Hansard

Mr Harding: Con Chamber

27 Mar 2003

Question Time · Police (Fife)

The minister will be aware that the number of recorded crimes and offences in Fife has got much worse during the four years of this Administration. Can he explain why the Executive's justice policy is failing in Fife?

2. Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): Con Chamber

27 Mar 2003

Question Time · Police (Fife)

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will next meet representatives of Fife police board. (S1O-6712)

Mr Harding: Con Chamber

27 Mar 2003

Closing the Opportunity Gap for Older People

That is just another consultation document.The Executive has done little to assist in the provision of houses adapted specifically for elderly and disabled people, especially those in rural communities who doubly suffer from the lack of suitable housing. We would encourage loc...

Mr Harding: Con Chamber

27 Mar 2003

Closing the Opportunity Gap for Older People

That is absolute rubbish. Whether people can afford repairs to and maintenance of their properties should be assessed by the mortgage lenders, which determine people's ability to fund a mortgage. The minister should take that into account. What is she doing to give people addi...

Mr Harding: Con Chamber

27 Mar 2003

Closing the Opportunity Gap for Older People

I agree. I was just about to make that point, more or less. It is unfair that a pensioner on a modest but average income faces a marginal tax rate of 40 per cent but a pensioner on double the income will be able to keep £1 of every £1 saved before tax.Furthermore, why should p...

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): Con Chamber

27 Mar 2003

Closing the Opportunity Gap for Older People

At the outset, I should perhaps declare an interest as I fall into the category of older people and my opportunity gap may well deteriorate in the near future. Having said that, I am absolutely delighted that the minister is present today. I will do my best to match the passio...

Mr Harding: Con Committee

25 Mar 2003

Subordinate Legislation

All countries have council taxes, although they have different names. We need to know which countries exempt students from those taxes, because some do while others do not.

Mr Harding: Con Committee

25 Mar 2003

Subordinate Legislation

I think that you will find that there are different rules throughout the EU as regards discounts.

Mr Harding: Con Committee

25 Mar 2003

Subordinate Legislation

In France there are no discounts or reductions. If people have a property there, they pay the full council tax, regardless of whether they live there.

Mr Harding: Con Committee

25 Mar 2003

Subordinate Legislation

We are here to safeguard our own students.

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): Con Committee

25 Mar 2003

Subordinate Legislation

I think that there is a flaw in the Executive's advice, because it is my understanding that there are no exemptions in France. A student from Scotland studying in France will be liable for council tax in France, which puts them at a disadvantage.

Mr Harding: Con Chamber

13 Mar 2003

Dog Fouling (Scotland) Bill

I thank all the members who have contributed to the debate for their kind comments.I have very few points to address, other than Sylvia Jackson's. The act will come into force six months after royal assent, which is likely to be around four weeks after today, if the bill is pa...

Mr Harding: Con Chamber

13 Mar 2003

Dog Fouling (Scotland) Bill

She welcomes it.When Tika hears the rustle of a carrier bag, she does not think that it means food; she knows that it is time for a walk.I am a member of the cross-party animal welfare group and I was once the owner of a pet shop. The bill is not an anti-dog bill and, when ena...

Mr Harding: Con Chamber

13 Mar 2003

Dog Fouling (Scotland) Bill

Perhaps Mr Adam should ask the question of his colleague Stewart Stevenson, who proved yesterday that he was the expert on slurry. However, I suggest that Mr Adam should read the bill, which has an exemption for dogs that have diarrhoea.I am a doggy person and I make no bones ...

Mr Harding: Con Chamber

13 Mar 2003

Dog Fouling (Scotland) Bill

Many councils provide poop scoops free of charge. My council in Stirling—perhaps I should declare an interest—certainly does so. However, I believe that we can utilise plastic carrier bags, which is what I do. I know that many others do, too. I agree that there might be a larg...

Mr Harding: Con Chamber

13 Mar 2003

Dog Fouling (Scotland) Bill

I agree totally with Jackie Baillie. I visited that centre during the consultation period and I was really impressed with the service that it provides. It should be congratulated and it is a benchmark for similar organisations to follow. I also congratulate the centre on the f...

Mr Harding: Con Chamber

13 Mar 2003

Dog Fouling (Scotland) Bill

I give way to my former jousting opponent.

Mr Harding: Con Chamber

13 Mar 2003

Dog Fouling (Scotland) Bill

I do not think that we do that sort of thing. I trust that members will forgive me if I seek to avoid any more unfortunate references to motions and movements. There has been quite enough bad punning from colleagues in earlier debates on the bill.On a serious note, I emphasise...

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): Con Chamber

13 Mar 2003

Dog Fouling (Scotland) Bill

In my maiden speech, I welcomed a new addition to the Conservatives, in the form of a granddaughter. I hope that members will join me in welcoming a further addition to the Conservatives, in the form of Jamie McGrigor's and his wife Emma's daughter, who was born a few hours ago.

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): Con Chamber

13 Mar 2003

Dog Fouling (Scotland) Bill:<br />Stage 3

Section 8 makes provision for the recipient of a fixed-penalty notice to request a hearing in respect of the offence to which the notice relates. The local authority, on receipt of a timeous request, is required to notify the procurator fiscal and, on receipt of that notice, t...

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): Con Chamber

27 Feb 2003

First Minister's Question Time · Planning Process (Local Opinion)

Does the First Minister believe that the introduction of third-party rights of appeal would help to build public confidence in the planning process?

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): Con Committee

25 Feb 2003

Subordinate Legislation

I have a point that I would like clarified. I also declare an interest as a member of Stirling Council. When we consider the amounts that are apportioned to councils, I am intrigued to know why Stirling Council will receive almost as much as City of Edinburgh Council.

Mr Harding: Con Chamber

06 Feb 2003

Local Government Finance (Scotland) Order 2003 (SSI 2003/42)

I did not ask for extra time.

Mr Harding: Con Chamber

06 Feb 2003

Local Government Finance (Scotland) Order 2003 (SSI 2003/42)

I am sorry. I shall leave it there, thank you.

Mr Harding: Con Chamber

06 Feb 2003

Local Government Finance (Scotland) Order 2003 (SSI 2003/42)

I am about to end—I have only half a page to go.

Mr Harding: Con Chamber

06 Feb 2003

Local Government Finance (Scotland) Order 2003 (SSI 2003/42)

Sorry?

Mr Harding: Con Chamber

06 Feb 2003

Local Government Finance (Scotland) Order 2003 (SSI 2003/42)

Unlike the SNP, we cost our proposals fully, as will be revealed in our manifesto. The freeze is not for next year; it is for three years—Interruption. Mr Rumbles says that it will be efficiency saving; however, it will be additional funding.Council tax has a collection rate o...

Mr Harding: Con Chamber

06 Feb 2003

Local Government Finance (Scotland) Order 2003 (SSI 2003/42)

No thank you.COSLA has warned that unless the Executive increases funding considerably in future, councils might be forced to increase council tax more to allow them to make inroads into the backlog of local infrastructure investment. The Scottish Conservatives would alleviate...

Mr Harding: Con Chamber

06 Feb 2003

Local Government Finance (Scotland) Order 2003 (SSI 2003/42)

The Executive has not cancelled CCT.The Executive leaves councils with only one role, which is to choose which cuts they must make to deliver the Executive's centrally imposed priorities. Ring fencing is an erosion of local democracy. Why should Scots care about their councils...

Mr Harding: Con Chamber

06 Feb 2003

Local Government Finance (Scotland) Order 2003 (SSI 2003/42)

No, thank you.The Executive is the most centralising Government that Scotland has ever seen.

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): Con Chamber

06 Feb 2003

Local Government Finance (Scotland) Order 2003 (SSI 2003/42)

As I look back on the debates on local government finance in the past three years, it is good to see that there have been welcome improvements. However, it is clear that the Executive could do a lot more for local government in Scotland. The Executive congratulates itself on d...

Mr Harding: Con Chamber

06 Feb 2003

Proportional Representation (Local Government Elections) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

No, thank you. Such representation is best achieved through the direct election of all councillors on a first-past-the-post basis at ward level.The Scottish Conservatives support the current first-past-the-post system because it favours strong governance and clear accountabili...

Mr Harding: Con Chamber

06 Feb 2003

Proportional Representation (Local Government Elections) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Kenny Gibson should be quiet. The bill is flawed. It received insufficient consultation in its formation and relies on evidence from previous inquiries, such as the Kerley report, which was in itself flawed, as it did not examine first past the post. The bill proposes that, be...

Mr Harding: Con Chamber

06 Feb 2003

Proportional Representation (Local Government Elections) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

It is unusual for a political party to put the interests of the people before its own.

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): Con Chamber

06 Feb 2003

Proportional Representation (Local Government Elections) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

The Scottish Conservatives, members will be surprised to learn, are opposed to the Proportional Representation (Local Government Elections) (Scotland) Bill. We believe that the current first-past-the-post electoral system should remain for local government elections. The intro...

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): Con Chamber

05 Feb 2003

Public Appointments and Public Bodies etc (Scotland) Bill

The Scottish Conservatives support the bill. We are committed to cutting bureaucracy, red tape and cronyism in Scottish politics and we congratulate the Executive on taking a step in the right direction, albeit that I suspect—as Tricia Marwick said—that it came about as a resu...

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): Con Chamber

05 Feb 2003

Public Appointments and Public Bodies etc (Scotland) Bill:<br />Stage 3

Since stage 2, I have reflected on the amendment and I am disappointed that the Executive is not prepared to take it on board. I believe that it would lead to greater transparency and fairness and should cause no concern to anyone unless they have something to hide. I also bel...

Mr Harding: Con Committee

28 Jan 2003

Public Appointments and<br />Public Bodies etc (Scotland) Bill

I, too, support Richard Simpson's idea. I think it is a better solution.

Mr Harding: Con Committee

28 Jan 2003

Dog Fouling (Scotland) Bill:<br />Stage 2

Section 302(9)(a) of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 allows procurators fiscal to issue conditional offers in respect of offences that can be tried before district courts. A conditional offer is a fixed penalty that is issued as an alternative to prosecution. Sectio...

Mr Harding: Con Committee

28 Jan 2003

Dog Fouling (Scotland) Bill:<br />Stage 2

I have lodged amendments 14 and 15 to take account of the view of the Subordinate Legislation Committee that statutory instruments made under sections 6(2), 9(2) and 10 should be subject to affirmative procedure. That means that an instrument cannot be made unless a draft of t...

Mr Harding: Con Committee

28 Jan 2003

Dog Fouling (Scotland) Bill:<br />Stage 2

I am grateful to Iain Smith for raising his concerns with me before the meeting. As the minister said, we will look at the matter further and address it at stage 3, if necessary. However, we will come back to him in writing with our views. In response to Sylvia Jackson's quest...

Mr Harding: Con Committee

28 Jan 2003

Dog Fouling (Scotland) Bill:<br />Stage 2

No—an authorised person can be nominated by council officials, but a constable must withdraw any notice that has been issued by a constable.

Mr Harding: Con Committee

28 Jan 2003

Dog Fouling (Scotland) Bill:<br />Stage 2

Amendment 12 would clarify who has the power to withdraw fixed-penalty notices and the circumstances in which they may do so.Section 5 will provide that an authorised officer or a constable may issue a fixed-penalty notice when they have reason to believe that an offence has b...

Mr Harding: Con Committee

28 Jan 2003

Dog Fouling (Scotland) Bill:<br />Stage 2

Amendments 10 and 13 would cover the withdrawal of a fixed-penalty notice, and amendment 11 would provide a mechanism to resolve certain administrative disputes that could arise.As I indicated earlier, section 5 provides for fixed-penalty notices to be issued by authorised off...

Mr Harding: Con Committee

28 Jan 2003

Dog Fouling (Scotland) Bill:<br />Stage 2

Section 5 provides for fixed-penalty notices to be issued by authorised officers and constables who have reason to believe that a person has committed an offence under section 1.Section 10 provides that the amount payable is automatically increased by 50 per cent if the origin...

Mr Harding: Con Committee

28 Jan 2003

Dog Fouling (Scotland) Bill:<br />Stage 2

Amendment 8 is designed to assist the administration of the fixed-penalty notice procedure by local authorities. Section 8 provides that a person who has received a fixed-penalty notice and who disputes that they have committed an offence may request a hearing in respect of th...

Mr Harding: Con Committee

28 Jan 2003

Dog Fouling (Scotland) Bill:<br />Stage 2

Section 5(4) contains three methods of issuing a fixed-penalty notice: handing or delivering it to the person, leaving it at the person's last known address or posting it to their last known address. The reason for amendment 6 is to ensure that the authorised officer attempts ...

Mr Harding: Con Committee

28 Jan 2003

Dog Fouling (Scotland) Bill:<br />Stage 2

Section 5(1) provides that an authorised officer or constable may issue a fixed-penalty notice where they have reason to believe that an offence under section 1 has been committed. Section 5(2) provides that that fixed-penalty notice must be issued as soon as reasonably practi...

Mr Harding: Con Committee

28 Jan 2003

Dog Fouling (Scotland) Bill:<br />Stage 2

The amendments address concerns that were expressed over difficulties that might be faced by authorised officers when enforcing the provisions in the bill. Those concerns were raised at an early stage and I am grateful to the minister for drafting the amendments, the aim of wh...

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): Con Committee

28 Jan 2003

Dog Fouling (Scotland) Bill:<br />Stage 2

At stage 1, I highlighted my intention to lodge an amendment to extend the definition of "assistance dog". I was pleased to note that the committee welcomed my intention to do so in its report. Section 3 provides that disabled persons who would have difficulty in clearing up a...

Mr Harding: Con Chamber

16 Jan 2003

Dog Fouling (Scotland) Bill:<br />Stage 1

I thank Mr McAveety very much. On that note, and staying in an American vein, using the words of Clint Eastwood in "Dirty Harry", "make my day"—please support the bill.

Mr Harding: Con Chamber

16 Jan 2003

Dog Fouling (Scotland) Bill:<br />Stage 1

No. We have heard enough on that issue.The other issue that Mike Rumbles mentioned was the ECHR. I recommend that he read paragraphs 62 to 66 on page 9 of the policy memorandum, which cover that issue in great detail.Robin Harper mentioned on-the-spot fines. The bill provides ...

Mr Harding: Con Chamber

16 Jan 2003

Dog Fouling (Scotland) Bill:<br />Stage 1

In her contribution, Tricia Marwick mentioned that the bill would give power to local authority officers. It will not do that—it will give power to authorities to authorise their officers.Mike Rumbles mentioned the penalty, to which he said the COSLA submission referred. The C...

Mr Harding: Con Chamber

16 Jan 2003

Dog Fouling (Scotland) Bill:<br />Stage 1

We will look at that matter again—it has been the subject of much discussion. We thought that we had found the right answer, but we will revisit the issue.Sandra White mentioned cost. The Presiding Officer and the Executive have accepted that the bill is competent, so the figu...

Mr Harding: Con Chamber

16 Jan 2003

Dog Fouling (Scotland) Bill:<br />Stage 1

At the outset, I thank members for their contributions to the debate and for the many positive comments that were made. It has been a serious and considered debate, which is what I wanted. I have been subjected to some ridicule over the past couple of years because of the bill...

Mr Harding: Con Chamber

16 Jan 2003

Dog Fouling (Scotland) Bill:<br />Stage 1

The matter is dealt with in the policy memorandum and is too complex. The point is that there are sufficient safeguards so that there can be no witch-hunts against individuals or other criminal activities. Later in my speech I will deal with the question whether the person iss...

Mr Harding: Con Chamber

16 Jan 2003

Dog Fouling (Scotland) Bill:<br />Stage 1

The member should read the bill and the policy memorandum, but what safeguards is he talking about?

Mr Harding: Con Chamber

16 Jan 2003

Dog Fouling (Scotland) Bill:<br />Stage 1

They are incorporated in the bill and in the policy memorandum.

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): Con Chamber

16 Jan 2003

Dog Fouling (Scotland) Bill:<br />Stage 1

At the outset, I declare my registered interest as a member of Stirling Council.It gives me great pleasure to invite the Parliament to approve the general principles of the Dog Fouling (Scotland) Bill. I place on record my gratitude and thanks to my researcher Alison Miller, w...

Mr Harding: Con Chamber

09 Jan 2003

Breast Cancer Awareness

It was me.