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Hansard

Every contribution to the Official Report — chamber and committee — searchable in one place. Pulled from data.parliament.scot, indexed for full-text search, linked through to every MSP.

129
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415
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2,354,908
Hansard contributions
1999–2026
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Official Report

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Showing 60 of 2,354,908 contributions. Latest 30 days: 0. Coverage: 12 May 1999 — 25 Mar 2026.
John Wilson (Central Scotland) (Ind) Ind Chamber
22 Mar 2016
Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Bill
I put on record my thanks to Dr Nanette Milne for her quiet words, particularly when we served together on the Public Petitions Committee. It has always been a pleasure to work with Nanette. I think that it is appropriate to mention the sage advice that she has given in commen...
John Wilson Ind Chamber
22 Mar 2016
Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3
Will Mr Stewart confirm that he was the convener of the Local Government and Regeneration Committee that produced the stage 1 report that asked the Scottish Government to consider the matter and to lodge an amendment to address the issues that had been raised by many of the wi...
John Wilson Ind Chamber
22 Mar 2016
Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3
No. “We therefore recommend the Scottish Government takes cognisance of the issues raised and, in discussion with planning colleagues, brings forward an amendment at stage 2 which addresses these concerns.” The committee was concerned enough to make that recommendation in it...
John Wilson (Central Scotland) (Ind) Ind Chamber
22 Mar 2016
Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3
The amendment that inserted section 42A at stage 2 was lodged to address an issue that had been identified by the Local Government and Regeneration Committee when it considered the bill at stage 1. During that stage, we looked at the Cremation Act 1902. Section 5 of the 1902 a...
John Wilson Ind Chamber
17 Mar 2016
Food
We must be bolder in delivering opportunities for communities to have the resources to produce food locally. We need to work together to ensure that that works for the benefit of Scotland as a whole, and to end the food poverty that exists in Scotland. 13:05
John Wilson (Central Scotland) (Ind) Ind Chamber
17 Mar 2016
Food
I congratulate Alison Johnstone on bringing this important debate to the chamber. I spoke recently in the chamber about the amount of food that is wasted and I questioned the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body about food waste in the Parliament. We know that much food is be...
John Wilson (Central Scotland) (Ind) Ind Committee
09 Mar 2016
Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
Amendment 1 arose from discussions about the Cremation Act 1902 when the committee took evidence from witnesses. We learned that the Government has not taken the opportunity to update or amend the legislation in the way that we would expect it to do when a comprehensive new bi...
John Wilson Ind Committee
09 Mar 2016
Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
In relation to there being one licence for an operator of several funeral premises, what would be the situation if the inspector identified that one of the premises was not operating in a manner that was conducive to delivering the expected service? Would the licence for all t...
John Wilson Ind Committee
09 Mar 2016
Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
I will press my amendment. I remind the minister and members of the comments made by Falkirk Council. I accept that the minister is genuinely trying to find a way to deal with the issue, but unfortunately the planning process does not at present give me comfort that crematoria...
John Wilson Ind Committee
08 Mar 2016
Continued Petitions
That perception might arise from the East Dunbartonshire Council submission, which describes the committee as the Scottish Government Public Petitions Committee. If only we were, convener. We are the Scottish Parliament Public Petitions Committee and we do not have legislative...
John Wilson Ind Committee
08 Mar 2016
Continued Petitions
Like Angus MacDonald, I think that we should keep the petition open. We have achieved a lot and useful progress has been made. However, the petitioners raised a number of questions in their submission of 1 March, in response to the Scottish Government’s action to date. It woul...
John Wilson Ind Committee
08 Mar 2016
Continued Petitions
Convener, Mr Brodie will be able to testify that the SFA and SPFL resisted the first attempt to get them to a meeting of the Public Petitions Committee. They felt that they were not accountable to the Scottish Parliament for their actions. Although I agree that it might be use...
John Wilson (Central Scotland) (Ind) Ind Committee
08 Mar 2016
Continued Petitions
Unlike Angus MacDonald, I do not think that we should close the petition, although I agree that we should write to the Scottish Government to seek its views regarding regulation. The Children and Young People’s Commissioner has indicated that there are concerns. Having listene...
John Wilson Ind Chamber
03 Mar 2016
Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body Question Time · Food Waste
According to Greener Scotland, every year 380,000 tonnes of food and drink is thrown away that did not have to be, costing the Scottish public more than £1 billion a year. The Parliament has the objective of being a zero-waste Parliament. Throwing out food does not seem to be ...
2. John Wilson (Central Scotland) (Ind) Ind Chamber
03 Mar 2016
Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body Question Time · Food Waste
To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how it disposes of food that is left over from events and functions. (S4O-05594)
John Wilson (Central Scotland) (Ind) Ind Chamber
03 Mar 2016
First Minister’s Question Time · Modern Apprenticeships
An article in Third Force News by the Scottish children’s services coalition indicates that only 0.41 per cent of modern apprenticeship starts in 2014-15 had a self-declared disability. That is in stark contrast with the 8.6 per cent of the working population aged 16 to 24 who...
John Wilson (Central Scotland) (Ind) Ind Chamber
03 Mar 2016
General Question Time · Fracking
In the light of the openness and transparency that the minister has outlined, could he give us some transparency about the community organisations that are being consulted as part of the consultation exercise? After several attempts, I am still waiting for an answer from the m...
John Wilson Ind Committee
02 Mar 2016
Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland
For clarification, do you mean YouTube videos of council proceedings? I am aware that certain local authorities prohibit the audio or video recording of meetings, which includes restrictions preventing people in the public gallery from recording proceedings of the council.
John Wilson Ind Committee
02 Mar 2016
Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland
What about the comment about how council meetings are recorded and evidence is provided? I am aware that, on a number of occasions, you have had to go to other elected members or council officials for comments or for their recollection of the events leading up to the incident ...
John Wilson Ind Committee
02 Mar 2016
Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland
In your letter of 11 February, Mr Thomson, you give a list of things that you suggest be included. Under one bullet point, you refer to situations “Where the complaint relates to circumstances occurring more than 12 months previously, and the person making the complaint could...
John Wilson Ind Committee
02 Mar 2016
Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland
How many reports have been made to the SPSO?
John Wilson Ind Committee
02 Mar 2016
Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland
You said that if someone was not happy with the outcome of your decision, it could go to judicial review. Would that judicial review process be via the Court of Session?
John Wilson Ind Committee
02 Mar 2016
Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland
As I said, I did not want to name the local authority, but Mr Thomson has done so. The ruling was that the council was seeking further advice on the issue at hand. I would expect that, if the convener made such a ruling, members would at least respect it until further legal ad...
John Wilson Ind Committee
02 Mar 2016
Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland
I am quite surprised about that because, in case LA/NL/1862, an issue was raised at a full council meeting. You will know the local authority by the coding; I will not name the individuals or the local authority involved to save their embarrassment about how they deal with iss...
John Wilson Ind Committee
02 Mar 2016
Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland
I want to ask Mr Thomson for his view on when an elected member is not an elected member.
John Wilson Ind Committee
02 Mar 2016
Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland
Would it not be more appropriate for the Standards Commission to make recommendations to the Scottish Government? As you have said, it would be up to the Scottish Government either to reject or to accept the recommendations from the commission. As I mentioned, the process take...
John Wilson Ind Committee
02 Mar 2016
Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland
I take it from what you are saying that it is not fit for purpose. That is the term that I am using. How can you, as the Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland—the person who is responsible for enforcing the code—ensure that it is workable and does not r...
John Wilson Ind Committee
02 Mar 2016
Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland
If the code is not fit for purpose, how can we make it fit for purpose?
John Wilson Ind Committee
02 Mar 2016
Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland
Would you want to make that recommendation in your position?
John Wilson (Central Scotland) (Ind) Ind Committee
02 Mar 2016
Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland
My questions follow on from the convener’s comments. I have done some calculations regarding the number of breaches and the number of complaints that were made between 1 April 2015 and 31 December 2015. I have found that less than 4 per cent of the complaints that were made re...
John Wilson Ind Committee
01 Mar 2016
Continued Petitions
If Jackson Carlaw will let me finish, I will continue. The committee previously conducted an inquiry into child sexual exploitation. The issue could have been passed to another committee of the Parliament, but this committee, under the convenership of David Stewart, decided t...
John Wilson Ind Committee
01 Mar 2016
Continued Petitions
I am opposed to the legislation and the way in which it is being implemented—I know that Mr MacAskill might have other views on the matter. I think that it should be included in the legacy paper, but I would go slightly further. It is clear from the responses that we have rece...
John Wilson Ind Committee
01 Mar 2016
Continued Petitions
I agree that we should pass the petition on to the Welfare Reform Committee, and we should also ask it to include it in its legacy paper, given that it concerns an issue that the committee will continue to look at. With the other powers that are being transferred to the Scotti...
John Wilson Ind Committee
01 Mar 2016
Continued Petitions
I agree that the witnesses told us that the national pain centre would not be contingent on the existence of the centre for integrative care, but I would like to see that in black and white from the Scottish Government and that funding would be made available from a national f...
John Wilson Ind Committee
01 Mar 2016
Continued Petitions
I stand to be corrected, but it is my understanding that the CIC was supposed to become the national pain clinic. Therefore, there are other issues at stake. We are talking about not only alternative or homoeopathic treatments, but building a centre of excellence that can deal...
John Wilson Ind Committee
01 Mar 2016
Continued Petitions
I agree with Elaine Smith. It is an issue that I would like to see included in our legacy paper. There are a number of decisions that are still to be made by Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS Board. Lanarkshire NHS Board’s decision and the way in which the board made it has come ...
John Wilson Ind Committee
01 Mar 2016
Continued Petitions
There is. It might just be me, but I seem to be reading the petitioner’s response differently. On page 2 of her response, the petitioner indicates that there is still not sufficient guidance being issued in relation to treatment. I should declare an interest, because my wife ...
John Wilson (Central Scotland) (Ind) Ind Committee
01 Mar 2016
Continued Petitions
I suggest that we also write to Transport Scotland, based on Mr Stevenson’s comments, to find out when it expects to carry out the evaluation of the Glasgow pilot. The issue has dragged on for a number of years. I believe that Mr Stevenson was the minister for transport when w...
John Wilson Ind Chamber
01 Mar 2016
Footway Parking and Double Parking (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
On-street parking is a blight on many communities throughout Scotland. The issue for those communities is how to deal with people who park on and obstruct pavements. Some of the evidence that we heard from Police Scotland was interesting, as we were told that the police would ...
John Wilson (Central Scotland) (Ind) Ind Chamber
01 Mar 2016
Footway Parking and Double Parking (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
I, too, congratulate Sandra White on her tenacity in bringing the issue forward, despite all the obstacles that were put in her way, including the issue of legal competence. I am glad that she decided to persevere with her bill. I am a member of the Local Government and Regen...
John Wilson (Central Scotland) (Ind) Ind Chamber
01 Mar 2016
Work, Wages and Wellbeing
First, I declare an interest as a member of Unite the union and as a former director of the Scottish Low Pay Unit. I commend the Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee and its members for bringing the debate to the chamber. It is important that we continue to keep this issue at...
John Wilson (Central Scotland) (Ind) Ind Chamber
01 Mar 2016
Work, Wages and Wellbeing
The minister mentioned inappropriate use of zero-hours contracts. Will she define the fair use of zero-hours contracts?
John Wilson Ind Committee
24 Feb 2016
Commission on Local Tax Reform
One of the problems with revaluation and land value tax is the fact that not all land is registered, and knowing who owns the land is important if you are going to have a land value tax. Did the commission look at the underregistration of land? In response to work that was do...
John Wilson Ind Committee
24 Feb 2016
Commission on Local Tax Reform
Minister, you talked about the 45-minute session in which you looked at the land value tax issue. Not only for political parties but particularly for the members of COSLA, how has the learning from the experience of the commission been translated so that people—particularly el...
John Wilson Ind Committee
24 Feb 2016
Commission on Local Tax Reform
One of the criticisms that has been made of the commission is that it tried to work within the existing financial parameters of local government and looked at raising the same level of revenue. That should be seen particularly in the light of demands that will be made this aft...
John Wilson Ind Committee
24 Feb 2016
Local Government Benchmarking Framework
If I am picking you up correctly, the document does not engage in the learning exchange that is taking place in local authorities. That learning is not being done through the benchmarking framework; it is being done by teaching associations and other organisations that do rela...
John Wilson Ind Committee
24 Feb 2016
Local Government Benchmarking Framework
If you are saying that the overview report is an overarching high-level document—
John Wilson Ind Committee
24 Feb 2016
Local Government Benchmarking Framework
I found your comment on other associations doing their own benchmarking on service delivery interesting. I was on this committee in the previous parliamentary session and this session when the early discussions on what benchmarking was setting out to do took place. You can cor...
John Wilson Ind Committee
24 Feb 2016
Local Government Benchmarking Framework
Does Mr Mair want to come in?
John Wilson Ind Committee
24 Feb 2016
Local Government Benchmarking Framework
Why would a local authority need to review the family groups? We are talking about a local authority, not the benchmarking family, reviewing how it interacts with the family groups, what information is gathered, how it is gathered and how it translates that into the delivery o...
John Wilson Ind Committee
24 Feb 2016
Local Government Benchmarking Framework
I am trying to find out what is happening in relation to the family groups. To be honest, I was surprised when Mr Burr talked about fragile area groups and moving away from the SIMD, rather than about working within the frameworks that we already have, which is what I thought ...
John Wilson (Central Scotland) (Ind) Ind Committee
24 Feb 2016
Local Government Benchmarking Framework
We had feedback from the councils on the benchmarking family groups, and East Ayrshire Council and North Ayrshire Council made similar comments about considering how best to exchange the lessons that can be learned. Is enough work being done to ensure that that exchange of vie...
John Wilson Ind Committee
23 Feb 2016
Continued Petitions
I agree that we should put the issue in our legacy paper, but there is a piece of work that should be done prior to the next committee being established. The petitioner has raised a number of questions in relation to the responses received, and it might be useful to send on a ...
John Wilson Ind Committee
23 Feb 2016
Continued Petitions
I am reluctant to close the petition, because the response from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency raises a number of questions. For example, I want to ask SEPA where we are with the research and the trials on potential biocontrol measures for invasive non-native speci...
John Wilson Ind Committee
23 Feb 2016
Continued Petitions
The petitioner made an interesting point about children who are dropped off early in the playground by school transport. The question is when responsibility for the child kicks in. Is it when they board the school bus? I agree that we should close the petition, but I think th...
John Wilson Ind Committee
23 Feb 2016
Continued Petitions
It is not just landslides; on one occasion they had to close the road because of a boulder, which they had to demolish and then make the side of the hill safe. I want to draw attention to the submissions that we have had from members of the public on the issue. One, in par...
John Wilson Ind Committee
23 Feb 2016
Continued Petitions
The petitioner has suggested that the committee write to Professor Alan Paterson of the University of Strathclyde, who has apparently done some independent academic research on the subject. It might be as well writing to the Lord President and asking him to consider whether he...
John Wilson (Central Scotland) (Ind) Ind Committee
23 Feb 2016
Continued Petitions
I just want to comment that the petitioner has indicated that she has been invited to sit on the Scottish congenital cardiac advisory board and the working group that has been tasked with developing the standards. That is a success for the committee. People have taken note of ...
John Wilson Ind Committee
10 Feb 2016
Local Government Elections 2012 (Follow-up)
Surely, you mean four weeks before polling day, because that is the last date for registration.
John Wilson Ind Committee
10 Feb 2016
Local Government Elections 2012 (Follow-up)
I have a follow-up question on the issue of registration numbers. You said that registration numbers are down. Can you tell me what you are comparing them with? We know that, in the lead-up to the referendum in 2014, there was a record number of new registrations to vote. Are ...
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Committee

Local Government and Regeneration Committee 24 February 2016

24 Feb 2016 · S4 · Local Government and Regeneration Committee
Item of business
Commission on Local Tax Reform
Wilson, John Ind Central Scotland Watch on SPTV
One of the criticisms that has been made of the commission is that it tried to work within the existing financial parameters of local government and looked at raising the same level of revenue. That should be seen particularly in the light of demands that will be made this afternoon by two political parties that will ask for more money to be raised at a local level. Why did you want to work within the existing financial parameters rather than consider the possibility of increasing the amount that is raised through implementing a new taxation system other than the community charge or council tax system?

In the same item of business

The Convener SNP
Agenda item 5 is an evidence-taking session on the commission on local tax reform. I welcome Marco Biagi, co-chair of the commission and Minister for Local G...
Marco Biagi
We wish to make a joint opening statement, which—with your permission, convener—I will begin.
The Convener SNP
Please do, minister.
Marco Biagi
Good morning. Both co-chairs of the commission thank the committee for its invitation, and I should note that we are joined today by officials from COSLA and...
Councillor David O’Neill (Commission on Local Tax Reform and Convention of Scottish Local Authorities)
Our commission, which was convened in February last year, met in full on 16 occasions. Our remit required us to “engage with communities across Scotland to ...
The Convener SNP
Thank you very much. Even I will forgo the offer of the box set, Councillor O’Neill. Thank you for recognising the committee’s role in the establishment of ...
Marco Biagi
It will deliver a different result to all the previous reports that have ended up sitting on a shelf, because the people who will have to look the electorate...
Councillor O’Neill
As members will recall, the present system was brought in to replace the poll tax, but it has to be said that it was botched. It was introduced in a hurry, a...
The Convener SNP
Gentlemen, how long do you think that it will take for any replacement to come into play?
Councillor O’Neill
I suspect that there would need to be a degree of primary legislation and possibly some secondary legislation. Realistically, I do not see a replacement comi...
Marco Biagi
I largely agree. It partly depends on what each party wants to bring forward. There are different timescales for different types of taxation based on how muc...
The Convener SNP
The committee has done a fair amount of going out and about and seeking the views of members of the public, and you have done likewise in the course of the c...
Councillor O’Neill
It is fair to say that the vast majority of people to whom we spoke had not given the matter a great deal of thought other than that they did not like the pr...
The Convener SNP
Minister, do you have anything to add?
Marco Biagi
At the start, there were different degrees of familiarity with each of the different types of taxation. I found it remarkable watching people who had never b...
Cameron Buchanan Con
Good morning. A few criticisms have been levelled about why the commission did not deal with business rates or non-domestic rates. It was a commission on loc...
The Convener SNP
Who wants to take that one?
Marco Biagi
Our remit that was agreed on the basis that we needed a detailed and substantial piece of work on council tax, because council tax is the largest chunk of lo...
The Convener SNP
Do you think that, if the commission’s work had been broader, there may have been less public engagement? 11:30
Councillor O’Neill
It must be borne in mind that the commission followed Ms Sturgeon’s appointment as First Minister and was announced in the programme for government. Hindsigh...
Cameron Buchanan Con
The word “parallel” has been used. That is the key. People felt that non-domestic rates should be considered in parallel with the council tax, but that did n...
Marco Biagi
I have been in discussions with local government. We have had regular meetings with local government and with the cities alliance, and the issue of non-domes...
Councillor O’Neill
The two things are very different. If my memory serves me correctly, there are 2.5 million domestic properties in Scotland and around 60,000 non-domestic pro...
Cameron Buchanan Con
That is very interesting. However, to the councils and the public the two are one and the same thing, as the issue is how councils raise their money through ...
Councillor O’Neill
With all due respect, by and large, the public were not aware of how local authorities raised money. The vast number of people thought that the bulk of their...
John Wilson Ind
One of the criticisms that has been made of the commission is that it tried to work within the existing financial parameters of local government and looked a...
Councillor O’Neill
Initially, we looked at something that would be cost neutral but different from what exists currently. Would that remain cost neutral in the future? Who know...
Marco Biagi
I would not say that we took a view on that. There is clear recognition of the fact that there is a positive way of not taking a view on something. For examp...
John Wilson Ind
Minister, you talked about the 45-minute session in which you looked at the land value tax issue. Not only for political parties but particularly for the mem...
Marco Biagi
I think that everybody who was involved knows a lot more about the process than they did before. Certainly, those who came along to our participation session...