SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE
National Health Service (Asylum Seekers)
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any additional funding has been allocated to the Greater Glasgow Primary Care NHS Trust to cover health support services for asylum seekers accommodated at Kingsway Court and other sites in Glasgow. (S1O-1605)
Under normal budgetary rules, a substantial part of any additional costs will automatically be picked up centrally. I expect Greater Glasgow Health Board to meet the remainder from the overall resources that are available to it, which amount to more than £800 million this year.
Will the minister join me in warmly welcoming asylum seekers to Kingsway Court in my constituency of Glasgow Kelvin? Does he accept that my concerns are related to Glasgow's health budget and that there is a danger that placing a further financial burden on the primary care NHS trust will further disadvantage the city of Glasgow, which has the worst health record and the poorest population in Scotland?
I agree that we have a responsibility to make proper arrangements for those who seek asylum and refuge on our shores. It is right that Scotland and our cities play their part in that. I am confident that Glasgow will do so and that the NHS will play its proper part. As Pauline McNeill knows, the Executive continues to work on the funding of health services in Glasgow, taking into account Glasgow's particular health problems. We are doing that in particular through the on-going work on the Arbuthnott review, which has been debated in Parliament.
Does the minister agree that the Government's voucher system is degrading and dehumanising, that it does not provide a reasonable standard of living and that it is completely alien to the Scottish tradition of hospitality?
As members know, the arrangements for housing and living costs are a matter for the Home Office as part of an arrangement reached between it and the host local authorities—in this case Glasgow City Council.
Does the minister agree that it is unacceptable that additional funding is not being made available for health, when additional resources have been made available for matters such as housing and social work services that are making additional demands of local authorities?
I indicated in my original answer that some account is taken of the increase in the patient load in primary care through the general medical service's non-cash limited budget. That budget will be uprated to deal with additional patients. Generally, what is important in the debate is a sense of proportion. Greater Glasgow Health Board is responsible for looking after the health of just under 1 million people. When we talk in those terms, the increase is relatively small and I am confident that the health board will take the measures that it feels are necessary to ensure that services are delivered.
Question 2 has been withdrawn.
Special Needs Education (Sport)
To ask the Scottish Executive, in the light of the move towards inclusion of pupils with special needs in mainstream schools, what provision sportscotland has made for these pupils in its school sports programmes. (S1O-1631)
Sportscotland helps to provide sporting opportunities for children who have disabilities in mainstream schools in several ways, including funding the BT top play top sport programme, the sportsability programme, the Royal Mail's ready, willing and able for sport programme and a Scottish disabilities sport resource pack for teachers, leaders and coaches.
Does the minister see a role for school sports co-ordinators in developing access to sport for young people with disabilities? If so, will she encourage the appointment of co-ordinators in areas where there are none at present?
Yes. In my speech in the debate following question time, I will make an announcement about the number of school sports co-ordinators currently in place. School sports co-ordinators have a central role in developing programmes of physical activity and sport for youngsters with disability. That is one of the specific areas that school sports co-ordinators have been asked to look at. They will be evaluated according to whether they have been successful in providing access to sport for all children, whatever their ability.
Can the minister assure us that, when she and her ministerial colleagues are developing personal learning plans for children with special needs and disabilities, sport and physical activity will be included as an important way of helping such children to develop their motor neurone capacity?
I am sure that my colleagues would agree that sport and physical activity is a very important part of the curriculum, whatever the needs and abilities of the youngster concerned. In the case of youngsters with physical disabilities, specific, tightly targeted programmes—sometimes involving physiotherapists—are necessary. Those would be seen as an important component of personal learning plans.
Lifelong Learning
To ask the Scottish Executive how the extra money given to further education colleges will promote lifelong learning. (S1O-1630)
The additional £28.4 million will help further education colleges to provide an additional 20,000 student places this year, targeted particularly at those from socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds. That will enable them to achieve their full educational, training and employment potential. Of that funding, £10 million will go towards providing the latest information and communications technology.
Can the minister assure the Parliament that that money will be directed at those groups that find it difficult to access further education? I am referring to the unemployed, contract workers and the low paid. If that is what he intends, how will he achieve it?
That is what I intend. Many of the Executive's policies are aimed at achieving greater social inclusion. It is our aim that 20 per cent of the growth in student numbers should come from the most deprived areas of Scotland, as a way of promoting social inclusion. There is a premium payment to further education colleges worth £4.3 million for taking students from the 20 per cent of most deprived areas in Scotland. On top of that, there has been a 12.8 per cent increase in the funding for student bursaries, which is well ahead of the increase in student numbers. Again, that is targeted at encouraging the groups that Duncan McNeil has mentioned into further education.
What steps will be taken to ensure that the money to which the minister has referred will be used to develop IT skills in both teaching and learning?
We are concerned to encourage more activity in that area. There is a balance between the Executive passing down funds to the Scottish Further Education Funding Council and the funding council distributing that funding to individual colleges. The extra £10 million to which I referred is the allocation that the funding council has made to the individual colleges, to ensure that they expand their distance-learning courses and participate further in internet and e-commerce activity, as a way of driving forward the knowledge economy. If, despite those extra funds, that does not happen on the ground, the Executive and the funding council will want to take firmer action to ensure that it does. However, at the moment we are taking a co-operative, partnership approach. From the great explosion that has taken place in initiatives associated with e-commerce, we are convinced that there will be increased activity in that area.
Local Government Finance
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has considered the memorandum on local government finance by Professor Arthur Midwinter dated 25 April 2000 and what response it is proposing to make. (S1O-1636)
Professor Midwinter's memorandum was submitted to the Local Government Committee to inform its consideration of the budget for 2001-02. The Executive looks forward to hearing the committee's views, which I will take into account in the preparation of the budget proposals.
Given that Professor Midwinter is using the Executive's own figures, does the minister accept that the Executive's support for local government is now £0.5 billion less, in real terms, than it was seven years ago?
No. I think that those figures are regularly distorted. The figures for this year show one significant fact: the agreed grant settlement for local authorities for next year contains the highest increase that there has been for seven years. That increase is resulting in significant investment in education, in social work and in other vital services. That is good news for local government. We can build on the settlement through the consultation process with the Local Government Committee in future years.
Is the minister making any plans for next year to ensure that the real-terms decline in revenue support grant that is allocated to Aberdeenshire Council is reversed? He will know that my constituents are, yet again, having to cope with an 8 per cent increase in council tax and with real cuts in council services.
At the end of a local authority budget process that was, at times, difficult, it is helpful that Aberdeenshire Council, like one or two other councils, has been shown not to have had to make the more dramatic changes in its budgets that had been predicted during the winter. However, it is important that we learn lessons from this year's settlement and that we improve on the settlement next year. That process is under way. I am meeting the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities again next week and I am meeting the Local Government Committee on Tuesday. I look forward to those discussions being productive in the months ahead.
Does the minister accept that the squeeze in council resources that has been identified by Professor Midwinter is at the root of the disastrous reduction in council expenditure on roads maintenance in recent years? A reduction from £400 million to £300 million a year is pretty substantial in my judgment. The newspapers have trailed the substantial increases that it is believed Mr Prescott will make next month. Will the Executive ensure that the Scottish consequential will, at least in part, be allocated to Scottish local authorities to allow them to carry out essential road and bridge maintenance?
I welcome Mr Tosh's support for the Executive's efforts to turn round the years of decline in the maintenance and building of roads in Scotland. I also welcome his denial of the performance of the previous Government in dramatically running down that budget in the early and mid 1990s. That Government's plans, had they been allowed to continue, would have led to the decimation of the Scottish road network. I will welcome his support when we announce further plans in the months and years ahead.
Scottish Health Technology Assessment Centre
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish health technology assessment centre will ensure equality of access throughout Scotland to new and existing drugs and treatments. (S1O-1597)
The newly established Health Technology Board for Scotland will provide a single source of national advice to the national health service in Scotland on new drugs and therapies. That will ensure that effective innovations move quickly into mainstream practice and will help to ensure equity of access across Scotland.
The Health Technology Board for Scotland will provide advice to health boards. In a written answer to me, the minister stated:
I find a certain irony in the fact that a member of the Conservative party seems to be implying that we should dictate to the health service what it does, given that the Tories presided over the fragmentation of the NHS into a series of local entities. We are now putting it back together again.
As the minister widened the question from postcode prescribing, I wonder whether I might ask what would happen if a health board were to do what she considered was less than a good job in looking after its own patch. There is an example from this patch, where, we are told, it is being suggested that the Lauriston building—a new building serving the Edinburgh royal infirmary—should be put up for sale, which would mean that we lost city-centre facilities. No one would have even contemplated that a year ago in Edinburgh. Will the minister consider telling Lothian Health Board and the trust concerned that under no circumstances should the Lauriston building be sold off?
Is that to do with the original question?
Yes.
No.
Yes.
No.
Susan widened the question in her answer.
Is the building a technology centre?
Caesarean Births
To ask the Scottish Executive what factors have led to the high proportion of Caesarean births in Scotland and what reasons there are for disparities between different health board areas. (S1O-1615)
A rising rate of Caesarean sections has been observed throughout the western world. Although there is no scientific basis for a correct rate of Caesarean section, the Scottish Executive will examine the issue as part of our work to develop a national maternity services framework.
Given the significant differences in the rates between different health board areas, does the minister agree that a Caesarean section should be carried out only for a genuine medical reason or because of the woman's choice, rather than because of the view of an individual obstetrician or group of obstetricians?
We discussed maternity services in a members' business debate last week, when I made clear the importance that I attach to developing effective maternity services that enable women to make informed choices about their care right through pregnancy and in giving birth. No one really knows why there has been an increase in the rate of Caesarean sections. It is important that we ensure that practices are used only when clinically appropriate. We must also ensure that women are in a position to make informed choices. We are now putting in place the first ever national framework for maternity services in Scotland; its first report will be published in October. I think that it will provide a very effective and informed basis for moving forward.
Would the minister care to comment on the proposals by Forth Valley Acute NHS Trust to centralise maternity services in Falkirk? There are serious concerns in the Stirling and Clackmannanshire areas about the impact that that could have, especially on those who live in rural areas. I know that the matter is a decision for the board, but will she assure us that she will monitor the consultation process undertaken by the trust and the health board, to ensure that the views of people in the area are fully considered?
That question also seems wider than the original question.
Well, that—
It is. Do you want to answer it?
It is about maternity services.
I think that it is important and relevant that—
Is it relevant to the main question?
In the sense that it is about the future of maternity services, I would judge so—but I am not the Presiding Officer.
The question was about the variation in the rate of Caesarean births; I do not think that Mr Raffan's question is relevant. We will move on. I ask members to ensure that supplementary questions are relevant to the main issue.
Multiple Sclerosis
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are plans to increase the number of specialist nurses for multiple sclerosis patients and what the current number of such specialist nurses is. (S1O-1607)
Information is not held centrally on the current number of such specialist nurses. It is for NHS trusts to determine the number needed to meet the clinical needs of their local population and to recruit appropriately qualified nurses.
Minister, really! I must thank Susan Deacon for answering the question, but not for the answer that she gave. I must also add that some of us are rather tired of the blancmange non-answers that we are getting. The Multiple Sclerosis Society in Scotland claims that there are only seven specialist nurses for MS patients throughout the whole of Scotland. That is only seven nurses to 8,000 MS patients, many of whom are, as the minister is aware, young people, including mothers, struggling to stay on their feet.
Let me make it clear that I very much understand the needs of MS sufferers. I have spent a lot of time—both as a minister and in dealing with constituency cases—looking into a range of the issues that Dorothy-Grace Elder has raised. I have also responded in some detail to a number of written parliamentary questions on this subject, from her and from other members. If she looks at the Official Report, she will see that the first answer that I gave was a precise answer to the specific issue that she raised. However, I am delighted to have the chance to make some wider points.
Childminders (Registration)
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to review the legislation regarding the registration of childminders. (S1O-1634)
I have been considering responses to last year's consultation on the regulation of early child care. That includes regulation of childminders. I will announce conclusions shortly.
I thank the minister for his answer. Is he aware that there is an anomaly within the system, whereby child carers who look after children in the family home are not able to register as childminders and so cannot qualify for child care tax credit? Will he give an assurance that he will look into that as part of the consultation?
It is fair to say that the regulation and registration of early education and child care is probably one of the most tricky problems that I have had to deal with in some considerable time. It requires a great deal of my attention. I am just about ready to make announcements on it but, before I do, I will give due consideration to the point raised by Irene Oldfather.
Debt Recovery Law
To ask the Scottish Executive when it intends to make a policy statement on debt recovery law in Scotland. (S1O-1602)
In my statement to the Justice and Home Affairs Committee on 31 August last year, I said that we must
Will the minister state that—contrary to press reports at the weekend allegedly coming from the Executive—the Executive has no intention of killing the Abolition of Poindings and Warrant Sales Bill by stealth? Furthermore, will he give an assurance that he will set the objective of having that bill and the complementary measures ready for implementation no later than 2001?
Mr Neil will recall that I said last week that we hoped to introduce legislation before the end of 2000-01. That is our objective. It is certainly not our intention to kill off by stealth the abolition of poindings and warrant sales. We believe—the Justice and Home Affairs Committee, too, expressed this view—that, standing alone, Mr Sheridan's bill is flawed and that additional measures are required to ensure that a humane and workable system replaces poindings and warrant sales.
Does the minister accept that there is a distinction between the reform of the present system of seizing people's moveables—the system of poindings and warrant sales—and outright abolition of that system and any other system of seizing people's moveables for the recovery of debt? If he accepts that distinction, will he make it clear whether the Executive seeks to delay the enactment of Tommy Sheridan's bill so that it can present proposals for the abolition of any system of seizing people's moveables as a means of debt recovery or so that it can replace the present system with another system for doing precisely that?
Last week, I said that we were committed to the abolition of poindings and warrant sales but believed that there ought to be some system for diligence against moveable property. I think that people would find it intolerable if those who can pay do not pay. There has to be some system in place, but we want to ensure that the inhumane aspects of poindings and warrant sales are consigned to history. I hope that we can attract cross-party support to ensure that the legislation that we introduce meets the objectives that the Parliament clearly expressed last week.
What advice and guidance will be given to small businesses that are struggling to avoid bankruptcy in the face of the determined refusal to pay by those who are well able to do so, or indeed the refusal to pay timeously, which in certain cases can drive them into bankruptcy?
I have just explained that there ought to be some form of diligence against moveables to cover cases of people who can pay but will not pay. Likewise, we could not expect commerce to progress smoothly if Scotland became known as a place where people could avoid paying debts arising from business transactions into which they had entered voluntarily. That is why it is important to have a review of the whole area of diligence, and not just of diligence against moveables. Arrangements for such a review are under way. In that context, the Parliament owes a debt to the work of the Scottish Law Commission, which will be able to inform the review on a range of diligence issues. Those who suggest that the Law Commission is in some way politically biased do not recognise the valuable work that it has carried out for parties of all colours.
Will the minister take this opportunity to confirm that he will take part in the group involving the majority of Scotland's most representative voluntary organisations that work with those in debt and in poverty? That group has now been formally established to work to improve and humanise debt recovery.
That is the first invitation that I have received to join that group. I have said that we intend to set up a working group that will examine a range of diligences. That group will consider matters relating to debtor protection, which is an important issue, as well as to debt recovery. The Executive is committed to securing debtor protection.
Glasgow Housing Association
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail the membership of the board of the proposed Glasgow housing association. (S1O-1622)
The framework document that was published on 10 April set out the proposed membership of the interim management committee of the Glasgow housing association. The organisations that were listed in that document included Glasgow City Council, the Federation of Tenant Management Co-operatives, Glasgow Citywide Tenants Forum, housing associations and the Scottish Trades Union Congress. Each is invited to nominate representatives on the committee. There will be a public advertisement for the chair.
Will the minister admit that it has taken almost a year to come up with the so-called Glasgow housing association and that there is a danger that it will have an in-built Labour majority—the mirror image of Glasgow City Council—particularly if the tenants representatives come from the hand-picked council neighbourhood forums? What assurance can she give that under her proposed housing association the political hands in management will not be the same as those who have mismanaged Glasgow housing in the past?
As I have said several times, the prize on offer is such that we do not want to make political capital out of the project in any way. The Scottish Executive is not directly represented on the proposed interim management group of the Glasgow housing association. As the proposal is drawn up over the next year, it is important that there is co-operation between all the interests involved, including the tenants, the city council and others, to ensure that the debt is removed, £16,000 goes into every council house in the city, rent is guaranteed and up to 3,000 jobs are created in a hard-pressed city.
M77
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to monitor the environmental and economic impact of the construction of the M77. (S1O-1616)
Studies of traffic, air quality, noise and local road safety have been undertaken before and after construction. The results are to be published in the summer and similar studies will apply to the proposed motorway extension between Fenwick and Malletsheugh.
I thank the minister for that reply. However, is she aware that, although the M77 has now been completed for more than four years, many of my constituents are still waiting for compensation and for appropriate landscaping work to be done? Is she also aware that, because of the proposed changes to the assisted areas map, although Pollok constituents are bearing the environmental costs of the M77, support to develop the economic and industrial potential offered by the M77 may be denied? Will the minister and her department give a commitment to meet the local communities to ensure that those concerns are fully pursued and that the impact of the M77 on the health and well-being of my constituents is closely monitored in the long term?
Johann Lamont is right that it is extremely important to consider the impact of new road schemes and their aftermath, particularly on the communities that are directly affected. The study that will be published this summer will be important in quantifying some of those issues and in enabling the local community to see what the impact of the road has been. I hope that that process will be transparent. I would be happy to explore, if it is appropriate, the possibility of officials from the development department engaging in dialogue with representatives of the community that Johann Lamont serves.
Does the minister agree that there were massive environmental benefits from the stretch of the M77 that was opened by Michael Forsyth? Could she give a starting date for the construction of the Malletsheugh to Fenwick stretch of the A77 upgrading? Does she agree that that will have massive implications for the safety of travellers on that road and for economic development in Ayrshire?
I am happy to give the commitment that we are continuing to progress with the M77, as requested by Phil Gallie and many members of the Parliament. The scheme was prioritised on the grounds of safety, economic development issues, integration, access and environmental quality.
Modern Apprenticeships
To ask the Scottish Executive what the current number of apprenticeships created by the modern apprenticeship scheme is, how many of these apprentices are young women and what is the range of industries in which they are employed. (S1O-1608)
At the end of March 2000, there were 13,954 modern apprentices in training, 2,354 of whom were young women. Those young women were employed in several sectors including administration, retail, hospitality and catering, customer service, travel services, information technology and management.
I thank the minister for his reply. Will he tell me whether the needs of women were considered at the policy design stage and how the effectiveness of modern apprenticeships in tackling gender inequalities is monitored and evaluated?
The figures that I have given indicate that those issues could have been more effectively tackled at that point. There is a traditional approach to the placing of young women in modern apprenticeships—that has to be changed. There is massive under-representation; when we see such differential figures, we should do something about it.
What steps have been taken to encourage apprenticeships, especially in the construction industry? In Glasgow and the surrounding areas in particular, the proposed housing stock transfer is expected to result in a huge investment in housing, while thousands of jobs will be created in the construction industry.
That has highlighted one of the key—and weak—areas in the participation of young women. Of the 2,767 involved in construction, only 23 are female. The figures for Glasgow, with 2,000 modern apprenticeships, are also very disappointing. As part of the overall review and of the promotional exercise, we will wish to work with Scottish Enterprise Glasgow to ensure that those figures can be improved and to open up a wide avenue of choice for young women.
Is the minister aware of the differential patterns of investment in modern apprenticeships by local enterprise companies? Does his department monitor that issue? Does he believe that the current investment in modern apprenticeships by different local authorities—which I assure him varies considerably in different parts of the country—succeeds in delivering the strategic direction to modern apprenticeship training that the Scottish economy requires?
Those are three good points. We are not taking proper cognisance of the differential investment throughout the country. The new economic framework prioritises not only the areas in which we would like to see investment, but the areas that will serve Scotland well in the new knowledge economy. In our work with the Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Committee, it is important that anything which the Executive does reflects the wider priorities of the Scottish economy. That reflects the questions that have been asked this afternoon.
Tweed Industry
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to support and encourage the tweed industry. (S1O-1624)
Sir David—[Applause.] I need not say any more. [Laughter.]
Order. We need a verbal answer, not a visual one.
You have both, Sir David.
As we have heard from members in the chamber, we all applaud the fact that Mr Morrison is wearing such a remarkable, dazzling—astounding, even—jacket.
I will deal with the compliment first—I congratulate Jamie Stone on his exquisite sartorial judgment. Contrary to rumour, I am not colour-blind. [Laughter.]
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