Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government regularly meets the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to discuss a range of issues. David MacBrayne Ltd officials were planning to discuss this issue with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in February this year but the meeting was deferred and a new date is being arranged.

I announced on 14 October 2010 that both Learning and Teaching Scotland and HM Inspectorate of Education provided important support, inspection, practical materials and guidance to schools, colleges and early years provision. The introduction of curriculum for excellence made it the right time to bring these two bodies together.

Following the autumn programme of support to which S3W-33713 referred there are no further planned postponements of inspection activity to assist with the implementation of Curriculum for Excellence. Support for Curriculum for Excellence is a major part of Education Scotland’s remit and is embedded within its programmes of activity planned.

Teaching staff, non-teaching staff and a sample of pupils and parents receive a questionnaire before an inspection and the analysis of their returns influences the activities carried out by the inspection team. The questions in these questionnaires allow staff to offer their views on key aspects of the school. Groups of staff, pupils and parents are also interviewed as part of the inspection. In the new form of school inspections, inspectors have increased the opportunities for staff, parents and pupils to talk to the inspection team. In the best practice, headteachers also use feedback from staff and pupils to help complete the school’s pre-inspection self-evaluation summary form.

Education Scotland is currently creating a new suite of Polices and Strategies, this include a complaints procedure.

Education Scotland is accountable to Scottish ministers, the Director-General for Learning and Justice and to the Scottish Parliament and its committees.

The Official History of North Sea Oil and Gas by Professor Alex Kemp, published on 4 September 2011, provides an in-depth analysis of the development of UK policies towards North Sea oil and gas industry from the early 1960’s to 1993. Professor Kemp reports that the work of the Offshore Supplies Office lead to an increase in the share of the UKCS (UK Continental Shelf) market obtained by British industry and many companies obtained benefits which enabled them to flourish both domestically and overseas in later years. The publication cites the development of sub-sea technologies as a particular success story.

Scottish Government and its enterprise agencies continue to support the growth and development of Scotland's supply chain capability, both domestically and internationally and help to ensure that businesses seek and develop opportunities in new and emerging sectors such as offshore wind.

Scotland was largely compliant with the European Framework Decision on the Standing of Victims in Criminal Proceedings when it was promulgated. A detailed response to the framework decision, Victims in the Scottish Criminal Justice System: The EU Framework Decision On The Standing of Victims In Criminal Procedure, The Scottish Perspective, was published in 2002. Further work was done to ensure compliance with articles that did not need to be implemented until 2004.

Following research and consultation the European Commission concluded that the framework decision needed to be updated. Consequently, a proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and the council on establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime to replace the 2001 framework decision, was adopted by the European Commission on 18 May 2011. The UK Government is currently involved in negotiations on the draft directive.

The Scottish Government is planning a victims and witnesses bill to strengthen the position of victims and witnesses in the justice system. Decisions on the overall content of the bill will be informed by the final shape and scope of the draft directive of the European Parliament and of the council aimed at establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime.

The Scottish Government will introduce a victims and witnesses bill during this parliament.