Plenary,

Meeting date: Thursday, May 4, 2006

Official Report 748KB pdf

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Question Time

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SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE

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Justice and Law Officers

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Protection of Children and Prevention of Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases have been pursued in relation to the grooming offence established by the Protection of Children and Prevention of Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2005 and how many risk of sexual harm orders have been made. (S2O-9679)

In the seven months since the legislation came into force, two cases containing charges in respect of section 1 of the act have been reported to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. Both have resulted in solemn proceedings. One case resulted in a conviction and the other is on-going. No risk of sexual harm orders have so far been made.

Barnardo's has pointed out that the act accepts that the purchase of sex from under-18s who are involved in prostitution must be considered as abuse, but that 16 and 17-year-olds who are abused through prostitution can still be arrested for soliciting. As the forthcoming sentencing bill will change the laws on prostitution, will the Executive consider giving 16 and 17-year-olds in that situation the same legal protection as under-16s?

I am aghast at the fact that people continue to exploit young children for sexual and sometimes financial purposes. It is already an offence for someone to secure the sexual services of a child under the age of 18 years. If a person is guilty of an offence under section 9(4) of the 2005 act, which relates to a person aged 16 or over, they are liable

"on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or both".

Richard Baker raises a slightly different issue, which is how we treat those who are engaged in the provision of sexual services. Clearly, we have already taken steps in the act on inciting the provision by a child of sexual services or child pornography. My officials have a meeting planned with Barnardo's and we will reflect on some of the wider issues that Richard Baker raises. As he will be aware, it is a matter for the Crown Office to decide whether to pursue a case against an individual.

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Heroin Addicts (Dumfries and Galloway)

To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to reduce waiting times for treatment for heroin addicts in Dumfries and Galloway. (S2O-9706)

We have agreed a series of performance contracts with drug action teams throughout Scotland. Those contracts link funding for drug treatment to defined outcomes. An additional £210,000 was allocated to Dumfries and Galloway drug action team in July 2005 to deliver a reduction in waiting times.

The minister will be aware that a significant heroin problem remains in Dumfries and Galloway. Information passed to me suggests that it can often take weeks for addicts to get an appointment at Cameron House and that when they get one the range of treatment that is available is often fairly limited. Does the Executive have further plans to help to reduce waiting times and to assist the DAT in Dumfries and Galloway? Will the Executive consider releasing funds seized as a result of the confiscation of assets in the Dumfries and Galloway region to enable them to be used to help to tackle addiction problems and their consequences?

We need to keep the amount of money that is seized from criminals in perspective. We expect that the amount may increase in future, but there is no way that the money that is currently available would make a significant impact on the waiting times to which Elaine Murray refers. It is worth bearing in mind the substantial increases in funding that have been made available not only to Dumfries and Galloway but to others across the country. The funding was enhanced further by the additional £4 million.

We will continue to keep a close watch on what is needed, but we must ensure that the money that is allocated is used to best effect. Both the Minister for Justice and I hope to return to the issue in the near future. We want to see effective and timeous treatment and to ensure that the resources that are allocated are used to good effect.

I call Stewart Stevenson, who must remember that this is a Dumfries and Galloway question.

That is a part of the country that I love dearly, Presiding Officer.

Does the minister recall that target 4 of justice objective 1 in the draft 2005-06 budget was to raise the number of drug misusers entering treatment by 10 per cent by March 2008? I suggest that that target was modest. What percentage is currently being achieved across Scotland, in particular in Dumfries and Galloway?

I cannot give the specific figure for what is happening nationally or in Dumfries and Galloway, but I will seek to revert to Stewart Stevenson on that.

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Foreign Prisoners (Deportation)

To ask the Scottish Executive how many foreign prisoners have been released from Scottish prisons who could have faced deportation and what measures are being taken to track down such individuals. (S2O-9725)

The Scottish Prison Service released 26 individuals into the custody of the immigration service in the 12 months up to 26 April 2006 and has released one individual since then. Deportation of individuals from the United Kingdom is, of course, a matter for the Home Office. All Scottish police forces stand ready to assist the Home Office with any requests to track down certain individuals. As members will be aware, Grampian police have apprehended an individual identified by the Home Office.

I am sure that the minister will share my concern about the events in the past couple of weeks because of the Home Office's incompetence. She will also share my concern that public safety should be the first priority. Does the minister agree that hasty legislation is not the best way forward and that we must think carefully before changing the basis on which these cases are dealt with? If administrative problems need to be sorted out, administrative issues should be addressed. We should not change the law without thinking carefully.

Of course I accept that public safety is a high priority, both for the Home Office and for the Scottish Executive, which is why we made it clear that the Scottish Prison Service, the Scottish Court Service and, indeed, our police stood ready to assist as soon as information was passed to us. Indeed, the fact that Grampian police have been able to move so quickly is to be welcomed.

I listened carefully to the comments that the Home Secretary made yesterday. It is right and proper that we in Scotland look to ensure that our processes are in order and that any legislation that is required is fit for purpose in a Scottish context.

I very much welcome the action taken by Grampian police in relation to an individual who, I understand, may have resided in my constituency and in that of my colleague Nora Radcliffe. I wonder whether the minister can give us a breakdown of the numbers involved into those who were convicted and given the most serious and long-term sentences and those who served short-term sentences.

I can give some brief information. As members will be aware, approximately 188 foreign nationals completed a custodial sentence in Scotland in the past year. We believe that none of them is on the Home Office list of 1,023, other than the individual to whom I referred. Of course, we are working with the Home Office to verify that and we have provided information to it. Of the 188 prisoners who were identified as foreign nationals who the Scottish Prison Service released in the past year, 26 were transferred to the custody of the immigration and nationality directorate; of the 162 who were released but not deported or handed over to the custody of the IND, 15 were serving sentences of more than one year. As far as we are aware, none of the prisoners had served a life sentence; indeed, the maximum that any of the prisoners served was nine years.

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“The Civil Justice System in Scotland: a case for review?”

To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to the main recommendations of "The Civil Justice System in Scotland: a case for review?", published by the Scottish Consumer Council. (S2O-9732)

As announced on 20 April, we are in discussion with the senior judiciary with a view to setting up a judicially led review of the civil courts. Consideration of the specific recommendations from the Scottish Consumer Council report will be a matter for that review.

The minister will be aware that the report recommends that future reviews of civil justice should consider the introduction of processes to deal with class or multiparty actions in the Scottish courts. Does the minister intend that the review of the civil justice system will include discussion of such processes? The Scottish Law Commission and the Scottish Consumer Council recommend them as a way of maximising court resources and increasing access to justice.

We have not yet confirmed the details of the scope and remit of the review, and they will be given careful consideration. We would want any review to help to speed up the process of law; we want to ensure that access is more easily obtained, irrespective of people's circumstances; and we want to ensure that access is not only speedy but affordable. I have been impressed and enheartened by the breadth of support for conducting such a fundamental review.

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Convicted Persons (Extradition)

To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any precedents that bar a person from extradition to another country to face criminal charges following conviction for the same offence within Scotland. (S2O-9724)

Yes. Extradition is barred in law where the accused person can claim that he has already been tried and convicted or acquitted in the UK for the same conduct for which his extradition is being sought.

The Lord Advocate will be aware of the rule in Scots law that if a person is informed by the Crown that no criminal proceedings will be brought in respect of an alleged offence, that operates as a bar to any later prosecution. If a person has been so advised, does the rule also operate as a bar to extradition for a prosecution overseas in respect of the same alleged offence?

Because an unequivocal statement that there will be no proceedings would bar the Lord Advocate from taking proceedings in this country for that conduct, such a statement is made only after very careful consideration. However, I cannot bind any other prosecutor, whether in this country—in England or Wales—or abroad. Therefore, it would be open to another state to seek extradition from this country of a person for the conduct, even if an unequivocal statement had been made by me or by somebody else on my behalf that there would be no proceedings in Scotland. Of course, the other state would have to make the case and meet the requirements in law to justify extradition.

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Antisocial Behaviour (Young People)

To ask the Scottish Executive how it is encouraging young people to become involved in reducing antisocial behaviour. (S2O-9696)

The Executive is committed to tackling antisocial behaviour, and involving the whole community, including young people, is crucial to ensuring that our strategy is a success. We are clear that providing young people with positive activities and opportunities to engage with their local communities is key to such community involvement.

Will the minister comment on the conference that was held yesterday in my colleague Scott Barrie's constituency to celebrate and recognise the impact of the junior warden scheme in harnessing the willingness of young people in Fife and elsewhere to do their bit for a safer and cleaner Scotland? Does the minister share my concern and profound depression at reports in the press of the many adults in my constituency and elsewhere who continue to carry knives and other weapons? What message does he believe that sort of behaviour sends to young people? What advice does he have for anybody who is concerned about safety in their community?

I thank the organisers of yesterday's conference for their invitation. It was impressive to hear people engaging so positively on such an important issue.

The innovation of junior wardens—which started in Auchenlodment primary school in Johnstone, in my constituency, and has now been copied elsewhere in the country with some success—is definitely the way forward. It engages young people in a positive way in contributing to their communities and in the serious issues that sometimes confront them.

I am aware of the press reports today to which Christine May refers. It is deeply depressing that adults can give that type of example to younger children. There is no excuse for carrying a knife or a serious weapon. It is not a protection and it is not a deterrent; in fact, it contributes to a serious problem in Scotland. A warning needs to go out to those misguided people that the law will deal with them should they continue to do that.

However, I also know that, in Christine May's constituency, the community safety partnership provides free personal alarms, which should give some degree of assurance to those who might feel at risk. I hope that the efforts of that community safety partnership can be encouraged and promoted. Equally, I hope that the relevant agencies will use the full powers of the criminal law to deal with those who carry knives and will use the new powers that are available under antisocial behaviour legislation to deal with those who engage in acts that cause distress to the local community.

I welcome the minister's words regarding the way in which the system will deal with young people who carry knives. Is the minister aware of the case of Stephen McCulloch, who was yesterday sentenced in Glasgow to seven years for viciously attacking and stabbing another young man? Stephen McCulloch had a lengthy career in criminality. When he committed the crime for which he was sentenced yesterday, he had eight bail orders against him. How can the minister suggest that the law will deal adequately with such individuals when they are allowed to wander free under eight bail orders?

The decision about whether to grant bail is a matter for the courts. It would be utterly inappropriate for any member of this Parliament—and particularly for any minister—to try to influence or comment on decisions that are made by judges. Equally, the sentence to which Phil Gallie refers was an outcome of a decision that the judge made having had regard to the circumstances of the particular case.

It is fair to put on record the fact that the Executive is determined to tackle knife crime and has in hand proposals to double the lengths of the sentences that are available to the courts when dealing with those who carry knives. Further, when knives are used in serious cases, stringent and severe sentences are available should the judge think them appropriate.

However, the issue is not only the responsibility of the judges, which is why the Minister for Justice has given so much time to engaging with the violence reduction unit in Strathclyde and others to try to promote a debate across Scotland and to send the message that, although most of us do not carry knives, we all have a contribution to make to changing the climate in which knives are carried. We must change the way in which people in Scotland behave. We cannot just expect those who carry knives to change.

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Community Courts

To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to make public the findings of the consultation that was undertaken by Julius Lang into the possibility of introducing community courts in Scotland. (S2O-9711)

The Executive invited Julius Lang to come to Scotland to support our preparations for implementation of community justice authorities. In the course of the visit, Mr Lang gave a presentation on community courts to the violence reduction unit in Glasgow but that was additional to the main reason for his visit. Mr Lang will not be undertaking any formal consultation on behalf of the Scottish Executive.

The minister will be aware that petty crime in Fife increased from 8,050 incidents in 2000 to 13,251 in 2004. That is quite a staggering increase. Given the success of community courts in Red Hook and in midtown Manhattan in New York, will the minister consider piloting community courts in Scotland? I take the opportunity to suggest that parts of Fife might be suitable for such a pilot.

It is important to recognise that the Executive wants to reform our court system to ensure that we bring offenders to justice speedily and that sentences are appropriate and are managed. We have already introduced, and will continue to introduce, further reforms in our courts to do exactly that.

I have visited one of the community courts in New York, which is partly why we invited Mr Lang, who is a director of the Center for Court Innovation in New York, to help us in the work that we are doing to join up aspects of the justice system. We can learn much from the community court approach and we want to ensure that such lessons are learned throughout Scotland. We have not ruled out the possibility of a more joined-up approach, which might include the community court model, in certain areas. I assure Ms Marwick that we will consider carefully what we can learn in general and that I hope that what we learn can be applied throughout Scotland.

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Antisocial Behaviour etc (Scotland) Act 2004 (Reparation Orders)

To ask the Scottish Executive how many reparation orders have been served since the enactment of the Antisocial Behaviour etc (Scotland) Act 2004. (S2O-9695)

Fifty-eight community reparation orders were imposed on 56 individuals from April 2005 to the end of March, across the three pilot schemes.

Will the minister join me in condemning the mindless idiots in Glasgow who attacked people who were carrying out a public service by repairing water hydrants? The incident was reported in the Evening Times. Will the minister consider using a reparation scheme in Glasgow to ensure that such people pay something back to the communities that their antisocial activities have damaged?

I condemn anyone who is involved in the kind of behaviour that Paul Martin described. I repeat what I have said in the Parliament in the past: attacks on public sector workers who are carrying out their duties on behalf of communities are despicable and tough action should be taken to deal with the people involved, which is why we brought in a change in legislation.

Glasgow City Council takes a close interest in reparation orders and restorative justice in general. We decided to pilot the community reparation orders that the 2004 act introduced, to ascertain how best the measure could be implemented. I want to consider closely the lessons that are learned from the pilots and I am sure that what we learn will be applied in other areas.

The important point is that we decided to introduce community reparation orders so that there would be an opportunity for people who commit the relatively minor but nuisance offences from which too many communities suffer to carry out reparative activity in those communities. Community reparation orders were not intended to be a substitute for the approach to more serious offenders. I am concerned that the orders have perhaps not been used as much as I would have liked them to be and I hope that in future they will be considered for further use and that we will be able to apply the lessons that we learn throughout Scotland.

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Enterprise, Lifelong Learning and Transport

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Scottish Enterprise (Budget)

To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to address the impact of Scottish Enterprise budget pressures on small and medium-sized enterprises and training programmes for employees. (S2O-9697)

Scottish Enterprise has made interim budget allocations for 2006-07 to business units and local enterprise companies, which are sufficient to allow operations to continue at expected levels. Discussions on the full-year budget will conclude shortly and the Scottish Enterprise board will finalise its operating plan and budget for this year when it meets on 12 May. The operating plan will clearly reflect ministerial priorities.

Many members will have received letters, as I have done, from companies that are concerned about the potential impact of the budget pressures on Scottish Enterprise. Will the minister give an assurance that projects that have worked well in communities such as my constituency of Glasgow Shettleston, will continue to provide training and development, to ensure that we meet the needs of the neediest clients to get them back to work? Any action that the minister can take on the matter would be most welcome for constituents such as mine.

I give Frank McAveety the guarantee that he seeks. As he knows, we have taken action to safeguard the business gateway, so support for start-up businesses and small businesses will continue at last year's level.

Earlier this week, when members of the Enterprise and Culture Committee challenged me on possible budget cuts that could affect training schemes, I reassured them about the modern apprenticeship scheme and the fact that the commitment in the partnership agreement to have 30,000 modern apprentices per year would continue to be fulfilled.

In the next few days, I will work hard with Scottish Enterprise to ensure that our core priorities are maintained. There is no doubt that that will be difficult at times, but support for small and medium-sized businesses and support for training programmes, particularly in disadvantaged areas, are strong priorities of the Executive. We will give them the priority that Frank McAveety encourages us to give them.

I, too, am interested in how much money is being spent on or invested directly in Scottish small and medium-sized enterprises and in how it compares with previous years. Will the current situation lead to more rigorous reporting? I am not alone in believing that Scottish Enterprise's reporting is oblique and unhelpful and that it does not deliver clarity and comparability year on year.

As Jim Mather knows, when Audit Scotland reported on Scottish Enterprise it compared Scottish Enterprise favourably with similar agencies in other parts of Europe and the world. Scottish Enterprise has a strong international reputation as one of the most effective enterprise agencies.

Audit Scotland also reported on the good progress that was being made to improve remote reporting mechanisms. I have told the Parliament that I would like that to go further, and I know that Scottish Enterprise, its chief executive and its chairman support further improvements.

As we move into the 2006-07 budget period in the next few weeks, it is important to tackle the issues on which Jim Mather questioned me. I would like the progress that Audit Scotland identified to continue.

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James Watt College

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware that the principal of James Watt College in Greenock has breached the terms of a collective agreement with the Educational Institute of Scotland and has announced 100 redundancies and the dismissal of all academic staff, some of whom will be rehired on new contracts, and whether it considers that this action is acceptable on behalf of a publicly funded board. (S2O-9670)

I agree that it is an unprecedented step by a college board of management in Scotland, and one that many staff vehemently oppose. Last Friday, I wrote to both sides to urge them to make renewed efforts to reach a negotiated solution and avoid a damaging dispute in which students would suffer most.

I call Carolyn Leckie—I am sorry; I mean Frances Curran.

We are always mistaken for each other; I am not sure how that favours Carolyn Leckie.

I agree that the dispute is damaging. Given that major industrial action for two days a week and then three days a week will be started next week by academic staff, and given that the staff are now supported by the students, it is clear that staff and students have no confidence in the board or the principal. Should not the minister—to whom the principal, Bill Wardle, is responsible—intervene to resolve the situation by calling for the principal's resignation, clearing the decks, removing the redundancy notices and setting negotiations on course, to ensure that students have the education that they need at the end of term?

Frances Curran might have misheard what I said. Last Friday, I intervened by suggesting to the unions and the college's board of management an initiative that would preclude the need for damaging industrial action. That was a reference to involving the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, which the trade unions and others in the sector have welcomed. I hope and expect that the college's board of management will in due course see the merit in that suggestion.

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North Lanarkshire (Transport Connections)

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to improve transport connections in the northern corridor of North Lanarkshire. (S2O-9662)

The Executive is taking forward several transport improvements in the northern corridor of North Lanarkshire, including the upgrading of the A80 trunk road between Stepps and Haggs.

Is the minister aware that if the closure of Monklands hospital's accident and emergency department under NHS Lanarkshire's "A Picture of Health" consultation goes ahead, there will be no direct public transport links from communities such as Chryston, Moodiesburn and Kirkintilloch to the nearest accident and emergency department in Lanarkshire, which will be at Wishaw general hospital? Given that such links are clearly important to the chairman of the new Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, as evidenced by his comments in the current issue of Transport Quarterly, in which he states that public transport issues could compromise the Executive's ability to deliver on social inclusion due to the inability of people on low incomes to access employment opportunities, health care and education, will the minister liaise with SPT to ensure that public transport links in the northern corridor are improved?

We liaise with Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, which is the new partnership in the west, on a range of transport issues, including those that have been raised in Parliament this afternoon. The Minister for Health and Community Care and I are taking forward a series of discussions on health facilities, including on the importance of ensuring that access to primary care facilities by public transport is available. The issue is particularly relevant when we are launching a consultation on the future of the national transport strategy.

The minister will no doubt be aware of the current controversy surrounding the possible downgrading of Monklands hospital. Is he aware that I lobbied his predecessor and SPT on the issue of improving transport links to health services throughout Lanarkshire over a number of years? Given the possible downgrading of Monklands hospital and its potentially heavy impact on the transport requirements of my constituents, including those living in the northern corridor, to which Margaret Mitchell referred, is the minister concerned that NHS Lanarkshire appears to have given only minimal consideration in its consultation to the weaknesses in the transport infrastructure in the area? Will he take action to ensure that those issues figure adequately in the Executive's consideration of NHS Lanarkshire's proposals?

Consideration of NHS Lanarkshire's proposals will be a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Health and Community Care. I would be happy to bring this exchange to his attention. I am very aware of the transport implications of the potential changes for many people in the areas that we are discussing. The issues are important to many local people. I can only repeat that I will be happy to discuss with the Minister for Health and Community Care the transport component of the equation.

The minister will not be surprised to hear that I think that one way of addressing transport issues in North Lanarkshire would be to reopen the Airdrie to Bathgate rail link with stations in Plains and Blackridge. Does the minister share my concern that the private bill for the line, which has a strong business case, has been delayed? What can he do to ensure a smooth ride from here on in?

I acknowledge Mary Mulligan's continued work in pursuing and pushing that rail project, as is quite appropriate. I assure her that we are working hard with the promoter of the scheme, Network Rail, to ensure that the project meets the timescales that we badly want it to meet. We will continue to do that. I assure her that I will keep her up to date with progress.

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Higher Education (Pay Dispute)

To ask the Scottish Executive what action has been taken to encourage a resolution of the pay dispute in higher education. (S2O-9704)

I am obviously concerned about the effects of the pay dispute on students in particular and on the higher education sector in general. During general meetings with the Association of University Teachers and Universities Scotland, it has been made clear that we wish to see both sides working together towards an early resolution of the dispute. Pay negotiations are a matter for institutions, their employees and the relevant unions; they are not matters on which ministers can intervene.

Does the minister agree that, in the 2004 spending review, the Executive recognised the academic pay pressures on universities, and that it is only fair that, once the funding settlement is received by the universities, they follow through by raising the level of academic pay by more than the rate of inflation? Does he agree that the best resolution to the problem is a national settlement, although the fact that some universities are trying to settle the dispute individually indicates some indecision and disagreement among the employers? In order to promote a fair settlement for all concerned, will the Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, or his colleague, the Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, ensure that the issue is raised at the HE round table, which I believe is due to take place next week, and which is chaired by the Scottish Executive?

I understand that my colleague has discussed the matter with both parties in the dispute. However, Mr Muldoon has made a relevant point. The Executive has invested in higher education to the extent that funding will exceed £1 billion a year by 2007-08, which represents an increase of almost £300 million since 2003-04. There is unprecedented additional funding for the sector, which has said that the money should ensure that the rates of pay that it offers to academic personnel are competitive in the United Kingdom market and internationally. Around £26 million in the funding stream was specifically for pay modernisation, so there is ample scope for both parties to sit round the same table and hammer out a settlement that will take the sector forward and protect academic rates of pay and conditions of service.

I hope that the minister has some influence in the process. Will he try to encourage all the participants, by using any influence that he has, to take part in Monday's negotiations without preconditions, in order to resolve the dispute in the interests of students in particular? Bearing in mind that there was an allocation in the previous comprehensive spending review for academic salaries, and that the next comprehensive spending review has been delayed, will there be an impact on the timescale for any settlement that can be achieved in Scotland?

There should not be. Like the member, I encourage all parties to get round the table, as I have said they should do. I understand that they have engaged the helpful services of the Government's Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service to assist in the process. It is in everybody's interests—not least those of the students—that the process culminates in a negotiated solution. As I said, we made specific provision for pay modernisation in the existing spending review period. Substantial sums of money are available in the existing settlement for both parties to meet their objectives.

Does the minister agree that the dispute is unfair to students, particularly those who are in their final year, who hope to graduate this summer and who at best are looking at a delay in the issuing of their awards? Does he agree that those students are the innocent third parties in the dispute? Will he urge the parties involved to have regard to the interests of the innocent students?

At the risk of repeating myself, the interests of the students—who are the beneficiaries of the services that are provided by the institutions and the academic staff whom they employ—are our primary interest. It is in everybody's interest to get round the table and resolve the dispute to their mutual satisfaction. The students will be the ultimate beneficiaries if they do so.

I understand that talks between the AUT and the Universities and Colleges Employers Association are scheduled for Monday. The minister will be aware that local deals have been struck at Aberdeen and St Andrews. Does he agree that the AUT was correct to say that the universities were awarded substantial funding increases to pay staff this year, and does he agree that if the local deals that have been agreed in Aberdeen and St Andrews are accepted as a national deal on Monday, it will represent twice what the UCEA originally offered? Does he accept that the unions were right to strike and that it appears that vice-chancellors have been putting students' degree examinations in jeopardy throughout the dispute?

There is a fine distinction between saying what I have said and being asked to arbitrate between the employers and the unions. It would be inappropriate for me to say anything other than that I want negotiations between the parties to be facilitated so that students who are caught in the middle can be assured of their continuing education and of the results of that education in due course.

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Language Skills

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will designate a specific department with responsibility for developing a framework for language skills for Scottish businesses. (S2O-9728)

The Scottish Executive has no plans to develop a framework for language skills for Scottish businesses.

The minister will be aware that I recently received answers to a range of written questions on the subject, which pointed to undefined languages support being offered to some businesses, but made it clear that there is no overarching framework. It looks as if the greatest effort has been put into helping business to articulate demand for language skills, but I would have hoped that by now we would be beyond that stage and that we would be providing the wherewithal to acquire and access those skills.

Does the minister accept that the failure to ensure that there is a proper strategy and framework could leave Scotland at a competitive disadvantage in the global marketplace? Will he consider examining the case for a proper language development framework for business across the country?

I am always open to suggestions. I have responded to 14 questions on the subject from the member. It is not true that no strategy or support is available to businesses and enterprises. Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise will give advice to businesses on language support. In addition, the Sector Skills Development Agency is funding the language skills alliance, which will support employers, especially those involved in export, and help them to articulate demand for language skills.

Last year, the multilingual forum, which involves Scottish Development International and businesses in Scotland, was set up. It is led by colleagues from IBM in Greenock, who have an internationally renowned reputation in the field. A range of activities is under way. If the multilingual forum encourages us to take further action, I will examine the proposal with considerable interest.

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Concessionary Travel Cards (Applications)

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that applications for senior citizens' concessionary travel cards are processed as rapidly as possible. (S2O-9678)

The Scottish Executive is working with local authorities to develop an electronic application process for the entitlement card, which will allow cards to be produced within three working days of receipt of data.

That will be welcome. As I am sure the minister is aware, there are problems not only in my constituency but throughout Scotland with delays and non-availability of travel cards that allow older people to travel anywhere in Scotland. How will he ensure that the three-day limit is adhered to? Is it achievable, given the problems that have been experienced to date?

I will be happy to look into the problems to which Scott Barrie refers. This morning, I contacted Transport Scotland about the range of issues that have been raised. I know that four MSPs have been in touch directly with Transport Scotland about issues relating to the availability of cards. I understand that we are currently able to turn around applications within 10 working days of receipt, that 750,000 cards were issued on time and that 841,007 cards have been issued to date. I am happy to take up any specific issues that Scott Barrie would like to raise, to see whether we can sort them out as quickly as possible.