SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE
Less Favoured Areas
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it is making in analysing the success of the less favoured areas support scheme in directing financial support to the least favoured areas. (S1O-3719)
The analysis of the 2001 scheme is complete and the details will be published next week. I also intend to publish next week proposals for refinements to the scheme in 2002-03.
I thank the minister for his answer. He will be aware that there are winners and losers under the scheme. I am concerned about the plight of the losers in my area in the north of Scotland and in other constituencies, such as those of John Farquhar Munro and Ian Jenkins. Will the minister give an undertaking that he and his civil servants will look closely at the problem with a view to helping out?
Jamie Stone will be aware that it is impossible to eliminate winners and losers from such a scheme. The measures that I hope to propose next week aim particularly to mitigate the effects on the losers and to restrict substantial winners. I hope that the measures will be interim and will take us to the mid-term review in which we might be able to consider more substantial amendments to the scheme.
Will the minister consider extending the 90 per cent safety net for another year? That would allow a more considered response to the review of the scheme to ensure that it is workable.
I am grateful for that question. I am on the public record as saying that I will discuss the extension of the 90 per cent safety net with the European Commission. Those discussions will form part of the proposals that I will publish next week.
Sectarianism (Football)
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to support the measures being taken by Glasgow City Council and Rangers and Celtic football clubs to combat sectarianism. (S1O-3694)
If it can, the Scottish Executive will encourage and assist measures that are likely to make an effective contribution to combating sectarianism.
I hope that Parliament will pursue the combating of sectarianism through a bill that is in its early stages. The Executive could also help in two ways in particular. First, there is a lack of good statistics, so the police could be asked to record whether they think an offence has a sectarian element. We would then know about offences by volume. Secondly, the right atmosphere and ethos should be created in society. Education is very helpful in that respect. Organisations are trying to combat sectarianism in schools through many schemes—such as Nil by Mouth. Perhaps the Executive could do something to help combat sectarianism in schools through such schemes.
We have issued guidance so that any evidence of religious motivation for hostility should be brought to the attention of the procurator fiscal and the courts. In sentencing, the courts can take such evidence as an aggravating factor.
Will the minister join me in congratulating Glasgow City Council, Nil by Mouth, the churches and Celtic and Rangers football clubs on securing millennium funding for a project working with young people? Can the minister make a commitment to liaise on that important project and to discover whether there are lessons to be learned about what we can do? Will he also consider how the project can be developed elsewhere in the country?
Glasgow City Council and the Old Firm clubs have not made any direct approach to the Scottish Executive, but we are happy to discuss with them the measures that they are taking. I commend the work of the cross-party sports group, which has sent us the Old Firm's proposals, to which my officials are currently collating a response.
Is the minister aware that representatives of Rangers and Celtic football clubs attended a meeting of the Parliament's cross-party sports group to discuss how to combat sectarianism? Subsequently, some constructive suggestions were forwarded to the First Minister for his consideration.
I favour such a move. As I said, I commend the work of the cross-party sports group for taking the initiative and organising that meeting in June. We are considering the proposals from the Old Firm clubs.
Grampian University Hospitals NHS Trust
To ask the Scottish Executive what action is proposed to address the financial deficit at Grampian University Hospitals NHS Trust. (S1O-3687)
The national health service in Grampian is responsible for ensuring that health services in the area are managed effectively and are sustainable financially. The health department is working closely with the NHS in Grampian to ensure that the acute trust meets its targets under the action plan it has agreed with Grampian Health Board and Grampian Primary Care NHS Trust.
Since that agreement, a further £2 million deficit has been identified. That crisis has already meant that the equipment budget has been cut, resulting in a direct effect on patient services and some laboratory specimens being held over by a day.
Once again, it is important that we put the debate in context. Let us remember that the figure of £6 million or £8 million to which Brian Adam referred is in the context of a budget of about £406 million for the NHS in Grampian. It is the responsibility of local management to ensure that those resources are managed effectively and in the best interests of patient care, and that messages that are sent out to staff about the management of that budget are measured and balanced. Staff should have an opportunity to influence the decisions. Based on the assurances that have been given by local management in Grampian to the NHS chief executive in recent weeks, I hope that that will be achieved.
Does the minister agree that staff morale and patient confidence have been damaged by recent announcements and that it is vital that they are restored? Does she agree that the best way of restoring confidence is through open and constructive dialogue and through all parts of the NHS working together—not through scaremongering?
I strongly agree with Elaine Thomson. The way in which the financial issues that are being addressed in Grampian have been conveyed to the public and staff during recent weeks is disappointing. It has not been done in a way that ensures an open and measured discussion. I hope that that will change in the weeks and months to come. There are pressures to be addressed in the NHS in Grampian, as in many other parts of the health service. However, the NHS in Grampian is addressing those pressures in the context of record increases in investment. A measured and balanced discussion about how the pressures can be addressed is in everyone's best interests.
Does the minister know that Grampian Health Board covers 10 per cent of the Scottish population and has 10 per cent of NHS activity, but receives only 9 per cent of the funding? Is the minister aware that that amounts to a shortfall every year from the Arbuthnott formula of more than £40 million on the Scottish average?
The fact is that the NHS in Grampian is receiving a 5.5 per cent—some £21 million—increase in its funding this year. It will receive a 6.5 per cent—some £26 million—increase next year and a 7.4 per cent—some £32 million—increase the year after that. That is a substantial increase in budget by any measure. We have introduced new and radical ways of allocating NHS resources throughout Scotland. The Arbuthnott review was the product of two years of discussion and debate. The formula is now being taken forward on the basis of that comprehensive piece of work. As we have always said, we will monitor carefully how that rolls out throughout Scotland; there is a mechanism in place to do that. I hope that there can be constructive discussion around the issues that have been raised.
I am afraid that people who work in the health service and those who receive the service in Grampian will not be terribly amused by the minister's dismissive approach. Why is a review not taking place into the effect of the Arbuthnott formula on the Grampian Health Board area? In no way does the increase in funding—I agree that there is an increase—match the even greater increase in demand on the service and pressure on those working within the service.
I have adopted anything but a dismissive approach. I have endeavoured to answer questions with facts and measured comments, which we all have a responsibility to do. David Davidson asks about a review of the Arbuthnott formula. As I said, a mechanism is in place to monitor the impact of the changes in allocation arrangements throughout Scotland. A standing committee has been established. That was discussed fully with the Health and Community Care Committee in the Parliament as we proceeded with that piece of work. A mechanism is in place to discuss those matters sensibly. I say again that it is important that we do that in an informed and considered way and—as David Davidson acknowledges—that we recognise that it is within the context of increasing investment within the NHS.
Fishing (Cod Quota)
To ask the Scottish Executive what contingency plans it has made for the fishing industry in the event of the cod quota being taken up before the end of 2001. (S1O-3688)
Monthly catch limits have been set that are based on the amount of cod quota that is left. We have also managed to secure additional cod quota through international swaps. If the monthly limits are adhered to, the cod quota will not be taken up until the end of the year.
It is estimated that because of the low quota, between 60 per cent and 70 per cent of the quota has already been taken up, and we are approaching a busy catching season. The North sea is a mixed fishery, so the European Commission could insist on a complete closure on fishing for haddock and whiting. Will the minister plan ahead for such a scenario—which would be devastating to Scottish fishing communities—rather than react to events after they have happened? Will she tell the Parliament when, according to her scientific advice, we can expect to see the benefits of the cod recovery plan?
We have already done international swaps in recent weeks. We have secured an extra 740 tonnes of quota. Further international swaps that are under consideration might secure about 650 tonnes of extra cod in the near future. In the coming weeks a domestic reallocation of cod quota involving the groups that are unlikely to take their full allocation this year will also be considered.
Has any concern been expressed to the minister about the level of fishing effort that was exerted in the cod boxes immediately after their reopening earlier this year?
We monitor closely what is happening in the cod boxes. There was a considerable amount of effort in those boxes following their reopening. I can also share with members the fact that because there are severe cuts in quotas this year—which we are trying to alleviate with swaps—there has been a rather sad increase in the amount of black fish that have been landed. We are taking that very seriously.
Question 5 has been withdrawn.
Core Path Network
I draw attention to my entry in the register of interests.
We have acknowledged that there will be costs associated with implementation of the access legislation. Indeed, we have already made provision for an additional £34.7 million spend on access by local authorities and Scottish Natural Heritage over the next three years. SNH's current best estimate of the likely costs of establishing core paths once the legislation is in place is about £10 million in each of the first 10 years.
Is the Deputy First Minister aware that a core path network—as agreed by the access forum and now proposed by the National Farmers Union—would provide beneficial and responsible access at relatively little cost in a safe and managed way? That would benefit farmers, land managers and the public alike.
I am happy to acknowledge the fact that good path provision is important, not only for provision of greater opportunities for access but—as Lord James indicates—in the management of access, particularly over enclosed agricultural land.
Is the minister aware that SNH is already distributing leaflets on the basis of the access provisions in the stage 1 draft land reform bill, citing principles of the access concordat? Has the Scottish Executive approved that measure? If not, what action will the minister now take?
I have not seen, nor am I aware of, the content of the leaflets that the member mentions. As the First Minister and I indicated yesterday, although the draft land reform bill's general principles have been established, we have received 3,588 responses to the draft bill. Eighty-five per cent of those responses relate to access provisions. I can assure Linda Fabiani and all other members that we will make changes to the bill, because it has been informed by and has benefited from the responses that we have received.
Lord James's question was similar to the question, "How long is a piece of string?" On the issue of a core path network, will the minister elaborate on the fact that paths can be provided by many and various bodies which can draw funding from many and various sources? Perhaps he would also like to enumerate some of the ways in which core path networks can be provided.
I am happy to confirm Nora Radcliffe's point. Funding can be made available in different ways and from different sources of revenue. It is important to put on record the fact that in a good number of estates—some of which I have visited—the landowners and land managers have already provided some very good path networks. Experience has shown that such provisions have opened up access to the land and have been much appreciated by those who have used them.
Digital Inclusion
To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it is taking to develop digital inclusion among older people. (S1O-3724)
As the Scottish Executive is particularly keen to encourage silver surfers, it has created a network of digital champions. We are funding two cybercafes in Pauline McNeill's home city and opening 300 learning centres throughout Scotland. Furthermore, we are providing 80 per cent discounts towards the cost of basic courses in getting online, which I hope silver surfers will take up.
I declare an interest in the matter, as my father is a silver surfer and has championed the internet at the age of 70.
We are keen to promote the internet to everyone from cybertots to silver surfers. As a result, the most important step that we can take next is to publish an online digest of all the public places in Scotland where anybody—whatever their age or expertise—can access the web. We expect to publish that digest towards the end of this month.
This golden oldie is finding it hard to keep up. [Laughter.]
We should not discriminate against blonde bombshells when it comes to the web.
As a somewhat older person who feels that she is at least partially digitally included—if that is the correct expression—I invite the minister to join me in commending the work of the Lochaber Communications Network, which provides facilities in small communities in the west Highlands for people of all ages to be supported in learning to use information technology and the internet for shopping and so on, and in learning to create their own websites. When the minister next visits Lochaber, will she visit one of the community information technology centres there?
I am aware of the work of the Lochaber centre and hope to visit it. In Strathpeffer last week, I was struck by the keenness of people in rural communities to take advantage of the web after having had to deal with the difficulties of peripherality in the past. That is why the Highlands and Islands is the first pathfinder area for the Executive's new broadband strategy.
New Housing Partnership (Fife)
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made on a new housing partnership strategy in Fife. (S1O-3725)
Six million pounds of new housing partnership funding has been earmarked for Fife Council for regeneration and development projects. Resources were also made available for the council to undertake feasibility work on the future of its housing stock.
I thank the minister for her response. Can she assure us that the £6 million that has been allocated will be utilised fully by the deadline of 31 March 2002? If it will not, will the council be able to carry forward any underspend?
The council has made progress recently and has identified partners to work with towards regeneration and development in the four areas concerned. Subject to satisfactory progress being made on those projects, we will re-profile the community ownership budget line to ensure that they are covered. Fife Council has led me to understand that the reason for the delay is that we want to engage the community in the process. That involvement is critical to the achievement of our wider aims of community ownership.
Fishing (Nephrops Quota)
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-3606 by Ross Finnie on 21 June 2001, when data were submitted to the European Commission in relation to the restoration of the 10 per cent cut in the nephrops quota and what response has been received. (S1O-3729)
The data that were requested by the Commission were submitted on 20 July and the Commission's response was received last week. It has requested further data that we are collating and will submit over the coming days.
Does the minister accept the fact that scientific evidence shows that the prawn fishery off the east neuk of Fife is sustainable and has no impact on other fish stocks? Also, will she consider what further measures could be taken to help east neuk fishermen to make a reasonable living, such as reopening the traditional sprat fishery in the Firth of Forth?
The most recent scientific advice suggests that the nephrops stock in the Firth of Forth is being fished at a sustainable rate. However, almost all fisheries catch non-targeted species, and it is important to determine what impact nephrops fishing has on other stocks. Our advice is that the impact of the nephrops fisheries in the North sea is only small.
Rural Primary Schools (Aberdeenshire)
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to assist Aberdeenshire Council in supporting rural single-teacher primary schools. (S1O-3704)
All our policies for schools are directed towards ensuring that all children benefit from school provision of the highest quality. It is, however, for Aberdeenshire Council to consider what specific measures may be needed to support single-teacher primary schools in its area.
Will the minister join his ministerial colleagues in England in issuing guidelines to local authorities to make it clear that they should work on the presumption that the Executive will not approve the closure of a rural school unless there are exceptional circumstances? Will he also consider following the example of what has happened down south by setting up a small-school fund to protect single-teacher schools such as Kildrummie in Aberdeenshire?
As I hope the member is aware, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities is currently conducting a consultation on the subject of a code for school closures. It would be right and proper for us to await the outcome of that consultation before making any decisions on what ministers or the Parliament might do.
ScotRail (Meetings)
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to meet representatives of ScotRail to discuss the quality of service provided on the Edinburgh to Aberdeen route. (S1O-3699)
The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with ScotRail and the Strategic Rail Authority on a wide range of issues, including levels and standards of service.
Will the minister take the next opportunity to highlight to ScotRail the apparent deterioration in the standard of service on the east coast route to Aberdeen, which is highlighted by my bitter personal experience and that of my family, my staff, members of the SNP—to considerable publicity—and, in a recent case, the political editor of the most prominent Scottish tabloid newspaper, who believes that he is held hostage by ScotRail for four hours a day?
Many of us in this chamber have had the experience that the member outlines. We will ensure that the issues are passed through the appropriate channels. For the benefit of all members, I highlight the fact that the Rail Passengers Committee for Scotland is the port of call for passenger complaints. It has a statutory role in discussions with the Strategic Rail Authority. Overcrowding, customer services and the quality of services delivered will be key issues when we deal with the renewal of the ScotRail franchise, which runs out in 2004.
Could the minister explain why it was considered to be a national priority to electrify the east coast main line from London to Edinburgh but not from Edinburgh to Dundee and Aberdeen? Could the answer possibly be that the people who run our privatised railway for profit are more interested in making a profit than in making the necessary investment to give the same kind of service to the north-east of Scotland that the rest of the United Kingdom gets?
I am sure that the member will be aware that the campaign to electrify the remainder of the east coast main line has now moved on to consider a series of initiatives aimed at speeding up the line between Edinburgh and Aberdeen. Connecting Aberdeen with Edinburgh is vital and we must ensure that the train can compete with the private car—at present, the speed with which the train travels from Edinburgh to Dundee and Aberdeen is matched by the private car. That issue is part of the long-term development of the east coast main line.
As one who is frequently held hostage on that service, I have listened with interest to the minister's response.
The member misunderstands the point. The new generation of trains will operate not only on the line from London to Edinburgh but onwards to Aberdeen and Inverness. The critical issue is journey times. That has to be addressed when the east coast main line is fully renewed, which we expect to happen.
Biosecurity
To ask the Scottish Executive, in the light of the recent imposition of new form D notices on farms in the Scottish Borders, what biosecurity measures are in place to help to open the way for a resumption of exports from Scotland. (S1O-3726)
All livestock farmers in Scotland have been sent a video and an explanatory leaflet outlining the importance of biosecurity and the steps that they must take to safeguard their farms and stock from disease.
Let us hope that the restrictions are successful and that the disease does not develop.
The answer to the latter part of that question is that a secure corridor is one of the options that we are considering. Ian Jenkins will be aware that the National Farmers Union of Scotland has also published a consultation document that is concerned with the issue of the large number of roads that cross the England-Scotland border.
That answer may satisfy Ian Jenkins, but how can the minister reassure the rest of the people of Scotland, never mind his colleagues in Westminster and—perhaps more important—in Europe, on biosecurity measures when the Executive appears to condone the movement of veterinarily unexpected casualty carcases from Cumbria into the south of Scotland for incineration and when the police routinely inspect multiple numbers of loaded livestock transports in the same lay-bys at the same time with no biosecurity measures at all?
I would be interested if Mr Fergusson could supply me with details of any breaches in the licensing agreements. The Scottish Executive authorises such movements only under strict licence conditions. If Mr Fergusson alleges breaches of those licence conditions, I would be pleased to hear the details from him.
Mr Jenkins's original question referred to resuming exports from Scotland. In view of Commissioner Byrne's comments yesterday, will the minister inform Parliament of the status of negotiations with the European Union on the resumption of exports and confirm whether he is continuing to push for the resumption of exports from Scotland as a whole?
I confirm that I am pressing that case. I also confirm that I put that case to Commissioner Byrne in my latest conversation with him, which took place on Monday. My position is that, given that Scotland has achieved disease-free status, my starting point in any negotiation will be to press the Scottish case. It seems to me that it would be anomalous for me to press the case for a part of Scotland when the whole of Scotland is disease-free. As such negotiations proceed, we will have to be flexible and pragmatic on conditions that the European Commission might seek to put on the lifting of the ban. I am not stepping back from pressing the case.
On the matter of cross-border biosecurity, is the minister aware that, in England, no paperwork is required to show that animals being transported for slaughter are disease-free? Last week, that was dramatically illustrated when a cattle lorry broke down and caught fire at Carter Bar. The driver had no paperwork and no owner's documentation.
I would be interested to know whether Christine Grahame can tell me without any doubt that that is what happened. She must know more than me or anyone else in the Commission.
Planning
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to undertake a review of its planning policies. (S1O-3718)
The Executive conducts a continuing review of planning policies. The specific issues currently under consideration include a review of the arrangements for strategic planning in Scotland, on which I published a consultation paper on 15 June.
I am glad that there is a continuing process. As part of that process and as part of the Executive's consideration of the water environment bill, will the minister recommend to the Minister for Environment and Rural Development that planning control over inshore waters be transferred from the Crown Estate to local authorities? Does the minister agree that such a move would gain wide support because it would allow a much more strategic perspective on environmental matters in those inshore waters?
Like us, our colleagues responsible for the environment are aware of the issues around planning controls in inshore waters. We are actively discussing those with ministerial colleagues and will come to conclusions on that before the bill goes forward.
In the review of planning issues, will the minister continue to consider the role of public transport in major planning applications, particularly those involving the public sector? My constituents are affected by poor public transport to new hospitals in Wishaw and Hairmyres. The fact that adequate public transport was not built into those planning applications is definitely having an adverse effect. We need to examine that for the future.
I recognise that point. Our recently updated planning policy guideline on transport and planning takes that on board. Part of the purpose of our combined brief of transport and planning is precisely to recognise the need for transport considerations to be built into development planning at every stage.
Teachers (Computer Costs)
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase the £200 assistance available to teachers to purchase a computer to £500. (S1O-3708)
Ten thousand Scottish teachers have already taken advantage of the £200 support available under the first two phases of the computers for teachers scheme. That represents around one in five of all eligible Scottish teachers.
Will the minister confirm that at the moment that means that a Scottish maths teacher, for example, still has to find £300 more of his or her money for a subsidised computer than a teacher of maths in England?
In England, the scheme involving £500 support is now available only for maths teachers. We have what is, in my view, a significant Scottish success, which I had hoped the SNP might support rather than criticise.