substitution in Europe Business in the Chamber each week begins ■ Legionella outbreak in Edinburgh with Time for Reflection, giving people of ■ NHS Waiting Times Audit Report different faiths and beliefs the chance to ■ progress on reform of post-16 learning share their thoughts with the Parliament. ■ the Scottish Government’s approach Representatives from a wide range of religious to taxation groups and faiths, and individuals of no faith, ■ The Scottish Greenhouse Gas Emissions who have taken part this year include: Annual Target Report ■ west coast main line ■ Rt Rev Albert Bogle, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Members’ business ■ Reverend David Gordon, Kirkintilloch Baptist Church Since the Parliament agreed its reforms, from ■ Professor A C Grayling, Vice-President of September 2012, Members’ business has the British Humanist Association been held three times per week, and allows ■ Nila Joshi, Edinburgh Women’s Interfaith individual members from any party or group Group and Former Director of the to highlight issues that would not necessarily Edinburgh Mela be given prominence during the main ■ Ms Ravinder Kaur Nijjar, Scottish Sikh proceedings. Examples of such debates held Council and Chair of Religions for Peace during the past year include: ■ Professor Mona Siddiqui OBE, Professor of Islamic and Interreligious Studies, University ■ David Livingstone bicentenary of Edinburgh ■ eating disorders ■ Father Eamonn Sweeney, St Patrick’s ■ high-interest pay day loans Roman Catholic