Methadone Programme
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the criticism by Dr Neil McKeganey from the Centre for Drug Misuse Research that the Government’s methadone programme is “literally a black hole into which people are disappearing”. (S4O-04204)
We strongly disagree with those statements, as we regard them as ill founded and ill judged, and we wish to highlight the importance of methadone as a treatment for individuals suffering from opiate dependency.
Methadone has a strong evidence base behind it as a therapeutic treatment for those with an addiction. We acknowledge that there is a need for improved data capturing around its use and we are working with partners to address that, and specifically to identify the flows of individuals moving on to the methadone programme and those coming off methadone.
One of the overriding messages that I have taken from my early days in my new role is that many people can and do achieve recovery from a drug addiction and that it is critical that we celebrate the many drug treatment service users who achieve that.
The minister will know that I have had a long-standing interest in the issue, and I can tell him that, eight years ago, my party suggested that every methadone prescriber should be required to record how long a patient has been on methadone and, in consultation with the patient, determine a future treatment plan designed to take the user off heroin and methadone for good. At that time, the cost to the public purse was estimated to be £12 million a year, and according to recent data that figure seems to have risen to £17.8 million a year.
Does the minister agree that we really can do better? We can do better for our patients in Scotland and for those who are on methadone, and we can do an awful lot better to give those patients a sense of hope if we only start recording the relevant data.
I certainly acknowledge the point that Annabel Goldie makes about the need for improved data, hence my response to her initial question. It is important that we understand that it is a person-centred approach and we need to tailor our response to the individual and what suits them. Methadone clearly has an important role to play as one of a number of measures that are available as a package to help tackle problem drug use, and we need to understand the impact that it is having on individuals. It is therefore important to tackle the community health index data and to ensure that we have the quality of data that we need to understand what is happening to individuals, how long they are on a methadone programme and how successful it is in helping them.
It is important to stress, however, that methadone has an important place in the armoury of tools available to medical practitioners. It is obviously prescribed on the basis of medical recommendation to suit individuals’ needs, and we will work closely with all those in the Parliament who have an interest in ensuring that we achieve recovery. I am happy to work with Annabel Goldie and I know of her long-standing interest in the issue, so I am happy to listen to the points that she raises.
National Health Service (Reporting Culture)
To ask the Scottish Government what lessons the national health service in Scotland can learn from the freedom to speak up review about having an open and honest reporting culture. (S4O-04205)
We are clear that all staff should have the confidence to speak up and know that their whistleblowing concerns will be treated seriously and investigated properly. Work is already under way to develop a robust package of measures that complement existing policies and support staff to raise any concerns that they have.
We welcome Sir Robert Francis’s freedom to speak up review, which will inform our thinking, and we have recently consulted on introducing a duty of candour across health and social care.
Will the cabinet secretary, as the Francis review recommends, review the law to prevent discrimination and victimisation such as has been suffered by my constituent Dr Sukhomoy Das, which forced him to take Ayrshire and Arran NHS Board to an expensive employment tribunal to prove his case?
I will not discuss individual cases, but I can tell Mr Ingram that the Scottish Government has fully supported the United Kingdom Government’s commitment to legislate to protect whistleblowers who are applying for NHS jobs from discrimination. Officials in the Scottish Government have worked closely with their relative English legal counterparts to ensure that NHS Scotland employers are included in the UK-wide legislation, and I am happy to keep Adam Ingram updated on the progress of that work.
With regard to having an open and honest reporting culture in our national health service, can the minister state with complete confidence that the NHS in Scotland does not operate a blacklist that prevents staff who have raised serious concerns about services from gaining employment elsewhere in our NHS?
As I have just said to Adam Ingram, we fully support a commitment to legislate to protect whistleblowers who are applying for NHS jobs from discrimination, and we are progressing that with the UK Government.
I am very clear that we need a cultural change in the NHS, which is why we have brought forward the duty of candour. That is about creating a culture in which people feel able to speak up about their concerns. We also have the whistleblowing helpline, which has been in place for quite some time and offers staff the opportunity to raise any concerns. The duty of candour will add to that by helping to create an open and transparent system in the NHS and encouraging people to speak out about any concerns that they have.
Alcohol (Minimum Unit Pricing)
To ask the Scottish Government when it expects minimum unit pricing of alcohol to be implemented. (S4O-04206)
Minimum unit pricing of alcohol was passed unopposed by the Parliament and would have been in place now for two years if it were not for the legal challenge that has been led by the Scotch Whisky Association. Over that time, we would have seen more than 100 fewer deaths; more than 3,000 fewer hospital admissions; and around 7,000 fewer crimes. The case is currently before the Court of Justice of the European Union before returning to the Court of Session for a judgment.
We are as frustrated as many other members in the chamber about the delays that have been caused by the legal challenge. We remain fully committed to the implementation of minimum unit pricing. We firmly believe that it is legal; that it would be the most effective way to tackle alcohol misuse as part of a package of measures; and that it would bring significant health and social benefits.
It is now some two years since minimum unit pricing legislation was passed by the Scottish Parliament, but there has been no further discussion regarding alcohol in a debate in the chamber since.
Given that Scotland’s relationship with alcohol was cited at that time by the former First Minister Alex Salmond as a huge moral challenge, and given that the Scottish Conservatives and Scottish Labour have made detailed proposals and submissions for further action to tackle alcohol abuse, what further plans do the Scottish Government ministers have? When might we hear what those plans are, and why has there been no policy-led discussion of alcohol in the chamber since?
I am very surprised that Jackson Carlaw has said that, because minimum unit pricing is just one of more than 40 measures in our framework for action, which seeks to reduce consumption; supports families and communities; encourages more positive attitudes and positive choices; and improves treatment and support services.
We have seen some improvement in levels of alcohol-related harm, with deaths and hospital admissions having reduced in recent years because of those actions, but the levels are still far too high and we need to do more.
Considerable progress has been made on key aspects of the alcohol framework, including a record investment of more than £278 million since 2008 in tackling alcohol misuse; delivery of more than 477,000 alcohol brief interventions by NHS Scotland; the establishment of 30 alcohol and drug partnerships; and a ban on quantity discounts and off-sales that encourage customers to buy more than they might have done. In addition, we have placed restrictions on where material promoting alcohol may be displayed, and we have run a campaign to promote the availability of a smaller wine measure in the on-trade.
I hope that Jackson Carlaw feels that that is a comprehensive list of actions.
There is nothing new.
This Government is taking real action to tackle alcohol misuse, and actions speak louder than words, Mr Carlaw.
I certainly welcome the brief interventions programme. However, will the cabinet secretary take a look at the Alcohol (Licensing, Public Health and Criminal Justice) (Scotland) Bill, which I launched today and consulted on starting in 2012?
The bill contains 12 further measures to improve Scotland’s relationship with alcohol. As the cabinet secretary’s predecessors said quite clearly, price is very important but minimum unit pricing cannot be a magic bullet. I hope that the Government will support my bill as it goes through Parliament, because it will improve Scotland’s relationship with alcohol.
As has been said on many occasions, we are always happy to look at any further measures, and I am happy to meet Richard Simpson to discuss that further.
Richard Simpson has just said that minimum unit pricing and price are important. It is a pity that Labour has spent most of the years in the Parliament opposing minimum unit pricing. However, it is good to hear that Richard Simpson has had a change of heart on that.
Tackling alcohol misuse in Scotland should unite us across the chamber. As I have said to Richard Simpson—I say this to Jackson Carlaw, too—I am happy to look at and discuss any further measures that members across the chamber may bring, but I hope that others will recognise the substantial work that the Government has done to tackle alcohol misuse in our society.
Glasgow Colleges (Integrated City-wide Curriculum)
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of how Glasgow Colleges Regional Board’s plan for an integrated city-wide curriculum could impact on students and staff. (S4O-04207)
Glasgow Colleges Regional Board is responsible for planning college provision that meets the needs of learners and employers. The Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council advises that the Glasgow curriculum plan is based on a comprehensive analysis of those needs. Following stakeholder consultation in the autumn, the regional board agreed that local communities and those furthest from employment should remain the focus for the colleges. Individual colleges are now discussing their plans with their staff and students. The Scottish funding council will work with the regional board and the colleges to ensure that the right learning is delivered in the right place and that the best use is made of the Glasgow estate and staff.
Sandra White and I recently met Educational Institute of Scotland representatives who are concerned that the new curriculum plans will disadvantage students who would normally study at Glasgow colleges outwith the city centre. They also have concerns about staff being transferred to posts at the City of Glasgow College on poorer pay and conditions. Will the cabinet secretary agree to meet Sandra White and me to discuss how those concerns can be addressed in more detail?
Yes—I confirm that I am happy to meet the member and Sandra White. He will be aware that staffing matters are for colleges to determine, of course. Nonetheless, the Government would expect Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations arrangements to apply.
I can also confirm that the Glasgow curriculum plan proposes a 2.5 per cent increase in activity in community locations. That includes access level courses and supporting more students who live in the most deprived areas, those with low or no qualifications and those who are furthest from the labour market.
Early Years Education
To ask the Scottish Government how successful it has been in implementing the extension of 600 hours of free early education to eligible two-year-olds. (S4O-04208)
The Scottish Government worked closely with local authorities to ensure that places for the estimated number of additional two-year-olds were available from autumn 2014. In the annual census in September 2014, which reported in December 2014, 5,774 two-year-olds were registered for a funded early learning and childcare place.
Is the minister aware that a recent freedom of information request to all local authorities in Scotland found that around 40 per cent of places for eligible two-year-olds were not taken up in term 1? Given that this is a flagship policy and given the importance of intervening early to ensure that the most vulnerable children get the best start, what further action will be taken to ensure that the policy is delivered effectively?
Furthermore, given that that comes on top of the thousands of three and four-year-olds who have missed out on their 600 hours, can the minister say whether Nicola Sturgeon has met the fair funding for our kids campaign group yet? For the thousands of parents who are missing out on free childcare, the clock is ticking and we have seen little action to sort the mess out.
I am afraid that I do not quite understand where Cara Hilton gets her statistics from. [Interruption.]
Order.
In the September census, 10 per cent of all two-year-olds had taken up the provision within the first month of eligibility. That is 10 per cent against a target of 15 per cent. Therefore, within the first month, two thirds had taken up their eligibility.
We are not happy to stop there. We have been doing marketing and working with health visitors and the Department for Work and Pensions to ensure that the final third of our vulnerable two-year-olds take up their funded places.
The First Minister has already met the fair funding for our kids campaign group, and I know that she has offered to meet it again.
A parliamentary answer that I received on 20 March, which I have here, tells me that the details of the funding model by which the Scottish Government predicted a cost of £881 million for the 30 hours of nursery care per week have not yet been published. When will those details be published?
The eligibility relates to work and benefits. It has also been extended to those who are looked after, under a kinship care order or under guardianship. Those are the criteria that we are using.
Physical Education (Schools)
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to increase the provision of physical education in schools. (S4O-04209)
Ensuring that all pupils receive at least two hours of quality PE per week in primary schools and two periods in secondary 1 to secondary 4 has been a long-standing commitment of the Scottish Government. Schools have made remarkable progress: the latest statistics show that 96 per cent of schools are meeting the PE target, which is up from 2013, when 89 per cent of schools were meeting it, and from 2004-05, when fewer than 10 per cent were doing so.
The Scottish Government is investing £11.6 million in PE over 2012-13 to 2015-16 in a programme that is jointly managed by sportscotland and Education Scotland. That includes the provision of £6.8 million directly to local authorities from sportscotland to support the delivery of the PE target and to improve the quality of PE, and the provision of an additional £4.8 million to Education Scotland to deliver a programme of national initiatives and professional development opportunities for teachers.
A recent report by the Youth Sport Trust showed that pupils who attend independent schools get an average of 5.4 hours of sport per week, which is 300 per cent more than state pupils get. The unsurprising outcome is that, at the most recent Olympics, 37 per cent of all British medal winners were educated outwith the state sector. Given the clear advantages that greater physical activity offers for children at school, what more can the Scottish Government do to raise standards and ensure that all state schools at least meet the two-hour or two-period target?
As I just said, the Government can be proud that we have moved very close to meeting the two-hour or two-period target. The figures are up from 2004-05, when only some 10 per cent of schools were meeting it. If a small minority of schools have still to meet the target, that is because of unusual circumstances, which usually relate to the building or to staff recruitment.
The member referred to physical activity. It should be said that 75 per cent of children in Scotland are now meeting the targets that have been set for the availability of physical activity in addition to PE.
Roads (Maintenance)
To ask the Scottish Government what it will do to prevent further deterioration in the state of Scotland’s roads. (S4O-04210)
The Government plans to invest more than £690 million in the coming year to ensure that our strategic road network remains safe, efficient and effective. That builds on the significant investment of more than £6 billion that has been made in roads since 2007.
To continue to make best use of available resources, I have asked all 33 roads authorities in Scotland to consider new ways of collaborating to improve the delivery of maintenance services.
I thank the minister for his answer; I am quite encouraged. Every year, we have a period at the end of winter when there is a great deal of work to do to bring our roads up to standard.
In relation to the minister’s discussions with local authorities on their roads responsibilities, what power does he have to impose a minimum standard, so that we can begin to reverse the decline from which we appear to be suffering?
I am sure that local authorities and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities are interested in improving the condition of our roads. That is why they are engaging positively on our review group.
Given the financial freedom that local authorities have, the £10.8 billion settlement and the new resources committed by the Scottish Government, I am convinced that we will continue to work in partnership to open up opportunities to improve on the legacy that we inherited from the Labour-Liberal Executive and the previous Tory Government. The continued investment from the Scottish National Party Government will help to make a difference.