Stemming the plastic tide, veterans’ charities and Scottish filmmaking
THIS WEDNESDAY looks particularly busy, with Holyrood hosting more extra-parliamentary events than usual (if the sundry guests, experts and MSPs can fight their way through the Baltic chill to get there).
As usual, for those who’d rather remain at home in bed, CommonSpace has all the vital details.
Committee business
While the finance and constitution committee continues to untangle the technicalities of the Scottish budget, the local government and communities committee will be reporting back on what they’ve heard from local communities regarding the Planning (Scotland) Bill.
As CommonSpace has reported, the Scottish Government faces increasing calls for Public Land Value Capture, which would allow local authorities to purchase land at its existing value, rather than its hypothetical (and usually must more costly) estimated value. Whether these calls are reflected among the wider Scottish public may be heard by the committee today.
Parliamentary business
Following the controversy over the UK Government’s refusal to include Scotland in its inquiry into undercover policing, there will be a ministerial statement today regarding a strategic review by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) of the practice amongst Scottish police.
Following that, cabinet secretary for environment, climate change and land reform Roseanna Cunningham will host a Scottish Parliament debate on necessary action to tackle the impact of single-use plastics at land and sea, with several amendments from Labour, Conservatives and Greens expected.
Then, in Member’s Business, Liam Kerr will bring the issue of the veteran charities to parliament, highlighting the difficulty that veterans of experience in seeking help for both physical and mental health problems.
Visits and events
Throughout the day, Place2Be, a leading children’s mental health charity, will be hosting a parliamentary event on developing a mentally healthy ethos within our schools, while a breakfast seminar will examine what effect Brexit might have on health and social care.
Elsewhere, cross-party groups will jostle for space as meetings are held for the CPGs on disability, dyslexia, Women in Enterprise, China and Malawi.
Finally this evening, Angus MacDonald will host a screening of “triumph of low budget filmmaking The Gaelic King, while also introducing Fellowship Film, an emerging independent production company, and discussing the current state of Scottish filmmaking.
Picture courtesy of Graeme Maclean
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