Good morning. We start with general questions.
Problem Drug Users
1.
To ask the Scottish Government how many problem drug users there are. (S4O-03651)
The latest figures from the Information Services Division Scotland, published on 28 October 2014, estimate that between April 2012 and March 2013, the number of individuals with problem drug use in Scotland, aged from 15 to 64, was 59,500.
The 2015-16 draft justice budget sets out the Scottish Government’s plans to spend £32.7 million on tackling drug misuse. What proportion of that money will be spent on opioid replacement therapy, and what proportion will be spent on rehabilitation? How much of the health budget is targeted at drug misuse?
We target as much as we can. I cannot give Mary Fee the precise percentages, but I am happy to write to her to ensure she gets the appropriate information.
The whole Government strategy that has been built up—not simply by my ministerial colleague Roseanna Cunningham, but previously by Fergus Ewing, who championed it—is called “The Road to Recovery”. It is about meeting the needs of the individual drug user and tackling the issues that they face.
We have significant problems with opiates; equally, there are issues as we try to move people on to methadone. We have addressed those as a Parliament. We know that there is a growing issue with and a generational shift towards the new psychoactive substances. I am happy to write to Mary Fee to give her the precise answer, because I do not have that statistic with me.
This is about meeting changing needs and challenges. We are seeing progress. There is perhaps a coterie of older users with opiate issues who have challenges. Drug use is down among youngsters, but new psychoactive substances have arrived and are a challenge facing us all.
Is the cabinet secretary aware of what appears to be an increasingly high incidence of cannabis farms being discovered in Lanarkshire in central Scotland and elsewhere? Given that that is almost certainly indicative of rising demand, what action is the Government taking to address that specific point?
The specific point is that that is serious organised crime. In the main, it tends not to be individuals having one pot or whatever; it tends to be growing that is done on an industrial scale, whether in Lanarkshire or elsewhere. That is why Police Scotland has a specialist crime unit, which seeks to tackle the issue, raise awareness and make sure that we can work out who is dealing with it. Some of the work relates to people who have been brought here to create farms and some of it is about raising awareness with those who are involved in letting properties, where action should be taken.
I assure Margaret Mitchell that Police Scotland takes the issue most seriously, whether in Lanarkshire or elsewhere. It is about tackling serious organised crime, before the issues that follow arise in terms of the drug supply in our community.
Houses in Multiple Occupation (Bellgrove Hotel)
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on Glasgow City Council’s decision to award a house in multiple occupation licence to the Bellgrove hotel and whether it considers this an appropriate level of regulation for a building housing over 140 people. (S4O-03652)
The purpose of licensing homes in multiple occupation is to ensure the safety of those who share accommodation with multiple occupants. It is not unusual for an HMO licence to be granted to a large establishment, such as a hotel or student halls of residence.
The Bellgrove hotel raises particular issues about the best way to address some of the more complex needs of those who are at risk of homelessness and who may not be as engaged with services as others are. Margaret Burgess met the leader of Glasgow City Council to discuss the issue earlier in the year, and the Government and Glasgow City Council are continuing to work together to find appropriate and sustainable solutions to help the residents of the Bellgrove hotel. I am happy to ensure that the member is kept up to date with the progress of that work.
Does the cabinet secretary understand the frustration felt? In 2000, the BBC did a huge documentary on how awful the Bellgrove hotel was, and here we are in 2014 and it is still awful.
I absolutely understand the member’s frustration. With the greatest respect to the member, more important than that, I understand the seriousness of the issues that were uncovered by the BBC and the importance of making sure that the Government works with the council, which is in the prime position, to ensure the safety of people in the Bellgrove hotel and to look at alternative solutions for them. We are determined to continue to do that, and I assure John Mason that the Government continues to work with the council to find a solution to what is a complex issue that we still need to understand. I am more than happy to ask Margaret Burgess to meet John Mason to bring him up to date with the on-going work. I also repeat the undertaking that I gave him in my initial answer to keep him posted as the work progresses.
Cultural and Leisure Opportunities (Disabled People and their Families)
To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that disabled people and their families are able to access cultural and leisure opportunities. (S4O-03653)
The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that disabled people in Scotland are able to enjoy a wide range of leisure and cultural opportunities on the same basis as people who do not have a disability. Our obligations to improve accessibility are set out in international treaties and domestic legislation, and we have committed to a range of specific actions that are now being implemented.
We recognise that we need to do more to remove barriers that prevent disabled people from participating, and we are working with people who have a disability to develop a draft disability delivery plan, which will be published for consultation in the spring of next year.
Part of venue accessibility includes people being comfortable while visiting and experiencing venues. Many venues in Scotland have changing places toilets, but a number of parents have advised me that two venues, the national museum of Scotland and the Hydro, which have recently been refurbished or constructed, do not have those facilities available, which impedes the enjoyment of many disabled people and their families. Will the cabinet secretary meet me to discuss how we can ensure that popular attractions in Scotland have the appropriate facilities available so that they can be enjoyed by individuals who have disabilities and their families?
We are aware that the lack of suitable changing facilities in toilets in the community is a problem that prevents people who have profound and multiple disabilities from going out and about, which can increase social isolation. The member might be aware that, last year, Michael Matheson, the Minister for Public Health, launched the keys to life strategy and announced funding of more than £5 million to implement that strategy, which recommended that the number of changing places toilets in Scotland should be increased to 100 by June 2015. I am pleased to be able to advise the member that we have been working with partners to implement that recommendation, and the 100th changing places toilet will be opened on 9 December. However, we very much recognise that more needs to be done, and I am happy to meet the member as requested to discuss that.
Is the minister aware that Euan’s Guide, a developing website about access for disabled people to all sorts of venues, will celebrate its first anniversary at the beginning of December? Will she join me in congratulating those who developed Euan’s Guide, which tells people whether there is good access, and all the members of the public who give it information?
I am happy to join Richard Simpson in congratulating those who are behind Euan’s Guide. It is important for that information to be out there, and the website is a good source of information for people. I am happy to endorse and support it.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (Chief Executive Meetings)
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met the chief executive of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. (S4O-03654)
Ministers and Scottish Government officials regularly meet all health board executives.
During the referendum, the Scottish Government and the cabinet secretary made a lot of comments about protecting the national health service from privatisation. What, therefore, is the cabinet secretary’s view on NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s decision to award a contract aimed at tackling obesity to the United States private company Weight Watchers?
First, the Auditor General for Scotland’s report of last week indicated that the amount of money that the NHS in Scotland spends in the private sector went down last year and remains at 0.84 per cent of the entire budget, which is what it was during the final year of the previous Administration. Like the previous Administration, when we do not have particular capacity or expertise in the national health service in Scotland, we buy it in, which is what has happened in this case. There is a big difference between buying in additional capacity that we do not have and privatising existing facilities, which is what is happening south of the border.
Edinburgh (Western Road Approaches)
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has carried out a joint traffic assessment with the City of Edinburgh Council regarding long-term pressures on the three main western road approaches to the city. (S4O-03655)
The Scottish Government continues to work closely with local authorities and key resilience stakeholders to improve the resilience of Scotland’s roads network. Transport Scotland is currently undertaking a study with key stakeholders, including the City of Edinburgh Council, to assess the transport impacts of development proposals in the SESplan strategic development plan area.
The study area includes the three main western road approaches to the city and will take cognisance of the benefits of the Edinburgh to Glasgow improvement programme and the new Edinburgh Gateway station in the Gogar area of the city, which will be delivered in December 2016. Those projects will provide relief to road traffic in the west of Edinburgh through the provision of enhanced connectivity and capacity and reduced rail journey times. Network Rail recently announced the award of the £250 million contract for the electrification of the main Edinburgh to Glasgow rail route.
Traffic congestion in the west of Edinburgh is at critical levels at present, as we wait to see any benefits from the trams. Will the minister agree to meet me, following the publication of the joint study with City of Edinburgh Council, in order to discuss its findings and possible future actions?
I am more than happy to meet the member as soon as the study becomes available publicly. As I have mentioned, the work that we are undertaking in relation to the tram interchange, the work on EGIP and other infrastructure works seek to help the flow of traffic into and out of Edinburgh.
Sex Offenders (Rehousing)
To ask the Scottish Government what safeguards are in place to ensure that sex offenders are appropriately rehoused. (S4O-03656)
The national accommodation strategy for sex offenders forms part of the multi-agency public protection arrangements. It provides a national framework for housing sex offenders in the community. Under the strategy, housing providers, social work, the prison service and the police work closely together, sharing information to assess the risks that sex offenders pose and to find accommodation for an offender that allows those authorities to manage the risks.
The cabinet secretary may be aware of the coverage following the recent local media exposure of a convicted paedophile in Barrhead in my West Scotland region—an individual who has described those assigned to monitor him as fools, and whose strategy has been to tell those people what they like to hear. Nevertheless, I suspect that the cabinet secretary and I share misgivings about revealing the location of individuals in any sensationalist way.
I invite the cabinet secretary to associate himself with the assurances of Chief Inspector Angela Carty, who has moved to reassure the public in East Renfrewshire regarding the monitoring of sex offenders. What more can he say about the review announced by Her Majesty’s inspectorate of constabulary for Scotland and the Care Inspectorate regarding the effectiveness of the multi-agency public protection arrangements?
Finally, I welcome the cabinet secretary’s announcement of an expert working group to test global positioning system technology, which the Scottish Conservatives have been encouraging since 2007. When does he expect the fruits of that to be deployed?
I thank the member. He asked a number of questions and I would be happy to meet him at some stage if he wants a longer briefing.
In 2015, the Care Inspectorate in Scotland, in conjunction with HM inspectorate of constabulary for Scotland, will undertake a joint review to assess MAPPA’s efficiency and effectiveness. The review will report on its findings in late 2015, so we are under way on that.
Mr Carlaw and other members have raised the issue of GPS tracking. We see merit and benefits in the use of GPS tracking. We are going out to consult yet again, because the technology is not quite able to satisfy us that it will provide the security and safety that we want. We know that it offers great opportunities but we have to ensure that any opportunities that it provides will give us the reassurance that we seek.
On MAPPA, we will have a review, which will come back in the latter part of next year. I am happy to discuss that with the member.
On GPS, we continue to work to ensure that the progress that technology has made—we are all aware of it on our mobile phones and so on—can provide the security and reassurance that we all require.
Under MAPPA, the cabinet secretary is aware that a released sex offender will most likely be rehoused in the council area where they last resided and, unfortunately, perhaps where the crime was committed. He will recall the difficulties in the Robert Greens case in Midlothian. Is there room to review those housing provisions, particularly in the case of very small council areas, where people can be identified?
I assure the member that that is what is, in fact, done. In common with other offenders, registered sex offenders will generally return to their own communities, unless there are exceptional circumstances that increase the risk. One of the ways in which we can try to ensure that someone is less likely to reoffend is to ensure that they have a home to go to and individuals who might very well care for them, and there is good reason to believe that if they go back to a place where they might have greater continuity of care and some friendship they might be less likely to reoffend.
There might be good reasons—the safety of the community, say, or the nature of the offence—that would militate against such a move, which is why, as I said in my response to Mr Carlaw, these things are done on a multi-agency basis. We want to balance the rights of the offender who, having served his time and, subject to additional arrangements under a sexual offences protection order or an order for lifelong restriction, is trying to keep himself on the straight and narrow, with the community’s safety and security, especially when we know of challenging individuals who can cause great harm and danger.
Forestry (Devolution)
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the Scottish Woodlot Association submission to the Smith commission that full powers over forestry should be devolved to this Parliament. (S4O-03657)
The member will recall the positive debate on woodlots in the Parliament last year and know of the support that the Scottish Government is giving to the Scottish Woodlots Association. As the association’s submission to the Smith commission points out, forestry in Scotland is already a devolved matter. However, the SWA has raised other issues, such as tax, that can have significant impacts on forestry but which remain reserved to the United Kingdom Parliament. The Scottish Government has called for the Scottish Parliament to have full fiscal responsibility in order to increase the Scottish Parliament’s democratic and financial accountability to the people of Scotland and to allow the Parliament to use tax powers in a targeted way to pursue specific policy objectives, including, of course, those that support forestry.
Given that biomass has become one of the fastest growing markets for Scottish forestry, with new energy-generating plants planned in Scotland and the rest of the UK that could quite easily consume all Scottish timber production, does the cabinet secretary agree that the full devolution of energy policy is necessary to deal with that demand in a way that suits our forestry industry?
As Joan McAlpine will be aware, the Scottish Government has, under the renewables obligation, capped the size of new biomass electricity-only plants in Scotland to promote the most carbon-beneficial use of our forestry resource. As I indicated in my initial answer, we have set out our proposals for further devolution in our submission to the Smith commission. Those proposals include greater responsibility for energy policy and regulation, with additional powers to tailor support for low-carbon and renewable generation so that we can deliver Scottish priorities in a cost-effective way within a single energy market and, of course, have joint oversight of the UK energy regulator, the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets.
Ready for Winter Campaign
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the weather defences following the launch of the ready for winter campaign. (S4O-03658)
The Government continues to work closely with councils and stakeholders to improve the resilience of Scotland’s weather defences and to ensure that robust resilience arrangements are in place. The ready for winter campaign raises awareness of the risks and consequences of all kinds of severe weather and the simple steps that people can take to prepare themselves. I therefore encourage people to sign up to tools such as floodline and to consult the traffic Scotland website when planning to travel. The Transport Scotland winter service has been enhanced again this year, with new trunk road operating company contracts across the whole of Scotland meaning that roads and pavements will be treated even quicker than before.
I know that the minister will be making a full statement on this very matter this afternoon, but in the meantime, what assurances have been received from local authorities that they have made their preparations and are ready for the winter period and any extreme or adverse conditions?
Councils work with responder partners in the voluntary sector and community councils and play a vital role in preparing for the many impacts that severe weather can have on individuals and communities. We liaise very closely with our council colleagues in our winter planning work, and I was delighted to be joined by the president of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, Councillor David O’Neill, at last month’s launch of the ready for winter campaign.
The Government’s resilience team has been in contact with all local authorities through the local and regional resilience partnerships, and we have received assurances that detailed winter preparation plans are well established across the country. With regard to the specific area of road clearing, Scotland’s 32 local authorities are responsible for the maintenance and safe operation of Scotland’s local road network, and each council is responsible for all aspects of the non-trunk road network within their jurisdiction, including winter service operations.
It might also be useful to mention, Presiding Officer, that an amber warning of heavy rain has been issued for Aberdeenshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Ayrshire, Argyll and Bute, central Scotland, Tayside, Fife, Stirling and Perth and Kinross.
Thank you for the warning, minister.