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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.

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Showing 60 of 2,354,908 contributions. Latest 30 days: 0. Coverage: 12 May 1999 — 25 Mar 2026.
Nora Radcliffe: LD Committee
27 Sep 2005
Crown Appointees
I do not think that the process need happen behind closed doors or that it would be seen as automatic. It would have to involve some sort of appraisal of the post holder's performance in post and an interview in front of a panel. Although that might not amount to a full select...
Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD): LD Chamber
11 Feb 2004
Nuclear Waste
Liberal Democrat policy is to phase out nuclear power stations in Scotland. However, we accept that nuclear decommissioning and the storage of waste must be carried out on a UK basis. The debate underlines the key point that no safe method of storing nuclear waste has been fou...
Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD): LD Chamber
01 Jul 2004
Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine Railway and Linked Improvements Bill: Final Stage
This is the third private bill to go through Parliament, but it is the first that has dealt with transport and works. It has been an interesting, if demanding, experience to work on it. When the mountain of paper that I have collected during the passage of the bill is recycled...
Nora Radcliffe: LD Committee
04 Dec 2002
Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
It is important that integration of river basin plans and sub-basin plans be delivered with the other planning frameworks, and amendment 104 would provide for that. Amendment 144 is slightly different. There are currently no appeal or scrutiny procedures for river basin manage...
Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD): LD Chamber
10 Oct 2002
Organic Waste Disposal
I am sorry that I have such a short time in which to wind up, because there is a lot to say. First, I congratulate the petitioners from the Blairingone and Saline Action Group, who have mounted and maintained an excellent campaign on behalf of their communities. They have been...
Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD): LD Chamber
06 Nov 2003
Wind Farms
Wind energy is the most developed of the renewable technologies. It is sad that it has not developed commercially in Scotland, but it is the form of generation that we will rely on to achieve the challenging renewable energy targets that we have set ourselves while the newer w...
Nora Radcliffe: LD Chamber
19 May 2004
Marine Environment
Well, we have managed them within the EU for many years and we have received lots of other benefits from the EU. All the things that I have mentioned emphasise the range of pressures on the marine environment and the importance of managing their impact.The second strand that w...
Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD): LD Chamber
27 Sep 2006
Crofting Reform etc Bill: Stage 1
Crofting has been an essential factor in ensuring the economic and social vitality of communities in the crofting counties for many years. Aberdeenshire was nearly one of the crofting counties. In 1886, the question whether it would opt in or out was finely balanced. There is ...
Nora Radcliffe: LD Committee
29 Sep 2004
Water Services etc (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
I would like clarification on some of the points in your submission. You say:"It is important that Scottish Water should be able to appeal a decision to the Competition Commission or could challenge process through a judicial review."Can you clarify that statement and expand o...
Nora Radcliffe: LD Committee
27 Apr 2005
Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
Will you elaborate on your reservations about the pre-screening process? If there was a registration scheme for anything that had been pre-screened out, would that mitigate what you might consider to be the downside of having a pre-screening process?
Nora Radcliffe: LD Committee
14 Sep 2005
Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
The difficulty with pre-screening is whether we have any control over how people decide what falls under pre-screening and what does not. The fact that we have established recording of anything that is pre-screened means that it is subject to scrutiny, so the phrase will defin...
Nora Radcliffe: LD Committee
14 Sep 2005
Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
What bothers me about amendment 17 is that it would perhaps ask too much of responsible authorities in relation to plans, programmes and so on that would be pre-screened. The whole point is that too much time and energy should not be spent on that process. The protection again...
Nora Radcliffe: LD Committee
27 Sep 2005
Crown Appointees
I quite agree. You are right to say that there would not at the end of the first term in office be automatic reappointment and that there must be a process of—for want of a better word—appraisal to see whether someone has fulfilled the duties of the post to everyone's satisfac...
Nora Radcliffe: LD Committee
27 Sep 2005
Crown Appointees
You are right to say that there must be parliamentary scrutiny of the whole process. That can be done by having a panel of members. The advantage of using the SPCB is that it has elected members who have then been elected a second time by the Parliament. That is also the group...
Nora Radcliffe: LD Committee
22 Jan 2003
Subordinate Legislation
This has been a good morning's work. There is a sense of déjà vu about the debate, because one of the first things that I did when the Parliament was set up was to challenge the designation of the Ythan. I have been through this kind of process before, but the process that we ...
Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD): LD Chamber
16 Mar 2000
Health Boards and NHS Trusts (Public Consultation)
This debate is about public consultation and accountability, but the structure of the health service has been mentioned more than once. I make a strong and passionate plea for us to leave the structure alone, at least for a number of years. We need to allow the health service ...
Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD): LD Chamber
08 Nov 2000
Equality Strategy
I welcome the equality strategy published by the Executive this week. I enjoyed reading it. There is an energy, vigour and confidence in the document that gives me hope for the future. The confidence is rooted in the way that the document was drafted, in consultation with thos...
Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD): LD Chamber
11 Jan 2001
Stalking and Harassment
This debate is a stage in the process—the welcome process—of increasing recognition of the serious nature of the patterns of behaviour that are described as stalking or harassment, and the determination to tackle them. That runs in parallel with the also welcome reappraisal of...
Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD): LD Chamber
23 May 2001
Maternity Services (Gordon)
The genesis of the concern that prompted my motion was probably the loss of maternity services at Inverurie hospital 20 years ago, in the teeth of local opposition. However, the trigger was a recent review of maternity services that was undertaken by central Aberdeenshire loca...
Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD): LD Chamber
28 Feb 2002
European Union Governance and the Future of Europe
As members have said, today is an auspicious day on which to hold a debate on the European Committee's "Report on the Governance of the European Union and the Future of Europe: What Role for Scotland?". The convention that was set up after Laeken to prepare for treaty reforms ...
Nora Radcliffe: LD Chamber
28 Feb 2002
European Union Governance and the Future of Europe
The answer is yes and no. Although we must tackle that issue, the right mechanisms must be in place to enable us to do so. Both aspects are equally important.If we want the Europe that emerges from the IGC to be to our liking, now is the time to think hard about what we want a...
Nora Radcliffe: LD Chamber
27 Nov 2003
Question Time · Elections (Turnout)
Does the minister agree that, for people who have never voted, going to the polling station can be inhibiting, because they are not sure what to expect and what the process is? Is he prepared to explore ways of demystifying what goes on in polling stations, perhaps by taking s...
Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD): LD Chamber
21 Jan 2004
National Waste Plan
The Lib Dems are pleased to hear that Ross Finnie has come through his operation successfully and that he has now embarked on the road to recovery. We also welcome Allan Wilson as he takes up the whole portfolio single-handedly. Well done that man!It might have been thought pr...
Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD): LD Chamber
16 Jun 2005
Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
I say at the outset that the Liberal Democrats support the bill, which seeks to put environmental awareness at the heart of decision making. If I were to sum up the bill at this stage, I would say that it is trying to do the right thing in the right way and that it has wide su...
Nora Radcliffe: LD Chamber
16 Jun 2005
Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
The reason is that those parts of the report relate to bits of the bill that we need to fix. The underlying support exists and we do not need to worry about that, but we have to get the bill right to deliver what people want. That explains the concentration on those elements.T...
Nora Radcliffe: LD Chamber
27 Sep 2006
Crofting Reform etc Bill: Stage 1
I agree absolutely with Jamie Stone. The tools exist to do the job, but it will be a lengthy and expensive job to do it properly, requiring money and resources. Nevertheless, it is a job that needs to be done.I am sorry to say that I found Rob Gibson's speech unrelentingly neg...
Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD): LD Chamber
26 Oct 2006
Coastal and Marine National Parks
We are having the debate in the very early stages in the process of creating a coastal and marine national park. The consultation on every aspect, issue and concern relating to any such park—where it would be sited, how it would be run, the powers of the park authority, what i...
Nora Radcliffe: LD Committee
05 Nov 2003
Nature Conservation (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
Wider matters would go through a different appeal process.
Nora Radcliffe: LD Committee
12 Nov 2003
Nature Conservation (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
I have two questions, one of which is specific and detailed and one of which is more general. Both Professor Crofts and Professor McManus have spoken about how we select SSSIs, the area of search and the technicalities of the process. That is one thing that I would like you al...
Nora Radcliffe: LD Committee
26 Nov 2003
Nature Conservation (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
My two questions arise from the submissions that we have received. An organisation that made one submission says that it"would like to see a designation process that makes available to land managers on notification of the SSSI, the full scientific case for designation.This is ...
Nora Radcliffe: LD Committee
14 Jan 2004
European Issues
Those answers have partially answered some of the questions I wanted to ask. What constitutes a chemical? We talk about chemicals, but what do we mean? That is a fundamental question. My second question is on registration. Will the register be EU-wide? I presume that any membe...
Nora Radcliffe: LD Committee
14 Jan 2004
European Issues
Will the central agency produce at the start of the process a register of what it knows about already?
Nora Radcliffe: LD Committee
21 Apr 2004
Petitions
We are caught between two stools—planning matters and environmental matters. We need both the Minister for Communities and the Minister for Environment and Rural Development to appear before us to provide answers. I do not see how the Executive can say that this issue does not...
Nora Radcliffe: LD Committee
21 Apr 2004
Common Agricultural Policy Reform Inquiry
Would you allocate differently the modulated funds and the match-funding element that you get through the process? Would it be fair to apply the modulated element of the funds more directly to agriculture and to apply the match funding element more widely?
Nora Radcliffe: LD Committee
09 Sep 2004
Water Services etc (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
A right of appeal is part of the process. There is the policy direction, the commission does its technical work, the whole thing is set up and, as I understand it, Scottish Water has a right of appeal, but nobody else has. Is having an appeal mechanism the right way to tackle ...
Nora Radcliffe: LD Committee
15 Sep 2004
Water Services etc (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
You mentioned the basic customer transfer process that you devised. How widely is that being used across England and Wales?
Nora Radcliffe: LD Committee
15 Sep 2004
Dutch Presidency of the European Union (Scottish Executive Priorities)
It is reassuring to know that that process is continuing.
Nora Radcliffe: LD Committee
22 Sep 2004
Budget Process 2005-06
I have a general suggestion that might exert a bit of pressure. We have the pressure of a date by which we must report. Would it help to get information timeously from the Executive to say that we will report by a certain time after documents become available?
Nora Radcliffe: LD Committee
22 Sep 2004
Budget Process 2005-06
There is no back-pressure on the Executive to provide its part of the jigsaw timeously.
Nora Radcliffe: LD Committee
22 Sep 2004
Budget Process 2005-06
Exactly.
Nora Radcliffe: LD Committee
29 Sep 2004
Water Services etc (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
You say that anything that you plan goes through the planning process, so I assume that you are not exempt from it.
Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD): LD Committee
27 Oct 2004
Budget Process 2005-06
I want to cover two separate matters. Dealing with abandoned vehicles is one of the priorities that you have listed. What discussions have you had with the United Kingdom Government about its interpretation or implementation of the end-of-life vehicle directive? It seems to me...
Nora Radcliffe: LD Committee
27 Oct 2004
Budget Process 2005-06
I worry about a looming crisis.The farm waste grant scheme is the other issue that I want to raise under waste recycling. Am I right in thinking that that is the scheme under which the Royal Scottish Agricultural Benevolent Institute used to collect? Is it the scheme that invo...
Nora Radcliffe: LD Committee
27 Oct 2004
Budget Process 2005-06
Right. I would like to pursue the withdrawal of support for the scheme for collecting farm waste plastic. Actually, I will pursue the matter separately.
Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD): LD Committee
08 Dec 2004
Subordinate Legislation
I endorse everything that the convener said. SEPA will have to publish its own internal guidance on the assessment of cost and benefit, so it is a conscious and transparent process. There are safeguards.
Nora Radcliffe: LD Committee
08 Dec 2004
Water Services etc (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
First, I will speak to amendment 2A. I agree with everything that Rob Gibson says, but a title is not something that we need to put into primary legislation. It is better for it to happen outwith the bill process if for no other reason than that Scottish ministers might be ski...
Nora Radcliffe: LD Committee
09 Mar 2005
Work Programme
The process is much more meaningful if we can drill down into the details.
Nora Radcliffe: LD Committee
25 May 2005
Subordinate Legislation
Frankly, I do not see what difference we would make by postponing our approval of the regulations, as it is unlikely that any new set of draft regulations will be substantially different. As I said earlier, there are other reasons why the regulations are necessary. Also, I am ...
Nora Radcliffe: LD Committee
14 Sep 2005
Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
I endorse that. We all regard the gateway as a critical part of the mechanism to ensure that SEA rolls out in a coherent, standardised way and that good practice is shared so that support is given to people who do SEA for the first time. SEA is not a new concept, but a lot of ...
Nora Radcliffe: LD Committee
14 Sep 2005
Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2
Can I get a quick clarification of the process?
Nora Radcliffe: LD Committee
21 Sep 2005
Regulatory Framework Inquiry
Could we come into the process a bit earlier? According to the background papers that accompany the instruments, the Executive has often consulted with the trade or with whomever is directly affected—the people with the expert knowledge. If the committee had a heads-up about w...
Nora Radcliffe: LD Committee
26 Oct 2005
Budget Process 2006-07
I have three questions. First, in table 9.05, the figures for the water environment seem to take a nosedive. Will you explain the reason for that?
Nora Radcliffe: LD Committee
26 Oct 2005
Budget Process 2006-07
With the radical reform of the CAP and its impact on agriculture, the committee is concerned that there is a need—which is perhaps difficult to meet—for advice and information for farmers and others in the agriculture and agriculture-dependent industries. SPICe has identified ...
Nora Radcliffe: LD Committee
26 Oct 2005
Budget Process 2006-07
Table 9.05 shows that more is being spent on noise and air-quality action. I am glad about that, because noise is one of the pollutants of which there is not much awareness. Light pollution is similar. Noise and light pollution have an impact on people and we are perhaps not d...
Nora Radcliffe: LD Committee
30 Nov 2005
Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
Perhaps we are focusing on what to call the person who brings together the animals when our real concern is the fact of bringing them together. Would it be helpful if we were to focus on the physical process of bringing together the animals? We could make that the point at whi...
Nora Radcliffe: LD Committee
31 May 2006
European Issues
We have been out of the market for 10 years and other suppliers are filling it, so we must fight to get our share back. It is only the start of a long process.
Nora Radcliffe: LD Committee
27 Sep 2006
Aquaculture and Fisheries (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
Are there agreed levels of escape that trigger that process?
Nora Radcliffe: LD Committee
04 Oct 2006
Aquaculture and Fisheries (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
Would the enforcement notice not be made at the end of an iterative process, as a long-stop last resort?
Nora Radcliffe: LD Committee
24 Oct 2006
Budget Process 2007-08
I am interested in the target of processing 72 per cent of licence applications within statutory time limits. An explanation has been given, but I am still slightly bothered by the matter. A statutory time limit should mean exactly that. Is there scope for considering when you...
Nora Radcliffe: LD Committee
24 Oct 2006
Budget Process 2007-08
I just worry about the ripple effects on people who are waiting for licence applications to be determined. However, those people can appeal.
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Committee

Procedures Committee, 27 Sep 2005

27 Sep 2005 · S2 · Procedures Committee
Item of business
Crown Appointees
Radcliffe, Nora LD Gordon Watch on SPTV
I do not think that the process need happen behind closed doors or that it would be seen as automatic. It would have to involve some sort of appraisal of the post holder's performance in post and an interview in front of a panel. Although that might not amount to a full selection process, it would mark a deliberate rather than an automatic reappointment. A degree of transparency could be brought to the process, perhaps by involving an external assessor to oversee it. The process would be public—the fact that it was happening would be advertised—so I think that it could be transparent.

In the same item of business

The Convener (Donald Gorrie): LD
Under the next item, we will take evidence from Nora Radcliffe, Paul Grice and Huw Williams. I apologise for the fact that traffic, caused by an accident, sl...
Nora Radcliffe MSP (Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body):
Thank you, convener, and congratulations on your new position. We will be seeing rather more of each other across the table than we have done heretofore. I l...
Cathie Craigie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (Lab): Lab
I understand why the SPCB would want to ensure that there was a smooth administrative process for reappointment, but I would be grateful if you would share w...
Nora Radcliffe: LD
I imagine that a third-term reappointment would be long enough to allow whatever special circumstance was cited as a reason for its being necessary to be dea...
Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): SNP
Does the process of reappointment by administrative means not bring up the issue of the transparency of individual reappointments? I do not want to go into w...
Nora Radcliffe: LD
I do not think that the process need happen behind closed doors or that it would be seen as automatic. It would have to involve some sort of appraisal of the...
Mr McFee: SNP
What is the main driver for wanting to move away from a full formal selection process to an administrative process? If we are being led to believe that cost ...
Nora Radcliffe: LD
I would have to get advice on the cost of the selection process, although I know that it is quite costly. There are other factors that might be more importan...
Mr McFee: SNP
I presume that we would maintain that expertise and continuity only if the person in question was the best person for the job. There is nothing about having ...
Huw Williams (Scottish Parliament Directorate of Resources and Governance):
The costs for recruitment vary, although it is around £20,000 to £25,000, plus a good deal of members' time that is taken up with the sifting process and eve...
Mr McFee: SNP
I am sorry to labour the point, but I am trying to get at the main driver for the change, which seems to be coming out bit by bit. First it is the cost, then...
Paul Grice (Scottish Parliament Clerk and Chief Executive):
Nora Radcliffe has covered many of the points, but there is a further point for the committee to bear in mind. Reappointment is different from appointment in...
Mr McFee: SNP
I recognise the difference between an appointment and a reappointment. You said that the founding acts envisage the potential for reappointment. Is that not ...
Paul Grice:
I take your point. The corporate body flagged up the issue, but if the committee thinks that a full appointment process is appropriate, that is fine. However...
Mr McFee: SNP
Am I correct in assuming that the founding acts are silent on how the individual might be reappointed?
Paul Grice:
Exactly.
Mr McFee: SNP
So the founding acts essentially say that the person is eligible to be reappointed; the person is not barred from holding the post again.
Paul Grice:
I take your point. It depends upon how one reads it.
Cathie Craigie: Lab
Paul Grice has answered one of my questions in his response to Bruce McFee. The main driver is that the legislation allows for the reappointment without givi...
Nora Radcliffe: LD
That is one of the reasons why I see reappointment as a desirable option, perhaps the least-hassle option. It gives flexibility to both sides. It means that ...
Chris Ballance (South of Scotland) (Green): Green
May we go back to the question of reappointment for a third term? You seemed to suggest that, rather than have reappointment for a third term, there might be...
Nora Radcliffe: LD
The legislation would have to be revisited for that.
Huw Williams:
Yes. The legislation provides for that only in special circumstances. It would be up to the SPCB to determine the length of the appointments.
Chris Ballance: Green
So the SPCB can determine the length of the appointment when it is making it or at any stage, regardless of the legislation.
Nora Radcliffe: LD
It can determine the length of the appointment at any stage. That would apply to a first reappointment or to a third term. The SPCB was seeking the committee...
Chris Ballance: Green
You gave the example of a situation in which a piece of work still had to be completed and it was felt desirable to ensure that the appointment was maintaine...
Nora Radcliffe: LD
That was one of the circumstances that we envisaged might occur. If the appointment of somebody for a second term was sought, the proceedings would have to s...
Alex Johnstone (North East Scotland) (Con): Con
I can see the justification for the proposal to move to administrative reappointment, which I would be inclined to support. However, I have one or two concer...
Nora Radcliffe: LD
The process ends with the Parliament having to agree to the appointment, so the Parliament has the final say. If the Parliament decided that the appointment ...
Alex Johnstone: Con
Therefore, if an individual MSP objected to a reappointment, they could raise the matter in the debate on the motion that that reappointment be made. Would t...