Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Official Report 758KB pdf

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Topical Question Time

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Helicopter Safety

1. To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the offshore industry regarding the impact on the oil and gas industry in Scotland of the recent Super Puma tragedy.

First of all, I express on behalf of the Scottish Government, and I know all of Parliament, our condolences to the families of the four people who lost their lives when the Super Puma helicopter crash took place on 23 August. I also express our sympathy to the other individuals who were on board the flight for the ordeal that they endured.

Since the crash, the Scottish Government has worked closely with the United Kingdom Government, the offshore industry and other key stakeholders in managing the consequences of the incident in relation to the impact on the oil and gas industry in Scotland. Officials have been fully engaged in the helicopter safety steering group meetings that were held on Saturday, Wednesday and Thursday following the incident. Officials have also participated in the oil and gas leaders meetings at which all operators in the North Sea were present.

I have spoken to Malcolm Webb, the chief executive of Oil & Gas UK, which is the representative body for the UK offshore oil and gas industry, and I have also had discussions in relation to the incident with Jake Molloy of the RMT and both John Taylor and Pat Rafferty of Unite. On Friday, I visited the police gold command in Aberdeen to speak with the emergency services, who deserve our grateful thanks and acknowledgement for the excellent rescue operation that resulted in the saving of 14 lives.

Subject to the Parliament’s agreement, I will make a full statement on the issue tomorrow.

I thank the cabinet secretary for his answer and I echo his expressions of condolence. Those of us who have family, friends and constituents who work in the offshore sector will know how difficult this period has been for many individuals across Scotland. Will the cabinet secretary advise in what ways the Scottish Government is able and stands ready to support an industry review of helicopter safety?

I confirm to the Parliament that the Government will co-operate in all the ways we can with the industry in relation to the review of safety and the encouragement of safe utilisation of modes of transport in transporting individuals to the North Sea oil and gas sector. As I said in my initial response, Government officials participated in helicopter safety steering group meetings held during the past week. Those proceedings were, in my opinion, a model of how dialogue should be conducted in partnership between employers and the trade unions that are involved, with a willingness to consider and address the serious issues and concerns that are relevant to members of oil and gas staff who are concerned about the circumstances that they face. The Government will certainly actively work to facilitate and encourage that review of safety.

The cabinet secretary will also be aware that, as we have discussed, there are concerns among not just workers but their families around the continuing safety of helicopter flights to offshore installations. Can he confirm that his view is that there needs to be a careful dialogue between operators, the unions, the workforce and the wider oil and gas family—family members and so on—in order to restore some of the confidence that has been damaged by the recent incident and other incidents over the past five years?

That dialogue is crucial. It is vital that the industry engages in dialogue, as took place at the helicopter safety steering group, between employers and trade unions as representatives of the workforce. In observing closely the proceedings of the helicopter safety steering group over the period, I saw the way in which information and advice were marshalled for the employer and trade union representatives, which enabled a considered judgment to be arrived at to enable the temporary suspension of the utilisation of some of the Super Puma fleet to be overcome. That was achieved because of evidence-based discussion involving all parties, and it represents how we can try to address the legitimate anxiety of members of the public about ensuring that, in all circumstances, individuals are able to be transported to the oil and gas sector safely and reliably. That must be an objective for us all.

The cabinet secretary will know the difference that was made to offshore health and safety on rigs and platforms in the North Sea by the Cullen inquiry, which was established following the Piper Alpha disaster.

Given the high number of serious helicopter incidents in the UK sector of the North Sea compared with other parts of the same province, will the cabinet secretary support calls for a public inquiry into helicopter transport in the UK sector—one that would go beyond an internal industry review and would follow the model that was set by Cullen—in order to give the workforce the same confidence in helicopter transport in the North Sea as they have in safety on rigs and platforms following Cullen?

I am obviously familiar with the issues that have been raised in connection with helicopter safety. I think that the most effective thing that we can do is wait until we have the full outcome of the inquiry into this particular circumstance before we decide whether there is merit in taking forward that wider inquiry. I say that because, if we look at the experience of helicopter safety, we can see that over the past couple of years there has been a rising tide of confidence in helicopter safety in the North Sea. A point of very great regret about the incident that took place on 23 August is that that confidence has clearly been undermined.

I think that before we form a judgment as to whether a full inquiry is required, we should allow the investigation of this incident to take its course and hear the outcome of the work that has been undertaken by the air accident investigation branch, which lies at the heart of the investigative role. The points raised by Mr Macdonald can quite properly be considered in that context.

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Food Banks

2. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support food banks.

I congratulate Jackie Baillie on her new role shadowing the welfare portfolio. Like my health colleagues in the past, I look forward to some lively spats.

The Scottish Government supports access to affordable, healthy and sustainable food for all and acknowledges that, with the current economic climate, welfare reform and increasing food prices, that access is becoming a greater concern for many people.

The Scottish Government has provided an additional £9.2 million to the Scottish welfare fund, which means that we are providing the capacity to award an additional 5,600 community care grants and more than 100,000 crisis grants in this financial year. That fund will provide people with emergency support, so the necessity for food banks should be reduced. However, my concern is that the United Kingdom Government benefits reform programme unfairly impacts on some of the most vulnerable members of our society. In particular, I am concerned that the cuts and changes to the welfare system will undermine the long-term approach that we are taking to tackle the causes of poverty.

The solution is for the Scottish Parliament to have control over welfare matters so that we can devise policies for the benefit of the Scottish people.

I thank the minister for welcoming me to my new portfolio. I hope that, in a few weeks’ time, she does not regret doing so.

I am most interested in the powers that the Scottish Government already has—powers that it should be exercising to protect the most vulnerable. Frankly, I am appalled that, in 21st century Scotland, we have food banks in our communities.

According to the Trussell Trust, the number of Scots accessing emergency food banks over the past year has increased by 150 per cent, to more than 14,000 people. Almost one third of those people were children, which should concern us all.

What more can the Scottish Government do specifically to help children who are experiencing such extremes of poverty that they have to depend on food banks?

The Scottish Government has taken forward a number of actions to reduce child poverty in Scotland—an issue that is of great concern for me and for the Scottish Government. As I said, we have put in place a number of activities to provide support, including the Scottish welfare fund, our social wage—the social wage helps families that are struggling—and free prescriptions. We are against the UK Government’s welfare cuts, as Jackie Baillie well knows.

As I laid out, if we had our own welfare system and were in charge of our own economy, we could ensure that our policies in health, housing and welfare were integrated to ensure that we could deliver the best possible opportunity for all the people of Scotland, and particularly our children.

There is no disagreement on this side of the chamber about the impact of the UK Government’s welfare cuts, but despite the actions that she has outlined we still see children queuing for assistance at food banks.

The minister will be aware that, since the Scottish welfare fund was introduced to provide crisis grants, there has been a significant underspend in that budget. That goes against everything that we know about the level of need that exists in our communities—there is even anecdotal evidence that, having been refused crisis loans, people are being referred to food banks. What action will the Scottish Government take to ensure that, instead of there being an underspend in that budget, the people who need them most can access crisis grants?

Rather than criticise the Scottish Government on the Scottish welfare fund, Jackie Baillie should congratulate us on establishing that fund and topping it up by £9.2 million. The Scottish welfare fund, which came in in April this year, is a new fund that has not bedded in yet, but we are doing everything that we can to encourage people to use it. I spent the summer recess travelling up and down Scotland speaking to local authorities, third sector organisations and community groups to promote the fund and to encourage take-up. An officer within the Scottish Government is monitoring the fund for consistency and to look at how we can do things better. Jackie Baillie should join us in promoting the fund and, rather than criticise us, congratulate us on introducing a fund that protects our poorest people.

Yesterday, I had a meeting with the food bank in Inverclyde, where I was informed that, since opening up last September, it has fed 2,500 people, including 750 children. Those figures are worsening, despite the fact that we have not yet felt the full effects of welfare reform. Can the minister inform me what discussions are taking place with the UK Government to inform it that its wider economic agenda is not working and that there are many people and families whose lives are being devastated as a consequence?

There is regular correspondence with the UK Government on those issues. The Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth wrote to the Chancellor of the Exchequer in March, ahead of the UK Government’s budget statement, to set out the Scottish Government’s concerns about the failure of the UK Government to grow the economy. I share the finance secretary’s concern about the cuts to benefit incomes for families across the country at a time when many are having to deal with sharp rises in the cost of living. I will continue to raise those issues with UK Government ministers at every opportunity, both in person and in writing.

As I said, the solution is for Scotland to have control of its own economy and welfare system. We might then see a reduction in food banks in this country.

Does the minister agree that it is unacceptable that unaffordable water charges are acting as a barrier to the setting up of a food bank in Coatbridge? Is charitable exemption under the Government’s scheme an option to allow that desperately needed facility to open?

As set out in the current statement on charging for water for 2010 to 2015, the exemption is available only to those organisations that received an exemption in 1999, so it is not currently available to new organisations. However, Scottish Water recognises the issues that that creates and is working with the Scottish Government to look at introducing a revised scheme from 2015 that would be open to all small charities. Therefore, I accept the point that Elaine Smith has made.

I apologise to Margo MacDonald, who wanted to ask a supplementary question, but we need to move on to the next item of business.