Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Thursday, October 4, 2012

Official Report 870KB pdf

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Scottish Government Question Time

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General Questions

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Budget 2013-14

1. To ask the Scottish Government what the priorities of the 2013-14 draft budget are. (S4O-01356)

The priority of the 2013-14 draft budget is to support economic recovery by providing further investment in construction, skills and the green economy.

On the ground in my constituency, the on-going challenges to and implications of the budget are families living in overcrowded houses and languishing on ever-lengthening waiting lists, and pensioners receiving cuts to their care packages, with a background of £3.3 billion of further cuts coming down the line.

What has the cabinet secretary done to examine the work of Campbell Christie and Crawford Beveridge and when will he take those works out of his drawer to inform his on-going budgeting process?

If Mr Kelly had been engaged in any way in the parliamentary and discussion processes around the budget for the past two to three years, he would have seen that the Government has given full consideration to the issues raised by the independent budget review and by the Christie commission.

In my summation of the debate last night, I made clear the areas of the independent budget review report—whether they are about the capital programme, pay, or the efficiency and rationalisation of public bodies—in which the Government has taken significant and controversial steps to ensure the sustainability of the public finances. The Government gave a full response to the Christie commission as part of the budget process last year and increased the emphasis on preventative spend and on the integration of local services, which is why we are bringing forward proposals on adult health and social care integration.

Far from those reports being in the drawer, they are actively pursued by the Government and integrated into our budgeting processes, which has resulted in this Administration presiding over a balanced budget since 2007-08.

Mr Kelly has an opportunity to make his own contribution to the debate. In the course of the next few weeks, I look forward to hearing from Mr Kelly and his colleagues—I have sent the invitation by letter to Mr Macintosh—on how they want to change the budget to realise the new pro-Tory agenda of the Labour Party in Scotland.

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Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009

2. To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the discharge by local authorities of their obligations under the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009. (S4O-01357)

The Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 sets out a challenging timescale for the preparation of flood risk management plans by December 2015.

In conjunction with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, the Scottish Government is providing support to local authorities and other responsible stakeholders to develop those plans, which will help to protect communities across Scotland.

The minister will be aware of the recent flooding in Comrie—the overarching priority for the village is to get to the bottom of the problem and then to ensure that it is resolved. Can the minister take up this issue directly with the chief executive of Perth and Kinross Council to ensure that all steps that need to be taken are taken as a matter of urgency?

I understand the member’s concerns and I will be speaking to Bernadette Malone, the chief executive of Perth and Kinross Council, this afternoon to discuss the best way forward for managing and responding to flood risk in the Comrie area.

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Energy Academy

3. To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making in establishing an energy academy. (S4O-01358)

The Scottish Government announced plans to develop a Scottish energy skills academy within the budget statement on 20 September. We are currently working with relevant stakeholders—including those from industry, colleges, universities, skills bodies and the enterprise agencies—to develop the new academy.

The investment in the energy academy is welcome, but I ask the minister for further details. How many more people will receive training in skills for the energy industry as a result of the funding? How will it be allocated between the four institutions that have been announced as being involved? How will the academy be funded beyond next year?

I am pleased that the Labour Party welcomes the academy. I am grateful for that, because it is a really important venture for Scotland.

The additional funding has been £3.25 million. The sensible course, which is how we plan to proceed, is to have detailed discussions with all the relevant stakeholders from industry, colleges, universities and the enterprise agencies about how the project is taken forward.

To respond directly to Richard Baker’s point about additional numbers, however, I point out that we have already ring fenced 500 of our 25,000 modern apprenticeship starts for energy every year, and fairly recently we committed a further £2 million—that is, prior to the skills academy—to support an additional 1,000 flexible training places from the new energy skills challenge fund. Finally, we have provided funding of £1.9 million for the academic year to support an additional 300 funded university places in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics—STEM—topics.

Those three actions prior to the announcement about the skills academy show that we are seeking to rise to the challenge of the second major oil opportunity for this country.

I know that the minister has a good working relationship with energy companies. What discussions has the Government had with the private sector regarding the energy skills academy? What input will there be from energy firms?

I have had a great many discussions with the majority of the leading and many of the small and medium-sized enterprise players in the oil and gas sector that are delivering such enormous success in the city of Aberdeen and furth of Aberdeen. Those discussions will continue and we will work closely with, for example, OPITO and Oil & Gas UK. The main thing as we take forward this exciting new initiative is to ensure that we proceed with the maximum buy-in, the maximum support and the maximum deliberation and consideration about how best we can meet not just the enormous challenge but the gigantic opportunities that face this country, given the oil opportunity that is ahead of us, and particularly the opportunities that it will bring for young people.

I very much welcome the minister’s responses so far. Given that there are 15 fewer women working offshore in the North Sea than there were five years ago, will the minister commit to doing everything possible to ensure that the energy skills academy offers the same career opportunities to women as it does to men?

I am delighted that Mary Scanlon has raised that point, which is absolutely apposite. I know that Maureen Watt has championed the issue on many occasions as well, and she continues to do so.

There is massive scope for the oil industry to employ more of the female half of the population. Companies such as Shell have already taken a number of steps to encourage females to enter the oil and gas industry. I also point out that, compared with Scotland’s first oil opportunity in the 1970s, a far greater proportion of jobs in the oil and gas sector are not offshore but on land, in an office. They involve top-quality, world-beating design work in relation to subsea development, and females are already playing a major part in that. We want more women in the oil and gas industry in Scotland.

I welcome much of what the minister has said. I am sure that he is aware of the PricewaterhouseCoopers report the other week that said that for Aberdeen to achieve its potential as a world energy centre will require 120,000 additional skilled workers over the next 10 years. Will he confirm today that the academy proposals that the Government has brought forward will support and build on the proposals from the universities and colleges in Aberdeen and Banff and Buchan in order to begin to address that enormous demand for skilled labour?

Lewis Macdonald raises an apposite point. The PricewaterhouseCoopers report identified that 120,000 jobs will be required to be filled in the next 10 years. I point out that that figure includes the replacement of people who will retire, which takes us up to nearly 100,000. Broadly speaking, the number of additional jobs is 20,000. We need to study the report further; that is not a criticism—it would be sensible to do that.

I am just delighted that the Labour Party in Scotland realises the huge opportunity that we have in this country to harness the huge wealth and opportunities that will flow from our massive oil and gas resources. I am delighted that it supports the work that we are doing thereanent.

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General Practitioner Services (Out-of-hours Provision)

4. To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made through the extended hours initiative to widen public access to out-of-hours GP services. (S4O-01359)

We are investing more than £12 million to increase the opening hours of GP practices across Scotland and ensure that patients get more flexible access to healthcare. The extended hours enhanced service was introduced in 2008, and we said in April that we wanted to increase the participation rate from 72 per cent.

Following the steps that we took this year to relax some of the restrictions that were in place, our two largest health boards report that more than 80 per cent of their practices are now participating in the extended hours scheme. I am sure that the member will agree that that is a positive outcome that will ensure that patients continue to get more flexible access to healthcare.

In extending the opening hours of GP practices to widen access to healthcare for patients across Scotland, what more can be done to encourage health boards to prioritise and incentivise wider access to extended hours in all areas of the country? Does the cabinet secretary agree that it is a matter of deep regret that the Labour Party in Scotland, unlike its counterpart in Wales, seems determined to abandon the founding principle of the national health service—that healthcare should be free at the point of delivery?

I agree absolutely with Jim Eadie’s last point. People such as Nye Bevan would have been astounded to hear Johann Lamont sell out on the national health service’s basic principle.

I expect all health boards to encourage and monitor the uptake of the extended hours initiative in their areas. Access is one of the priorities that we will consider with the Scottish general practitioners committee as we develop a more Scottish general medical services contract.

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Schools (Outdoor Activity)

5. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that school outdoor environments promote physical activity and healthy lifestyles. (S4O-01360)

The 2009 school estate strategy set out a joint commitment between national and local government to create a school estate—school buildings and grounds—that allows everyone to experience the full range of experiences and outcomes in the curriculum for excellence. Architecture and Design Scotland’s schools programme provides advice and guidance to authorities and schools to help put children and young people at the heart of design and so deliver well-designed spaces inside and outside the school building.

We recognise the importance of school grounds in promoting physical activity and healthy lifestyles. That is why we launched in January this year the £1 million school play project, which is led by grounds for learning. The project will develop exciting outdoor landscapes in 31 schools and support a further 20 to develop their outdoor play provision by 2015.

I thank the minister for the steps that have been taken and the investment that has been made so far. The link between access to natural play environments and a child’s physical and cognitive wellbeing is well demonstrated—the Government’s guidance on outdoor learning refers to much of that. However, it is often down to parents or enthusiastic teachers to fundraise in order to transform the tarmac deserts that many old school playgrounds are into stimulating green spaces. I very much welcome that individual action and community involvement.

What is the minister doing to help members of the community to volunteer their enthusiasm, time and skills to improve school grounds? What action is the Government taking to ensure that, in time, all schoolchildren will have access to equally inspirational outdoor space?

I very much welcome the member’s commitment to parents’ involvement. Part of my work is to phone round parent councils. An emerging theme is that parents are willing to become involved in the work that the member describes.

We have a youth sports strategy that touches on those points, but the issue partly comes down to our attitude to outdoor education. I do not want to suggest that we should celebrate Scotland’s weather, but it is increasingly understood that we should understand play to involve outside play in a wider variety of weathers.

Question 6, from John Wilson, has not been lodged. The member has provided an explanation.

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Speeding (Trunk Roads)

7. To ask the Scottish Government what plans the Cabinet Secretary for Justice has to reduce the number of speeding offences on trunk roads. (S4O-01362)

The management of speed is a primary consideration for road authorities, police forces and safety camera partnerships.

We will continue to fund the Scottish safety camera programme, which brings together police, Transport Scotland and other partners to influence driver behaviour positively and reduce the number of speeding offences.

The cabinet secretary will be aware that speeding is a real problem on the A9. I have recently noticed long queues of vehicles behind convoys of lorries that are doing 40 mph on single carriageways. That leads to frustration, and to motorists taking chances in order to pass.

Does the cabinet secretary think that increasing the speed limit for lorries would improve that situation? Can anything be done to prevent lorries from bunching together?

Road safety is our first priority. All vehicles should continue to keep a safe distance from the vehicle in front, irrespective of speed limits. Enforcement will be a matter for the police in any instances in which drivers act irresponsibly and break the law.

Although we have new powers to control speed limits in Scotland, we have no current plans to increase the 70mph and 60mph limits or the speed limits for different classes of vehicle. Speed limit increases would be considered only when there is clear, unambiguous and comprehensive evidence in favour of such a change.

However, I am aware of the points that Dave Thompson and others such as the Road Haulage Association have made, and matters will be kept under review.

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Minimum Alcohol Pricing (Economic Benefits)

8. To ask the Scottish Government when the economic benefits of minimum pricing of alcohol will be evident. (S4O-01363)

Excessive alcohol consumption is estimated to cost Scots £3.6 billion each year, which equates to £900 for every adult in Scotland. That estimate includes approximately £870 million in lost productivity, £730 million in crime costs and £270 million to the national health service.

Alcohol misuse not only burdens our health service and police, but has a terrible knock-on effect on our economic potential and on the families that are devastated by death and illness caused by alcohol.

As Colin Beattie will know, the modelling that the University of Sheffield carried out shows substantial benefits after one year of the policy, and even more after 10 years. The sooner minimum pricing is implemented, the sooner we will start to see those benefits in the form of a reduction in poor health, crime and social harms.

Last year, nearly £5 million was spent in Midlothian alone on social care as a result of alcohol-related harm. Does the cabinet secretary agree that minimum pricing—while essential—is only the beginning in tackling the binge-drinking pandemic in this country?

I agree that minimum pricing is only one measure—albeit a key measure—in tackling alcohol abuse in Scotland. We have a framework with more than 40 measures that seek to reduce consumption, support families and communities, encourage more positive attitudes and positive choices, and improve treatment and support services.

Does the cabinet secretary agree that it is disappointing that, in the first full year after the ban on discounting that was introduced by the Alcohol etc (Scotland) Act 2010—which the entire Parliament supported—the reduction in consumption in Scotland is only 1 per cent more than in England rather than the 3.8 per cent that the Sheffield model predicted? Will he invite the University of Sheffield team to help us in determining why its predictions are not being fulfilled and what more can be done?

As Richard Simpson should know, the ban on discounting was intended to work along with minimum pricing, and by definition we will not get the benefits that he has highlighted until we get minimum pricing. I am sure that he already knows that.