Foreword by Sir David Steel, the Presiding Officer

“In a very short time we have become part and parcel of everyday life here in Scotland and I look forward to watching the continued strengthening of the Parliament’s relationship with the people.”

We have just completed the fourth and final year of this, our first parliamentary session. This annual report reflects on the work and the achievements of the Parliament during this past year.

It has been of continuing satisfaction to see the growing number of individuals and groups only too willing to come to the Parliament to help us in our work. For example, since 1999, we have welcomed more than 5,000 people to Edinburgh to give evidence to our committees. The committees have also visited many areas around Scotland, listening to local communities’ views on issues that affect their daily lives.

The highlight of this final year was undoubtedly the meeting of the Parliament in Aberdeen in May 2002, when Her Majesty the Queen addressed us. The positive reaction of the people of Aberdeen and the North East both during and following our temporary move there was quite overwhelming, as was the interest in our proceedings.

As Presiding Officer, I am involved in representing the Parliament beyond our shores, and in welcoming our many visitors from other countries who want to see Europe’s youngest parliament in action. The impact we have is far-reaching and it is no surprise to learn that our modern, innovative and open practices have been adopted elsewhere. This report looks at some of these visits and the relationships we are building in the UK, Europe and beyond.

On a personal note, it is a great privilege to have presided over the Parliament for its first four years and to have witnessed the progress we have made as an institution year on year since 1999. In a very short time we have become part and parcel of everyday life here in Scotland and I look forward to watching the continued strengthening of the Parliament's relationship with the people of Scotland.

I commend this report to you and I hope that it will give you a flavour of the contribution the Parliament makes to a better Scotland.

Sir Daivd Steel

The Chamber

It is in the Chamber that the main business of the Scottish Parliament is debated and legislation passed. Each week in session, MSPs have the opportunity to examine and explore current political issues. Scottish Ministers and the First Minister are quizzed during Question Time.

Throughout the year business in the Chamber covers a diverse and wide range of important subjects from education, health and transport to local government services. These represent a small sample of the Parliament's responsibilities, which impact on all walks of Scottish life.

The Parliamentary Bureau proposes the agenda for each meeting in what we call "the business motion". Once approved, the business motion is published in the business bulletin and forms a rolling business programme for the coming two weeks.

The Bureau is chaired by the Presiding Officer and includes the MSPs who are the business managers or representatives of the major parties.

Ministers in the Scottish Executive, political parties, committees and individual members can put forward business for the Parliament to consider. Debates are chosen in proportion to the number of MSPs representing each political party.

The Labour/Liberal Democrat Executive therefore got the most debating time this year, followed by the SNP and then the Conservatives and others.

During the year, there have been high profile debates on:

• Pay for fire fighters and fire control staff;
• Public-private partnerships;
• Action to recruit, retain and value nurses;
• Drugs Courts;
• The future of air transport;
• Windfarms;
• The fishing industry;
• Conflict with Iraq.

Time for Reflection

Time for Reflection is normally the first item of business in the Chamber each week. It gives people with a wide range of faiths and beliefs the chance to share their thoughts with us. Many religious groups have taken part including representatives from the Church of Scotland, the Roman Catholic Church, and Jewish and Muslim communities.

Special dates are marked. For example, Diana Wolfson, the former head teacher of the Jewish Primary School in Glasgow, gave Time for Reflection on National Holocaust Memorial Day, and the Rev Patricia Johnston of the Scottish Churches China Group spoke during the Chinese New Year. A compilation of all contributions over the first session has now been published.

Legislation

Bills that are passed are the end product of public consultation and hours of discussion in committee and in the Chamber. In the past year 22 bills have become acts. Of these, 16 were by the Scottish Executive, three were member’s bills, two were committee bills and one was a private bill. During the last weeks of the session, the Parliament added a half-day to its Chamber business schedule to make sure that as much of its legislation was passed as possible.

Several bills were passed in the final weeks of this session and were granted Royal Assent, becoming acts after the Parliament dissolved. These were the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Bill, the Council of the Law Society of Scotland Bill, the National Galleries of Scotland Bill, the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries (Consolidation) (Scotland) Bill and the Commissioner for Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill.

The Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Bill was the longest and most heavily amended bill. The Health and Community Care Committee dealt with 1,363 amendments during stage 2 of the bill. Stage 3 took two days and involved considering a further 757 amendments.

Amendments to bills must be proposed by MSPs but can be the result of suggestions from interest groups or members of the public. Most amendments come from the Executive as it is responsible for looking into the likely impact of a bill. The Land Reform (Scotland) Bill was passed by the Parliament on 23 January 2003. The act is an historic piece of legislation because it gives the public a statutory right to access private land. It also offers crofters the chance to buy land.

Since May 2002, the number of bills coming from non-Executive sources has continued to increase. Two bills from parliamentary committees helped by our Non-Executive Bills Unit (NEBU) have been passed. Both create Commissioners, one for Parliamentary Standards and one for Children and Young People.

Of the seven member’s bills introduced since May 2002, three were supported by NEBU and were passed at stage 3: the University of St. Andrews (Postgraduate Medical Degrees) Bill, Dog Fouling (Scotland) Bill, and the Council of the Law Society of Scotland Bill. Three of the bills were rejected at stage 1: Organic Farming Targets, Prostitution Tolerance Zones and Proportional Representation (Local Government Elections). The Gaelic Language (Scotland) Bill got through stage 1 but there was not enough time for it to finish its passage and go on to become an act.

In addition to Executive bills and member’s bills, the Parliament considers private bills, which may be introduced by an individual or organisation that is not part of the Parliament. The first private bill to be passed by the Parliament was the National Galleries of Scotland Bill in March 2003.

Full details of all bills passed are available on our website in the document Summaries of Bills Passed by the Scottish Parliament in the First Session (SP paper no. 846).

Committee Debates

Committees can ask for time to discuss business such as inquiry reports in the Chamber. These debates give committees the chance to bring issues to the attention of a wider audience.

Many important reports have been debated in the Chamber. The Justice 2 Committee led a debate on its inquiry into the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. The Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Committee’s debate in the Chamber covered a range of important subjects including golf and business tourism and the impact of the foot-and-mouth crisis on the tourist industry. Other committee debates included the Finance Committee’s inquiry into public-private partnerships and the Local Government Committee’s inquiry into local government finance.

Bills which became Acts (22):

Of the 22 bills which became acts, three were members’ bills, two were committee bills, one was a private bill, while the other 16 came from the Scottish Executive.

Parliamentary Questions

• Question Time is one of the best-attended occasions of the parliamentary week
• Each week 30 questions asked by members are chosen at random by a computer
• On average, 13 questions are answered by nine different ministers each week

The Presiding Officer chooses six topical questions for First Minister’s Question Time (which immediately follows Question Time each week). Sometimes only three questions will be taken, but sometimes all six are taken. On average, five questions are answered every week. The Presiding Officer normally chooses the leaders of the two main opposition parties for the first and second questions.

Ministers supply written answers for those questions not taken during Question Time or First Minister’s Question Time. We publish written questions in the business bulletin and answers in the written answers report. You can see both publications, along with the official report of proceedings, on our website.

Parliamentary Questions lodged from 12 May 2002 to 31 March 2003

Ministerial Statements

Urgent matters or current news are often dealt with in ministerial statements. Time is allowed in the Chamber for ministers to raise topical issues. Members can then ask the minister questions about what the Executive is doing about the issue. Examples of ministerial statements include the Minister for Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning’s statement on the publication of ′Building Better Transport’, which dealt with the future of transport in Scotland. Similarly, the Minister for Education and Young People made a statement on the publication of the Executive’s plan for excellence in education in Scotland and the Deputy First Minister and Minister for Justice made statements on the firefighters’ dispute.

Members’ Business

We hold Members’ Business after Decision Time, at the end of each meeting. These debates give MSPs the chance to highlight issues that are unlikely to receive attention otherwise. The member whose motion is chosen leads the debate, with a minister responding.

Over the year we have held 64 Members’ Business debates covering a wide range of subjects.

Often a subject is chosen which affects a particular constituency or region. Examples include VisitScotland’s funding for Dumfries and Galloway Tourist Board to help the area recover from the foot- and-mouth crisis; Northern Isles ferry services; Peebles Sheriff Court; Dundee Heritage Trust; A9 Ð Perth to Inverness road; and the Arbroath Community Alcohol Free Environment (CAFƒ) Project.

Members’ Business is often used to mark specific events. On 15 May 2002, Lloyd Quinan highlighted Autism Awareness Week; Kenny MacAskill’s motion on 30 October 2002 noted the 50th Anniversary of the Nordic Council, while Dr Sylvia Jackson drew attention to the day marking Science and the Parliament in her motion debated on 6 November 2002.

Health issues continue to be the main area of concern. Gordon Jackson put forward a motion on epilepsy, Fergus Ewing’s motion was about osteoporosis, Mary Scanlon’s motion dealt with the importance of Primary Care and Bill Butler’s motion was on post-natal depression.

No question is put on the motions that are debated during Members’ Business.

Motion of thanks

On 27 March 2003, as we met for the last time of our first session, the First Minister lodged a motion thanking Sir David Steel for his service to the Parliament and the important and historic role he has carried out as its first Presiding Officer.

MSPs and their work in the Chamber [Diagram in Pdf format]

Stages in the passage of a Private Bill [Flow Chart in Pdf format]

Meeting of the Parliament in Aberdeen

On Thursday 13 September 2001 the Scottish Parliament agreed motion S1M-2202, to meet in the King’s College Conference Centre in Aberdeen in May 2002.

Planning began almost immediately to ensure that the event would be a success.

Organising a meeting of the Parliament outside Edinburgh is a major task but having done it before in Glasgow, we were aware of what was involved and of the potential pitfalls to be avoided. For our meeting in Aberdeen however, there was a significant extra dimension, the address to the Parliament by Her Majesty the Queen.

The main purpose of meeting in Aberdeen was to carry out the agreed programme of parliamentary business. Much of our success was thanks to the excellent Chamber and office facilities provided by the University of Aberdeen and Aberdeen City Council for both members and staff. These amenities were complemented by quick and reliable access to the Parliament’s information technology network.

The Parliament met for three full days in Aberdeen from 28 to 30 May. Topics discussed included care for people with cancer, modernising government, alternatives to imprisonment and genetically modified crops. Several debates reflected local concerns such as the SNP’s debate on Scotland’s air links and the Executive’s debate on the offshore oil and gas industry. Members’ Business debates included topics selected by local MSPs. Richard Lochhead spoke about drug abuse in North-East Scotland and Elaine Thomson raised the issue of a transport strategy for the region.

The visit to Aberdeen was much more than simply a meeting in another chamber, however. The education service helped arrange a full schedule of visits.

More than 300 pupils and their teachers from Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire schools came to see us, and more than 500 members of the public watched proceedings during the week. The Equal Opportunities Committee held a public participation event, which was attended by people from a range of organisations across the region. The webcast service from Aberdeen was very successful. We received messages from all over the world about the visit of Her Majesty the Queen. The Parliament staff worked well with representatives of the University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen City Council and Grampian Police to both plan the visit and during our time in Aberdeen.

In her speech, Her Majesty the Queen talked of her vivid and happy memories of the warmth, honesty and humour of the Scottish people and reminded members of Donald Dewar’s vision of Òkeeping faith with the past, keeping step with the present and keeping our promises to posterity. She said she valued the distinctive contribution Scotland makes to strengthening the links between the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and Europe.