General Questions
Common Repairs
In 2011-12, local authorities received more than £67 million in their capital and revenue grants to assist home owners, including in relation to maintaining and repairing properties. Although it is for the local authority to determine what assistance is provided, it can include providing advice and guidance, practical help or financial assistance by way of grants or loans.
Is the minister aware of the situation of private owners at Relief Land in Inverary, who are faced with a proportion of the significant cost of external repairs to the long-neglected 200-year-old tenement? What advice can he give to a pensioner with little savings who is suddenly faced with such a situation? Will he encourage Argyll Community Housing Association and Argyll and Bute Council to adopt a sympathetic attitude to such owners and make efforts to seek a constructive solution that minimises the immediate financial burden on owners?
I am aware of the case that the member mentions. The tenements in question need repairs because of water ingress. I understand that Argyll and Bute Council and Argyll Community Housing Association have been working with tenants and owners to try to resolve the issue. I encourage Argyll and Bute Council and Argyll Community Housing Association to continue working with the owners who are affected by the matter and advise any owner who is concerned about the cost of the work to speak to the council, which will be able to tell them what help is available in their circumstances. It is worth noting that Argyll and Bute Council has a care and repair service, which provides free, independent and confidential advice and assistance to older home owners.
Will the minister consider the idea that all flat owners should contribute to some kind of reserve or sinking fund so that, when a major common repair comes along, there will be funds available to pay for it?
That suggestion and the suggestion of a loans fund have been considered. However, we believe that it is right that local authorities, with the resources that they are given, should take the lead in the matter. It is for local authorities to consider these issues and provide whatever assistance they can.
Scottish Road Works Commissioner
I met the Scottish road works commissioner on 17 January 2012, along with the national joint utilities group and the Scottish joint utilities group. I met the commissioner again last week to review the report on the impact of utility works on Scottish roads.
The minister will be aware that roads are dug up and repaired in Glasgow extremely frequently over a relatively short period—in one instance, 16,000 times in one year. That undoubtedly has a damaging effect on the long-term quality of our city’s roads, even if the repairs are to an adequate standard.
As part of the Scottish roads maintenance review, the Scottish road works commissioner was asked to consider the use of existing legislation that has never been invoked to ensure that utility companies contribute to the cost of making good the long-term damage that can arise in the way that the member describes. The commissioner presented his report to me at the end of 2011. The Government is considering how such a contribution scheme might operate and intends to bring forward proposals that will then be the subject of public consultation.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (Meetings)
Ministers and Government officials regularly meet representatives of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to discuss issues of importance to local people.
I welcome the cabinet secretary’s decision to reject the plans by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to close Lightburn hospital. However, she may be aware that while the consultation process was taking place, a number of services were withdrawn from Lightburn hospital or were scaled down. I seek an unequivocal assurance from the minister that she will ensure that those services are reinstated to the hospital.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde went through all the appropriate processes in presenting its proposal on Lightburn hospital. I considered the proposal—which it is my responsibility to do—and I reached the view, in line with the Government’s commitment to provide local healthcare whenever possible, that it was not the right decision.
In her discussions with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, has the cabinet secretary discussed the positive contribution made by Scotland’s only breast milk bank, which is based at Yorkhill, to the health of sick and premature babies? Will she urge other health boards to consider providing such a service?
I thank Elaine Smith for her question and for her on-going interest in that issue. As she said, Glasgow hosts the only breast milk bank in Scotland. I recently attended an event in Glasgow to mark the fact that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has become the first health authority in the whole United Kingdom to achieve the United Nations baby-friendly accreditation, which is a great credit to all those who work there. I assure Elaine Smith that I will discuss the issue with officials in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, and involve officials in other health boards to see whether further steps require to be taken.
Whistleblowers (National Health Service)
The recently published partnership information network policy on implementing and reviewing whistleblowing arrangements in NHS Scotland sets out the key principles that are to be followed by NHS boards to ensure that staff are able to raise concerns safely, both internally and, in certain circumstances, externally. There are no plans at this stage to develop additional structures to support whistleblowers, although the PIN policy will be subject to regular review to ensure that it remains fit for purpose.
Does the cabinet secretary accept that, within the NHS, lines of accountability become very blurred if an employee undertakes a particular role in, for example, a community health and care partnership, which has its own management and governance structures? If issues arise in such a case, to whom can the employee speak without fear of victimisation or reprisal?
The PIN policy to which I referred sets out the key principles to which boards must adhere within the local policies. That includes information on who the member of staff concerned should raise concerns with in the first instance.
I welcome the cabinet secretary’s new revised PIN policy. Will she ensure that the policy—or, at least, a link to the policy—is circulated to every member of staff so that they are aware of it? In light of the concern about the cuts in nurses and allied health professionals, and the potential effect on front-line services that the cabinet secretary has committed to maintain, will she establish a helpline for whistleblowers to advise them on the correct course of action in the PIN policy and to support them if they decide that the matter must be taken further?
We will ensure that the PIN policy is appropriately circulated to staff, because any policy will serve its purpose only if staff are aware of it and of how to take advantage of it. I have said to Richard Simpson previously—and I repeat today—that I am happy to examine the issue of a helpline. I will not give that commitment here today, but I am happy to consider it.
Edinburgh Tram Project
Last September, City of Edinburgh Council agreed to allocate £445,000 for 2011-12 to its open for business fund to assist businesses affected by the project, with a further £455,000 allocated for 2012-13. The council announced last week that it is considering allocating a further £100,00 for 2011-12.
I am principally concerned about support for businesses in the west end. Can the minister confirm the Scottish Government’s continued belief in the overarching principle that adequate support must be put in place for those businesses—for example, through repeating the 2009 discretionary non-domestic rates relief to compensate them for the disruption caused by the project?
I am aware of the member’s concerns and the work that he has been doing in this area. I assure him that both I and the Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment, Alex Neil, have made it clear to those involved in the trams project that they should be as sympathetic as possible to the long-standing issues affecting businesses. However, the Scottish Government has no locus to intervene in the Scottish assessors’ decisions. The Scottish assessors are solely responsible for determining rateable values in Scotland, and in doing so they are independent of the Scottish Government.
Agri-environment Budget
In the current financial climate, we have looked carefully at the demand for agri-environment funding in Scotland and consider that our proposed budget will meet this demand.
The cabinet secretary may be aware of concerns that true demand in the sector is masked by the difficulty in getting the right support and advice to apply for agri-environmental support. When that is in place, demand for such support, which contributes to our biodiversity targets and supports land managers, increases. In the light of the cut to the budget, how will the Scottish Government monitor its progress towards the 2020 biodiversity target and assess the contribution that the agri-environment budget is and could be making? Will the annual report to the Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee provide sufficient information to allow such an assessment to be made?
I will happily work with the committee to monitor the situation over the coming years. Against a very difficult budget backdrop, we believe that we have enough money in the pot to meet expected demand. The expected outturn for the current year is about £39 million, and we had budgeted £40 million. Despite there being a lower figure in the first year of the spending review period compared with the previous year, given the number of legacy schemes that have come to an end and the number of new schemes that are expected to come on stream, we believe that the budget will be there for the next three years, but we will continue to monitor this very closely.
Will the cabinet secretary agree to review the complex rules that classify land eligible for rural priorities funding for high nature value farming to make the scheme more user friendly and to encourage farmers and crofters to use the scheme and to maintain our precious biodiversity?
Rob Gibson correctly highlights the fact that crofters and farmers play a crucial role in protecting biodiversity and Scotland’s precious environment. It is important that we learn the lessons from the current rural development programme, which is due to come to an end in 2014, to ensure that we get the next programme, which will last from 2014 to 2020, correct. We must very much take into account the factors that he raises.
The cabinet secretary said that there was a reduction in the agri-environment budget due to a lack of demand, but does he agree with me and with RSPB Scotland that the demand has been altered by the removal of popular projects such as hedging, which were creating quite a large amount of demand?
The budget has been cut not just because of a lack of demand but because the Lib Dem-Conservative coalition Government in Westminster cut Scotland’s budget in the first place, so perhaps the member could direct some of his fire towards his United Kingdom colleagues in London. Individual schemes or measures under the budget headings change from year to year in line with demand, and we continue to keep a close eye on where that demand comes from.
Single Fire and Rescue Service
The Scottish Government’s reform of the fire and rescue services will protect and improve local services by creating more equal access to specialist and national capacity across the country and will create a new formal relationship with each local authority in Scotland. Local plans and a designated local senior officer for every local authority will strengthen co-ordination of the emergency response arrangements for all our communities.
Will the minister guarantee that a similar system of gold commanders will be used under the single fire service? If so, how will she ensure that they maintain the local knowledge that they currently depend on to tackle the most severe emergencies effectively under the new, unified service?
The issue that the member raises will be for the new national fire service to make a decision on in considering a variety of other issues. We do not want to mandate that new fire service in advance with our view of what it ought to do. It will be for the new chief officer and the new fire service to put in place the appropriate mechanisms to ensure delivery on the ground. The whole purpose of the move is to strengthen the local delivery and the quality of the emergency services, and I am certain that that will happen.
Will the minister give me an assurance that the vital network of retained fire stations across rural Scotland will be maintained under the Government’s reforms?
The retained fire service is a vital part of Scotland’s national fire service and will, of course, continue in existence after the emergence of the new single national fire service, although the precise logistics of that will, no doubt, change over time, as they have changed in the past. It is something that the new service will have to look at and consider. As every member will know, there are issues in some areas that need to be addressed. However, in a country with the geography that Scotland has, the intention must always be for the backbone of much of the fire service to continue to be provided through the retained service.
Question 8, from Derek Mackay, has not been lodged.
Prison Visiting Committees
The new service is being designed to enhance prisoners’ access to services in custody and the community that will contribute to reducing their reoffending. We want those who will deliver the service to have a good knowledge and understanding of the community justice system and be able to support prisoners as they move through the system. As well as looking to improve offender outcomes, we will ensure that there is no detriment to the overall service provision if the Parliament agrees to disband the visiting committees.
My question has been superseded by this morning’s debate. The cabinet secretary said that a lot of prisoners do not know about the service. Surely, that is a failing in the system and we should do more to promote the visiting committees rather than replace that first-class service, which is praised overall in the consultation. Although I support the advocacy service, I think that it should be run in conjunction with the prison visiting committees and should not replace them. Does the minister not agree that we need a body that monitors prisons and checks on prisoner welfare independently of the Scottish Prison Service?
I appreciate the member’s points. As she says, 50 per cent of prisoners do not know of the existence of visiting committees. As was pointed out in the debate, only two people sought their services in Aberdeen; there were only seven requests in Inverness; and, out of 6,400 admissions to Barlinnie last year, only 14 people requested their services.
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Prison Visiting Committees