By John Knox BBC Scotland political correspondent

The new cabinet has been approved by MSPs

So we have embarked on devolution stage two.

It begins with 14 new bills and a programme for government outlined to MSPs this week.

"We want to build a Scotland that delivers social justice," said First Minister Jack McConnell in his so-called Queen's Speech.

But he argued that social justice could only come through economic growth, which for the last year has been virtually non-existent.

He said: "There is nothing more important to us than growing the Scottish economy."

The first minister went on to list a series of measures the executive will take to promote economic growth:

• 30,000 apprenticeships

• more investment in research

• more support for risk-taking

• the promotion of "an entrepreneurial culture" and "enterprise" in schools and an easing of the bankruptcy laws.

These were comprehensively mocked by Scottish National Party leader John Swinney as being totally inadequate to the task.

He said: "What it tells us is that this administration is high on ambition but it has no powers to deliver real economic growth."

Another important theme of the programme for government is the fight against crime.

And well it might be, because the latest crime figures, for 2001/2, show an overall rise of 1%, to 427,034.

This is after two years of falling crime. And the total figure hides even more alarming figures.

Jack McConnell vowed to make a difference

Crimes of violence, for instance, rose by 9%, robbery up by 17% and rape and attempted rape rose by 21% to 913 cases - the highest ever recorded.

It led to opposition claims that all the executive's talk of combating young crime and anti-social behaviour was aiming at the wrong target.

The increase in vandalism was only 1%, for instance.

Conservative leader David McLetchie said: "This phoney debate we have had over criminal justice was an attempt to manufacture artificial differences between the Labour and Liberal Democrat parties for the purposes of an election campaign."

But Mr McConnell was unapologetic, and said: "Constant acts of vandalism, theft, intimidation and graffiti grind people down and destroy neighbourhoods.

Vulnerable witnesses

"And where they come first, the drug dealers quickly follow. It cannot be tolerated any longer."

So there is to be an anti-social behaviour bill under which courts will hand out compulsory orders imposing a curfew on the youths who offend, or requiring them to make reparations and, in extreme cases of breach of the orders, imprisoning parents.

Among the other legislation this year will be a bill to protect vulnerable witnesses in court.

There will be a bill to abolish NHS trusts and establish community health partnerships.

There will be other bills to allow ministers to intervene in failing schools and to support children with special educational needs.

David McLetchie focused on crime

A new national transport authority is to be set up.

Strategic environmental assessments are to be made a legal requirement in every government department.

There is to be a reform of the system of sites of special scientific interest and - at the Liberal Democrats' insistence - the introduction of proportional representation in local government elections.

On Wednesday afternoon, it took Mr McConnell half an hour just to list the bills he is introducing.

He faced another 60 minutes of questions from MSPs.

MSP newcomers

There was then a full day's debate on Thursday to give backbenchers a chance to comment on the programme.

Some of the newcomers to parliament made valiant maiden speeches, among them the independent Dr Jean Turner, Socialist MSP Rosie Kane and Green MSP Chris Ballance.

The debate was only interrupted by question time which this week featured Mr Swinney asking awkward questions about the European common fisheries policy and Mr McLetchie criticising the executive on crime.

The parliamentary committees have not yet begun work but this week the new structure was decided.

There will be 16 committees, one fewer than last time.

A rather serious second week for the new parliament

The old environment and transport committee is to be broken up.

Transport will be part of the local government committee's responsibility and environment will be merged with rural affairs.

Most committees will have nine members, appointed by the parties according to their strength in parliament.

The convenerships will be shared out, Labour taking eight and the other main parties providing the rest.

And for the first time the Greens are a large enough party to merit a deputy convenership, of the new environment and rural affairs committee.

Queen's speech

And as the committees set out on their work, there was a warning this week from the Auditor General Robert Black.

He found that the costs of integrating handicapped children in mainstream schools - between �38m and �121m - were not properly discussed during consideration of the school standards bill back in 2000.

He is urging MSPs to be more alert to amendments at the second stage of a bill's passage through parliament.

They can often carry costs which are not thoroughly debated and understood.

So, a rather serious second week for the new parliament, with the theme, "getting down to business".

Next week, it's back into the Assembly Hall for the real Queen's speech, written and presented by the monarch herself.

I'll miss the dramatic blue, red and yellow of the Edinburgh Festival's Hub Hall, the parliament's home for the last two weeks.