Tourism (Air Passenger Duty)
Anything that increases the costs for people visiting Scotland can be expected to have a detrimental impact on our tourism industry. The World Economic Forum’s “Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013” shows that the United Kingdom has among the highest aviation taxes and charges in the world, ranked 139th out of 140. We continue to call for the devolution of air passenger duty as soon as possible so that we can develop a regime that makes Scotland more competitive.
Does the minister agree that it is perfectly clear that only with full control over our economy can we hope to manage important potential tax barriers to tourism, such as air passenger duty?
I agree with that proposition. Of course, if the power were devolved, we could do something about the issue in the meantime. We have consistently called for that; indeed, the Calman commission called for that. A report by York Aviation suggests that £210 million a year is lost to the Scottish tourism economy because of those charges. Any action that can be taken to alleviate that cost would benefit the Scottish economy.
In September last year, I asked the First Minister why no estimate had been made of the additional climate impact from the Government’s air passenger duty policy. He told me:
The point has been made previously to Patrick Harvie that, if we can improve air services—in relation to the bottleneck of Heathrow, for example—we can reduce the number of flights that are required. For example, if people can take long-haul flights directly from Scotland, that eliminates the need for an additional flight from Scotland to London. There are benefits from improving our aviation industry and that is what we will continue to do.
Social Housing (Regulations)
Section 32 of the Private Rented Housing (Scotland) Act 2011, which came into force on 30 November 2012, clarified the law in relation to the charging of illegal premiums in the private rented sector. It makes it clear that landlords, and letting agents acting on their behalf, should not charge tenants anything other than rent and a refundable deposit not exceeding two months’ rent in relation to the granting, renewal or continuance of a tenancy.
Will the minister use her powers to make it clear that charges for credit checks or anything else except rent and a defined maximum deposit are not acceptable?
We have already made it very clear that charging tenants for credit checks is not acceptable. When we clarified the law, it was made clear that that would be an illegal charge. It is an offence to make such charges and tenants have the right to go to court to have their money refunded. The fit-and-proper-person test for private landlords can be used to ensure that such charges are not applied.
Business Improvement Districts
There are now 19 business improvement districts in Scotland, including three in Edinburgh and BIDs in Aberdeen and Inverness. Businesses in those areas are benefiting from improvements to the local environment and facilities, joint marketing and promotion activities, action to reduce crime and disorder, and joint procurement.
After five years, the city centre BID in my constituency, which is known as Essential Edinburgh, has done commendable work in revitalising St Andrew Square, handling the occupy protests sensitively and delivering cost savings to businesses through combining waste management and more. What message would the minister give to those who are considering how to vote in the current reballot?
I agree with Mr Biagi’s sentiments about how the BID has supported Edinburgh. The matter will be for local businesses to decide but, to continue that renewal and those achievements, I encourage businesses to vote yes—yes for sustainable economic growth to unlock local potential and boost the regeneration of our city. The argument sounds familiar: vote yes.
Equality
The Scottish Government places a strong emphasis on equality because it believes in a fair and just Scotland, because equality is at the heart of realising improved outcomes for the people of Scotland and because it matters for our economic and social wellbeing. The “Scottish Government Equality Outcomes and Mainstreaming Report”, which was published on 30 April, summarises much of the action that we have taken to date.
In light of the recent announcement, will the minister explain why the religion aspect of equality remains part of the justice portfolio, while the rest of the protected characteristics fall under her remit as Minister for Commonwealth Games and Sport? What is the justification for that?
I am sure that Siobhan McMahon appreciates that the equality agenda spans many ministers’ portfolios and that many ministers have an input into it. One reason why I was keen to take on aspects of the equality agenda was to give momentum to many aspects of the Government’s policy. I will ensure that the equality agenda is pursued across all those aspects but, of course, I will work closely with other ministers. I will work closely with Roseanna Cunningham, the minister who has responsibility for religion and belief. I hope that I can give Siobhan McMahon some reassurance on that.
What action is the Scottish Government taking to tackle the barriers that face women who want to work?
The Scottish Government is taking a number of actions to tackle the barriers that face women who want to work. I hope that Aileen McLeod is aware of last year’s successful women’s employment summit and aware that Angela Constance has formed a strategic group on women and work to help her to monitor the wide range of activity across Government. A cross-Government occupational segregation group has also been convened to consider the wide range of challenges that we face in achieving better gender balance across the labour market.
Independence Referendum (Spending Limits)
The Scottish Government is determined that the referendum should be, and be seen to be, a fair, open and democratic process that is conducted and regulated to the highest international standards and commands the confidence of the public and both sides of the debate.
Lord Ashdown, the former United Nations high representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, is the latest figure to condemn the no campaign for accepting money from Tory donor Ian Taylor, because of his allegedly close ties to Balkan war criminals. Does the cabinet secretary share my concern that no campaign leader Alistair Darling’s active defence of questionable donations is failing the high standards that people rightly expect of the referendum process?
I believe—as I said in the chamber last week—that public confidence in the referendum process, which includes how campaigns are financed, will be vital. The process that is proposed in the bill that Parliament will shortly consider will ensure that the referendum is run to the highest standards of probity.
Manufacturing (Support)
Working alongside industry, the Scottish Government provides integrated support for the manufacturing sector via Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Skills Development Scotland, Scottish Development International and other relevant bodies. Specific support includes the Scottish manufacturing advisory service, which has now assisted more than 3,000 companies. Completed projects have resulted in more than £110 million of value added for assisted companies.
The Scottish Government will be aware of recent developments in South Lanarkshire and the Central Scotland region, including the report of the East Kilbride task force, which was set up after Rolls-Royce decided to withdraw from the town and has gained importance given the loss of manufacturing jobs at Jeyes. Does the Scottish Government believe that there is a case for a national manufacturing strategy to complement the economic strategy and to support regeneration and recovery in places such as Lanarkshire, which has the infrastructure and skills to become a competitive manufacturing location again?
The Government attaches significant importance to the support of manufacturing and the development of manufacturing capability. It is central to the achievement of our aims through the Government’s economic strategy.
Does the cabinet secretary agree that Scotland would have a much stronger manufacturing base if, between 1997 and 2007, when Tony Blair was Prime Minister, we had not lost 37 per cent of all manufacturing employment in Scotland, including more than half of Ayrshire’s manufacturing employment?
Mr Gibson highlights that there has in the past been a lack of focus on manufacturing activity. We must ensure that the Scottish Government’s efforts to fulfil the country’s renewables potential generate manufacturing employment and that the devices and the processes that are used for renewable energy are manufactured here as a consequence of research and development undertaken in this country. That is one vivid example of how the Government is moving forward its support for manufacturing activity with the objective of boosting the Scottish economy and the skills base of our people.
Question 7, in the name of Bob Doris, has been withdrawn. The member has provided an explanation.
Modern Languages (Primary Schools)
Good progress is being made in taking forward our ambitious policy on languages to create the conditions in which every child will learn two languages in addition to their mother tongue. The allocation of £4 million for 2013-14 as initial funding to local authorities will start to move forward our aim to enable young people to start learning a second language from primary 1. I have convened a strategic implementation group, which will meet for the first time next week, to provide leadership and momentum in driving the policy forward.
Does the minister accept that there is considerable concern among businesses and industry that fewer students are choosing to study foreign languages at higher level? Declining numbers of students in such languages mean declining numbers of teachers of the languages in the future. What steps are being taken at primary school level to heighten awareness of the importance of having diverse language skills and to encourage more young people to study foreign languages, for their own benefit and to meet the need for a teaching provision in the future and avoid a teaching desert?
The member rightly points out that, in order to increase the numbers of people studying modern languages in secondary school, we have to increase provision in primary school. The initiative to which I referred seeks to do that. It is an ambitious plan, but it is necessary to achieve our aim. That is why we want people to come out of primary with a grounding in foreign languages.
Gaelic
In its Gaelic language plan, the Scottish Government has committed to making use of Gaelic in a variety of day-to-day operations. We will shortly strengthen and renew the plan. Through that, we will identify how we can strengthen our support for the language. Our draft plan will go out for public consultation.
When will the Scottish Government publish new written guidelines on Gaelic-medium education, as recommended in the Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education 2011 report “Gaelic Education: Building on the successes, addressing the barriers”?
The Government is in the early stages of preparing such guidance, which will be presented. I suspect that the member will agree with the reasons for it, which are to ensure that we maintain the quality and standards—and, indeed, the definition—of Gaelic-medium education, which I know is a subject that he is interested in. We want to ensure that total immersion in the language means what it says and that there are the fluency and the capacity to go on to further levels of study.
Life Sciences (Technology Innovation Centres)
The Scottish funding council’s investment in innovation centres will create a range of benefits for the life sciences industries in Scotland. The innovation centres will give life sciences companies access to world-leading research, top-class researchers and state-of-the-art facilities. That will help companies to ensure that the products and processes that are being developed reach their full potential, produce economic and health benefits for Scotland and add to the research and educational infrastructure.
I thank the minister for his reply, which is certainly very good news for the life sciences industry in my constituency of Glasgow Kelvin and in Scotland as a whole. I note that 22 industry partners are supporting the innovation project. Will the minister provide me with more details of those industry partners?
In all the bids that are taking place, I have been struck by the wide range of partners that want to get involved, which speaks volumes for the initiatives that have been taken and for their likely success. The sensor and imaging systems innovation centre has more than 30 partners, including a mix of 16 national and multinational companies, such as IBM, Thales UK, Gas Sensing Solutions, Scottish Sensor Systems, Scottish Water and Octos. A number of public sector partners are also involved, including the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Scottish Canals and Falkirk Council. Of course, there is also the cream of our university science and engineering research talent from across the breadth of the Scottish higher education landscape. That is led by the University of Glasgow but it is testament to the research pooling initiatives that started in Scotland and which have greatly strengthened the co-operation that takes place across all our establishments.
Before we start the next item of business, members will want to join me in welcoming to the gallery the Hon Stephen Rodan, who is Speaker of the House of Keys of the Isle of Man. [Applause.]