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WITH private members’ bills, it’s literally the luck of the draw. At the
start of each parliamentary session, the first 20 of these bills—proposed
by MPs who don’t hold a government post—are drawn from a hat, and if all
goes well the first seven or so are likely to find the parliamentary time needed
to make the statute book. However, they are unlikely to get far if they don’t
have government backing. So I was delighted that John Randall, a winner, opted
for legislation on marine wildlife conservation, such as pesticides dumping and
unruly fish farming.

Randall wants marine authorities to be given the power to crack down on
illegal activities affecting marine wildlife conservation. The bill was given a
first reading and ordered to be read for a second time on 26 October. If it then
gets a successful third reading it becomes law.

GIVEN the delicate relationship between wild salmon and escaped farmed
salmon, Randall would do well to take a look at Friends of the Earth’s recent
report, The One That Got Away. It focuses on salmon farming in
Scotland, specifically on sea-cage farming, and claims that the government has
failed to control its development. Both the farming method itself and escaping
smolt can present an almighty can of worms—marine pollution, disease,
sea-louse infestation, poisoned shellfish beds and much more—if they are
not carefully controlled.

In its report, FoE accuses the Crown Estate—whose responsibilities
include the sovereign’s rights over offshore regions—of promoting a
partisan policy of expansion. It has handed out so many salmon-farming licences
that marine fish farming now contributes 25 per cent of the Scottish Crown
Estate’s income. FoE points out that back in 1999, the Scottish Environment
Protection Agency urged the Scottish Parliament to improve the control of
sea-cage fish farming.

Of course, any profit made by the Crown Estate goes to the exchequer for the
benefit of taxpayers. But we can be certain that the evidence presented to the
committee of MPs dealing with the Randall bill, and decisions in committees of
the Scottish Parliament, will be important issues this autumn.

GLASS ceilings and shrinking opportunities are still the fate of far too many
women who embark on science careers. Now Ian Gibson has asked Brian Wilson, the
minister for industry and energy, what is happening about the much-heralded
review of the career structures of women in science.

Wilson replied that the Department of Trade and Industry is reviewing women’s
scientific careers as outlined in Excellence and Opportunity, the 2000
Science and Innovation White Paper. The study presents interviews with women in
the public and private sectors who have either returned to a scientific career
or who have left and wish to return. The study is due to report at the end of
the summer, by which time the DTI will have consulted stakeholders in the
development of an action plan. The DTI and the Department for Education and
Skills will both be involved in this process.

I understand that, as a result of the work falling behind, the report is
still in a malleable condition. So people with strong views on what ought to be
done should contact the DTI now.