Hansard

Jim Tolson LD Chamber

22 Mar 2011

Scottish Executive Question Time · Proposed Container Terminal (Rosyth)

While remembering that this is a major project for both my constituency and Scotland, I hope that the minister will agree that the environmental effects on my constituents in the Limekilns and Charlestown areas should be minimised as part of any approval that the Government mi...

Jim Tolson (Dunfermline West) (LD) LD Chamber

22 Mar 2011

Scottish Executive Question Time · Proposed Container Terminal (Rosyth)

6. To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Port Babcock Rosyth Ltd regarding the proposed development of a container terminal at Rosyth and its environmental impact on the surrounding area. (S3O-13405)

Jim Tolson LD Chamber

17 Mar 2011

Private Rented Housing (Scotland) Bill

One principal element of the bill is the measures on the registration of private landlords. Alex Neil said that the bill is targeted at a minority of landlords who give the industry a bad name. The bill targets the worst offenders, which was the point that I made during the st...

Jim Tolson (Dunfermline West) (LD) LD Chamber

17 Mar 2011

Private Rented Housing (Scotland) Bill

I thank my colleagues on the Local Government and Communities Committee, the committee clerks, the bill team and the minister for their hard work and dedication in bringing forward this important housing bill, which the Liberal Democrats will support at decision time.The bill ...

Jim Tolson LD Chamber

16 Mar 2011

Local Electoral Administration (Scotland) Bill

I agree with my colleague that that is too much information.The autumn stress testing of the new system will be absolutely crucial. I hope that I am proved wrong in thinking that the system will not be as robust as before, as it must be more robust than the system that we had ...

Jim Tolson LD Chamber

16 Mar 2011

Local Electoral Administration (Scotland) Bill

That worries me, Presiding Officer.

Jim Tolson LD Chamber

16 Mar 2011

Local Electoral Administration (Scotland) Bill

Members will be aware that there are two key themes to this important bill, the first of which is the creation of the electoral management board. In deliberations in committee and in the chamber, we have heard that that is absolutely necessary to provide a much more cohesive a...

Jim Tolson (Dunfermline West) (LD) LD Chamber

16 Mar 2011

Local Electoral Administration (Scotland) Bill

I welcome the opportunity to open the debate for the Scottish Liberal Democrats. As a member of the Local Government and Communities Committee over the past few years, I have taken a great deal of interest in issues relating to local government elections. As a former councillo...

Jim Tolson (Dunfermline West) (LD) LD Chamber

10 Mar 2011

Local Services

The cabinet secretary mentioned people coming together. Is it not already the case that all over Scotland, officers—whether in our police or our fire services—are allowed to go into other areas when major incidents occur? To intimate otherwise is disrespectful.

Jim Tolson (Dunfermline West) (LD) LD Chamber

03 Mar 2011

Property Factors (Scotland) Bill

I, too, thank Patricia Ferguson for bringing the bill to the Parliament. Its passage will no doubt bring a great deal of relief to the many people throughout Scotland who are in dispute with their factoring company. When we debated the bill at stage 1, on 8 December, I mention...

Jim Tolson LD Chamber

03 Mar 2011

Scottish Executive Question Time · Renewable Power

As the cabinet secretary will be aware, power from rubbish can save millions of pounds. Fife Council has already received awards for its very high level of waste recycling, which it is looking to further improve by developing a facility to produce renewable power and heat from...

Jim Tolson (Dunfermline West) (LD) LD Chamber

03 Mar 2011

Scottish Executive Question Time · Renewable Power

8. To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment has been involved in regarding the provision of support to local authorities and commercial companies looking to develop renewable power from organic waste. (S3O-13195)

Jim Tolson LD Committee

02 Mar 2011

Annual Report

This might have been picked up by the clerk, but there is a small typo at the top of page 3 where it refers to “18 January 201”. There was something else, but I cannot find it now because I did not highlight it. The report is perfectly fine otherwise.

Jim Tolson LD Committee

02 Mar 2011

Subordinate Legislation

It sounds like an interesting and—one hopes—worthwhile change in the legislation, but I worry about how we deal with the potential consequences and the excuses that one will hear from some tenants as to why there has been antisocial behaviour.I am thinking in particular of an ...

Jim Tolson LD Committee

02 Mar 2011

Electoral Management

You have not set a definite time for that. The count will start as required.

Jim Tolson LD Committee

02 Mar 2011

Electoral Management

On a separate issue, Ms Bruce talked about the checks that will take place when the ballot boxes come in after the count for the Scottish Parliament elections and the referendum, on the night of Thursday 5 May and into the early hours of the next day. Are you suggesting that b...

Jim Tolson LD Committee

02 Mar 2011

Electoral Management

That was helpful.

Jim Tolson LD Committee

02 Mar 2011

Electoral Management

Part of the security issue is to do with the printing. I assume that you will not have an electoral registration officer or indeed a police officer standing at the printers while all the noisy machines are printing out ballot papers. From my experience over the years, I know t...

Jim Tolson (Dunfermline West) (LD) LD Committee

02 Mar 2011

Electoral Management

I will follow up Alasdair Morgan’s questions about postal voting. In his response, Andy O’Neill touched on electoral fraud, which is the issue that I want to raise.There was no mention in your presentation of electoral fraud and I seek reassurance that Scotland has learned les...

Jim Tolson (Dunfermline West) (LD) LD Chamber

24 Feb 2011

Coalfields Regeneration Trust

I welcome the opportunity to debate the Coalfields Regeneration Trust again. I say “again” as I last debated the subject on 29 November 2007, not because Labour chose to have the same subject debated twice on the same day, which was rather odd. However, this is a worthy subjec...

Jim Tolson LD Committee

23 Feb 2011

Private Rented Housing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

Thank you.Amendment 19 agreed to.Section 26 agreed to.After section 26Amendment 20 moved—Alex Neil—and agreed to.Section 27—Interpretation of Part 3Amendment 26 not moved.Amendment 21 moved—Alex Neil—and agreed to.Section 27, as amended, agreed to.Section 28 agreed to.Section ...

Jim Tolson LD Committee

23 Feb 2011

Private Rented Housing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

I accept the minister’s reassurance on that.

Jim Tolson LD Committee

23 Feb 2011

Private Rented Housing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

Yes. There is a similar feel to proposed subsections (2)(a) and (3)(b). There could be a situation in which, for example, shareholders in various properties that would come under the legislation would not be known to one another, so how could they provide information on one an...

Jim Tolson LD Committee

23 Feb 2011

Private Rented Housing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

I seek clarification on new subsections (2)(a) and (3)(b) that are proposed in amendment 19; they seem to be wide ranging. I am not sure that in circumstances where multiple individuals own particular properties they would all be known to one another, depending on how that was...

Jim Tolson LD Committee

23 Feb 2011

Private Rented Housing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

Proposed subsection (4) in amendment 17 refers to “other information” that would be given to the occupier. Given that in the debate on a number of Mary Mulligan’s amendments it was felt that we might be going too far and requiring too much information to be provided, I am slig...

Jim Tolson LD Committee

23 Feb 2011

Private Rented Housing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

I understand the reasoning behind Mary Mulligan’s amendments, which are well intentioned. However, I am concerned about the proposals, despite the member’s assurance that the intention is not to make people feel that they will get housing from the local authority and despite t...

Jim Tolson LD Committee

23 Feb 2011

Private Rented Housing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

I am interested in some of the comments that we have heard, particularly from Pauline McNeill and the minister.Unfortunately, although Pauline McNeill and I agree on many issues in the Parliament, I am afraid that there is not just clear blue water but somewhat of an ocean bet...

Jim Tolson LD Committee

23 Feb 2011

Private Rented Housing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

Many people think that amendment 29 is very much focused on students in Scotland. However, although the National Union of Students Scotland was instrumental in taking forward the approach that is proposed in amendment 29, members will be aware that the Scottish Council for Sin...

Jim Tolson LD Committee

23 Feb 2011

“An overview of local government in Scotland 2010”

There certainly seems to be an improving picture on reserves across Scotland, and Mr Baillie made a good point about councils having policies in that regard and ensuring that they follow them through.

Jim Tolson LD Committee

23 Feb 2011

“An overview of local government in Scotland 2010”

You made an interesting point about the levels of reserves. That was a partly helpful answer to my question and it shows that the issues of single status and equal pay are part of the burden that has been taken up by the reserves in recent years.Looking back across several yea...

Jim Tolson (Dunfermline West) (LD) LD Committee

23 Feb 2011

“An overview of local government in Scotland 2010”

I want to look at local authorities’ reserves. Your report notes a slight underspend by local authorities in 2009-10 and increasing levels of reserves. To what extent have local authorities used up much of their reserves in recent years, particularly with the costs of single s...

Jim Tolson LD Committee

09 Feb 2011

Commission on the Future Delivery of Public Services

Thanks for that clarification, Dr Christie.

Jim Tolson LD Committee

09 Feb 2011

Commission on the Future Delivery of Public Services

Thanks for that. As you will all be aware, the Scotland Bill will provide for the Scottish Parliament to have borrowing powers for the first time. Will the commission consider the use of borrowing powers to help to deliver cross-agency services in Scotland? If so, what views h...

Jim Tolson LD Committee

09 Feb 2011

Commission on the Future Delivery of Public Services

That is helpful. I find both Dr Christie’s and Dr Wishart’s comments reassuring, because in the past commissions have reported on various things—not just Arbuthnott but others—and have felt that their remit was too tight, which did not allow a proper or full outcome.My colleag...

Jim Tolson LD Committee

09 Feb 2011

Commission on the Future Delivery of Public Services

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I want to go back briefly to Dr Christie’s opening statement. Dr Christie—and later Councillor Watters—referred to the challenging timescale and to the breadth of the commission’s remit. In the commission’s early deliberations, did issues ar...

Jim Tolson LD Committee

09 Feb 2011

Subordinate Legislation

Thank you for that clarification, minister.

Jim Tolson LD Committee

09 Feb 2011

Subordinate Legislation

I understand your making that move and I appreciate that aspect of your clarification, but I would like you to expand on the matter more generally. I am not terribly familiar with Architecture and Design Scotland—excuse me for not having detailed knowledge about it—so can you ...

Jim Tolson (Dunfermline West) (LD) LD Committee

09 Feb 2011

Subordinate Legislation

Will the proposed change give Architecture and Design Scotland any further powers? You have touched on two budgetary issues. Will the Public Appointments and Public Bodies etc (Scotland) Act 2003 (Amendment of Specified Authorities) (No 2) Order 2011 give the body any greater ...

Jim Tolson LD Committee

02 Feb 2011

Fuel Poverty

I appreciate that response.You touched on the issue that I will address in my follow-up question, which is partly about the companies’ margins. If a company has big cost issues that have big implications for investment, we can understand that there might be a need for a slight...

Jim Tolson LD Committee

02 Feb 2011

Fuel Poverty

Good morning, ladies and gents. What effect do you believe that the recently announced hike in fuel prices in Scotland will have on fuel poverty in the coming years?

Jim Tolson LD Committee

02 Feb 2011

Child Poverty

I am grateful for those answers. I agree that there are significant challenges for us all in ensuring that work gets taken forward. Hopefully, we can have a greater focus on the Scottish Parliament’s ability to continue to deliver in those areas.

Jim Tolson LD Committee

02 Feb 2011

Child Poverty

Earlier, you were reasonably candid about the interim target, which the Scottish Government has not attained, and the future targets, which you said were challenging. I do not doubt that for a minute. To help the current Government and Parliament, and future ones, to keep a cl...

Jim Tolson (Dunfermline West) (LD) LD Committee

02 Feb 2011

Child Poverty

My colleague John Wilson was right to highlight some key external issues that affect child poverty in Scotland, such as fuel costs and benefits, but I would like to bring back the focus to what we can do in Scotland, which is the reason why we are having this discussion. The G...

Jim Tolson LD Chamber

02 Feb 2011

Local Electoral Administration (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

As many of us expected, this has been an interesting, if short and consensual, debate. Some of the key points, especially concerning the electoral management board, have been highlighted by a number of colleagues, including the minister, Duncan McNeil and others. A key functio...

Jim Tolson (Dunfermline West) (LD) LD Chamber

02 Feb 2011

Local Electoral Administration (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

I join colleagues in congratulating fellow committee members, the clerks and Scottish Parliament information centre colleagues on all the work that they have done to get us to this stage, and I welcome the opportunity to open for the Scottish Liberal Democrats.As a member of t...

Jim Tolson LD Chamber

27 Jan 2011

Private Rented Housing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

I do not recall Labour proposing an amendment in that regard. Maybe that is something that Mary Mulligan will want to consider at stage 2.The concerns that I mentioned relate not only to noise from within the properties and parked cars outside them when the properties are occu...

Jim Tolson (Dunfermline West) (LD) LD Chamber

27 Jan 2011

Private Rented Housing (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

I, too, thank the committee clerks, the Scottish Parliament information centre advisers and fellow members for their work on the bill thus far.The bill is an important part of the armoury to tackle the current housing crisis in Scotland. Underinvestment not just in affordable ...

Jim Tolson LD Chamber

27 Jan 2011

Scottish Executive Question Time · Renewable Energy (Skills Shortage)

Given the significant plans for onshore and offshore wind energy, does the minister agree that it would be in the long-term financial interests of Scotland for there to be a stepped increase in investment in wind turbine technicians, such as that which is already provided, on ...

Jim Tolson (Dunfermline West) (LD) LD Chamber

27 Jan 2011

Scottish Executive Question Time · Renewable Energy (Skills Shortage)

11. To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had to address the reported skills shortage in the renewable energy industry. (S3O-12804)

Jim Tolson LD Committee

26 Jan 2011

Subordinate Legislation

I wish that I could fully share your view; you will not be surprised to hear that I do not do so. I am sure that you well recall the recent discussions and debates in the Parliament about transitional rates relief for small businesses. As you have rightly said, you have flexib...

Jim Tolson LD Committee

26 Jan 2011

Subordinate Legislation

As the cabinet secretary will be aware, many large and some small out-of-town and in-town retailers are extremely concerned about the Government’s proposal. In the light of his answer to my first question, it might help him to have an example. I have one from my back yard. For...

Jim Tolson (Dunfermline West) (LD) LD Committee

26 Jan 2011

Subordinate Legislation

Good morning, cabinet secretary.Has the Government conducted an impact assessment of the proposed levy? If so, what were its main findings? If not, what was the rationale for not undertaking such an assessment?

Jim Tolson LD Committee

19 Jan 2011

Subordinate Legislation

I am grateful for those comments, but I am a bit surprised by them. I genuinely feel that if we support this SSI there is a likelihood that many of your members will be hit, along with the big retailers.However, let us move on. In written evidence, the Scottish Retail Consorti...

Jim Tolson LD Committee

19 Jan 2011

Subordinate Legislation

We can all quote various figures but it is quite clear that this so-called Princes Street levy will hit not only out-of-town supermarkets but many large retailers in our towns and city centres and damage their viability. If this SSI goes forward, they might either pull out or ...

Jim Tolson LD Committee

19 Jan 2011

Subordinate Legislation

It was about whether the introduction of this Scottish statutory instrument will not only strangle larger businesses but have an inverse disproportionate effect on smaller business.

Jim Tolson (Dunfermline West) (LD) LD Committee

19 Jan 2011

Subordinate Legislation

I am grateful to the panel members for their written submissions. The FSB said of the proposed supplement:“this move is another step along the road to a fairer system ... and we believe there is scope to look at the question of proportionality in the round.”Will you elaborate ...

Jim Tolson (Dunfermline West) (LD) LD Committee

12 Jan 2011

Subordinate Legislation

You said that the response to the consultation was good. Can you give us more information on who was consulted and the feedback that was received?

Jim Tolson LD Chamber

16 Dec 2010

Winter Resilience

I am sorry, but I have very little time available.The main point that many members, including the cabinet secretary, made was about poor communication. That is the key lesson that many need to learn. I welcome Mr Kerr and Ms Lamont’s suggestion of a single phone number, which ...

Jim Tolson (Dunfermline West) (LD) LD Chamber

16 Dec 2010

Winter Resilience

I pay tribute Stewart Stevenson. I always found him to be a hard-working, dedicated and honest man, although he took the right decision—an honourable one—when he stood down last week.Yesterday, I also paid tribute to the new minister. I hope that he is surviving well after hav...

Jim Tolson (Dunfermline West) (LD) LD Chamber

15 Dec 2010

Forth Crossing Bill

I, too, welcome the new Minister for Transport and Infrastructure. I know that Keith Brown has been diligent in many things that he has done in the Parliament and I am sure that he will do his new duties as diligently as he has done many others.The Forth replacement crossing w...