Agenda for the Scottish Parliament

Hume Occasional Paper No. 57

ISBN 1-870482-48-5

Foreword

This Hume Occasional Paper reviews the seminar series entitled ‘Agenda for the Scottish Parliament’ which was held in 1998-99 under the auspices of The David Hume Institute. The purpose of the seminar series was to examine some of the subject areas that fall within the powers of the new Scottish Parliament under the Scotland Act 1998. We are grateful to the Institute's sponsors without whom this work would not be possible and we are especially indebted to the Esmée Fairbairn Charitable Trust who took a particular interest in this seminar series.

The exact schedule of seminars was as follows:

• 8 October 1998 Bill Jamieson (Journalists and author) 'The Economy'
• 19 November 1998 Vernon Bogdanor (Univ. of Oxford) 'The Start of a New Song'
• 25 November 1998 Roy Goode (Univ. of Oxford) 'Commercial Law and the Scottish Parliament'
• 10 December 1998 Lindsay Paterson (Univ. of Edinburgh) 'Education and Training'
• 21 January 1999 Russell Griggs (Scotland the Brand) 'Marketing Scotland and Scottish Hugh Morison (Scotch Whisky Assoc.) Products'
• 4 March 1999 Duncan Maclennan (Univ. of Glasgow) 'Housing and Regeneration'
• 18 March 1999 Jeremy Rowan Robinson (Univ. of Aberdeen) 'Land Reform'
• 8 April 1999 David Simpson (Standard Life) 'The Economics of Independence'

The Vernon Bogdanor lecture has been published as Hume Occasional Paper No. 55 and a background paper to the David Simpson seminar was published as Hume Occasional Paper No. 56. The current Hume Occasional Paper contains a summary chapter reviewing the entire series, written by Hector MacQueen and Brian Main, and also contains the papers by Jamieson, Goode, Paterson, Morison, Griggs, and Rowan Robinson, as used in their seminars.

It remains to be seen whether the suggestions and recommendations made in these pages have any direct impact on policy making by the Scottish Parliament, but it seems certain that the importance of these themes is unlikely to go unnoticed by the new MSPs, the Scottish Executive or the Scottish electorate. As always, it is necessary to emphasis that as a charity the Institute holds no collective views on the issues or the policy matters raised here, save the certitude that they are worth discussing.

Hector L MacQueen and Brian G M Main

Directors

September 1999

Continue on to the Agenda for a Scottish Parliament: an overview page or return to the contents page