What’s on in our Parliaments this week?

Scottish Parliament 3What are our MPs, MSPs, MEPs and AM’s going to be talking about this coming week?

Holyrood

Women will be a key focus of the Scottish Parliament this week with a debate on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against women on Wednesday which starts 16 days of activism lasting till Human Rights Day on 10 December.

There is also a debate on how welfare reform affects women on Thursday.

On Wednesday, controversy about the SNP Government’s decision to tender for the contract to run Clyde and Hebridean ferry services will be highlighted in a Labour Opposition Day Debate. No doubt Liam McArthur and Tavish Scott will want to mention the fundamental unfairness which has seen the Scottish Government cut ferry fares for islanders off the west coast, but not for the northern isles.  

The Senedd

AMs will be debating affordable housing, with North Wales Lib Dem Aled Roberts tabling some radical amendments calling for the planned rate of housebilding to be doubled. 

They will also debate the Regulation of Social Care (Wales) Bill.

It’s Opposition Day on Wednesday with each opposition party being allocated time to debate a subject of their choice. The Tories chose to debate litter and dog fouling. Presumably they’ve found an old ALDC campaign manual. Their motion is really woolly, though, and Aled Jones tries to make it pack a bit more of a punch. He also talks about removing charges for bulky uplifts to help minimise fly-tipping. I wonder if any Tory councils have them…

Plaid are talking about rail transport and its importance to the Welsh economy.

We are being pretty radical with our climate change motion which calls for 100% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2050 in Wales and recognises the importance of the Paris climate change talks.

Westminster

House of Commons

The big bit of parliamentary pantomime this week will be the SNP’s opposition day debate on Trident tomorrow.  That’s not about a rational debate on the issues, it’s about making fun of the Labour Party who find themselves “between positions” at the moment. Will the official opposition leave their spades behind or just dig bigger holes for themselves?

On Wednesday, of course, it’s the Autumn Statement which will take all the headlines. All we know is that it’s not going to be pleasant. George Osborne might well find a way to placate the tax credits critics on his own benches and satisfy the Lords’ requirements, but who will suffer in their place?

House of Lords

Two new Liberal Democrat peers take their seats this week – welcome to Alan Beith and Lynne Featherstone.

Liz Barker will be raising the issue of the treatment of transgender prisoners, particularly after the death of Vicky Thompson, a transgender woman who was put in a man’s prison.

Jonathan Marks also looks at new legal aid contracts for solicitors.

The House will be debating the Scotland Bill. Ming Campbell is expected to make his maiden speech during that debate.

The Lords, unlike the Commons, recognises the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against women on Wednesday with a number of questions.

They will also be debating the Enterprise Bill.

European Parliament

It’s a packed plenary session in Strasbourg this week, with debates on the response to the Paris attacks and a debate on preventing radicalisation without restricting citizens’ rights.

The Parliament is also debating a motion calling for maximum funding to deal with the Refugee crisis as well as the EU Budget as a whole.

Child poverty in Europe will also be discussed.

MEPs will also be looking at measures to protect consumers who buy insurance and to tackle “aggressive tax planning”

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8 Comments

  • George Potter 23rd Nov '15 - 1:16pm

    You missed out the London Assembly…

  • Penny Goodman 23rd Nov '15 - 1:27pm

    I just wanted to say how useful this feature is. I’m not sure if it’s a completely new series, or I’m just noticing it for the first time, but anyway, a week-ahead overview like this is really welcome. Thanks for doing it!

  • Caron Lindsay Caron Lindsay 23rd Nov '15 - 2:10pm

    Thanks for that, Penny. It encourages me to do it more often. I’ve done it a few times, but not regularly.

  • Richard Underhill 23rd Nov '15 - 10:24pm

    An advert from Gatwick is obscuring part of the text.

  • George Potter 23rd Nov '15 - 11:26pm

    Also want to second what Penny said. This really is a great feature and I hope my first comment didn’t come across as too negative!

  • David Faggiani 24th Nov '15 - 9:48am

    Agreed, really good feature!

  • Good feature Caron. Should be a regular one. (Perhaps include link to the business pages on websites of the Parliaments?) Thanks.

  • Thanks from me also for this really helpful, informative feature.
    This is the first time I have noticed it too.

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