Chamber and committees

If an event takes place in wholly or substantially enclosed premises, (as defined in schedule 1 of the draft Prohibition of Smoking in Certain Premises (Scotland) Regulations 2006), the employer, manager or person in control of those premises will be required to take all reasonable precautions to ensure that employees, customers and visitors are aware of the new law and that they do not smoke in the affected areas. These precautions will include the display of no-smoking notices on any of the premises that are affected by the ban, so that they can be read by people approaching and inside the premises.

Guidance on this and related matters will be issued to all businesses in Scotland later this year.

The estimated costs of funding public information activity, guidance to businesses, monitoring and evaluation and enforcement preparation in this financial year is £3 million. In addition, an additional £5 million has been allocated to NHS boards to allow the expansion of smoking cessation services in anticipation of increased demand leading up to the legislation coming into effect.

The estimated costs for future years have not yet been finalised.

Yes, if they fall within the definition of “wholly or substantially enclosed”. Pubs and clubs are classified as no smoking premises under Schedule 1 of the draft Prohibition of Smoking in Certain Premises (Scotland) Regulations 2006. When these come into force, smoking will be prohibited in any part of a pub or club that is wholly or substantially enclosed, i.e. that has a roof and walls on 50% or more of its perimeter. The full definition of “wholly or substantially enclosed” is also contained within the draft regulations, which can be accessed at:

http://www.clearingtheairscotland.com/faqs/business.html.

Guidance on this and related matters will be issued to all businesses in Scotland later this year.

I will bring forward proposals to establish a new Police Complaints Commissioner for Scotland in the forthcoming Police, Public Order and Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill.

In developing our thinking, we have looked at arrangements south of the Border, as well as in Northern Ireland and further afield, with a view to learning as much as possible from the experience of others.

The new commissioner will bring greater transparency and robust independent scrutiny to the police complaints system, building on the high standards the Scottish public have a right to expect from our modern police service.

In April I established an Expert Group on Corporate Homicide to review the law in Scotland on corporate liability for culpable homicide. The group have provided me with an interim report. I hope to receive their final report by the end of October. As I have previously indicated, if reform of this area of the law is required we will bring forward proposals.

Conditions of service for employees of fire and rescue authorities, including pay, are primarily a matter for negotiation between the local authority employers and the relevant staff representative bodies under the auspices of the National Joint Council for Local Authority Fire and Rescue Services. The Scottish Executive has no direct role. Joint Circular NJC/12/05 issued by the NJC contains information on pay protection arrangements and can be accessed at http://www.lg-employers.gov.uk/conditions/fire/joint.html.

The Strategic Rail Authority has provided the information requested. However, the Scottish Executive now considers this information to be commercially sensitive and cannot release it.

The Office of Rail Regulation is currently consulting on methodology for disaggregating Network Rail’s existing network-wide expenditure and revenue allowances to Scotland which will allow Network Rail to identify and report information separately for Scotland.

The ScotRail franchise agreement does not specify staffing levels for stations, though there are other requirements on staffing issues. Staffing requirements at stations form part of the franchisee’s Railway Safety Case which is approved and monitored by Her Majesty’s Rail Inspectorate, part of the Health and Safety Executive.

Regulation 10(4) of the Fire Precautions (Sub-Surface Railway Stations) Regulations 1989 (as amended) requires rostering of station employees to ensure that there are at least two persons present on duty in the station premises at all times when members of the public have access to the premises. Enforcement of the regulations rests with fire and rescue authorities or joint fire and rescue boards. Information about compliance with the regulations is not held centrally.

During the drafting of the Fire (Scotland) Bill and its subsequent introduction to the Scottish Parliament and scrutiny, Scottish Executive officials liaised with colleagues in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) regarding the reform of fire safety legislation.

Included in those discussions was the future of the Fire Precautions (Sub-Surface Railway Stations) Regulations 1989. The Scottish Executive and the ODPM agreed that a consistent approach across the UK was desirable and that no proposals would be made to revoke these regulations until such time as sector-specific fire safety guidance, showing how all necessary protections currently afforded by the 1989 Regulations are continued by other laws, had been made available.