Malcolm Chisholm: At the end of the consideration of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Bill in 2003, the current Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Sport, who was leading for the Scottish National Party on health at the time, said: “For me, the most satisfying aspect of the bill is that it enshrines in statute the right to appeal against excessive security.”—[Official Report, 20...
Malcolm Chisholm: Can the minister do anything through regulations or guidance to promote advance statements and to get the relevant authorities, particularly health boards, to promote them as well?
Malcolm Chisholm: This is an important part of the bill, and I very much welcome amendment 29. The lack of any provisions on advocacy in the bill as introduced was a notable omission. In fact, advocacy was one of the main issues that the Equal Opportunities Committee dealt with when it did some work on the McManus review in 2010. As we know, the 2003 act states: “Every person with a mental disorder shall...
Malcolm Chisholm: I support amendment 33. It is a modest proposal that uses the words “may by regulations”, so the minister and the Scottish Government can be assured that on this occasion there is no prospect of them ending in the Supreme Court. They may, if they wish, not introduce regulations. I think that the amendment is a response to what the minister said at committee, which Nanette Milne alluded...
Malcolm Chisholm: Amendment 1 is a very modest one because it is merely calling for a review and does not pre-empt the conclusions of that review. Goodness knows we have been hearing about reviews on this issue for the whole of this century. Bruce Millan has been referred to and I can quote him. He said: “There should be an expert review at an early date on the position of learning disability within mental...
Malcolm Chisholm: I, too, welcome the bill. As ever at stage 3, we have to decide whether the glass is half empty or half full. On one hand, we certainly welcome the fact that several amendments that were lodged at stage 2 and 3 were accepted, but on the other we are disappointed that the Government rejected some good amendments today. I should say to the minister that the glass is quite small compared to that...
Malcolm Chisholm: I think that we were collaborative in 2003, as well. Clearly, the bill is an amending bill, so in due course there might well be a need for a wider review, not only of the learning disability issue—I hope that that review will proceed without delay—but, in the longer run, of how the mental health legislation interacts with the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000, given the...
Malcolm Chisholm: I thank the Deputy First Minister for taking a robust line with the chancellor in opposing these counterproductive cuts and also for trying to persuade him that they are not required by the charter for budget responsibility. At what point did the Deputy First Minister realise that all that he had said during the election campaign about the charter for budget responsibility requiring £30...
Malcolm Chisholm: I thank the cabinet secretary for his statement and, indeed, Murdo Fraser and Willie Rennie for pre-empting my questions on the infrastructure budget and the ONS review. I have a particular interest in the latter, as the north-west Edinburgh partnership centre, which will serve my constituency, is delayed by it. As I think that this is the first time that the matter has come up in the...
Malcolm Chisholm: Today is the culmination of not only a bill but a campaign with regard to parliamentary elections. As far as the bill is concerned, we should certainly pay tribute not only to Bruce Crawford’s committee but to the Government for the way in which it has responded to the committee’s recommendations by, for example, amending the bill to protect the personal information of young people on the...
Malcolm Chisholm: I have a few other things to say, Presiding Officer. I will read out the quotation at the end if I have time. Of course, the key to the bill’s successful implementation is increasing the young population’s awareness of their right to vote and the need to make an informed decision. I note that the Electoral Commission outlined to the Devolution (Further Powers) Committee its plans to work...
Malcolm Chisholm: 2. To ask the Scottish Government whether it has had discussions with the United Kingdom Government regarding a city deal for Edinburgh and surrounding areas. (S4O-04469)
Malcolm Chisholm: I hope that progress will be made soon and that the cabinet secretary will discuss the matter with the UK Government, given that the Edinburgh city region has worked up a proposal. In expectation of such progress being made, will the cabinet secretary confirm that the Edinburgh city region deal will be taken into account in the draft Scottish budget that is to be published in the autumn?
Malcolm Chisholm: The minister gave an explanation for amendment 32, but it still reads rather strangely. I think that it would probably merit further explanation, because anyone outside the Parliament who read it would think that we were setting ourselves above the national outcomes. I am sure that that is not the intention, but I am slightly concerned about what may be read into amendment 32.
Malcolm Chisholm: I welcome the amendments. It is good that the top-down process of community planning will become far more localised because of the proposals. Credit goes to the minister and Alex Rowley, who pressed those issues strongly in committee. I have only one question to the minister. We have a detailed process for the integration of health and social care, in which there have to be locality plans....
Malcolm Chisholm: I welcome the amendments. As the minister knows, there is great interest in my constituency in the transfer of land. However, I still cannot see any reference to ALEOs in the bill, so perhaps the minister can confirm that all the provisions will apply to ALEOs as well as to local authorities. Notwithstanding the progress that has been made and the right of appeal, there is concern that...
Malcolm Chisholm: Will the minister give way?
Malcolm Chisholm: During consideration of amendments I raised a point about arm’s-length external organisations, which I believe are not mentioned in the bill. Will the minister confirm that they will definitely be included in regulations?
Malcolm Chisholm: 2. To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the United Kingdom Government regarding the Scottish Parliament being able to legislate on parking on pavements and related issues. (S4O-04449)
Malcolm Chisholm: I am sure that the minister knows that the former member of Parliament for Edinburgh North and Leith, Mark Lazarowicz, introduced a bill in the UK Parliament to sort this situation out and that the current Secretary of State for Scotland assured him that he would be willing to bring forward secondary legislation if the Scottish Government asked for it. Therefore, will the Scottish Government...
