Working Group on Scotland without Nuclear Weapons
Minutes of meeting on 4 February 2009
Present
Bruce Crawford, Minister for Parliamentary Business
John Deighan, The Catholic Church
Richard Dixon, WWF Scotland
Dr Rebecca Johnson, The Acronym Institute for Disarmament Diplomacy
Isobel Lindsay, Scotland4Peace
Alan Mackinnon, Scottish CND
Professor William Walker, St Andrews University
Cllr James Robb, Argyll & Bute Council
Rev Ian Galloway, Church of Scotland
In Attendance
Paul Johnston, Legal Directorate, Scottish Government
John McFarlane, Special Adviser
Kevin Veitch, Office of Minister for Parliamentary Business
Ian McMahon, Scottish Enterprise
Elspeth Hough, UK Relations, Scottish Government
Claire Newton, UK Relations, Scottish Government
1. The Minister for Parliamentary Business welcomed participants to the meeting. Apologies had been received from Dave Moxham (STUC), Gillian Slider (Scottish Youth Parliament) and Scott Blair.
Minutes
2. The Minutes of the previous meeting had been agreed and placed on the web.
Theme 4: consider the adequacy of the current licensing and regulatory framework that exists in relation to HM Naval Base Clyde in relation to environmental, planning and transport issues
3. Alan Mackinnon and Richard Dixon provided a short update on their work under this theme.
(a) Noted that no response had yet been received from the Ministry of Defence to questions put however, that there had been a good response rate from Local Authorities;
(b) Noted that the subgroup now intended to meet Scottish Government officials to discuss and test emerging findings;
(c) Noted that the sub-group was also taking forward work to explore commissioning modelling of the impact of a nuclear accident.
Theme 1: in the event of a decision to remove nuclear weapons from HM Naval Base Clyde, to examine the economic impact and to identify options for the development of alternative employment opportunities
5. The Minister conveyed Dave Moxham's apologies for his absence and introduced the discussion.
6. The Group:
(a) Noted that, following the last meeting, a list of questions had been sent to the Ministry of Defence for consideration but that no response had yet been received;
(b) Agreed that it would be important, as part of this heading, to think about the vision for the future of the west of Scotland without nuclear weapons.
Theme 5: identify good practice elsewhere in the world in developing peace and reconciliation and consider how Scotland might contribute to this work
7. Isobel Lindsay introduced this item which drew on her earlier paper (SWNW(08)06 and considered options for inclusion in the chapter on peace and reconciliation.
8. The Group:
(a) Noted that good progress had been made;
(b) Noted that more information about reconciliation might be provided, drawing on successful good practice and that the report needed to set the vision for Scotland's future;
(c) Noted that available funding to support peace and reconciliation initiatives was likely to be limited in the first instance;
(d) Noted that, in line with the Scottish Government's Concordat with Local Government, local authorities could be encouraged to take up initiatives but not required to do so;
(e) Noted that there was a benefit to peace and reconciliation activities being strongly rooted in civic society;
(f) Agreed that the Edinburgh Conversations provided an interesting and useful model for further consideration;
(g) Agreed the importance of recognising the need for credibility and realism when considering a peace-making role for Scotland.
Themes 3 and 2: explore the implications of seeking observer status at the Non-Proliferation Treaty meetings and advise the Scottish Government on that process; explore the various international opinions that exist on the legality of nuclear weapons so far as relevant to matters within the devolved competence of the Scottish Government
9. Rebecca Johnson introduced this item.
10. The Group:
(a) Noted that emerging conclusions on themes 2 and 3 were closely linked;
(b) Noted that an international conference about nuclear weapons had taken place in Edinburgh on the previous day and that this had generated lively discussion;
(c) Noted that the UK Government was publishing a strategy on nuclear disarmament that day and that this was welcome;
(d) Noted that it was not expected that this paper would include a commitment to discontinue plans to renew Trident and that this was disappointing.
11. The Group agreed the messages for a communique for publication on its website.
Secretariat
Working Group on Scotland Without Nuclear Weapons
February 2009