BUSINESS BULLETIN No. 174/2013 Wednesday 27 November 2013 Summary of Today’s Business Meetings of Committees 9.30 am Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee Committee Room 4 9.30 am Finance Committee Committee Room 1 9.30 am Local Government and Regeneration Committee Room 6 Committee 10.00 am City of Edinburgh Council (Portobello Park) Committee Room 2 Bill Committee 10.00 am Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee Room 5 Committee 10.00 am Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Committee Room 3 Environment Committee ___________________________________________________________________ Meeting of the Parliament 2.00 pm Parliamentary Bureau Motions followed by Portfolio Questions Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth followed by Scottish Government Debate: Independence White Paper followed by Business Motions followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions 5.00 pm Decision Time followed by Members’ Business – S4M-08144 James Dornan: St Andrew’s First Aid Count Me In Campaign For full details of today’s business, see Section A. For full details of the future business, see sections B and C. ___________________________________________________________________ 1 Contents The sections which appear in today’s Business Bulletin are in bold Section A: Today’s Business - Meetings of Committees - Meeting of the Parliament Section B: Future Meetings of the Parliament Section C: Future Meetings of Committees Section D: Oral Questions - Questions selected for First Minister’s Questions - Questions selected for response by Ministers and junior Scottish Ministers at Question Time Section E: Written Questions – new questions for written answer Section F: Motions and Amendments Section G: Bills - New Bills introduced - New amendments to Bills - Members’ Bills proposals Section H: New Documents – new documents laid before the Parliament and committee reports published Section I: Petitions – new public petitions Section J: Progress of Legislation – progress of Bills and subordinate legislation Section K: Corrections to the Official Report 2 Business Bulletin: Wednesday 27 November 2013 Section A – Today’s Business Meetings of Committees All meetings take place in the Scottish Parliament, unless otherwise specified. Contact details for Committee Clerks are provided at the end of the Bulletin. Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee 33rd Meeting, 2013 The Committee will meet at 9.30 am in Committee Room 4 1. Declaration of interests: Christian Allard will be invited to declare any relevant interests. 2. Subordinate legislation: The Committee will consider the following negative instrument— The Electricity Generating Stations (Applications for Variation of Consent) (Scotland) Regulations 2013 (SSI 2013/304) 3. Bankruptcy and Debt Advice (Scotland) Bill (in private): The Committee will consider a draft Stage 1 report. 4. Scotland’s Economic Future Post-2014 (in private): The Committee will consider a draft remit and terms of reference for its inquiry. Finance Committee 30th Meeting, 2013 The Committee will meet at 9.30 am in Committee Room 1 1. Decision on taking business in private: The Committee will decide whether to take items 3 and 4 in private and whether to consider its draft report on the Draft Budget 2014-15 and a list of candidates for the post of adviser in private at future meetings. 2. Inquiry into proposals for an independent fiscal body: The Committee will take evidence from— Dr Jim Cuthbert; Professor Campbell Leith, Professor of Macroeconomics, University of Glasgow; Professor Jeremy Peat, Fellow, Royal Society of Edinburgh. 3. Appointment of an adviser: The Committee will consider its approach. 4. Draft Budget Scrutiny 2014-15: The Committee will consider a draft report on the Scottish Government’s Draft Budget 2014-15. 3 Local Government and Regeneration Committee 30th Meeting, 2013 The Committee will meet at 9.30 am in Committee Room 6 1. The Implications of Procurement Reform for Public Services and Community Regeneration (in private): The Committee will consider a draft Committee Memorandum on the implications for local government of the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Bill. 2. Delivery of Regeneration in Scotland: The Committee will take evidence from— George Black, Chief Executive, Glasgow City Council; John Mundell, Chief Executive, Inverclyde Council; Lindsay Freeland, Chief Executive, South Lanarkshire Council; Adrian Gillespie, Managing Director, Scottish Enterprise. Not before 11.30 am 3. Model Code of Conduct for Members of Devolved Public Bodies: The Committee will take evidence on the Model Code of Conduct for Members of Devolved Public Bodies (SG/2013/229) from— John Swinney, Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth, Alison Douglas, Head of Public Service Reform, and Gordon Quinn, Policy Officer Public Bodies Unit, Scottish Government. 4. Model Code of Conduct for Members of Devolved Public Bodies: John Swinney to move motion S4M-8382— That the Local Government and Regeneration Committee recommends that the Model Code of Conduct for Members of Devolved Public Bodies (SG/2013/229) be approved. 5. Delivery of Regeneration in Scotland (in private): The Committee will consider the evidence received. City of Edinburgh Council (Portobello Park) Bill Committee 6th Meeting, 2013 The Committee will meet at 10.00 am in Committee Room 2 1. City of Edinburgh Council (Portobello Park) Bill (in private): The Committee will consider a draft Preliminary Stage report. Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee 24th Meeting, 2013 The Committee will meet at 10.00 am in Committee Room 5 1. Procurement Reform (Scotland) Bill: The Committee will take evidence on the Bill at Stage 1 from— Anthony Rush, Infrastructure and Environment Group, CBI Scotland; Susan Love, Policy Manager for Scotland, Federation of Small Businesses; 4 Garry Clark, Head of Policy and Public Affairs, Scottish Chambers of Commerce; and then from— Pauline Graham, Vice Chair, Social Enterprise Scotland; Annie Gunner-Logan, Director, Coalition of Care and Support Providers Scotland; Niall McShannon, Managing Director, Clydesdale Community Initiatives; Duncan Skinner, Chair, GlenCraft. Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee 35th Meeting, 2013 The Committee will meet at 10.00 am in Committee Room 3 1. Subordinate legislation: The Committee will consider the following negative instruments— Animal By-Products (Enforcement) (Scotland) Regulations 2013 (SSI 2013/307); Rural Development Contracts (Land Managers Options) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2013 (SSI 2013/309). 2. Wildlife Crime in Scotland - 2012 Annual Report: The Committee will take evidence from— Paul Wheelhouse, Minister for Environment and Climate Change, Hugh Dignon, Wildlife Management, Head of Branch, and Karen Hunter, Wildlife Management, Policy Officer, Scottish Government. 3. Public petitions: The Committee will consider the following petition— PE01490 by Patrick Krause on behalf of the Scottish Crofting Federation on control of wild goose numbers. 4. The Scottish Government’s draft Scottish Climate Change Adaptation Programme and behaviour change (in private): The Committee will consider a draft letter to the Minister. 5 Meeting of the Parliament 2.00 pm Parliamentary Bureau Motions followed by Portfolio Questions Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth 1. Rhoda Grant: To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to provide permanent employment opportunities for people who will be on temporary contracts during the Christmas period. (S4O-02622) 2. Elaine Murray: To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the claim by the Institute for Fiscal Studies that an independent Scotland would face a fiscal gap of 1.9% of national income. (S4O-02623) 3. Claudia Beamish: To ask the Scottish Government what account the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth takes of sustainable development in his policy framework for sustainable growth. (S4O-02624) 4. Nanette Milne: To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of public service reforms on the north east. (S4O-02625) 5. John Pentland: To ask the Scottish Government what recent action it has taken to encourage economic development in Motherwell and Wishaw. (S4O-02626) 6. Annabel Goldie: To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the demographic projections in the recent Institute for Fiscal Studies report on the fiscal sustainability of an independent Scotland. (S4O-02627) 7. Ken Macintosh: To ask the Scottish Government what additional support it can give to expand the provision of credit unions across the country. (S4O-02628) 8. Colin Keir: To ask the Scottish Government what evidence there is that the Community Councils Short-life Working Group recommendation that ―there is continued drive aimed at the community and Community Councils for contested Community Council elections‖ has been achieved in the recent community council elections. (S4O-02629) 9. Maureen Watt: To ask the Scottish Government what representations it has received regarding a weighting allowance for public sector workers in the Aberdeen travel to work area. (S4O-02630) 10. Duncan McNeil: To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth last met the chief executive of Scottish Enterprise and what was discussed. (S4O-02631) 11. Chic Brodie: [Not Lodged] 6 12. Nigel Don: To ask the Scottish Government what the impact on the economy is of university graduates seeking employment outside Scotland. (S4O-02633) 13. Jim