Scottish Executive's Programme
The next item of business is a statement by the First Minister on the Scottish Executive's programme. The First Minister will take questions at the end of his statement, so there should be no interventions.
Today I want to make a statement outlining the Executive's programme until 2007. It is a programme for justice and respect, a programme that will ensure that no child is left behind or held back and a programme for health improvement and for growing economic prosperity for all Scotland to share. It is a programme that is based on a vision of a strong and ambitious Scotland—a Scotland in which today's opportunities are not just available to some but accessible by all Scots, whatever their background or culture. Our programme is a tough and challenging series of actions for the remaining 19 months of this session of Parliament.
This is the first time that Parliament has met since G8 Scotland. The outcome of that summit surpassed the expectations of many. For Africa, in particular, significant progress was made. I am proud of the way in which Scotland responded to what was an incredibly challenging week. I put on record my thanks to all those people who made it such a success: the police, the organisers of the make poverty history demonstrations and those politicians from all parties who contributed to the welcome that was given to everyone who came. The leaders, their entourages, the media and the peaceful campaigners who came in their thousands saw the best of Scotland. I am sure that all members will join me in thanking everyone who made G8 Scotland such a success for us. [Applause.]
I offer my thanks to all those people who have supported our efforts to refresh Scotland's connection with Malawi. By mobilising their enthusiasm and humanity, we will help the people of Malawi to improve their country and their lives.
Although the summer of 2005 will go down in history as a summer of unrivalled profile for our small country, it has also been a summer in which there has been tragedy, in London, in New Orleans and closer to home, too. Yesterday I sent a message of sympathy to the governors of the southern states that were most affected by hurricane Katrina. Families in those states, in London and elsewhere who have been affected by national disasters or terrorism are, of course, in our thoughts.
Scotland can be proud of our police forces and our justice system, but times have changed and crimes have changed. At the heart of this Government's justice policy is a vision to build safer, stronger communities; to convict the guilty and to acquit the innocent; to support the victim and to punish the offender; and, more than ever before, to give the offender the chance to rehabilitate and make good the wrong that they have done. We want to restore respect in the law, in communities and within the individual.
Methodically and systematically, this Government is renewing and modernising the Scottish justice system from top to bottom and from beginning to end. We have already had the Bonomy reforms of the High Court and new laws on antisocial behaviour. The Management of Offenders etc (Scotland) Bill has been introduced, the Nicholson review of licensing laws has taken place and there has been action on environmental crime. The fact that there are more police back on the streets and that they are backed up by community wardens means that we see a better police presence in our communities. That has resulted in the lowest levels of recorded crime for a generation and the highest clear-up rates on record.
Now there is no excuse for non-action against the misery of disorder, vandalism and antisocial behaviour. There are antisocial behaviour orders, parenting orders and new powers for the police to disperse groups of persistently disorderly people, and those measures should be used.
We have acted to protect the public from sex offenders. We will publish the report of Professor Irving's review shortly and will outline the steps that we will take to manage such offenders more effectively in the community. We are tackling serious organised crime. We are capturing record levels of drugs from the dealers and are seizing their assets and emptying their bank accounts. We are working within the United Kingdom and abroad to ensure that Scotland is fully engaged in the war against terror.
That was only the first two years. Today I can announce the next steps in our root-and-branch reform to deliver justice and re-establish respect. This month we will introduce a police, public order and criminal justice bill to improve police effectiveness and further improve community safety. That bill will introduce football banning orders, will establish mandatory drug testing for people who are arrested for drug-related crimes and will double the maximum penalty for carrying a knife. The bill will also prevent the antisocial use of fireworks and enable the more effective identification of suspects of crimes.
The conduct, organisation and professionalism shown by Scotland's police officers during G8 Scotland demonstrated the world-class policing standards that we have in Scotland. Their job is tough and complex—handling disorder and thuggery at one end of the spectrum and sophisticated organised crime at the other—but the bill will help and support them to protect the public.
We will strengthen the work of the highly effective Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency, which will be renamed the Scottish crime and drug enforcement agency to reflect its fight against all forms of international and organised crime.
Today I can announce that the bill will include new ways for local councils to impose conditions on marches and parades. Sectarianism is a stain on Scotland and, for me, taking on, challenging and beating the sectarian bigots is one of the most lasting changes that we can make.
I know the difference between a march or parade that is riddled with prejudice and hate and a march or parade of tolerant, law-abiding people respecting an age-old tradition, and I believe that the vast majority of Scots can see that, too. Enough is enough. We will give more powers to councils to apply conditions to marches and any failure to meet those conditions will jeopardise future applications. Ultimately, if a march has a proven record of disorder, violence and displays of sectarian hatred, councils will be able to—and their communities will expect them to—ban that march in future years.
Early next year we will introduce a bill that will improve our system of summary justice. The first priority in that legislation will be to reform and improve our systems for the bail or remand of individuals accused of crimes. Our objectives are to make the granting of bail more difficult for serious, dangerous and sex offenders and to make the punishment of breaches of bail more severe and consistent, to re-establish respect for and confidence in the law.
We will give courts more ways of imposing conditions on bail. We will put in statute factors that will count against the granting of bail. In light of the new legislation, the Lord Advocate will issue new guidance to procurators fiscal and the police.
Ultimately, the decision to grant bail in this society rests with the judge, but I want to be very clear: public safety is paramount and our package will make it easier for the courts to protect the public from serious and violent criminals.
We will take action to improve the quality of the lay justice system, make fine collection and enforcement simpler and give prosecutors more options in handling cases. The bill will help to reduce re-offending by the speedy and more appropriate handling of offences.
Following further advice from the Sentencing Commission for Scotland, we will introduce a sentencing bill, which will help to ensure that the punishment fits the crime. The Sentencing Commission is dealing with early release as a priority. We expect a report by the end of the year and, building on that work, we will draw up comprehensive proposals and move quickly.
We are working closely with the UK Government to strengthen the law on firearms, particularly air-guns. That approach is without question the right way forward. The benefits of consistency in gun law across borders far outweigh those of any go-it-alone approach. The Home Office is in the final stages of considering the proposals that we put to it and we expect to be able to announce details of new restrictions soon.
We will legislate to create a Scottish human rights commission and we will reform legal aid and the way in which we deal with complaints against lawyers.
We will introduce a bill to place the reformed judicial appointments system on a statutory footing, making appointments more open and independent but also setting out the arrangements for the removal of a judge from office on the grounds of inability, neglect of duty or misbehaviour.
We know that criminal behaviour in adulthood often has its origins in childhood and adolescence. Disrespect for the rules of our society most often starts in youth, unfortunately, so when there are warning signs our public services must be able to act quickly and they must be better at doing so.
Next year we will legislate to modernise and improve our children's hearings system. We will reduce paperwork and streamline activity. We will require that agencies work together and that parents face up to their responsibilities. By challenging offending behaviour and addressing the needs of each young person we will help them to help themselves. For the small core of prolific and persistent youngsters who undermine themselves as well as their communities, we will meet persistence with persistence.
Most young Scots have supportive families. They are motivated and are exploiting the new opportunities now available to them, both in school and out, but there are some children who are vulnerable, perhaps because the adults in their lives have let them down or because their family unit has broken down. We will modernise our adoption law, too. We will listen to the consultation, but the legal framework must be reformed if we are to improve stability and security for children in Scotland.
Our efforts to do even better for our most vulnerable children do not end there. We will push forward our plans to introduce a tough new inspection system for our child protection services. We will strengthen inspection powers to make sure that inspectorates can work together effectively in the interests of securing improved protection for children. That will be a major step forward in improving our services and making sure that no vulnerable child slips through the net in 21st century Scotland.
The best opportunities are, of course, created by ensuring that every child has access to learning and knowledge. We know that Scottish schools are high performing, and recent exam results show steady improvement across all qualifications.
Primary school children are benefiting from the biggest school investment programme for over a century, primary class sizes have been reduced to an all-time low and there are better supports than ever for children with special educational needs and disabilities.
Young people are being nurtured, developed and stretched by increasingly professional teachers, and are enjoying more support than at any other time, with increased attention on the transition into secondary school, but we know that there is more to do.
Last autumn, we unveiled the most comprehensive modernisation programme of our secondary schools for a generation—opening up more choice for our young people and creating Scotland's first 20 schools of ambition. They will transform ambitious schools, creating more confident and ambitious youngsters. Changes to the curriculum, to assessment, to teaching and management and to out-of-school activities will all raise standards and levels of achievement.
When schools and parents work together, children do better, so we need to reform engagement with parents, too. In this parliamentary session we will introduce legislation to provide for a more inclusive and flexible system of parental involvement in schools. The new legislation will build on the experience of school boards and allow parents more choice and freedom to adapt and develop their representation in school. Existing successful boards will have improved powers, and in other schools new arrangements will involve more parents in their children's learning. We want more and more parents across Scotland to be able to shape decisions affecting their local schools and our legislation will put a duty on every head teacher to provide a report at least once a year to the parents in their school that not only reports annually on the school's performance—although that is important—but which sets out each year their ambitions and priorities for the school and how it can and will improve.
The new system will help to give every parent in Scotland a better understanding of their child's education, a greater sense of attachment to their child's school and a clear route through which to voice their opinions and be heard. We believe that every parent should be involved, valued and welcome in the life of their school and that, if they have a complaint, they have a right to get it heard in the most effective way possible.
Our school inspection system is based on a top-down approach where the inspectorate decides which school is to be inspected, but I can announce today that, following our consideration of the bill, we will give the new parent bodies a statutory right to request an inspection from HM Inspectorate of Education when they have outstanding concerns that the school or local authority has not been able to resolve satisfactorily. We will give parents a right that they have long demanded; we will give them a chance to have a greater say in the future of their school.
At any one time, some 35,000 young people in Scotland between 16 and 19 are not in education, employment or training. In a Scotland where growing the economy is our top priority and where we value the contribution that everyone can make towards that aim, we simply cannot afford that waste of potential. We must re-engage those young people and help them to realise their potential by offering them more and better opportunities and choices in the school system and beyond 16, and we must support them in meeting the challenge. We will reach out to our disaffected young people and provide them with exciting new opportunities through vocational learning and better school-college links. The further growth and development of project Scotland—the UK's first national, full-time youth volunteering scheme—will play a critical role in re-engaging many youngsters.
Since May 2003 we have directed record investment to Scotland's health service. Through reforms to service delivery and by setting priorities, deaths from cancer, strokes and heart disease are all down; survival rates for childhood cancer are up; the longest waiting times have been cut; and more care is being delivered in local communities where new clinics deliver quicker and better care.
Our aim should not be just to treat more and more sick people. A better national health service alone will not deliver a better national health for Scotland. We know that Scotland is one of the unhealthiest nations in Europe and we know that the poorest families suffer the most. We know that to turn the situation around for future generations we need to help our young people in particular to make the right decisions about their health.
Our schools are central to our drive to build the lifestyles and habits that will support good health. Today, almost half of all primary pupils now take school meals. Primary schools provide free fruit for P1 and P2 pupils while most schools also provide fresh chilled drinking water.
I know from my visits to schools that big changes are going on in the school canteen—I even came across broccoli curry recently in one canteen. [Interruption.] I am not saying that I ate it, but the kids loved it and that is important. Schools are sourcing good, healthy food locally. Many have set up healthy tuck shops and others have removed all branded vending machines selling fizzy drinks.
There is a chance that this generation is breaking the Scottish culture of unhealthy living and this Government wants to increase the momentum of that change. During this parliamentary year, we will consult on a health promotion, nutrition and schools bill. We want to strengthen our approach, and we will create new powers to remove products such as fizzy drinks, which are so damaging to child health.
Today, I am also delighted to announce more than £70 million for the hungry for success programme over the next three years to allow local authorities to continue the work that they have started with our initial investment.
Our approach to school dinners has famously been described as "revolutionary", but we want to take the revolution much further to keep Scotland at the leading edge in improving nutrition for better child health. If all that we had done was make school dinners free—however laudable the aims of that proposal are—we would not be making the difference that we are making.
We want all children to become healthier, and to do that we are targeting resources to address the issues caused by poverty. We target those who are most in need, and we also provide a better service to everyone else. This is not only about school dinners—our plans will go further to take forward the agenda for better national health.
However, there is one thing that we need to beat before we can truly transform our health in Scotland. That is, of course, smoking. Smoking is the greatest single preventable cause of ill health and premature death in our country. This year, our landmark legislation will begin to protect people in pubs, clubs and other public places throughout Scotland from the dangers of passive smoking. Thirteen thousand Scots die each year because of smoking-related diseases. This parliamentary year, public places in Scotland will become smoke free and our national health will be all the better for it.
One of the main ambitions of the coalition Government has been to give protection to all those in Scotland who need it. We legislated to protect our vulnerable adult population in the early days of this Parliament, but we now need to add to the legislation to give that group the protection that they need and deserve.
This year, we are taking further action to protect our vulnerable children and we will also take action to protect our vulnerable adults. Abuse of vulnerable adults is sickening and will not be tolerated in Scotland. Adults who are frail, elderly or vulnerable all deserve to live with dignity and to be treated with respect. Our legislation will plug gaps and help agencies to work together to provide better support to protect vulnerable adults from abuse of any kind.
The Scottish Government will also bring forward animal health and welfare legislation to ensure the highest possible animal health and welfare standards, and we will introduce a local government (electoral administration and registration services) bill to modernise our legislation and improve the security of absent voting.
Devolution is no longer in its infancy. It is time for us to enter the next phase. Instead of this place being somewhere that we find Scottish solutions to Scottish problems, it should be about finding Scottish success through Scottish ambition.
Now, more than ever before, our job is to give Scotland an edge over the competition. I want to be explicit—I do not want Scotland's success to be defined by our relationship with England; I want our performance to be judged by indicators on a global scale. Where we lag behind we should catch up and where we are ahead we should break further away. We want to be more competitive, more productive and more innovative and to have a better quality of life.
In many ways, Scotland is already the best, and in others we have some way to go. Scotland's employment rate is now the best in the UK and among the highest in Europe—150,000 more Scots have entered employment since the creation of the Parliament. In 1999, one in three Scottish children was living in poverty. Now the figure is one in four and we are on track to meet our aim of ending child poverty in this generation.
We are providing more new roads, more trains, and more new stations, resulting in more bus and rail journeys being made. New direct air routes to and from Scotland are making Scotland the first UK destination of choice for many more international travellers.
The research and innovation in our universities is also being transformed into commercial success. We are investing more in those universities than ever before: a 30 per cent increase in three years represents an investment in the future of Scotland. We are backing Scottish companies and Scottish exports by aggressively promoting Scotland abroad.
We are now a place that welcomes fresh talent that contributes to our economy and to our cultural diversity. In the coming months, we will conclude our discussions with the Home Office on the implementation of the new UK points-based immigration system. We will make the most of the opportunity to find advantages for Scotland in attracting new talent.
We know that there are more things that we must do if we are to grow the economy for all, in all areas of Scotland. In rural Scotland, our draft crofting reform bill will update, simplify and extend existing crofting legislation. We want to offer more opportunities to individual crofters and crofting communities. By increasing crofters' involvement in land management, we hope to give them greater power to shape their futures and make the most of economic opportunities. We will discuss the detail fully with crofting interests before the bill is introduced in its final form.
Next summer we will introduce a fisheries and aquaculture bill to improve the regulation of freshwater fisheries, to strengthen the conservation of stocks and to provide a secure basis for Scotland's diverse fishing industries.
In tourism, the Scottish industry's performance is carving out a niche and an identity that are paving the way for faster growth. We have a natural advantage as we have icons that other countries can only dream of and a history, heritage and culture that resonate across the globe. We have scenery, diversity and cities to rival any of our competitors and, more often than not, surpass them. However, if we are to continue to attract more and more visitors to Scotland, we need to do as much as we can to support our rural and urban tourism industry. That is why, over this parliamentary term, we will introduce a tourism bill to complete the winding up of area tourist boards and to set up the VisitScotland network as a single legal entity. The new network is providing greater financial stability for tourism support and is helping to promote Scotland as a major tourism destination in an increasingly competitive global market. By establishing VisitScotland in this way, we will help our tourism industry to flourish well into the future in our ambition to grow tourism revenues by 50 per cent over the next decade.
This year, we will also modernise the laws of personal bankruptcy and diligence and strike a better balance between the rights of creditors and debtors.
Too many critical transport projects that we have planned are taking too long to implement. That is why, in the next parliamentary year, we will legislate to simplify the process for handling applications for changes with a transport and works bill.
We know that sustainable economic growth needs a modern planning system to speed up decisions, reflect local views and allow quicker decisions for businesses that want to invest in areas. A modern planning system will help to regenerate areas, pave the way for new jobs, create safer communities and bring investment to new schools and hospitals. It will help to deliver renewable energy, provide water and sewerage infrastructure and provide affordable housing where it is needed. Our current planning system does not meet our ambitions for a sustainable, prosperous Scotland. Seventy per cent of local plans are more than five years old and 20 per cent are more than 15 years old. Our current system is neither effective nor efficient—that has to change.
In June this year, we published a white paper that set out the way forward for Scotland's planning system. The legislation that we will introduce will lay the foundations for a planning system that will serve Scotland's aspiration for prosperity, a better environment and greater participation. The legislation will ensure that planning applications are handled in the most effective way. It will give councils greater powers to decide some types of application, give local people more of a say in the decisions that affect them and make the appeals process simpler and faster. This will be a whole new approach that will work in the interests of our communities and our environment and ensure that areas do not miss out on much-needed investment.
Finally, there will be two budget bills. For too long, Scottish economic growth has lagged behind that of the rest of the UK. The ambition of this Government is to take the actions that will raise our long-term growth rate. There are signs that Scottish economic growth might be starting to close the gap.
We have been listening hard to what business asks of us. On almost every single count, we have responded to those representations. We have invested in infrastructure and in education and research; we are simplifying the planning system; and we have improved international air routes. However, now it is time to secure greater competitive advantage for Scotland.
There is a limit to how long public expenditure can continue to grow. The past eight years have seen incredible increases in public investment—and rightly so—but the balance in Scotland's economy now needs to shift. Improving public sector efficiency has a significant part to play in the overall improvement of Scotland's relative productivity. This time last year we announced our efficient government plans. We have exceeded our initial targets for cash savings in the public sector and all those savings are being reinvested in the front line.
Business rates are a small determinant of overall business costs, but at the margin they can be critical. Businesses tell us that they see a real significance in the perception that is created, too. Our policy of limiting rate increases to the rate of inflation or below has meant that, compared to England, the financial burden has been reducing. However, now we want to go further.
Because of the efficiency savings that we have made, later this month the finance ministers will announce steps to reduce Scotland's business rate poundage to bring it into line with that in England. [Interruption.] Oh, there is more. Because we want to provide further incentives that will give Scotland a competitive advantage, we will consider carefully a specific reduction in business rates for research and development-intensive companies. In doing so, we will make Scotland the most attractive place in the UK in which to invest in research and development. [Interruption.] I thought that the Scottish National Party members would be pleased, but they are not. They are upset that we have done it. We are doing the right thing for Scotland, and that is what is important to this coalition Government.
Halfway through a parliamentary session, the easy thing for a coalition Government to do is to settle down into the delivery of a partnership agreement. This programme is intended to break that mould. The coalition has the partnership agreement as a minimum requirement; it does not represent the limit of all the things that we want to do.
Devolution is working for Scotland. We are a country that is on the way back up, and we are now aiming to go further. Our economy can and will be more successful and more people will share in that success. Young Scots will have an array of opportunities open to them. Our communities will be safer and respect will be rebuilt. This is a programme for growth, for respect, for educational achievement and for a healthier Scotland. It is a programme for a strong and ambitious Scotland—the best small country in the world.
The First Minister will now take questions on the issues raised in his statement. I intend to allow around 45 minutes, or slightly more, for questions. It would be helpful if members who wish to ask questions were to press their request-to-speak buttons now.
I do not know about broccoli curry, but the First Minister certainly likes his mince.
Before I turn to the specific measures that the First Minister has announced, I will deal with the generality of the Executive's programme. Someone should tell the First Minister that quantity of bills is no substitute for quality. Someone should also tell him that one in four kids living in poverty is no cause for celebration.
Given that copies of the First Minister's statement were delivered to Opposition parties exactly 30 seconds before he stood up, it appears that the statement was thrown together at the last minute. Is it not true that 20 bills thrown together adds up neither to a vision for Scotland nor to a coherent set of responses to the big issues of the day? For example, where is the bill to get rid of the unfair, ever-rising council tax and to replace it with a fair system that is based on ability to pay? The Liberals would surely have insisted on such a bill if they had any gumption at all.
Where is the commitment to get rid of hidden waiting lists and to do something about the fact that hospital waiting targets are still twice as long in Scotland as they are in England? Further, although I welcome some movement on business rates from the First Minister, where is the clear demand for real financial powers for the Parliament that a First Minister seriously concerned with growing Scotland's economy would have put at the very heart of his programme? Is it not the case that what the First Minister has announced lacks coherence, vision and—most of all—a clear set of responses to some of the biggest issues confronting Scots?
I turn now to the specific measures and in particular to the justice measures that the First Minister has chosen to make the centrepiece of his announcement. I wonder whether he agrees that many of the serious problems in the justice system do not need legislation but simply require his Government to get a grip. For example, is he aware that, five months ago, the Sentencing Commission for Scotland described as "endemic" the problem of people on bail not turning up in court and then not being pursued by the police? The commission made a number of recommendations and Cathy Jamieson promised a response by the summer. That response has not been forthcoming. Will the First Minister say how many, if any, of the recommendations have been implemented?
Does the First Minister also know that the Sentencing Commission revealed 15 months ago that 3,000 people who face charges of murder and assault—including serious assault, sexual assault and robbery—are granted bail every year? Does he share my view that that is not consistent with public safety and will he say why nothing has been done about it before now? Is it the case that on crime, as with so much else, the Executive and the First Minister talk tough but deliver precious little?
I am happy to say that the reason why the response on bail will be delivered, of course, to the Parliament rather than during the summer by the Minister for Justice is that not only is that the right thing to do, but the Sentencing Commission's recommendations are being carefully considered by ministers. Indeed, we might want to go further than the commission's recommendations. In doing so, we would ensure that people across Scotland would have even more confidence in the justice system—they would realise that the bail and remand system is working in their interest to protect them and would not have to suspect that occasionally it perhaps works against their interests, as some people currently believe.
The reforms of bail and remand, having been considered properly and carefully by the Sentencing Commission and brought forward by us in a bill next year, will be lasting and sustainable. I hope that they will generate cross-party support in the chamber. However, I caution politicians of any party against suggesting that, regardless of the judgment of a judge sitting in a court, bail for all offenders in specific categories should be refused. We must have a system that is based ultimately on the judgment of a judge, but at the same time we have a duty and responsibility as a Parliament to ensure that the statutory provisions and the guidance that is given to judges in our courts are as clear as they can be and that public safety is paramount.
As for the earlier comments of the deputy leader of the Scottish National Party, I think that it is a bit rich for the SNP to ask for a coherent position on financial powers when, week after week in the chamber and elsewhere, on the one hand we hear it tell the business community and others that it would cut public expenditure and cut taxes for businesses, while on the other hand its spokespersons use every occasion to call for more resources, more spending and more public services. The SNP makes no attempt to have a balanced, coherent approach, so it is no wonder that people do not trust it with financial powers or government. The SNP really needs to get a grip. It needs to have a more coherent approach both in the chamber and elsewhere.
I recognise that the sacking of Jim Mather as the SNP's economic spokesperson might be an attempt to move in another direction. It might be an attempt to become a bit cheerier about the economic prospects for Scotland and to talk up our country occasionally. That would be very welcome. However, I also recognise that it might be because Jim Mather was too optimistic and too cheery about Scotland's prospects. My genuine hope is that the months ahead will see the SNP's new front-bench team—in which, it is to be welcomed, Mr Swinney has been brought back to replace Mr Mather—for once talking up our country and talking about the successes of Scottish companies and of young Scots. We need to build on the powers that we have to ensure that Scotland is a better place in the future.
I thank the First Minister for his statement. He said that he is keen to do the right thing for Scotland, but it is interesting that, whenever the First Minister does the right thing for Scotland, it is usually something that the Conservatives have been advocating for the past six years. In a spirit of generosity, I congratulate him on finally taking action on business rates. It is just a pity that his previous policy of keeping business rates in Scotland 10 per cent higher than rates in England has cost our businesses more than £700 million over the past five years. There is perhaps a great deal of recompensing to do. However, we will always commend the First Minister when he sees the Conservative light. We look forward to the scales falling further from his eyes in the remaining 18 or 19 months of this parliamentary session.
Like Ms Sturgeon, I have one or two questions on the specifics of the criminal justice system reforms that the First Minister mentioned. In particular, I want to ask about bail, about which we have heard a great deal from the First Minister in recent days, following the tragic murder of young Rory Blackhall in Livingston. Is it not the case that, prior to the incorporation of the European convention on human rights into Scots law, it was virtually impossible for individuals who had been charged with serious offences such as murder to be granted bail? For example, will the First Minister confirm that, in 1999, bail was granted to only three people who had been charged with murder, whereas the latest figures show that the number has risen to 55 as a direct result of ECHR incorporation? Is it not also the case that the Criminal Procedure (Amendment) (Scotland) Act 2004, which was passed by the Parliament last year, has actually made it easier for people to get bail? Are we not in a situation in which the First Minister is trying to rectify problems of his own making?
A more important question for the Parliament about the First Minister's proposals concerns how he can effect them. For example, he said that he wants to amend the law in relation to bail for sex offenders—if he were more accurate, he would have referred to bail for persons accused of serious sexual offences—but the Minister for Justice said recently:
"Five years ago Scotland's law on bail was brought into line with the European Convention of Human Rights. As a result bail cannot simply be banned in relation to certain accused."
Is that still the case? On this issue, are the Executive's hands in effect tied? I put it to the First Minister that he must be extremely careful not to mislead the public by promising more than he can deliver. To my mind, the only way in which the position could be changed would be for him to ask his good friend the Prime Minister to review the operation of the Human Rights Act 1998. Has the First Minister done that? Are there plans to review that piece of legislation, which lies at the root of the problem?
I thank Mr McLetchie for his comments on our proposal to reduce business rates. I welcome his support for the proposal, although I will return to what he said in a second.
Everybody in the chamber is horrified by what happened to Rory Blackhall and by the events in Livingston that have been reported over these past few weeks. At the same time, we need to recognise that investigations are on-going, which means that it has been difficult for ministers to comment on the case—I respect the way in which members of other parties have refrained from making too many comments during recent weeks to give the police the opportunity to conclude their investigations. I give an absolute assurance to the Parliament and to the family of that young boy that any lessons that need to be learned from the tragedy will be learned. Action will be taken to deal with the lessons that require to be learned.
On the specific issue of bail, my statement was quite clear that, in our country, decisions on bail are ultimately for the judge or court to make. That is quite right and proper. However, I believe that we need to be clearer about the guidance, both statutory and non-statutory, that we give to judges and courts in relation to bail and remand. This is not an easy area—I think that Mr McLetchie accepted that in his comments on the ECHR—but it has always been the case in Scotland, both before and after the incorporation of the ECHR, that judges have had the right to make such decisions. However, we have a duty and responsibility as a Parliament to be as clear as we can be about how they should carry out that responsibility.
I remind members that one recent change is the widespread introduction of electronic monitoring, which gives us the opportunity to ensure that the movements of those who are serving a sentence or on probation in the community—and, sometimes, those who are on bail—can be monitored more effectively than was possible before. Some of the reforms that we introduced—and that some members opposed—have already made a difference. However, there is more for us to do. That is why we will introduce a comprehensive package of measures. It is also why, rather than reacting immediately to the Sentencing Commission's report, the Minister for Justice is considering how best to take the proposals forward and to go further than them, if that is required.
On Mr McLetchie's first point concerning Conservative ideas, I always welcome the opportunity to agree with Opposition parties whenever doing so is right for Scotland, but I must remind him that, in the area of justice on which he chose to concentrate, we have introduced to the Parliament measures on which the Conservatives have not been so enthusiastic for progressive change in Scotland. As Mr McLetchie knows, I was shocked at the time and remain surprised that the Conservatives chose to oppose measures that we introduced to deal with antisocial behaviour. The Conservatives were wrong on that occasion. If he believes that, from time to time, we have been converted by Conservative arguments, I hope that he will be converted by the action that we took to protect local communities and to ensure that they will be safer, more secure places in future, with more respect for individuals and for the forces of law and order.
We now move to questions from back benchers. As usual, I want to call as many back benchers as possible. If a member's question has a preamble, that will mean that some of their colleagues will not be called, which is unfair. Therefore, if the question has a preamble, I may—indeed, I will—stop the member.
I know that the First Minister will share the heartfelt sympathy that the whole community of West Lothian feels for the family and friends of young Rory Blackhall after his tragic murder. I know that the First Minister will be constrained to a degree by the on-going police investigation, but will he explain how he intends to ensure that all the facts surrounding the case are brought together so that every aspect of the Executive and the justice system that needs to respond to the lessons that might follow on from the circumstances surrounding the tragic murder does so effectively?
Procedures are already under way in some of the forces and organisations that are involved in different aspects of the case. It is right and proper that standard procedures for looking into what has happened should be allowed to run their course. The Minister for Justice will ensure that all the different reports—as well as any others that are required—are pulled together in a comprehensive package with clear recommendations on any lessons that have to be learned. I know that that is a particular concern for Bristow Muldoon—the Minister for Justice will be happy to keep him informed of progress. Indeed, we intend to ensure that members of the Scottish Parliament are kept informed; it is in the public interest that a proper report is prepared for the Parliament. Although we can never bring back this young boy or alleviate the devastation that his family must be feeling, we can ensure that whoever requires to learn lessons can use different elements of the case and can make changes that might make a difference in future.
The First Minister said in his statement that there is evidence that the gap in economic growth between Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom is being closed. However, the most recent figures, up until the first quarter of 2005, show that assertion to be palpable nonsense.
Does the First Minister believe that his welcome U-turn on business rates will close the gap between Scotland and other European countries, such as Ireland, where economic growth was double that of Scotland; Finland, where it was 50 per cent higher; or Sweden, where it was also 50 per cent higher? Does he believe that his welcome U-turn on business rates will close the gap or does he believe that this Parliament needs real financial powers to allow that to happen?
First of all, of course we are using the powers that we have to ensure that the growth rate in the Scottish economy improves and has a greater chance not just of being closer to the rate of growth of the economy of the rest of the UK but of exceeding past trends over the years to come. We are doing that not only by supporting companies through cutting business rates and through other measures, but by investing in the things that can make a real difference in a modern knowledge-based economy. We are investing in our universities, in our colleges, in apprenticeships, in transport and in the commercialisation of research. We are targeting resources in schools and in our poorest communities and we are bringing young people into working opportunities. We are also ensuring that, in reducing poverty, we increase the wealth in our economy overall, creating the cycle that will ensure that our companies can grow, too.
At the same time, we are promoting Scottish success internationally. The long-term success of Scottish companies and the Scottish economy will be built not only here in Scotland, but in a global market. Companies will be competing in that global market, winning contracts under the good name of Scotland by using the knowledge, the creativity and the innovation of the people in those companies.
Mr Swinney and the SNP love to select statistics from other countries and from quarter to quarter inside the UK in order to paint a gloomier and gloomier picture of Scotland today. Next week, the fifth biggest bank in the world will open its new global headquarters in this city. It is proud to be here in Scotland and it has succeeded not by limiting its ambitions inside the borders of Scotland, but by expanding worldwide, by taking on international competition, by being proud of its roots and its identity and by ensuring that it benefits from the financial stability of Scotland's membership of the United Kingdom.
As a Scottish Liberal Democrat, I believe that it is important to recognise and protect human rights. I welcome what the First Minister said in his statement on the Scottish human rights commission bill, which was one of the partnership agreement commitments from the Liberal Democrats' manifesto.
Does the First Minister agree that it is very often the most disadvantaged and vulnerable people in society—those who most need the protection that human rights can afford—who are least aware of their human rights? Does he further agree that, once the commission is established to promote and support wider awareness of both the human rights of the individual and the responsibilities of public bodies to uphold them, its work will make a major contribution to a fairer, more equal and more just Scotland?
The human rights commission will indeed do that. It will ensure that public bodies and Government are more aware of the measures that they require to take and are provided with expert guidance on the policies that they pursue, in order to ensure that in a civilised, 21st century Scotland we have human rights at the core of our work.
When we talk about ensuring that we have greater respect in our communities or that we are harder on those who require the attention of our criminal justice authorities, we must always remember that, in this country, people are innocent until proven guilty. That is why we are always trying to ensure that we have an appropriate balance and do not start convicting innocent people. However, at the same time, we must ensure that those who are guilty are not only convicted, but rehabilitated to ensure that they do not reoffend.
That is why, since the beginning of this session of Parliament just over two years ago, what has been the most comprehensive reform of our justice system has mattered—not dealing with one individual item, not making a knee-jerk reaction, but providing a comprehensive programme of modernisation that ensures that people in Scotland not only have rights that are fit for the 21st century, but can believe that the justice system is on their side and operating efficiently in their interests. We set out that mission in May 2003; it is a mission that we will conclude by the fulfilment of this legislative programme.
The First Minister said that he had been
"listening hard to what business asks of us."
I hope that he has not listened too hard. Does he agree that gross domestic product is a very poor way of measuring the success of our economy and that focusing on GDP encourages us to continue to pollute our environment? It is high time that we started using well-being indicators to measure the success of our economy—indicators measuring health, happiness and the aspirations of our people. Does he agree?
There are, of course, other measures that are used in the public domain in Scotland and elsewhere and the calculations are not always the same everywhere. However, whether we use GDP or another measure, the comparisons are important as an indication of the health of our economy and as an indication of the direction in which we are travelling. However, I have never believed that GDP is the sole determinant of a successful society or of this Government's success. I think that it was Robert Kennedy who said that there was much, much more to life and society. He said it far more eloquently that either Robin Harper or I could—well, perhaps Robin could equal him, but he said it far more eloquently than I ever could. However, the message was clear and right.
For society, economic growth is important, but this legislative programme and the work of this Government cover much more than that. The quality of our environment, the quality of our society, the strength of our communities and our families, the way in which the strong look after the weak and the way in which our education system promotes confidence and ambition in our youngsters, as well as a caring side, are all important to us. Those things do not always require legislation; sometimes they require only leadership. I hope—particularly in this new Parliament building—that we have provided that.
Will the First Minister outline how hard-pressed communities can benefit from the programme for growth and prosperity that was announced this morning? Will he ensure that constituencies such as Greenock and Inverclyde—which has an abundance of brownfield sites that are ripe for regeneration—are considered in any development plans?
One of the most significant problems across Scotland, in far too many council areas, has consistently been the delay in the updating of local development plans—although that is not the only factor in economic growth and it is not the only factor in attracting companies into an area. We need to ensure that there are close links with our universities. I know that companies that I have visited in Duncan McNeil's area benefit from strong links with local schools and with universities and colleges—particularly in the field of languages, which has proven to be especially important for employment in the constituency.
If we are to encourage responsible and sustainable development, we need an up-to-date, efficient and modern planning system in Scotland. I hope that our forthcoming planning bill will give the Parliament the opportunity of a lifetime to make the changes that will bring that about. If we take that opportunity, we will be the envy of the rest of the UK and we will make Scotland a place where people want to live as well as to do business.
The First Minister's adoption of a Conservative policy on cutting business rates is welcome, but will he say exactly when Scottish business will see reductions in their rates bills? Will he also take the opportunity to apologise to the business community for overburdening it with business rates for the past six years?
I certainly do not take any lessons from the Tories on overburdening people with taxation. I do not recall the Tories calling for incentives for companies for research and development and other purposes. The issue is not just about ensuring, through business rates, that Scottish companies have a competitive advantage across the board; it is also about ensuring that the best, most innovative and most creative Scottish companies are being better supported by the Government.
We will go much further in this area than the Conservatives ever proposed, but we will not do so in the way that the Conservatives wanted, by cutting public expenditure in schools. We all remember the promises that were made before, during and after the election that the change in business taxation would be brought about by cutting education expenditure. We will ensure that the change is brought about in a responsible manner through efficiencies—through running the Government in a better way.
When?
That is something that the Conservatives never achieved in 18 years and which they could never achieve in future.
When?
Order.
I welcome the proposed health promotion, nutrition and schools bill, which bears a remarkable resemblance to my member's bill—the bill for using those proposals will be in the post, although, as the First Minister said, we like to share good ideas in the Parliament.
One of my main concerns is what was not contained in the First Minister's statement. The statement was very light on health, with no mention of the key challenges facing the health service. It did not mention how and when the Executive plans to respond to the report that was produced by Professor David Kerr before the summer recess. Given the significance of that report for the future of our health service, will the First Minister say when the Parliament will have the opportunity to debate its contents?
The legislation that I have proposed today is, for the second year in a row, about health improvement. It is about driving up standards and ensuring that young Scots in particular have greater opportunities to improve their diets and to improve their lifestyles in other ways. The action being undertaken to reduce the longest waits, to reduce the number of deaths resulting from cancer, stroke and heart disease and to improve survival rates among children suffering from cancer continues. The Minister for Health and Community Care will respond to Professor Kerr's report when we have a response ready to publish. We will make a properly considered response that reflects the minister's recent public discussions with the health boards about their plans and progress, so that we develop the nationwide strategy for our health service that appeared to be missing before.
I must disagree with Shona Robison's starting point. She said that our legislation will not address the key challenges facing the health service. We indeed need to invest in our health service. That investment is important, but it would be reduced through the policies of the SNP. We indeed need to reform our health service, but the SNP has opposed every reform of the health service that we have proposed in the Parliament since 1999. Just last Friday, Ms Sturgeon and Mr Salmond were at it again, saying that they would cancel all the operations in the independent sector that we are currently funding, because they have an ideological objection to flexibility and to those variations in service.
The key objective for Scotland and the key challenge facing Scotland's national health is health improvement. That includes improving our national diet, improving preventive care, improving our level of exercise, improving the way in which we predict what might be wrong with us, going to the doctor more often and taking the necessary steps to prevent the ill health that might be on the way. We now have a programme of health improvement that is addressing those key challenges. It is good that we get the occasional support of the SNP for that and I hope that we can build a consensus in the chamber to drive our measures even further forward.
I, too, welcome the proposed health promotion, nutrition and schools bill which, irrespective of anything else that other parties might wish to say, actually bears a remarkable resemblance to the commitments that were made in the Liberal Democrats' manifesto of 2003 and in "A Partnership for a Better Scotland".
Does the First Minister agree that in promoting the health of the nation, it is important to improve the eating habits of our young people, and that the steps that we have already taken through improvements in nutritional guidance in schools and reduction of the amounts of fat, salt and sugar in school meals—which means that Scottish school dinners are light years ahead of those in England—have been important? Does he also agree that the removal of fizzy drinks from our schools and promotion of fresh local produce in schools are also important?
Those are important steps, but they will form only part of the proposed bill. When we publish it for consultation, it will contain more than just action on school dinners, because we have wider responsibilities. We have broader opportunities to ensure that the drive for nutrition and healthy eating extends far into Scotland's communities and families.
I congratulate everybody who was involved in the development of the hungry for success programme—school canteen staff, head teachers, parents, pupils and people in the Scottish Executive Health Department who have driven forward the hungry for success agenda—on leading the rest of the United Kingdom. Our task in the time ahead is to ensure that we stay ahead and that we make a once-in-a-lifetime change in Scotland's national health.
Will the First Minister confirm that reforms to bail procedure will be brought in during the remainder of this session and that procurators fiscal will be required to provide community impact reports for consideration by judges and sheriffs, thereby underpinning the importance of public safety in my constituency of Kilmarnock and Loudoun and elsewhere in Scotland?
For obvious reasons, I have been careful not to lay out the specifics of our proposals on bail, which the Minister for Justice is currently considering and will announce to Parliament in due course, and which are being made in response to the report that we received from the Sentencing Commission for Scotland and in preparation for our forthcoming bill. I am sure that the Minister for Justice heard the point that Margaret Jamieson just made and will respond to it when her wider response is published.
I will be uncharacteristically helpful to the First Minister and ask him to remind the principal Opposition and his own partners in the Executive that, if they wish to abolish the council tax, they will be able to vote for that very soon, as the passage of the member's bill to abolish it begins on Thursday.
On diligence, will the First Minister take this opportunity to give us an absolute assurance that the current bank account arrestment regulations will be radically overhauled to ensure that the whole of a debtor's bank account cannot be seized?
On justice, will the First Minister take this opportunity to assure us that he has not ditched the idea of an independent police complaints commission which, although it formed part of the Executive's commitments many moons ago, seems to have dropped from the agenda?
Finally, is the First Minister prepared to reconsider his opposition to our School Meals (Scotland) Bill, given that the powers that it contains would allow the regulation and removal of fizzy drinks and other damaging products from school canteens while enabling the 100,000 poorest kids in Scotland, who currently do not have access to free school meals, to have access to a healthy and nutritious meal?
I welcome Tommy Sheridan back to the chamber; it is very good to see him here today. His first question was about arrestment of bank accounts. It is right that we will respond to it when the further details of the bankruptcy bill are set out.
The member's second question was about an independent police complaints commission. We will introduce an independent element to the police complaints system and will announce our detailed proposals in the forthcoming police, public order and criminal justice bill. I assure Mr Sheridan that that element of our agenda—the importance of independence in the police complaints system—has not been lost.
However, I cannot assure the member that we will support the free school meals bill that is proposed by the Scottish Socialist Party. The decision that the coalition partnership made—and which Parliament supported—to invest resources in the success of our school meals and the difference that they can make to diet and health, rather than to reduce the cost of school meals for the wealthier members of our society, was the right decision. It was a principled decision that targets resources where they are most needed. I disagree with the member's proposal, because it would target resources where they are least required. I therefore believe that Parliament should stand firm, and direct its resources at improving the content of and access to school meals, rather than at subsidising those who can afford to pay for them.
I welcome the First Minister's announcement on business rates, especially because of the impact that it will have on manufacturing industry, research and development, and job creation and stability. Does the First Minister agree that the well-planned long-term economic policies of the Executive—as opposed to the boom-and-bust scattergun approach of Opposition parties—have made that announcement possible? Will the First Minister confirm that the reduction in business rates can now be achieved as a result of our prudent management of the economy and without detrimental effect on our public services, which are also important for economic growth?
I have two things to say in response to that question. First, the resources that are available to us are the result of the most stable and successful British economy that we have enjoyed for a very long time. We know that some members in the chamber would like to break up that arrangement and ensure that we do not continue to benefit from such success.
Secondly—and importantly—in making that decision we considered carefully the resources that are available to us. In the current circumstances, the resources that have been generated by our efficient government initiative—which has ensured that in both the civil service and the wider public sector in Scotland resources are being used more effectively—are best used to reduce business rates. We are making that decision to ensure that Scottish companies have an advantage. When we deliver the change, we will ensure that they continue to receive the many other means of support that our budget currently provides.
The First Minister said that success in Scotland should
"be judged by indicators on a global scale".
I agree. In the light of that comment, I draw the First Minister's attention to last week's report by a Scottish Executive working party, which highlighted the fact that Scotland has the highest proportion of 16 to 19-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training among all the members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Given that that is clearly a failure "on a global scale", will the First Minister take urgent action to get many more young people into employment, education or training?
Scotland's employment rate is not just higher than it has been for well over a generation, but is among the highest in the European Union. Young Scots have never had more opportunities to enter higher and further education, full-time volunteering and, more recently, apprenticeships. Our school system is more able and likely to motivate youngsters to stay on to gain qualifications that are more varied than ever. At such at time, it is a tragedy that a significant number of young people are not in education, employment or training. That is why I highlighted the issue in my statement, although it is not part of our legislative programme.
We need concerted action not just to identify such youngsters, but to support them. We must not only give them opportunities, we must help them along the way. We must give them not only a first chance to take up opportunities, but a second and a third chance if they fail at the first attempt. Those youngsters are the most disengaged from our society, the most vulnerable and, therefore, the most likely in the years to come to be disenchanted adults, who may cause trouble or find themselves on the margins of our society. In the face of increasing prosperity for almost everyone else, we have a duty and a responsibility to ensure that such youngsters become the focus of our attention over the next few years.
Although I welcome the First Minister's commitment to growing economic prosperity for all Scotland, does he accept that since the Scottish Parliament was set up in 1999, the dream of economic prosperity for rural Scotland has become a virtual nightmare? Our fishing industry has been decimated. Six years ago, there were more than 400 boats, but now there are fewer than 120.
Come to the question.
Does the First Minister accept that, whereas the number of fishermen regularly employed on Scottish boats was greater than 6,000, it is now half that figure? Does he accept that, according to the "Scottish Economic Report", between December 1999 and December last year about 3,000 full-time employees on main farm holdings lost their jobs? That is a 17 per cent drop.
This is now a speech.
Finally, does the First Minister think that any of the measures for rural areas that he has announced today will alleviate any of the problems that rural Scotland faces?
I sincerely hope that, given the position that Mr Brocklebank has set out, the Conservatives will vote for crofting reforms when we introduce them. The Conservatives do not have a great history of supporting the people in rural Scotland who really need Parliament's support. The Conservatives tend, to their shame, to support only their supporters in rural Scotland. That is one of the reasons why rural Scotland has been more successful and has prospered more decisively and dramatically since devolution than during the Tory years.
Of course, we face real challenges in fishing and agriculture and in sustaining some of our more peripheral rural communities in Scotland. However, we should not talk down rural Scotland and Scotland as a whole. After decades of depopulation, there is a rising population and growing confidence in the Highlands and Islands. Inverness is still the fastest-growing city in the United Kingdom. The north-east of Scotland faces challenges in fishing and agriculture, but it is one of the most prosperous, and still one of the most attractive places to live in the whole United Kingdom. The Borders is not just one of the most attractive places in Scotland—in which rising house prices are pricing local young people out of the market—but an area where growing investment in infrastructure will make a difference in years to come.
I am proud of the improvements that have been made and of the success of parts of rural Scotland. However, I am determined—unlike the Tories, who never were—to support people on the margins who need the support of Parliament and of devolution. They will get that support in the years to come.
In order to deliver the excellent programmes that the Executive has to help young people, will the First Minister consider involving them more in decisions about allocation of funds, and drawing on their ideas and energies? In particular, will he examine the way in which the Big Lottery Fund in Scotland has decided to allocate its funds for projects for young people? That fund is setting up a national committee and a network of local committees that are composed almost entirely of young people, who will have real power over funds. The First Minister often talks about many young people being good and constructive. We could find ways of involving them in the schemes that are meant to benefit them.
That is a very good idea, which is being taken up currently not just by the Big Lottery Fund, but by other public bodies in Scotland. We should encourage much more of that.
I talk a lot about pride in Scotland. One of the things that I am very proud of—and of which I was very proud this summer—is the fact that our elected Youth Parliament, which is unique in Europe, is setting a standard for elsewhere, and not just in Europe, but beyond.
This summer, we were able to hold in Scotland the world youth congress—a fantastic, dynamic event that engaged young people from around the world. Also, in advance of the G8 summit, we were able to hold the C8 and G8 events that engaged young people in looking to the future and considering the decisions that affect them. However, that should apply locally as well as internationally. I am very keen that we—in local government and in national Government, in public agencies and beyond—engage with young people and encourage them not just to volunteer in their communities, full time or otherwise, but to get involved in the delivery of responsible decisions and to learn about influencing the responsibilities of government at local and national levels.
The First Minister has drawn our attention to the importance of schools and parents working together. The new legislation is designed to encourage parents who are not involved in their children's education to become active members of the school community. I was interested in the First Minister's statement that the new parent bodies will have powers to request inspection by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education. Can he advise us whether that will include requests for inspections of local authorities as well as of individual schools if parent bodies are dissatisfied with the standard of education provision in their locality?
I have long felt that we should give parents the responsibility and also the right to have schools inspected, should the work of the local authority and the school management consistently let them down and should their complaints not be treated fully and seriously either by schools' management or by local authorities. We need to take a more bottom-up approach to the system. The new rights for parents that I have announced today, which will be granted under the forthcoming bill, will be an important step forward.
I am interested in the suggestion that that right could be extended to give parents the opportunity to request inspection of a local authority education department. Since the introduction of such inspections—one of the key education reforms that have been introduced since devolution—we have seen some highly successful local education departments praised by the inspectorate and helped to improve even further. We have also seen some highly deficient local education departments being targeted by the inspectorate, with demands made of them to turn around their performance, as a result of which there have been significant improvements in those local authorities and, crucially, in their local schools. Perhaps that procedure also requires a bottom-up approach. I am sure that the minister would be happy to discuss that with Education Committee members and others when the bill is introduced.
I congratulate the First Minister on having ditched the puir-moothed talk of this place being about "Scottish solutions to Scottish problems", and on instead picking up the mantra of it being about Scottish success and ambition. That is a great improvement. Now, all he has to do is get rid of the "best wee country in the world" bit.
On the proposed police, public order and criminal justice bill, I wonder whether the Executive has given any thought to the recommendations that were made by the committee that was set up under Sandra Hood to investigate the management of street prostitution. That committee suggested a change in the law—which might fit neatly into the proposed bill—to equalise the treatment of and attitudes towards offenders, in that the attempted procurer and attempted seller of sexual services would be treated in the same way under the law. Is that likely to be attended to?
I confirm that the legislative programme will contain such measures and that the Minister for Justice will address that specifically in her speech this afternoon.
Like others, I warmly welcome the landmark decision to see us move again to a level playing field in business rate poundages. I have no doubt that the reaction beyond the chamber, from businesses up and down the land, will not be the sneering that we have heard today, but some pretty loud cheering. I thought that it was just my memory but, like the First Minister, I do not recall anybody else ever suggesting that we should go beyond a level playing field specifically to reward high-tech companies. I ask the First Minister whether he will undertake—on another occasion, perhaps—to comment further on the important initiative that has been announced today and on his hopes about how Scotland can become home to high-growth companies in particular.
We attract and support high-growth companies in Scotland by a variety of means. We do that partly by ensuring that there is a close link between the research that goes on in our universities and colleges and the commercial success of our companies; we do it partly by ensuring that those companies have the physical and electronic infrastructure to communicate and compete; and we do it partly by ensuring that there are more direct international air routes into and out of Scotland, so that those companies do not have to travel via London or elsewhere to reach their destinations.
We do it by encouraging a culture of enterprise among our young people—that is why the determined to succeed initiative is so important—so that young people in Scotland are more enterprising, ambitious, confident and, therefore, more able to be part of the success of those companies. We also do it by talking Scotland up and talking those companies up, rather than by talking them down. I believe that we in this chamber should celebrate the success of those companies, celebrate Scotland's image internationally and ensure that those companies have a culture in which they can thrive and not a culture that encourages them to cringe.
I apologise to the 10 other members who have indicated that they wish to speak, but Fergus Ewing's will be the last question.
The First Minister introduced the higher poundage—which I call Jack's tax in honour of its inventor—but is now scrapping it. He has said that the business rate poundage will be cut to the levels pertaining in England. When? From the start of which financial year? Does he not know?
As I said in my statement, the Minister for Finance and Public Service Reform normally makes a statement on such matters in the autumn. He will outline our proposals not just for next year, but for delivery of this package. I am sure that members will look forward to hearing the details of that in the minister's statement.
Meeting suspended until 14:30.
On resuming—