The right solution for Scotland’s sea and coastal communities is the devolution of more marine powers, the Scottish Government said today.
Speaking ahead of the publication of the UK Marine Bill consultation, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment Richard Lochhead called for Ministerial-level discussions on who rules Scotland’s seas.
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The Scottish Government’s response to the Independent Review of the Scottish Parliamentary and Local Government Elections - the Gould Report - was published today.
Full administrative and legislative responsibility for the Scottish Parliamentary elections should come to the Scottish Parliament, Minister for Parliamentary Business Bruce Crawford said following its publication.
Ministers also began a consultation on how best to ‘decouple’ future local government elections from Parliamentary elections.
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ALEX Salmond would start legal moves to bring Berwick back under Scottish control if the town’s residents voted to leave England in a referendum, it emerged yesterday.
A spokesman for the First Minister said borders were “fluid” and there were precedents from around the world of towns changing hands from one government to another. for more click here
Scotland’s flagship policy of providing free personal and nursing care for elderly people is under threat because of a funding gap of up to £63m, a watchdog revealed today.
In 2001, Scotland’s devolved government broke away from Westminster policy to provide a free service for people who need help with washing, dressing and grooming. Scotland’s councils have provided free care to around 72,000 people since the policy was introduced in 2002. for more click here
INDEPENDENT Lothians MSP Margo MacDonald today said she wanted further help for Edinburgh in return for her support in next week’s final vote on the SNP budget.
She called on the Scottish Government to reverse its plan to move sportscotland’s headquarters from Edinburgh to Glasgow. She also wants it to pledge full implementation of a new health funding formula which would hand Lothian an extra £58m. for more click here
One third of Scots believe there is sometimes a good reason to be prejudiced according to a controversial report on the nature and extent of discrimination in Scotland. The co-authors of the report entitled Attitudes to Discrimination in Scotland: 2006 and published in December 2007, will be giving evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s Equal Opportunities Committee this week.
Catherine Bromley and Professor John Curtice from the Scottish Centre for Social Research explored the Scottish population’s views in relation to all six grounds for which anti-discrimination legislation exists in Scotland. This covers age, disability, gender, race, religion or belief and sexual orientation. for more click here
9.15 am Parliamentary Bureau Motions
followed by Scottish Labour Party debate: Spending Review 2007
11.40 am General Question Time
12 noon First Minister’s Question Time
2.15 pm Themed Question Time: Education and Lifelong Learning; Europe, External Affairs and Culture
2.55 pm Scottish Government Debate: Gould Report
followed by Parliamentary Bureau Motions
5.00 pm Decision Time followed by Members’ Business with a debate led by Des McNulty: The St Margaret of Scotland Hospice
The Lewis Chessmen, a set of carved pieces made in the 12th century and found hidden on a Scottish beach six centuries later, have become the subject of a cross-border repatriation row.
The Chessmen, fashioned out of walrus ivory and whale teeth, were found near Uig on the Isle of Lewis in the early 19th century. They are deemed to be one of the greatest artefacts ever found in Scotland. for more click here
A definition of the term “consent” in rape cases should be placed on the statue book, a Scottish Law Commission report has recommended.
Legal experts have agreed on a list of situations where consent cannot have been given, including when the victim is too heavily intoxicated. for more click here
First Minister Alex Salmond is to be called before a Scottish Parliament committee over Donald Trump’s £1bn Aberdeenshire golf resort plan. Holyrood’s local government committee decided to investigate the Scottish Government’s intervention over Mr Trump’s development on Menie estate. for more click here