Good morning. The first item of business is general question time.
Leuchars Army Station
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the United Kingdom Government regarding the future use of Leuchars army station. (S4O-04748)
Throughout recent basing changes, Scottish ministers have repeatedly pressed UK ministers at the Ministry of Defence to offer support to communities that are affected by UK ministers’ decisions. The Minister for Business, Energy and Tourism recently pressed the case of businesses that continue to be affected by changes at Leuchars.
The UK Government has not engaged us in any discussion on the future use of the Leuchars army station. I have repeatedly requested meetings with the Secretary of State for Defence, including meetings about the UK Government’s strategic defence and security review but, again, I have not yet been afforded such opportunities. Despite that, I intend to meet other ministers who are involved in the SDSR in the coming weeks.
Does the cabinet secretary agree that the runway at Leuchars is a valuable asset and that the return of maritime patrol aircraft to that part of Scotland, which has been speculated about in the press, would not only enhance security but benefit the local economy, sections of which continue to struggle following the Royal Air Force’s departure and the Army’s delayed arrival?
I welcome the fact that the runway at Leuchars has been maintained despite the end to routine RAF operations there. Members will clearly recall the widespread changes that were caused by the previous strategic defence and security review and the upset and upheaval that it created for communities, including those at Leuchars, Kinloss and many other locations around Scotland. They will also recall the efforts—led by the Scottish Government, but with a remarkable degree of cross-party consensus—to protect the military footprint in Scotland against a backdrop of disproportionate decline over many years.
Our ambition remains to see the conventional military footprint in Scotland protected and enhanced. In our view, the UK Government has repeatedly made poor defence decisions for Scotland, which have left major capability gaps. We therefore strongly support locating any new maritime patrol aircraft capability in Scotland and I will continue to press for engagement with the Secretary of State for Defence. With the onset of the new SDSR, I will seek to discuss that issue with him, among other issues.
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on enshrining the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in Scots law. (S4O-04749)
Scottish ministers have an established record on promoting and safeguarding children’s rights. Our Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 places specific duties on all ministers to consider steps that can better give effect to the UNCRC and to promote public awareness and understanding of children’s rights. Those provisions take us further than any previous Scottish Government has gone. We remain committed to enhancing children’s rights in all aspects of Scottish life and we look for opportunities to apply the principles of the convention on an issue-by-issue basis where we consider it right and proper to do so.
I know that we are all committed to protecting the realisation of the rights of children and young people in Scotland. What role does the Scottish Government believe that organisations that promote engagement with and the participation of children and young people have, working in a rights-based context, in helping to further realise these important rights?
I recognise Richard Lyle’s commitment to the UNCRC. Our ambition to make rights real for children and young people across Scotland can be achieved only by working in partnership. Organisations that promote children and young people’s engagement and participation have a crucial role to play in that, which is why we fund organisations such as the Scottish Youth Parliament, Young Scot and the Children’s Parliament to help us to hear young people’s views as we develop our policy.
Support for Young People (Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn)
To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to young people in Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn. (S4O-04750)
Drawing on regional funding of £105 million, Glasgow Kelvin College is delivering a range of courses for some 16,000 students from across north-east Glasgow and beyond. The college has also provided 20 vocational programmes for senior-phase pupils from local communities, including its successful engineering scholarship programme and targeted courses for some of the most vulnerable young people from the Maryhill and Springburn communities.
We awarded Glasgow City Council funding of approximately £18.4 million through the Scotland’s schools for the future programme. That includes £4.2 million for the new Garrowhill primary school, which opened to pupils in January 2015, and £6.1 million for phase 1 of the Clyde campus, which is expected to open in spring 2017.
Glasgow Kelvin College, like many other colleges in Glasgow, has had its number of student places slashed in recent years. The Scottish Government’s decision to slash bursaries by 36 per cent will have a disproportionate effect on the ability of young people in constituencies such as mine to make their way successfully through university and college.
Scottish Labour has pledged to increase the top rate of taxation to provide a fair start fund that will help those young people. What will the Scottish Government do?
I am pleased to report that, as Ms Ferguson knows, the Scottish Government has met its manifesto commitment to exceed 116,000 full-time equivalent college places. I am also pleased to report that, over our term of office, student support funds for Glasgow Kelvin College have gone up by 17 per cent. [Angela Constance has corrected this contribution. See end of report.]
In due course, John Swinney will lay out the Government’s spending plans, including our plans for taxation, as is entirely appropriate. The Parliament will be the first to know those plans.
Air Discount Scheme
To ask the Scottish Government what feedback it has received following its decision to increase the air discount scheme from 40 per cent to 50 per cent. (S4O-04751)
Our decision to increase from 40 to 50 per cent the discount that is available under the scheme has been welcomed by the communities that benefit from the scheme, as well as their local representatives. We have also invited local authorities to produce a costed and legally compliant business case for the inclusion of business travel in the scheme, for further consideration.
Will the minister comment on any further measures that he is taking or is able to take to improve the fortunes of Scotland’s islands?
There is now a record of sustained investment and good news for Scotland’s islands. That includes the ferry fare freeze, the investment in new ferries—the procurement of which is returning commercial shipbuilding to the Clyde—and the increase in subsidy to support travel to Scotland’s islands and other remote areas. All those measures have been welcomed, and the work of the island areas ministerial working group continues to produce an action plan that will outline a range of actions to support island living.
There has been a view that we should go further on the air discount scheme and we have been accused of having reduced the budget. However, the budget was £5.6 million in 2007-08 and the projected budget for 2016-17 is £8.6 million, which shows increased support for and sustained investment in a scheme that is well worth while for the islands and is fully appreciated.
Responsible Driving (Central Scotland)
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing in Central Scotland to promote responsible driving. (S4O-04752)
The Scottish Government is clear that all motorists should drive responsibly and is committed to improving road safety in all of Scotland. To achieve that, we are working with road safety partners on a range of educational, enforcement and engineering measures that are relevant to Central Scotland and to Scotland more generally.
The Government will be aware of the recent publication of Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency postcode motoring conviction rates, which show that the highest conviction rates in Scotland are in Central Scotland and particularly in some ML postcode areas. Although that is only one part of a complex jigsaw, does it cause the Government concern? How can conviction rates be reduced in those areas?
The Scottish Government is resolute that all drivers should act responsibly and within the law. That is why we are to take comprehensive action to deter risk-taking behaviour and offending. Through a range of high-profile publicity campaigns that promote safe and legal driving and through road safety education resources that are linked to the curriculum for excellence for children aged from three to 18, we are helping to foster responsible habits on the roads that will last a lifetime. That work is taking place across the country, but I am happy to look at regional and local variations.
National Health Service Staffing Shortages
To ask the Scottish Government what contingencies are in place to address NHS staffing shortages during winter. (S4O-04753)
All NHS boards have in place agreed and robust winter plans that include details of workforce and logistical plans to deal with the increases in demand that are commonly seen over the winter period.
NHS Lanarkshire’s winter plan indicates that it has invested £1.2 million in acute care in the past year. That funding will help to provide additional capacity across the board, including an 18-bed ward in Monklands hospital that will be staffed by consultant locums. The funding will also support the surge capacity to open a further 16 beds in Monklands hospital, including beds for patients from the Wishaw catchment if required. Enhanced ambulatory care will be provided across all acute sites, with emergency department advanced nurse practitioners available to support medical staffing.
In Lanarkshire, the vacancy rates are often higher than and sometimes double the national average. Nearly 11 per cent of the consultant posts in Lanarkshire are unfilled, with 6.5 per cent having been unfilled for six months or more, and the figure is higher in acute and emergency medicine. That is why plans exist to address a critical shortfall by redirecting 999-call patients and moving staff to other emergency departments.
Lanarkshire also has a shortfall in community nursing, with 73 vacancies—a quarter of the Scottish total. Does the cabinet secretary agree that that will exacerbate the problems in the acute sector by delaying the discharge of patients and increasing the number of readmissions? With the winter set to add to those staffing pressures, what is the cabinet secretary doing to address the shortage of community nurses?
John Pentland asks several questions and I will try to deal with them in order.
We have a clear focus on tackling delayed discharge and, in preparation for winter, making sure that everything is done to ensure that patients who should not be in hospital are discharged on time. That requires the partnerships between North Lanarkshire Council and South Lanarkshire Council and NHS Lanarkshire to be working well, so I am keeping a close eye on that partnership working.
NHS Lanarkshire staffing overall has gone up by almost 12.7 per cent. There has been an increase in the number of accident and emergency consultants, and the number of staff working in NHS Lanarkshire overall has increased by nearly 13 per cent under this Government. Although there are challenges—I accept that—there are more staff than ever before.
For winter, however, we need to ensure that the plans are robust and give the public reassurance that their local services—not just in health, but in social care—are robust enough to deal with the winter pressures. I am happy to write to John Pentland with a bit more of the detail.
National Standards for Community Engagement
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the review of the national standards for community engagement. (S4O-04754)
Good progress is being made by the Scottish Community Development Centre and the what works Scotland initiative in the review of the national standards for community engagement. Following extensive consultation since June 2015, we expect that live testing of the new standards will start at the end of this year and that a fully revised and refreshed set of national standards for community engagement will be launched in summer 2016.
Does the minister agree that the national standards for community engagement are important as we increasingly look to involve communities in the design, delivery and review of services, whether at a local or a national level?
Yes, I whole-heartedly agree. That was the impetus behind the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015. We intend to use the powers in that act to embed the national standards, once they have been refreshed and the relevant parts of the act have been commenced. I welcome the cross-party support that continues to exist for that agenda.
Good as the original standards were, does the minister agree that strengthened community engagement standards are essential for the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015? Can he tell us not just the publication date of the revised standards but the commencement date of the 2015 act and the guidance that is necessary for its commencement to take place?
As the act is about working in partnership, we have been working in partnership with the interested organisations so that the standards can be genuinely co-produced. The expected commencement date of the relevant provisions is the summer of next year, by which time guidance will have been developed, the national standards will have been refreshed and we will be able to go live with a series of improvements in those areas. I hope that the member will welcome that progress when it comes.
Flood Prevention Measures (New Cumnock)
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the flooding incidents in the area in the last two winters, what its position is on the flood prevention measures in New Cumnock. (S4O-04755)
We continue to implement the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009, which will help responsible local authorities to work to reduce flood risk across Scotland. As part of that process, on 22 December the Scottish Environment Protection Agency will publish its first ever flood risk management strategies.
Constituents who live in the area, particularly at Connel bridge and the Leggate, have had two miserable winters as a result of flooding. Will the minister take steps to assure herself that all has been done that it is physically possible to do to provide a happier winter for the people who live in the area?
I know that Graeme Pearson has taken a particular interest in the flooding problems that have affected New Cumnock and has organised a series of public meetings to bring the community together with representatives of SEPA, East Ayrshire Council and Scotland TranServ to discuss potential solutions. As the member knows, flood protection schemes are primarily a matter for local authorities. I understand that East Ayrshire Council has been developing plans for a large-scale flood protection scheme for New Cumnock, which will be included in the Ayrshire flood risk management strategy.
I also understand that East Ayrshire Council has provided property-level protection to all houses that were affected by the events of December 2013 and that the council allocated £600,000 in December 2014 to design and construct flood protection works for the Leggate area of New Cumnock, which are programmed to be completed by the summer of 2016. To reassure the member, New Cumnock is also very much part and parcel of the national flood risk management planning process and will be considered accordingly.
Domestic Abuse (North-east Scotland)
To ask the Scottish Government what is being done to address domestic abuse incidents in the north-east. (S4O-04756)
The Scottish Government is working closely with our partners in the statutory and third sector to address domestic abuse in the north-east and throughout Scotland. We are investing more than £700,000 in services throughout the north-east to support women and children who have experienced or are at risk of domestic abuse.
Nationally, the First Minister announced an additional £20 million from justice to invest in a range of measures to strengthen our efforts to tackle all forms of violence against women and girls and to better support victims of violence and sexual assault.
Furthermore, we have introduced to Parliament the Abusive Behaviour and Sexual Harm (Scotland) Bill, which, along with our planned consultation on a specific offence of domestic abuse, will seek to strengthen the law in this area.
I very much welcome the £700,000 that the minister has made us aware is available in the north-east. However, given that, nationally, almost half of incidents reported do not result in a conviction, can more be done beyond what is currently planned to help lead to more successful prosecutions?
The Scottish Government is absolutely clear that there is no excuse for domestic abuse and is absolutely committed to doing everything that it can to tackle the issue. Our partners in Police Scotland and the Crown Office have taken forward a range of work in this area. Police Scotland has established a national domestic abuse task force to tackle the most prolific perpetrators. The Crown Office has a dedicated national prosecutor for domestic abuse and has introduced a consistent and robust approach to the prosecution of domestic abuse. For example, in 2013-14, court action was taken by prosecutors in 85 per cent of domestic abuse cases that were reported by the police.
National Review of General Practitioner Out-of-hours Services
To ask the Scottish Government when it expects to receive the results of the national review of GP out-of-hours services. (S4O-04757)
In February of this year, I commissioned Professor Sir Lewis Ritchie to chair a national review of primary care out-of-hours services. He will present his final report of findings and recommendations to me early this month.
I remind the cabinet secretary of the disappointment in my constituency of East Kilbride about the out-of-hours service being taken away on an interim basis by NHS Lanarkshire. She is aware that NHS Lanarkshire has pledged to review that situation, following the result of the national review. Can she assure me that the criteria used for public consultation will be meaningful so that all voices can be heard in that local review?
Yes, I assure Linda Fabiani on all those points. As is right, NHS Lanarkshire has said that it will review the interim arrangements in the light of Professor Sir Lewis Ritchie’s findings and recommendations, and I will ensure that that happens.
The point about local engagement is a good one. That should also happen.