BUSINESS BULLETIN No. 195/2012 Wednesday 22 February 2012 Summary of Today’s Business Meetings of Committees 9.30 am Finance Committee Committee Room 4 10.00 am Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee Committee Room 1 10.00 am Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee Room 6 Committee 10.00 am Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Committee Room 2 Environment Committee ___________________________________________________________________ Meeting of the Parliament 2.30 pm Time for Reflection – Rt Rev David Arnott, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions 2.35 pm Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body Question Time 2.50 pm Scottish Government Debate: Green Investment Bank followed by Business Motion followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions 5.00 pm Decision Time followed by Members’ Business – S4M-02011 Dennis Robertson: Eating Disorders, Raising the Awareness 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 Question Time - 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 2 Business Bulletin: Wednesday 22 February 2012 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. Finance Committee 6th Meeting, 2012 The Committee will meet at 9.30 am in Committee Room 4 1. Decision on taking business in private: The Committee will decide whether its consideration of a draft report on the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Bill should be taken in private at future meetings. 2. Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Bill: The Committee will take evidence on the Financial Memorandum of the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Bill from— Andrew Laing, Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland; Chief Constable Kevin Smith, President, Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland; Calum Steele, General Secretary, Scottish Police Federation; and then from— Eileen Baird, Deputy Chief Officer Strathclyde Fire and Rescue and lead officer for Chief Fire Officers Association of Scotland Finance; Roddy Robertson, Executive Council Member, Fire Brigades Union; John Connarty, Business Support Manager, City of Edinburgh Council and member of COSLA’s Police and Fire Reform Task Group; and then from— Nick Bland, Head of Police Reform Unit, Lorna Gibbs, Head of Fire and Rescue Reform Unit, and Christie Smith, Head of Police and Fire Reform Division, Scottish Government. Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee 6th Meeting, 2012 The Committee will meet at 10.00 am in Committee Room 1 1. Land Registration etc. (Scotland) Bill: The Committee will take evidence from— Lesley Thomson Q.C, Solicitor General for Scotland; Ernie Shippin, Deputy Head of Serious and Organised Crime Division, and Danny Kelly, Principal Depute, Policy Division, The Crown Office. 2. Council of Economic Advisers: The Committee will take evidence on the work of the Council of Economic Advisers from— 3 Crawford Beveridge, Chair, Council of Economic Advisers; Professor Andrew Hughes Hallett. 3. Land Registration etc. (Scotland) Bill (in private): The Committee will consider a draft Stage 1 report. Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee 4th Meeting, 2012 The Committee will meet at 10.00 am in Committee Room 6 1. Decision on taking business in private: The Committee will decide whether item 7, and future consideration of a draft report, should be taken in private. 2. Broadband infrastructure in Scotland: The Committee will take evidence from— Alex Neil, Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment, Mike Neilson, Director, Digital, and Trudy Nicolson, Team Leader of Innovation and Digital Economy, Scottish Government. 3. Petitions: The Committee will consider the following petitions— PE1192, a petition by Donald Ewen Darroch calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to state how it is supporting and promoting independent vehicular ferry routes between the islands and the mainland and how the planning system is playing a constructive role in supporting the economic and social future of such routes; and PE1394, a petition by Huw Francis on behalf of Stòras Uibhist calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to reintroduce a direct ferry service between Lochboisdale and Mallaig. 4. Subordinate legislation: The Committee will consider the following negative instrument— The Scottish Road Works Register (Prescribed Fees) Regulations 2012: SSI 2012/11. 5. Subordinate legislation: The Committee will consider the following instrument which is not subject to any parliamentary procedure— The Housing (Scotland) Act 2010 (Commencement No. 5) Order 2012 SSI/2012/19(C.3). 6. European Commission Work Programme: The Committee will consider the European Commission Work Programme and European Union priorities for engagement and scrutiny. 7. Broadband infrastructure in Scotland: The Committee will consider the evidence heard during the meeting and in previous sessions. Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee 5th Meeting, 2012 The Committee will meet at 10.00 am in Committee Room 2 1. Decision on taking business in private: The Committee will decide whether to take items 4 and 5 and future consideration of a draft Stage 1 report on the Agricultural Holdings (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill in private. 2. Long Leases (Scotland) Bill: The Committee will take evidence from— Dale Strachan, Partner, Brodies LLP; 4 Lionel Most, Member, Conveyancing Committee, Law Society of Scotland; and then from— Richard Blake, Legal Adviser, Scottish Land and Estates Ltd; Alan Cook, Chair, Commercial Committee, Scottish Property Federation. 3. Subordinate legislation: The Committee will consider the following negative instrument— The Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2012 (SSI 2012/24). 4. Work programme: The Committee will review its work programme. 5. Agricultural Holdings (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill: The Committee will consider a draft Stage 1 report. 5 Meeting of the Parliament 2.30 pm Time for Reflection – Rt Rev David Arnott, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions 2.35 pm Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body Question Time 1. Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how it will monitor the progress of its policy on zero waste. (S4O-00690) 2. Rob Gibson: To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it will review the varieties of apple trees in the Parliament garden to ensure that they cross- pollinate. (S4O-00692) 3. Dennis Robertson: To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body when it last carried out an accessibility audit of the parliamentary complex and what issues this highlighted. (S4O-00728) 4. John Lamont: To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it considers the Parliament’s IT system to be fit for purpose. (S4O-00693) 5. Siobhan McMahon: To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body when the contract for the provision of catering services to the Parliament will next be up for renewal. (S4O-00695) 6. John Mason: To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what plans are in place to provide funding or other travel assistance to schools from deprived areas that cannot afford to visit the Parliament. (S4O-00691) 7. Graeme Dey: To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what provision there is for foreign visitors to access information on the workings of the Parliament in their own language. (S4O-00694) 8. Graeme Pearson: To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what advice it sought in relation to the proposal for an external security screening facility. (S4O- 00696) 9. John Wilson: To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what external and internal damage was caused to the parliamentary complex by the recent storms and what the financial implications are. (S4O-00727) 2.50 pm Scottish Government Debate: Green Investment Bank S4M-02066 Fergus Ewing: Green Investment Bank—That the Parliament endorses the bid submitted to the UK Government to have the green investment bank (GIB) located in Edinburgh; believes that the Edinburgh bid fully satisfies the criteria set out by the UK Government and that Edinburgh is the 6 ideal location for the new institution through its unique business ecosystem and highly advanced network of financiers, developers, investors, asset managers, researchers, academics, think tanks and government agencies; recognises the breadth of support for the Edinburgh bid across Scottish civic society, the academic sector and commerce, and