Funfairs (Licensing)
I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests; I am the convener of the cross-party group on the Scottish Showmen’s Guild.
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will consider proposals to amend the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 in relation to the licensing of funfairs in light of the reported economic impact on showpeople. (S4O-03166)
We have no current plans to amend the licensing arrangements for funfairs.
The provisions of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 enable local authorities to make decisions that are informed by local priorities and circumstances to ensure that funfairs are operated safely and to minimise any nuisance that may be caused—for example, by noise or litter.
Does the Scottish Government share my concern that councils are now using planning legislation and requesting the erection of fencing to prevent funfairs from being held?
It is appropriate that regulation is proportionate and balanced. It is right that local licensing authorities protect their communities by ensuring that funfairs are operated safely, and that they cause minimal nuisance to those who live around them. It is also appropriate that there is an adequate balance to ensure that the fun that fairs provide for many people who live locally can happen. We believe that it is best left to the judgment of the local authority in the particular circumstances at the time, but we encourage authorities to be balanced and proportionate.
Does the cabinet secretary agree that some councils are verging on being discriminatory against a minority group? Glasgow City Council, for example, charges £597 for a licence.
I am not aware of the circumstances in Glasgow, but I am aware of the events that take place in my constituency in the city of Edinburgh. I know that they are welcomed by the local authority and the local community, and by the police, who play their part.
As I said to Mr Lyle, it is a matter of proportionality and balance. Fairs provide a great deal of fun and enjoyment as well as economic benefits for those who work in them. It is appropriate that local authorities take on board the need for balance and remember that the regulations are meant to be proportionate.
Bareboat Tax
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the impact of the so-called bareboat tax on the North Sea oil and gas industry. (S4O-03167)
I am concerned about the changes to the bareboat charter tax regime for two reasons.
First, I am concerned about the impact that it will have on the industry, and especially exploration drilling, at a time when Oil & Gas UK and, in the new report that it published this morning, Deloitte have warned about a downturn in exploration drilling and have raised concerns about the effect of the bareboat charter changes in that regard.
Secondly, I am very concerned about the impact on the taxpayer. Colin Pearson of Ernst & Young has warned:
“As rig owners increase the price of hiring their assets, exploration could decrease, leaving us with a scenario that sees a drop-off in the number of new developments. The loss of just one field would certainly outweigh the extra tax raised from this measure.”
Does the minister agree that the change is just another example in a long list of significant fiscal changes—16 in the past decade, by the last count—that have been applied to the oil and gas sector, and that the cumulative risk and uncertainty may have the effect of depressing investment and thereby reducing the economic benefit and revenues that accrue from North Sea oil and gas?
Yes, I do. The bareboat charter tax is bad for both the taxpayer and the industry. Malcolm Webb, the Oil & Gas UK spokesman, said of the tax:
“This can only increase costs on the UKCS where operating costs have increased sharply in recent years ... In addition, we fear that this move will drive drilling rigs, already in short supply, out of the UKCS. Exploration over the last three years has been at its lowest in the entire history of the industry in the UK”.
The industry has said very clearly that the bareboat tax is a very damaging measure that will damage both the industry and the tax return.
I am surprised at the gloom and doom on the issue from Mr MacKenzie, because he was with other members of the Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee at the committee’s meeting in Aberdeen on Monday, at which he raised this very issue. We were told by Oil & Gas UK how much it welcomed the engagement with the United Kingdom Treasury that there has been on the issue; it did not paint the dismal picture that has been painted thus far today in relation to what is an anti-avoidance measure. Why cannot the minister be more positive?
We are being more positive, because we know that, rather than build up an oil fund of zero, Norway, for example, has used the powers of independence to build up an oil fund of £500,000 million. We are being positive, because our message is that the regime in the North Sea and west of Shetland should enjoy fiscal stability and predictability, which it has never had. We are being positive, because we entirely endorse Sir Ian Wood’s report and his conclusion that fiscal stability has not been a feature of the UK’s sad stewardship of the oil and gas industry. I am happy to reassure Mr Fraser that I am entirely positive, and I hope that he will join the yes campaign with us to deliver Scotland’s potential from the oil and gas industry for the next 40 years, as opposed to continuing the misfortune and neglected opportunity of the past four decades.
Question 3 is in the name of Maureen Watt. She is not in the chamber to ask her question. I will expect an explanation from her by the end of the day.
Local Authorities (Support for Former Police Scotland Duties)
To ask the Scottish Government what support it gives to local authorities that take on the duties being given up by Police Scotland. (S4O-03169)
This Government continues to support local authorities in the delivery of their responsibilities in the best interests of the people of Scotland. Police Scotland’s top priority is keeping people safe, which it is successfully delivering. I am confident that it will continue to do so, working in partnership with local councils, to ensure that the needs of all members of the community are supported.
Does the minister believe that it is fair that the budgets of cash-strapped councils should be spent on sorting out parking problems and traffic duties that have been dumped on them by Police Scotland? Will he find the funds to cover the costs to local authorities of dealing with police cuts?
A variety of issues are involved. First, we should remember that the budget available to local authorities has been maintained by the Scottish Government. Secondly, we should remember that local authorities are the statutory agencies or organisations responsible for traffic enforcement. Police Scotland has confirmed that it will continue to address parking that is considered to be dangerous or obstructive or parking issues that relate to disabled parking bays or blue badges. Police officers regularly undertake such duties. Twelve local authorities have already introduced decriminalised parking enforcement and another two—Argyll and Bute Council and Inverclyde Council—are going through the legislative process. The other 18 are either considering whether to do that, too, or considering what other process they are prepared to undertake. However, the legislation puts the responsibility for traffic enforcement on local authorities.
With regard to police cuts, let us remember that this Administration has delivered a record number of police officers, a 39-year low in recorded crime and significant drops in crime rates across the board, especially for violent crime and the handling of offensive weapons. That is a record that we are proud of.
Police Scotland (Meetings)
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met representatives of Police Scotland and what issues were discussed. (S4O-03170)
I was with the chief constable and representatives of Police Scotland at the equality and diversity event hosted by the Gay Police Association, SEMPERscotland, the Scottish Police Muslim Association and the Scottish women’s development forum at Tulliallan earlier today. It was a pleasure to be there and to pay tribute to all those involved, at whatever rank and in whatever capacity.
I continue to meet the chief constable regularly to discuss important issues around keeping people safe. It is now 13 months since Police Scotland was formed, and policing in Scotland continues to perform excellently. Crime is at a 39-year low, violent crime is down by almost half since 2006-07 and homicides are at their lowest level since records began. The risk of being a victim of crime is falling and confidence in the police is high and rising.
In stark contrast to England and Wales, we are protecting police numbers, and we have 1,000 extra officers compared with 2007.
I thank the cabinet secretary for that comprehensive reply. I am sure that he will join me in welcoming the recent nomination of the Scottish crime campus in Gartcosh for a Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland award. Is he aware, however, of the problems associated with inadequate parking provision at the campus, resulting in staff members parking their cars on the verges in surrounding roads? That affects the drainage systems, potentially leading to flooding, and causes traffic problems.
Will the cabinet secretary investigate the issue and, if necessary, intervene in an effort to ensure that Police Scotland replies to the various parties, ranging from Gartcosh community council to Scottish Enterprise, which for some time have sought unsuccessfully to engage with it to resolve the problem?
I concur with Margaret Mitchell about Gartcosh. The building is outstanding and has been admired by people from a variety of organisations, not just within but outwith Scotland. I know that having met the director general of MI5 and the permanent secretary to the Home Office, both of whom cast envious glances at what we possess here.
There are and have been issues regarding parking that have been raised with me by union representatives and constituents. There is a limitation on parking for good reason, given that it is a secure site. Covert vehicles and other things require to be protected and security needs to be provided.
There is a travel-to-work plan. Discussions are taking place between me and Unison; indeed, I will meet Unison in the next fortnight to ensure that access is available. Parking is available off site, and the rail station is adjacent to the Gartcosh campus.
I give the member an assurance that Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority, together with other agencies, including Her Majesty’s inspectorate of constabulary for Scotland and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, are doing everything that they can to ensure that workforce access issues are eased.
The issue is not all about people going to the campus by car, which is why we have to consider public transport issues, but those issues are being taken on board and are being addressed by the authorities.
I have already welcomed the additional police officers, but can the minister assure us that that measure is not now at risk, given the number of back-office staff who have been paid off and the number of police officers who now find themselves in offices doing office work, rather than being on the streets?
Yes, I can give the member that assurance. Mr Rowley is not on the Justice Committee but, as members of the Justice Committee and the Justice Sub-Committee on Policing know, the chief constable, who is clearly the man in operational charge, has made quite clear his intention to ensure that police officers are utilised and are not routinely back-filling.
Sports Clubs (Commonwealth Games Tickets)
To ask the Scottish Government how many tickets for the 2014 Commonwealth games sportscotland will allocate to people involved in sports clubs across the country. (S4O-03171)
I am standing in for my Cabinet colleague, Shona Robison, in answering this question.
Sportscotland has been allocated 1,000 tickets from the Scottish Government legacy ticket initiative. They are being distributed to people who have made a significant contribution to sports clubs, which are key to the development of community sport hubs.
I thank the cabinet secretary for his response. Does he believe that 1,000 tickets will be sufficient to ensure a fair distribution across Scotland among those in sports clubs who deliver sport in their communities every day, every night and every weekend? Will he describe to me how we will have a fair distribution of those tickets through sportscotland?
Although those are the only tickets that have been allocated in that way, there are other allocations of a similar nature. Sportscotland has been identified as one of the legacy 2014 partners. Other partners include Education Scotland, Young Scot, NHS Health Scotland and the Big Lottery Fund. Allocations will be made to groups, individuals and networks whose partners currently work with and are part of the legacy 2014 national programme.
Agricultural Methods and Yields (Improvements)
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to improve agricultural methods and yields. (S4O-03172)
Through our strategic research programme, which is delivered in partnership with our world-leading institutions, we are investing £57 million per annum in agricultural scientific research to support the industry’s long-term sustainability.
We are also providing around £8 million per annum to the SRUC to ensure that Scotland’s farmers have direct access to free or subsidised expert advice on a host of issues designed to improve their productivity and farm efficiencies.
I note that if we were an independent country, Scotland would be €1 billion better off under the common agricultural policy rules as they stand—never mind the better negotiation of the pillar 2 fund, which I am sure that the cabinet secretary would have managed.
Will the cabinet secretary give me some clues as to what he might have been able to do if he had that extra money?
Had Scotland been an independent country for the recent negotiations on the European formula for farm funding and rural development funding, we would have achieved a much better deal. Indeed, under the funding formula that is applied to all member states, big or small, we would have achieved an extra €1 billion between 2015 and 2020. The cost to Scotland’s farmers of our constitutional arrangements at the moment is €1 billion from that fund alone between 2015 and 2020. We can fix that by being a member state in our own right.
Farming and Fishing (Impact of United Kingdom Government Ministers’ Actions)
To ask the Scottish Government what impact it considers the actions of United Kingdom Government ministers at European level are having on Scotland’s farming and fishing industries. (S4O-03173)
It gives me no pleasure to repeat the point that, as the chamber will be aware, the UK Government has, in effect, negotiated Scotland to the bottom of the European league table for agriculture funding under the common agricultural policy in both pillar 1, which is direct payments, and pillar 2, which is the rural development fund, leaving us with the lowest allocation per hectare in the whole of Europe.
To compound that, the UK Government also completely ignored cross-party support in this chamber for Scotland to be given the full external convergence uplift of €223 million that the UK qualifies for only because of Scotland’s low payment rate. The UK Government has decided to withhold that from Scotland and instead spread the uplift over the whole of these islands.
Does the cabinet secretary agree that we can assure a better deal for our farmers and fishing fleets only by having a voice at the top table in Europe, through an independent Scotland?
Well, indeed. Our fishermen benefited from only 1.1 per cent of the European fisheries fund, despite having 7 per cent of the European Union catch and 13 per cent of EU aquaculture production. There is no way whatsoever that any independent Scottish Government, no matter who was in charge of it, would have negotiated such poor deals for Scotland’s farmers, crofters and fishermen, which shows why we would all be better off with a yes vote in September.
MV Loch Seaforth (Stornoway and Ullapool Linkspan Contingency Plans)
To ask the Scottish Government what contingency plans are in place to allow the MV Loch Seaforth to berth should any problems arise with the newly fitted linkspans at the ports of Stornoway and UIlapool. (S4O-03174)
The Scottish Government is investing in more than £60 million-worth of new assets for the Stornoway to Ullapool ferry service, which includes a new vessel, the MV Loch Seaforth, and significant harbour works at both ports. However, neither of those harbour projects includes the newly fitted linkspans that are referred to in Rhoda Grant’s question. We do not anticipate any problems with the existing linkspans, which have been performing reliably over a number of years and are regularly inspected and maintained by the harbour authorities.
Given that there are no contingencies in place should anything happen to the linkspans, would it have been wiser to commission two smaller vessels and use the existing infrastructure? That would have been more responsive to seasonal demands. Will the minister now consider how CalMac will meet unmet demand for additional capacity on all routes to the islands? Will he take steps to tackle the record level of service cancellations that have occurred recently on many island routes?
I am not sure whether Rhoda Grant took into account the answer that I gave to her substantive question, in which I said that neither of the harbour projects includes the newly fitted linkspans to which she referred in both her substantive and supplementary questions. We do not anticipate any problems with the existing linkspans and there has been no criticism of or countervailing view to the idea of having one very large ferry to cater for both freight and passenger services. Discussion is on-going and consultation will happen on the timetable for that service. We will have contingencies in place for some time after it is introduced, through the retention of one of the existing vessels.
Of course we have contingencies should there be a problem, but, as I said, given regular inspection and maintenance by the harbour authorities and the fact that the two linkspans to which Rhoda Grant referred are not included in projects that we are undertaking, we anticipate a successful launch of the new vessel and a successful service, which will enhance the experience of freight users and passengers to and from the Western Isles.
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