SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE
General Questions
Bus Services (Scottish Borders)
To ask the Scottish Executive what concerns it has in respect of the provision of bus services in the Scottish Borders. (S2O-8285)
In the Scottish Borders, as in the rest of the country, my colleague Tavish Scott's concern is to see continuous improvement in bus services.
Is the minister aware that in many communities in the Borders there is next to no bus service and the oldest fleet is used? Those factors contribute to preventing people in the Borders, where the lowest wages in Scotland are paid, from breaking the cycle of social exclusion and finding work. Against that background and the recent derisory 2.9 per cent increase in grant-aided expenditure to Scottish Borders Council—1.9 per cent of which is ear marked for ring-fenced Scottish Executive commitments—where is the flexibility to improve public transport in the Borders and therefore social inclusion?
Christine Grahame will be aware that the Scottish Borders did well from the first phase of the bus route development fund and received three awards that were worth £1.182 million. We have provided funding, including through the bus route development grant, to support bus services in the Scottish Borders. I am very aware that local members lobbied hard to ensure that Scottish Borders Council succeeded in obtaining that money. As a result of that investment, several new services will come on stream.
Is the minister aware that the new services will run in my constituency? They include not only the X95 from Hawick through to Gala and Edinburgh, but the 62 to Peebles, the new buses for which were received this past week. That will improve services in response to many complaints from my constituents in the past few years. Will he ensure that those new services are advertised widely to people in the Borders community, particularly people who do not use buses and who should be attracted from their cars on to the improving bus services in the Borders?
As Mr Purvis is aware, the introduction of new low-floor buses and the increase in service frequency from hourly to half-hourly between Hawick and Edinburgh via the A7 corridor will be widely welcomed in the Borders. I am sure that the local council, in conjunction with the bus company, will do everything possible to ensure that constituents in those areas take advantage of the new investment by the Scottish Executive and the new bus service that is its result.
Ship-to-ship Oil Transfers (Firth of Forth)
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to respond to Her Majesty's Government's consultation on ship-to-ship oil transfers in the Firth of Forth. (S2O-8250)
The Scottish Executive expects to respond to the consultation once it is available.
Will the minister confirm that the consultation is about the adequacy of a plan to deal with potential oil spills and not about whether the proposals should proceed in the first place? Will the Executive's response to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency include advice from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and Scottish Natural Heritage? Will the Executive stand with the local authorities and communities around the Forth to make it clear that protecting the sensitive natural habitats in the Forth, including two designated special protection areas, is of such importance that ship-to-ship oil transfers should be refused?
I welcome the consultation and I am very aware of the concerns that various parties, including Scottish Natural Heritage, have expressed. The Executive will of course participate in the consultation. We have not seen the documentation yet. SNH will of course advise the Scottish ministers on the natural heritage implications of the application before responding to the consultation. For its part, the Executive will refrain from responding to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency until we have had the opportunity to consider advice from SNH. I urge everybody who has concerns about the application to respond to the consultation.
I am sure that we will respond to the consultation on the Forth oil issue, but it will take place in the absence of statutory regulation of ship-to-ship oil transfers. The United Kingdom Department for Transport has now informed us that such regulations will be the subject of a second consultation process in the new year. Why is a consultation on the proposed ship-to-ship transfers in the Forth being held now, when the national regulations are to be changed? What role will the Executive play in ensuring that the new regulations meet Scotland's responsibilities to safeguard areas that are protected under the habitats directive?
The member must address his questions to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, which has responsibility for that area. We will continue to take advice from SNH on the possible implications for natural heritage in Scotland.
Care of the Elderly
To ask the Scottish Executive what support it is putting in place to help deliver care for elderly people. (S2O-8309)
The Executive is making provision for expenditure by local authorities on community care totalling £1.6 billion in the current financial year. Of that, around £1 billion will be spent on older people.
Is the minister aware of the fact that, in spite of the record levels of funding, authorities such as East Renfrewshire Council are experiencing difficulties? Elderly people who have been assessed as needing care are having to wait for it, either in a hospital bed that they are taking up inappropriately, or at home, in which case their family often struggles desperately to cope. Does he share my belief that although it is the responsibility of local authorities to manage their own budgets, if it is clear that demand is outwith a local authority's control, the Executive should explore every avenue to assist that authority and thereby help to support our vulnerable elderly people when they are at their weakest?
When I published the latest delayed discharge figures yesterday, I said that I thought that it was important that health boards and local authorities continued to work together to address situations in which people who should really be able to leave hospital, either to enter a care home or to return home, are delayed in hospital. I recognise what Ken Macintosh said about people who have been assessed as needing personal or nursing care. We are keen to work with boards and local authorities to address situations in which they have encountered difficulties in delivering their responsibilities in that regard and we will continue to do so.
Free Concessionary Travel (Publicity)
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will publicise entitlement cards before 1 April 2006 to those eligible for free concessionary travel. (S2O-8300)
The first phase—the current phase—comprises local publicity and aims to encourage card holders to apply now for the new card, which they will need to access the Executive's Scotland-wide free bus travel scheme for older and disabled people. In the new year, there will be Scotland-wide publicity to encourage everyone who will be eligible for the scheme—card holders and non-card holders alike—to apply for a card.
It is vital that we do everything that we can to publicise entitlement cards as widely as possible before next year. Does the Executive have any plans to extend that facility in future, so that entitlement cards could be used for purposes other than travel?
The Executive will consider that proposal. As the member might be aware, we are developing proposals for a young people's scheme and we hope to make an announcement on that shortly.
Question number 5 was not lodged.
National Health Service (Self-management)
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps have been taken to implement the Kerr report's recommendation "that the NHS in Scotland seeks to build on some of the success stories in Scotland (such as the Braveheart Project), and looks at what can be learned from the Department of Health's Expert Patient Project, with a view to developing a more systematic approach to self-management." (S2O-8319)
The Kerr report and our response, "Delivering for Health", recognise that innovative self-care initiatives are an increasingly important way of supporting people who have long-term conditions to maintain their independence and to enhance their well-being.
The minister will be aware that that is happening already in the Forth valley area, in the work of the Braveheart project. With the support of Forth Valley NHS Board and with a team of committed volunteers, the Braveheart project is working successfully with local people with heart conditions. It is involved in mentoring projects and in helping people to manage their illness and change their lifestyles. Will the Executive consider encouraging other health boards across Scotland to roll out projects like the Braveheart project?
Of course, the substance behind the pilot was to ensure that methodologies such as Braveheart work. I am pleased with the results from the project. Currently, it receives resources not only from the Executive but from the Big Lottery Fund. However, the future of the Braveheart project will, fairly soon, be the subject of discussion at the Forth Valley NHS Board. The project underpins what we want to achieve around self-management and the idea of bringing together patients, their carers and the community in order for us to manage long-term health conditions better.
Traffic-flow Monitoring (South of Scotland)
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase traffic-flow monitoring in the south of Scotland. (S2O-8248)
The Scottish Executive currently has no plans to increase traffic-flow measurement on trunks roads or motorways in the south of Scotland.
The minister will be aware of concern right across the south of Scotland from Dumfries and Galloway to the Borders about the impact of increasing traffic volume on the adequacy of the road network. He will also be aware of the changing patterns of road use and the increased willingness of people to commute for longer distances than was the case in the past. Does he therefore feel that the current network of traffic monitoring stations is adequate for the purpose for which it was put in place?
Clearly, the member will be aware of the substantial investment that the Executive is about to make in the Borders rail link. I have no doubt that he is very supportive of that. The project is aimed at reducing the amount of traffic on the roads in the south of Scotland. I think that the project will be welcomed by everyone across the chamber.
I remind the minister of my correspondence with the Minister for Transport and Telecommunications about the need for a pedestrian crossing on the A75 at Springholm. Does the minister accept that current traffic surveys and monitoring of traffic flows tend to ignore the real problem of the traffic peaks that coincide with ferry landings at Stranraer? Will he agree to ask his colleague, the Minister for Transport and Telecommunications, to revisit the issue as soon as possible?
I am certainly willing to pass the member's concerns on to my colleague Tavish Scott. I am aware of concerns that constituents in my own area have about pedestrian crossings.
Roads (Haudagain Roundabout Upgrade)
To ask the Scottish Executive what action is required to upgrade the Haudagain roundabout in Aberdeen. (S2O-8272)
The Executive and the north-east Scotland transport partnership have jointly funded a study into possible measures to reduce congestion at the Haudagain roundabout. Further detailed appraisal work is required and we are working closely with NESTRANS to produce that.
In the light of the delay announced today to the Aberdeen western peripheral route, will the minister accept that responsibility for this vital part of the north-east transport infrastructure is with the Scottish Executive and will remain so at least until 2011? Can we have rather more action than studies?
I am astonished at Mr Adam's response in light of the view of my colleague Mr Tavish Scott, the Minister for Transport and Telecommunications, on the matter. This morning, he announced the new route for the Aberdeen western peripheral route. It will combine the Milltimber Brae section with the addition of a fast link from Stonehaven north that will take traffic from the already congested A90. I am sure that members across the chamber will welcome the coalition's commitment to tackling the transport challenges that face the north-east and will recognise that this innovative solution will bring a further economic boost to the area as well as relieving the congestion at the roundabout that Mr Adam raised.
Very welcome as the announcement is that at last the peripheral route is moving forward, can the minister assure me that the two components to the announcement will not be so closely coupled as to delay the very real benefits that my constituents to the north of Aberdeen—who are without the benefit of access to railway—so desperately await?
I will ensure that Stewart Stevenson's concerns are passed on to the Minister for Transport and Telecommunications. I hope that, unlike his colleague Brian Adam, he will welcome today's announcement, because it will tackle the transport problems that face the north-east and, as I said, will provide a substantial economic boost to the area.
Scottish Water (Brownfield Developments)
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S20-8117 by Rhona Brankin on 17 November 2005, whether its Environment and Rural Affairs Department will ensure that full account is taken of other exceptional development costs on constrained sites, such as poor ground conditions and/or contaminated land, to avoid disincentives to the development of brownfield sites. (S2O-8298)
Where Scottish Water is responsible for bearing the costs of work, either because it relates to strategic capacity or because it is part of its environmental programme, it will bear all the costs, even when they are exacerbated by poor ground conditions. Where the work is local infrastructure, the balance of the cost beyond Scottish Water's reasonable cost contribution will be for the developer or other appropriate authority to bear.
Is the minister aware of worries in urban regeneration circles that the introduction next year of charges to developers on sites where additional local sewerage capacity is required could indirectly increase development pressures on greenfield sites?
I am aware of some concerns. The member will be aware that the Scottish Executive has just consulted on draft regulations to clarify the mechanisms for calculating the reasonable costs that Scottish Water is required to contribute towards new connections to its networks. The draft regulations clarify that Scottish Water will continue to make significant contributions to development and that developers will pay costs above those contributions.
On a point of order. Presiding Officer, would you care to comment on the fact that today four questions to do with transport—1, 4, 7 and 8—were down for answer, but the Minister for Transport and Telecommunications was not here to respond to them? I know that he has another engagement today, and that the Deputy Minister for Finance, Public Service Reform and Parliamentary Business stood in for him and did his best. However, for some other member of the Executive to flounder in giving answers is no substitute for questions being answered by the person who is in charge and responsible.
You have made your point. There is collective responsibility in the Government. The issue is a matter for it.
Meeting suspended.
On resuming—
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