Procedures Committee

The first year of operation for the Procedures Committee, as for most Committees, has been an eventful one.

The Procedures Committee remit is brief ("to consider and report on the practice and procedures of the Parliament in relation to its business") but encompasses most aspects of Parliamentary process.

The Committee's work in its first year of operations has borne out the breadth of that remit. The main focus for the Committee was work on an entire set of Standing Orders to propose to the Parliament. The Standing Orders which the Parliament operated from its inception and which were contained in subordinate legislation made under the Scotland Act 1998, were the Committee's starting point, but many changes proposed by Members informed by developing practices in the Parliament required to be sifted and discussed.

The Parliament accepted all the recommendations of the Committee which reported 5 months ahead of its deadline for this work and which included proposals for enhanced Ministerial accountability, for example, the creation of a First Minister's Question Time, and changes to Question Time to improve the ability of Members to probe the Executive and generate debate; addressed the position of single member parties by recommending Parliamentary time for them; and proposed a number of further changes designed to improve procedures. The 1st edition of the Parliament's Standing Orders was published on 10 December 1999.

Over the course of the first year the Committee has held 15 meetings and heard from 40 witnesses, including Ministers, representatives of various bodies, and a member of the general public. The Committee takes a pride in being accessible to all, and encouraging the comments of the public and Members on Parliamentary procedures. It has endorsed ongoing work on an electronic "Procedures Noticeboard" to which the general public and MSPs will have access. It has not met in private.

The Committee sees its work on the 1st edition of the Standing Orders as comprising a preliminary review only. The Committee and its clerks have approximately 60 procedural issues currently under active consideration. Arising from this work there are likely to be further changes proposed to Parliamentary procedures. The Committee is considering the Standing Orders as a whole and has agreed on a number of major projects for the coming year amongst which are consideration of the present arrangements for Parliamentary Questions, Private Legislation, Committee Procedures, Legislative Procedures for Public Bills and a review of the application of the Consultative Steering Group principles throughout the Parliament.

Public Petitions Committee

The Public Petitions Committee offers the people of Scotland a direct route to raise issues of concern with the Scottish Parliament.

It is a working example of the Parliament's commitment to openness and accessibility.

During the first Parliamentary year, the Committee met on 14 occasions. It considered 189 petitions submitted to the Parliament during this period. These covered a diverse range of subjects including:

•  housing;

•  transport;

•  the protection of heritage sites;

•  a range of health issues;

•  GM crops;

•  the justice system;

•  schools; and

•  the planning system.

It is the Committee's role to ensure that appropriate action is taken in respect of each petition submitted. In many cases, where it was agreed that action was required, other committees of the Parliament were asked to carry out further consideration of the issues raised. In others, the Scottish Executive, local authorities and other public bodies were asked to take action or provide information.

The Committee heard presentations from 45 petitioners during the year. It also ensured that petitioners were kept informed of progress at each stage of the Parliament's consideration of their petitions.

The Committee took the view at an early stage that it was essential that the public were made aware of its existence and of the procedure for submitting petitions. It therefore produced a comprehensive guidance note on the submission of petitions, together with a summary leaflet providing basic details. This material was distributed to Citizen's Advice Bureaux throughout Scotland and to the Parliament's Partner Library network. It was also published on the Parliament's website.

A facility was also introduced which allows the electronic submission of petitions via an interactive form on the website. The Committee has also entered into a partnership with Napier University's International Teledemocracy Centre to facilitate the submission of electronic petitions via its "e-petitioner" system.

The Committee held a highly successful meeting in Galashiels in March 2000 to hear a presentation on a petition calling for the re-introduction of a rail-link to the Borders. This meeting was attended by over 250 members of the public, as well as local MSPs and - a first for a committee of the Scottish Parliament - local Westminster MPs. This subject of this petition was subsequently debated at a meeting of the whole Parliament.

The Committee ended the Parliamentary year by carrying out an evaluation of its work during its first year, with a view to revising and developing its procedures and guidance in the light of experience.

The Committee will continue to develop its role as a gateway for public involvement in the parliamentary process.

Rural Affairs Committee

The remit of the Rural Affairs Committee is to consider and report on matters relating to rural development, agriculture and fisheries and such other matters as fall within the responsibility of the Minister for Rural Affairs. The Rural Affairs Committee recognised from the start that its remit could lead to an impossibly wide ranging agenda, and that the cross cutting nature of its remit meant that close liaison was needed with other committees of the Parliament with more specific responsibility for matters of rural interest. With 38 possible topics before them, members at their second meeting on 29 June 1999 agreed the following priorities for investigation:

• employment, housing and poverty in rural areas - a research contract for an Inquiry was let and Professor Mark Shucksmith appointed as adviser to the inquiry.

• examination of the Scottish beef industry, including beef on the bone and the current export ban - the Chief Medical Officer for Scotland was called to give evidence on 5 October 1999

• implementation of the Common Agriculture Policy including Agenda 2000 - objectives of an inquiry into Agriculture were agreed in December 1999

• development of a strategic vision for fishing, including fish farming - an inquiry on the Common Fisheries Policy was commenced in autumn of 2000

• transport in rural areas - members of the Committee have participated in an inquiry on petrol pricing (led by the Enterprise & Lifelong Learning Committee)

• the Scottish forestry strategy - the Committee has discussed the emerging strategy with Ministers and officials on 3 occasions in the first year

• the impact of land reform proposals on rural areas - the Committee held a 3 day tour of the Highlands to examine views on this subject

The Committee held 23 meetings in the first Parliamentary year. 28 Executive officials appeared before the Committee and 29 witnesses were called to give evidence. In addition to the substantial volume of business generated by 16 petitions, 20 separate pieces of subordinate legislation, a substantial inquiry and latterly 3 Bills, the Committee has:

• investigated and reported to the Parliament on the impact of Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning (ASP) on the Fisheries industry;

• conducted an inquiry into the Scottish Executive Rural Affairs Department's administration of the Agricultural Business Improvement Scheme;

• launched a wide ranging inquiry into the Impact of Changing Employment Patterns in Rural Scotland and hosted a series of 6 consultation meetings undertaken across Scotland (including an innovative use of video-conferencing);

• investigated and reported on the impact of the Scottish Adjacent Waters Boundaries Order, 1999;

• reported on the Sea Fisheries (Shellfish) Amendment (Scotland) Bill, and started stage 1 investigations of both the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Bill and the National Parks (Scotland) Bill.

Of the 23 formal Committee Meetings, only one was wholly in private. Publishing 5 substantial reports during the year meant that 12 of the meetings, had at least one agenda item in private, usually to discuss the text of draft reports.

The ability of the Committee to carry out a full programme of inquiries and scrutiny depends on the quantity and speed at which Executive Bills are sent to it.

The Committee will use the Employment Inquiry as the basis for future work; it will ensure that work on developing strategies for the primary sectors of farming, forestry and fishing is driven forward; it will continue its objective scrutiny of the work of the Scottish Executive.

Social Inclusion, Housing and the Voluntary Sector Committee

The first year of the Social Inclusion, Housing and the Voluntary Sector Committee has been a busy one.

The Committee has focused itself on two major inquiries, housing stock transfer and drug misuse in deprived communities.

The housing stock transfer inquiry has required a great deal of written and oral evidence taking and the mastery of complex and technical issues. The Committee's commitment to inclusion has been demonstrated by the wide variety of organisations it has spoken to and its in-depth investigation into the effects of stock transfer. The Committee's report was published in July 2000 and debated in the Parliament in the autumn.

The inquiry into drug misuse in deprived communities has demonstrated the Committee's commitment to engaging with communities throughout Scotland and to tackling one of the greatest challenges facing Scotland. Members of the Committee have visited drug projects throughout the country and have spoken to those in the front line of this problem - drug users and their families, community, health and social care workers and people living in communities affected by drugs. The Committee published its report and looks forward to maintaining a watchful eye on the developments in this area.

In addition to its extensive inquiry work, the Committee has reported to the Justice and Home Affairs Committee on the general principles of the Abolition of Poindings and Warrant Sales Bill. The Committee questioned the Minister for Communities on the social inclusion dimension of the Programme for Government and also reported on the Scottish Budget. Subject to referral by the Parliamentary Bureau, the Committee will be considering a number of Bills, including the long awaited proposed Housing Bill. The Committee has also scrutinised secondary legislation and considered 15 petitions on issues pertinent to its remit.

With reference to its voluntary sector remit, the Committee has taken evidence on the impact of Scottish Criminal Records Checks on voluntary organisations and on the review of charity law in Scotland.

The Committee met 29 times in the period covered by this report, 9 times completely in public, twice totally in private and 18 times in both public and private.

The Committee looks forward to the challenges of its next three years and to building upon the solid work undertaken so far.

Standards Committee

The issue of standards in public life has in recent years been very much to the fore.

This has been reflected in an extremely busy and productive first year for the Parliament's Standards Committee whose remit is primarily concerned with the conduct of members in carrying out their Parliamentary duties.

The Committee has been heavily involved in developing the rules and regulations which cover members' conduct in the Parliament. A significant achievement was the drafting of a Code of Conduct for MSPs as allowed for in the Parliament's standing orders. The terms of the Code were agreed by resolution of the Parliament on 24 February and came into force immediately. The Code provides a useful guide for members in carrying out their parliamentary duties and underlines the Parliament's commitment to maintaining the highest standards of probity.

The Committee had to depart from its early work on the Code of Conduct and Lobbying, when faced with the allegations made by the Observer newspaper in September last year. This led to a complex inquiry attracting a lot of media interest. The inquiry was concluded within the five week timescale which the Committee had established and a report detailing the Committee's findings was published in November.

As well as introducing the Code of Conduct, the Committee has also produced reports on the regulation of cross-party groups, a complaint against a member, an interim complaints procedure and on a register for Members' Staff. On the last of these, the Committee has conducted further consultation with Members and staff before presenting a revised report to the Parliament.

The Committee has also conducted an inquiry into models of investigation of complaints and will submit a report setting out its recommendations and conclusions in the next Parliamentary year.

In the Parliamentary year to 11 May 2000 the Committee met 24 times. The Committee decided to take parts of six meetings in private session; one meeting was held wholly in private. It has submitted six reports to the Parliament. The Committee also initiated a number of debates in the Parliament, including on Cross-Party Groups and the Code of Conduct.

The forthcoming year promises to be equally busy for the Standards Committee. The Committee has already agreed a forward work programme. Two major pieces of work have been identified. First, the Committee has agreed to conduct a wide-ranging inquiry on lobbying. Second, the Committee will be working towards replacing the existing Members' Interests Order with an Act of the Scottish Parliament.