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Showing 60 of 2,354,908 contributions. Latest 30 days: 0. Coverage: 12 May 1999 — 25 Mar 2026.

Mr Quinan: SNP Committee

Scottish Parliament<br />Social Inclusion, Housing and Voluntary Sector Committee<br />Monday 23 August 1999<br />(Afternoon)

Passing on an issue such as employment, when we are trying to develop a national anti-poverty strategy, will leave a hole in the strategy. The point of a national anti-poverty strategy everywhere in the world where it is applied is that it is an over-arching policy structure. ...

Mr Quinan: SNP Committee

Scottish Parliament<br />Social Inclusion, Housing and Voluntary Sector Committee<br />Monday 23 August 1999<br />(Afternoon)

As I have already written to Martin to point out, I have a slight concern about the listing of our priorities. Fuel poverty is inseparable from a national comprehensive strategy for poverty. Fuel poverty is clearly an element of a national anti-poverty strategy. As soon as any...

Mr Quinan: SNP Committee

I agree with much that John has said. It is important that we spend the summer talking to people. However, in light of the statistics that were released about poverty in Scotland last week, our principal purpose must be to address and deal with poverty—so many other things are...

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): SNP Chamber

That will be interesting.I begin by quoting some figures from Capability Scotland, which refer specifically to people with disabilities and families who live with people who have disabilities. More than 80 per cent of those who were polled in Capability Scotland's 1 in 4 poll ...

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): SNP Chamber

As many members have said, this is not the first time that we have discussed the issue, and I am sure that it will not be the last time. Surely we should be saying that we are anti fuel poverty, rather than providing for fuel poverty. I always find that such debates take place...

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): SNP Chamber

It is important that we have this debate, and the SNP associates itself with the campaign. More important, we must understand that we do not discuss these matters in isolation, but that events in the wider world impact directly on our ability to deal with the issues of race eq...

Mr Quinan: SNP Committee

Scottish Parliament<br />Social Inclusion, Housing and Voluntary Sector Committee<br />Monday 23 August 1999<br />(Afternoon)

On that point, Robert—and I will be firm on this—there is experience from elsewhere in the world, such as South Australia, the Netherlands, Portugal and Ireland, where a national anti-poverty strategy has been applied. Indeed, South Australia started off by separating the issu...

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): SNP Chamber

I would like to be standing here welcoming an initiative that will eradicate poverty. Unfortunately, I cannot. Instead, I have the somewhat onerous task of summing up a debate that is on the agenda as an apology for Monday's media circus. These documents are devoid of content....

Mr Quinan: SNP Committee

Will we do something similar with the Poverty Alliance or local poverty groups? I know that they are connected, but, just as we are hearing different reactions from different tenants' groups to the stock transfer proposals, there may be different ideas and attitudes among the ...

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): SNP Chamber

Housing Energy Efficiency

I thank Robin Harper for bringing about this debate. As everyone is aware, the Scottish National party will be supporting the motion from our colleagues in the independence movement, the Green party.We have to face the harsh reality that Scotland, where one in four households ...

Mr Quinan: SNP Chamber

I would like to ask the deputy minister the question that I asked the minister earlier. At what stage does the Executive separate the anti-racism campaign from the anti-sectarianism campaign? Does the deputy minister accept that sectarianism, in its many different forms, conta...

Mr Quinan: SNP Committee

No, my point relates to the committee's guidance on reporters. I have not seen a written remit for reporters. According to Martin Verity, the remit should have been agreed when the reporters were appointed.More important, if we are to examine a national anti-poverty strategy, ...

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): SNP Chamber

British-Irish Council

With the greatest of pleasure, Presiding Officer.My connections to Ireland, north and south, go back a very long way both in my ancestry and, more important, in my working life. In 1980, I worked on a cross-community programme in Belfast called the Divis project, which would n...

Mr Quinan: SNP Committee

We keep talking about an anti-poverty strategy, but I cannot see anything about it on the timetable.

Mr Quinan: SNP Committee

You were talking about pilot projects. At any time when you were preparing the report, did you examine local anti-poverty strategies such as those used in Northern Ireland under the policy appraisal and fair treatment scheme and under the targeting social needs structures?

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): SNP Chamber

Clydebank and the Blitz

I thank Des McNulty for securing the debate and suggesting that I might want to take part. My connection to the Clydebank blitz goes back to early 1981, when I was the associate director of the Scottish Theatre Company. We commissioned from Bill Brydon, the then director of th...

Mr Quinan: SNP Chamber

Does Mr Sheridan agree that an obvious and swift way in which to deal with the issue of fuel poverty among our pensioners would be an approach by the minister to the generating companies, seeking to establish a voluntary code for the removal of standing charges?Does Mr Sherida...

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): SNP Chamber

Will the minister tell me whether levels of child poverty in Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Holland, France and Spain are lower than in Scotland? If so, does she believe that that might have something to do with the fact that they are independent countries with complete control ove...

Mr Quinan: SNP Committee

Minutes (Publication)

I fully appreciate that. Thank you, Ken Macintosh—as you know, I use colourful language at the best of times.I am not expressing a deep-seated fear that there is an internal Bilderberg group in the Scottish Parliament. The general issue is about our being open. Let every word ...

Mr Quinan: SNP Committee

I accept that, minister. However, the Americans have operated on that basis for 30 to 40 years. As we effectively know where the heroin in Scotland comes from, it would not be difficult to interdict at the point of growing. The Americans have applied the method with some succe...

2. Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): SNP Chamber

Question Time · Immunisation

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of children due to enter primary school next year will not receive the diphtheria and anti-tetanus injections they would normally receive in the next two months. (S1O-419)

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): SNP Chamber

It is interesting that we are once again debating an issue over which, on the majority of the relevant legislation, we have no power. We should congratulate the new Northern Ireland Assembly on the powers that were transferred to it at midnight last night. I wonder whether the...

4. Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): SNP Chamber

Question Time · Anti-social Behaviour

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are in place to tackle anti-social behaviour. (S1O-3106)

Mr Quinan: SNP Chamber

Question Time · Anti-social Behaviour

I thank the deputy minister for her reply. Admittedly, it was in her speech yesterday. However, can we have a system whereby we make people more aware of the methods by which they can make complaints? I ask that because of the enormous number of inquiries that have come into t...

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): SNP Chamber

Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Bill

Will the member give way?

Mr Quinan: SNP Chamber

Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Bill

Can the member give me an idea of the quality, origins or standard of evidence that will be used in these hearings?

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): SNP Chamber

Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Bill

Clearly, the principal issue at stake in this debate is the rule of law. In any state that is governed by the rule of law, if the state wishes to deprive someone of their liberty, it should prove the necessity of that. If someone is suspected of being an international terroris...

Mr Quinan: SNP Chamber

Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Bill

I refute that totally. The principle that I am discussing is the right to a fair trial. The motion refers to a bill that would remove the possibility of fair trial from a number of people. For that reason, the issue of detention without trial is relevant to the debate.

Mr Quinan: SNP Chamber

Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Bill

I will not take an intervention at the moment from Mr Gray.Historically, the use of detention without trial in this country has been a singular failure. The use of internment in Northern Ireland, where there was no burden of proof whatever, resulted in the arrest of 340 people...

Mr Quinan: SNP Chamber

Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Bill

During the past number of years of troubles in Northern Ireland, UK citizens urged other UK citizens to take up arms against Britain. Why did we not have similar legislation during that period?

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): SNP Chamber

Anti-nuclear Campaign (Faslane)

Will Mr Gorrie explain why his party's support for the retention of three Trident submarines whose weapons cannot be fired without the agreement of the Americans is an acceptable position but support for the missile defence system is not?

Mr Quinan: SNP Chamber

Anti-nuclear Campaign (Faslane)

Must we have jobs at any price?

Mr Quinan: SNP Chamber

Anti-nuclear Campaign (Faslane)

Will the minister give way?

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): SNP Chamber

While welcoming the campaign, I seek clarification on two issues. I note that the minister stated that she wants to tackle religious discrimination. What distinction is made in the strategy between racism and sectarianism? Does she recognise that the concept of sectarianism co...

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): SNP Chamber

Anti-war on Iraq Demonstration

Some of the speeches this morning have shown clearly that there is an absolute lack of clarity and understanding about the issue. The war on terrorism and the attack on Iraq are two separate issues. At no stage has anybody been able to produce any evidence that the current reg...

Mr Quinan: SNP Chamber

Anti-war on Iraq Demonstration

Mr Quinan: SNP Chamber

Anti-war on Iraq Demonstration

In the long run, we must understand—Interruption. I am sorry—does Ms Hughes have something to say?

Mr Quinan: SNP Chamber

Anti-war on Iraq Demonstration

The reality is that we will make the world more unsafe by attacking Iraq—the situation is as simple as that. We must understand that international terrorism has increased because of a failure to recognise the problem with the state of Israel. We could create the circumstances ...

Mr Quinan: SNP Chamber

International Situation (Contingency Planning)

Further to that point, Presiding Officer, within the past 10 minutes four people have attempted to get tickets for the gallery—which, as you can see, has a considerable number of empty seats—but were told in the Parliament visitor centre that no seats were available for them b...

Mr Quinan: SNP Chamber

I do not think that I need to reply to that speech. We have spoken about the need to see improvements. The new shiny Labour council in West Dunbartonshire, where I live, has taken that to heart. In West Dunbartonshire, the number of people applying as homeless appears to have ...

Mr Quinan: SNP Committee

I mention the issue because a national poverty strategy in Scotland could be thought of as being local to Scotland within a UK context. That would allow us to deal with issues that are reserved. Do you have an opinion on that?

Mr Quinan: SNP Chamber

Question Time · Fire Services

Is the deputy minister aware that the Scottish region of the Fire Brigades Union agrees with the national motion that was passed that if the conditions of service are changed— something that it fully expects to happen—there will be national industrial action? The union believe...

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): SNP Chamber

National Cultural Strategy

The one issue that slightly concerns me about this debate is that there has been little or no discussion about practitioners of the arts or artists. There has been an awful lot of talk about meaningful, to-be-desired initiatives and consultations, yet no mention of the Broadca...

Mr Quinan: SNP Chamber

No, thank you.I have here a letter from the insurance and related financial services national training organisation, which says: "In England there is a National Traineeship programme which provides funding for 16-18 year olds who, for social or educational reasons, wish to sta...

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): SNP Chamber

We have talked a lot today about what the European Union has done for us. I will paraphrase slightly the words of John F Kennedy, because we should really be thinking about what we can do in Europe—to be specific, we should be talking about what the Scottish Parliament can do ...

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): SNP Chamber

Autism Awareness Year

This is my first opportunity to say how nice it is to see Mr Tosh in the chair.I declare two interests. I am the convener of the cross-party group on autistic spectrum disorder and I am the patron of the Strathclyde Autistic Society.I thank Kenneth Macintosh for his support on...

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): SNP Chamber

Autism Awareness Week

I am delighted again to be afforded the opportunity to raise awareness of autistic spectrum disorders in the chamber, even if it is slightly due to the hand of fate and the interference of our esteemed legal establishment. Nonetheless, as I look around the chamber, I see many ...

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): SNP Chamber

Theatre in Scotland

I need to declare an interest. I was a member of Equity for 20 years. I am the ex-associate director of the Scottish Theatre Company, which was one of the attempts to create a national company in this country. I was also associate director of the Traverse Theatre and the artis...

Mr Quinan: SNP Committee

Funnily enough, I want to follow on from another point that John made. The effect of the hard drug culture in poor areas, particularly with the explosion in the use of heroin, in some ways defines Glasgow and Glasgow's huge poverty problems. One issue that has never been looke...

Mr Quinan: SNP Committee

Scottish Parliament<br />Social Inclusion, Housing and Voluntary Sector Committee<br />Monday 23 August 1999<br />(Afternoon)

The point I am making is that if we get Angus MacKay here and find out what the intentions are, that will clear the ground for us to do what Margaret is suggesting, which is to look at drugs in the context of poverty.

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): SNP Committee

Abolition of Poindings and Warrant Sales Bill

I apologise for being late and thank Kait Laughlin and Margo Kirkwood in particular for their evidence. My question is for Mary Patterson and Bill Scott. Do you agree that warrant sales seldom recover the amount that is being sought and, in particular, that they are used on pe...

Mr Quinan: SNP Committee

They are not driven by the need to eradicate fuel poverty in Scotland?

17. Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): SNP Chamber

Question Time · Fuel Poverty (People with Disabilities)

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it intends to implement to alleviate fuel poverty among people with disabilities. (S1O-96) The Deputy Minister for Social Inclusion, Equality and the Voluntary Sector (Jackie Baillie): The new warm deal will be introduced on 1 July. ...

Mr Quinan: SNP Chamber

Voluntary Sector

Let us consider the burden that has been placed on the third sector as a result of the policies of this Government and of the previous Government. Policies such as the new deal and changes in social work practice build in an assumption that the voluntary sector will be called ...

Mr Quinan: SNP Chamber

Let us get back to the crux of the matter. The SNP calls for a substance misuse strategy committee—not to criticise what the Executive intends to do, but to assist it in carrying it out. We want to help the agencies that are involved to carry out their work and to tackle subst...

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): SNP Chamber

Will the minister give way?

Mr Quinan: SNP Chamber

Just answer the question.

Mr Quinan: SNP Chamber

If the minister does not know the answer, she should admit it.

Mr Quinan: SNP Chamber

The minister has not answered the question.

Mr Quinan: SNP Chamber

Will the member give way?

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Committee

Social Inclusion, Housing and Voluntary Sector Committee, 23 Aug 1999

23 Aug 1999 · S1 · Social Inclusion, Housing and Voluntary Sector Committee

Item of business

Scottish Parliament<br />Social Inclusion, Housing and Voluntary Sector Committee<br />Monday 23 August 1999<br />(Afternoon)

Quinan, Mr Lloyd SNP West of Scotland Watch on SPTV

Passing on an issue such as employment, when we are trying to develop a national anti-poverty strategy, will leave a hole in the strategy. The point of a national anti-poverty strategy everywhere in the world where it is applied is that it is an over-arching policy structure. It is the management of policy whereby each and every department and committee is subordinate to the policy.If we accept that we want to develop a national anti-poverty strategy we must accept that there will be times when we are working in other committees' areas. It is our job to convince the other committees that for the benefit of the country and for the eradication of poverty we need a national anti-poverty strategy, which means that some people have to put their egos in the bottom drawer for a while. If we are going to talk about a national anti-poverty strategy let us be clear about what it really means: it means effectively taking elements of power away from the Executive, committees and departments. That is the only way that the policy will work. If we do not do that the policy will end up with gaps in it. We must decide on that principle at the outset, drawing on the experience of those in the rest of the world who have implemented such a policy.

In the same item of business

The Convener opened the meeting at 14:04

The Convener (Ms Margaret Curran): Lab

One member of the committee who is not yet present has indicated that he will join us later. I am also led to believe that Keith Raffan is quite ill.

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): LD

The poor man is flat on his back at the moment. He sends his apologies.

The Convener: Lab

I am sure that everyone sends him their best wishes.I formally open the meeting and welcome everyone who is here, particularly the members of the committee, ...

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): SNP

Everybody likes you, Margaret.

The Convener: Lab

It is a shame that they are outside and not in the meeting.We have time to have a full and proper discussion today. Before I move on to discuss our prioritie...

Mr Quinan: SNP

As I have already written to Martin to point out, I have a slight concern about the listing of our priorities. Fuel poverty is inseparable from a national co...

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): SNP

I was going to raise exactly the same issue. In fact, the convener in her paper subdivided the national strategy into three strands. Fuel poverty is not ment...

The Convener: Lab

I have an open mind on this subject and I am happy to put fuel poverty where you suggest, Alex. Given some of the Executive initiatives that are around, it m...

Robert Brown: LD

It is also important to break the subject down into discrete, workable pieces that we can deal with, doing something useful, as opposed to the risk of having...

Mr Quinan: SNP

On that point, Robert—and I will be firm on this—there is experience from elsewhere in the world, such as South Australia, the Netherlands, Portugal and Irel...

Robert Brown: LD

If I may say so, convener, we should not be arguing about the detail of the strategy.

The Convener: Lab

Can I stop you, Lloyd, as we are getting into the meat of the paper itself, and your point raises one of the big arguments in this field. We should try to ap...

Alex Neil: SNP

Two areas that are central to any discussion about the causes of poverty and, more important, about how to eliminate poverty are unemployment and benefits. A...

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): SSP

I apologise if I missed this issue being debated at an earlier committee meeting and it has already been discussed. One of my concerns early doors about this...

The Convener: Lab

Those are two big points that come up in the debate about poverty all the time. Part of the reason that I have structured the paper in this way—and I did thi...

Bill Aitken (Glasgow) (Con): Con

It is important that the committee must set itself some guidelines as to the nature of its discussions, but we must also ensure that the achievements that th...

The Convener: Lab

I am not suggesting that we should not define poverty and should not set standards as to how we measure our work and judge our effectiveness. What I am sayin...

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): SNP

I suggest that we move on through the paper. It is important to stress that, although this committee was the last to start, we are now meeting for the third ...

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): Lab

May I say something before we conclude this part of the discussion? It is important before we start our work that we have a clear framework for the way in wh...

The Convener: Lab

I now want to look at point 2 on the paper to propose priorities. As some of you may know, tomorrow afternoon the conveners of committees will meet to consid...

Alex Neil: SNP

We have been talking about the guidelines for the work programme but we have not mentioned the time scale. Is this work programme for the next 12 months or f...

The Convener: Lab

That is for us to decide today. I did not want to do so because I thought that that might have been pre-emptive. My view is that the work programme is for th...

Fiona Hyslop: SNP

One of the suggestions was that we investigate suitable dates for the minister to come before the committee, especially to discuss some of the issues that we...

The Convener: Lab

At our informal meeting, we were not sure whether we should get a written statement from the minister, which would mean that we could question her and not ju...

Bill Aitken: Con

It is important that we have a written statement prior to such a meeting. The minister can then by all means speak to us to augment that statement. We would ...

The Convener: Lab

That might be helpful across the range of subjects that this committee covers. We must think a wee bit about how we manage it. It might, for example, be wort...

Fiona Hyslop: SNP

That can be raised when we discuss housing. I have been through a number of the summary responses to the green paper on housing and my concern is that, by th...

The Convener: Lab

Immediately after this meeting, we will ask the minister for a statement, which we will have distributed to members of the committee. We will also request an...

Alex Neil: SNP

I would like to follow on from my earlier point. The Secretary of State for Social Security made a statement yesterday on targets for the reduction of povert...