Engagements
Later today I will be taking forward the Government’s programme for Scotland.
Will the First Minister agree that, if his much-promised 1,000 extra bobbies on the beat are actually bobbies stuck in the back room, his promise on police numbers is just a con?
No. We have a record number of police officers in Scotland—1,190 more than when we took office and 1,190 more than we were promised by the Labour Party at the previous election. Despite the extraordinary pressure on Scottish budgets, thanks to our deal with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities—except the Labour Party, unfortunately—we have every opportunity to maintain the record numbers of front-line police officers in Scotland. Everyone should welcome that achievement.
I am all in favour of police officers; I just think that they should be out on the beat, policing. The reality on the ground is as described to me by a civilian custody support worker who contacted me to say that he is to lose his job, but only after he has trained a new police recruit who will replace him. He said:
The only cons that are going down in Scotland is the number of criminals, as we have a 30-year low in recorded crime. The test of front-line policing is in the crime statistics. That is what should convince even Iain Gray that there are 1,190 more police officers on the streets and communities of Scotland than there were in March 2007.
The crime statistics are not testament to the First Minister; they are testament to the work of police officers, like—[Interruption.]
Order.
The figures are testament to the work of police officers such as Detective Inspector Paul Swinburne from East Kilbride. He has 30 years’ service, and this year he has seen 10 murders solved, 50 house break-ins solved, and eight drug dealers brought to justice. He has received five commendations, a Royal Humane Society award, and two police medals. Surely he is exactly the kind of dedicated police officer we want. No: he is being released. Why? So that he can be replaced by cheaper probationers, so that the SNP can get its 1,000 police officers. Does the First Minister think that the police should be protecting the public or protecting his election pledges?
Yes, of course the drop in the level of recorded crime, which gives us the lowest crime statistics for 30 years in Scotland, is due to the work of front-line police officers. Thankfully, there are 1,190 more of them than there would have been under the Labour Party—and the process goes on. In our negotiations with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, as we negotiated to maintain the number of front-line police officers, every other party in Scotland saw the priority in keeping that number in place except the Labour Party, which does not regard it as a priority. A political party that went into the last election promising zero extra police officers, that then forecast that it would take 13 years for the SNP Government to achieve the target of 1,000 extra police officers and was proved wrong, and that now, in local authorities, is doing its best to scupper the deal that will maintain police numbers can do many things, but it cannot come along to this chamber with a shred of credibility and start weeping crocodile tears for police officers in Scotland.
It is the real experience of real experienced police officers and civilian support staff that I bring, but which the First Minister treats with contempt. When I was a justice minister, we worked to release hundreds of police officers from back-room work in order that they could do their jobs on the streets, and we worked to keep experienced police officers in place. Every time we hear the First Minister talk about 1,000 police officers, we should remember that it is a con. Support staff are being sacked so that they can be replaced by police officers who are taken off the beat, and experienced officers are being forced out. Grampian Police have called it “naive”; Unison has called it “a cosmetic political exercise”.
If I were Iain Gray, I would not remind the people of Scotland of the days when he was a justice minister. When he was a justice minister, the level of crime in Scotland was much higher than it is today.
Secretary of State for Scotland (Meetings)
I have no plans to meet the secretary of state in the near future.
We have seen the worst winter weather in November for 40 years. I pay tribute to all our public service workers in transport, in our hospitals and in our general practitioner surgeries. I pay special tribute to our care workers, who have battled through the snow to reach the most vulnerable people in our communities. Does the First Minister agree that a powerful message can be sent from the Parliament that there is a duty on all of us who are fit and able to keep an eye on our elderly and frail neighbours—to lift the phone and see whether we can help? The First Minister and I do not always agree but, on this occasion, will he join me in saying that this is a time for us all to muck in?
I congratulate Annabel Goldie on turning to the dominating issue of the week and on the way in which she made her comments.
We read that four out of five people have made it to work this week; that is, indeed, incredible.
I know that Annabel Goldie will have seen the advice from the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning that has gone out today to every education authority, which stresses the importance of the headteacher as the key decision maker in this regard and the importance of the decisions being made as early as possible, in order to give parents notice.
Cabinet (Meetings)
The next meeting of the Cabinet will discuss issues of importance to the people of Scotland.
The First Minister will know that, this morning, the United Kingdom Government announced that there is to be a review of how transport operators are coping with the weather, which will report before Christmas. The weather was forecast—operators who are responsible for roads, railways and runways knew that snow was coming and that it would last. What action is the Government taking to consider how ready Scotland is to keep people, goods and emergency services moving?
After last winter’s conditions, we reviewed all parts of our resilience, which is why, for example, we have two months’ supply of grit and salt in Scotland at the present moment, even under heavy usage conditions.
Aberdeen and Dundee airports in the east of Scotland are open. They have had constant snow in recent days, but to the operators’ credit they are open. The Highlands and Islands airports, which are owned by the Government, are—to its credit—also open. Scots fly to Oslo, Stockholm and Amsterdam in winter, and those airports are geared up for snow.
As Tavish Scott well knows, despite the extraordinary efforts that have been made by the airports in the Highlands and Aberdeen, even they are not open 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. Sometimes the weather overtakes them.
I echo the comments that have been made about the commitment that many people are showing to keeping normal life going through the tough weather. However, I have heard—I wonder whether the First Minister has—of public sector employees who have been told that they could face disciplinary procedures if they are unable to get to work.
If Patrick Harvie furnishes us with detailed examples, we will take whatever action is required. However, most of the information that is coming to us reflects exactly the opposite situation. It shows that public sector workers—in particular those in the health service—are making exceptional efforts to get into work. Indeed, many health service workers, particularly in Tayside, have been staying in the hospitals during the past few days.
Sectarianism
The Scottish Government is committed to tackling sectarianism—and all forms of religious intolerance—wherever and whenever it arises. Sectarianism is never acceptable.
I thank the First Minister for his reply, which is particularly appropriate in Scottish inter faith week. Does he agree that the key to eradicating religious sectarianism is to influence the young? Does he agree that while it seems not to be possible to have Scotland’s children share a common educational experience, all efforts should be made to encourage faith and non-denominational schools to engage in a wide range of joint activities? That will allow children of all faiths and none to work and play together, thus forming friendships across the religious divide that are based on familiarity and mutual respect.
Yes, I do agree with that, and that is happening across many of our schools, as indeed are anti-sectarian programmes on the ground. This week, for example, Fergus Ewing attended the launch of Nil by Mouth’s project to address sectarianism in the workplace in Scotland, and a range of other initiatives are being supported by the Government, not just in education but across a range of areas of society. Those efforts are laudable. I agree with Ian McKee in the support that he expresses for them, and they will most certainly continue despite the financial pressures that are facing the Administration.
Does the First Minister agree that it does little to douse the flames of sectarianism in football when chairmen of prominent Scottish clubs go on television to demand the sacking of individual referees?
I will shimmy or sidestep around the request to interfere in the internal affairs of the Scottish Football Association, except to say this: the Scottish Football Association, like every responsible organisation in Scotland, has rules and regulations covering such matters. Incidentally, I believe that, following due process, it has come to the right decision.
Physical Education
I know that Bill Butler would be the first to acknowledge that the number of schools delivering two hours of physical education in primary has gone up from 5 per cent under Labour to 55 per cent now. What is more, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education reports that about 60 per cent of secondaries are delivering two periods of physical education, generally of 50 or 55 minutes each. That is a significant improvement, but we want to do even better. That is why we have embedded the physical education pledge within the new curriculum and made delivery of the curriculum part of the budget deal that we have struck—apart from with Labour—with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities.
The First Minister might recall that the SNP’s 2007 manifesto stated:
First, I remind Bill Butler of the real figures and just a little bit of history. I was not in this Parliament, although Bill Butler was, when Labour’s Peter Peacock, the then Minister for Education and Young People, made the pledge in 2004. The Labour Party then surveyed schools in 2005, which resulted in the finding that 5 per cent of primaries were allocating two hours to PE. Even by Bill Butler’s arithmetic, he will surely come to the conclusion that 55 per cent now is 50 per cent greater than 5 per cent under the Labour Party. [Interruption.]
Order.
I forgot to mention another important point. In response to the 5 per cent finding, the Labour Party’s dramatic action was to cease having any surveys.
Notwithstanding and certainly not understating the serious consequences arising from the prevailing wintry conditions referred to earlier, does the First Minister share my delight at seeing Scotland’s schoolchildren enjoying fresh air and vigorous exercise in the snow? Does he agree that winter sports should be on the school curriculum and that that would undermine the resistance of some children to compulsory exercise?
May I always agree with Christine Grahame whenever I am able to, which is surprisingly often. Like me, she agrees that one of the key things happening now is that the active schools programme is continuing in Scotland, which is an extraordinary contrast with the attempt to abolish the schools sports partnership in England. Yet again, we see in that contrast real commitment to deal with these difficult times and to prioritise physical education in Scotland, whereas south of the border, the Con-Dem coalition seems to be in considerable difficulty on that and many other issues.
Does the First Minister agree that, as well as getting enough PE in schools, it is important that children are able to get it in their local communities? Does he further agree that it is important that decision makers such as Edinburgh Leisure, which is currently considering the future of Kirkliston leisure centre in my constituency, have regard to the medium and long-term health benefits of sport and resist the temptation to accept closures as a short-term fix? Will the First Minister support the work being undertaken across the community to try to secure that important sports facility for an ever-expanding village?
I agree with some of the tenor of that question, but I know that the member would be the first to recognise that public services in Scotland—this Government, local authorities and every public service—are under extraordinary budget pressure at present. As I recall, the source of that budget pressure comes from the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition in London, which is handing down severe public sector cuts to Scotland that are a third greater even than the extraordinary cuts suggested by Alistair Darling when he was in office. Although I agree with the tenor of the member’s question, let us recognise that every public authority is under severe budgetary pressure at present.
Police
The Scottish Government is considering reform options to ensure that we can protect front-line policing in the face of unprecedented financial challenges. We will continue to prioritise keeping police officers on the beat. The interim findings of that work will be considered at the Scottish policing board meeting on 6 December.
I am sure that the First Minister is aware that the report to that working group talks about the abolition of the current eight forces to
I do not know whether I am correct, but the interim report should amplify Robert Brown’s remarks. It identifies four options: a single police force; a regional model of three or four forces; the existing eight forces with more collaboration; or a combined police, fire and ambulance service. That work delivers the analysis and evidence that will be the foundation of future decisions on police reform.
Does the First Minister agree that a single national police force for Scotland, structured correctly, could improve on the current arrangements for local accountability for policing decisions and better deliver sustainable community policing—police on the beat—at a local level? [Interruption.]
The Liberal Democrats encourage me to agree with Richard Baker, but I can do no such thing at question time. As we deliver necessary structural change, it is crucial that we take society and all social partners with us. The engagement process that the meeting in the next few days represents—and which the Christie commission will allow us to undertake—is a far better way of making a considered move to reform than perhaps Richard Baker would allow.