SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE
General Questions
Air Discount Scheme
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will review the operation of the air discount scheme. (S3O-3184)
We reviewed the air discount scheme between August 2007 and January 2008. The European Commission accepted our subsequent request to continue the scheme for another three years from 1 April 2008.
Did the minister's review flag up the anomaly within the scheme that it discriminates against parents who do not live with their children on the islands and whose children are too young to travel alone to the mainland? I accept that only a very small number of parents will be in that position and that there will be a small cost to the Government. However, the issue impacts on the relationship between parent and child and the ability of some parents to fulfil their access provisions. Will the minister meet me to discuss what options are open to him to resolve the matter and enable parents in that situation to benefit from the air discount scheme when they make access visits to their children?
I know the member's interest in the subject and respect absolutely what she says. She touches on a real problem. There are provisions in the scheme whereby, if one parent lives on an island in one of the areas where the air discount scheme applies, that parent is entitled to buy tickets for their child. I would be happy to meet the member to discuss whether there are any practicable and affordable ways in which we can address what is an important issue for a small number of people.
I welcome the minister's comments on the matter. Does he expect the renewal of the air discount scheme to lead to an increase in the number of passengers who use Highlands and Islands airports?
There has been a substantial increase in the number of people who use air services to our remote and fragile communities, and there is every sign that we will continue to see growth in such traffic. That is a good indicator of the support that the Government continues to provide—as the previous Administration provided—to our remote communities, which are an important part of Scotland.
Housing Associations (Glasgow)
To ask the Scottish Executive when the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing last met representatives of housing associations in Glasgow. (S3O-3180)
The Government is committed to engaging with all stakeholders in Glasgow to deliver successful and sustainable communities. The Minister for Communities and I meet Glasgow Housing Association regularly, and we have each met local housing associations both formally and informally. The minister has also met the local housing organisations' chairs forum and the Glasgow and west of Scotland forum of housing associations.
I will press the cabinet secretary for more detail. Could she tell me specifically when she last met housing association representatives? She will realise that the Mazars report is the subject of significant discussion in Glasgow, and I am sure that housing associations will want to put to her directly the evidence that they have accumulated. Does she agree with Alex Neil, who said this morning that the response of sending the report to the regulator is not good enough and that it should go to independent scrutiny so that we can be sure that the evidence has been properly assessed?
I confirm to Margaret Curran that I agree with Alex Neil on all matters—he will be pleased to hear that. The Minister for Communities said, in the debate that we have just had, that the Government has, rightly, asked the Housing Regulator to look at the Mazars report. We take the report very seriously and want to ensure that it is properly scrutinised. When we have the report in its final form, we will publish it, and any further decisions will be made on the back of that. In the meantime, I repeat the encouragement that Stewart Maxwell gave to the GHA and the other interested housing associations to continue to discuss these matters.
When the cabinet secretary meets housing associations in Glasgow to discuss the Mazars report, will she work with them to make sure that those that are ready to go to second-stage transfer and which might be paying inflated valuations are not held up by any review of the Mazars study?
I want the progress of the past few months to continue. All 16 of the local housing organisations in the first tranche of second-stage transfer will submit proposals between now and October—indeed, some have already done so. I hope that the first ballots will take place within the next 12 months. That is considerable progress, in contrast with the lack of progress in the years following the GHA transfer.
Advanced Highers
To ask the Scottish Executive what commitment it has to advanced highers following its announcement on national qualifications. (S3O-3189)
The Scottish Government is committed to the future of advanced highers, as underlined by the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning in her statement to Parliament on 24 April 2008. The Government considers that advanced highers
The minister will be aware that concerns are being expressed in the Renfrewshire Council area about the threat of cuts in the availability of advanced highers in the coming academic year, including in my constituency. Will she join me in urging Renfrewshire Council to guarantee that, in the coming academic year, there will be no diminution of the availability of advanced highers?
As the member is a former education minister, he will know that it is the responsibility of individual schools and local authorities to determine the delivery of qualifications in response to local circumstances and their students' needs. That is as it has always been. The provision of advanced highers in the Renfrewshire Council area depends on the individual schools. This year's arrangements are exactly the same as they were in the past. The advanced highers on offer will depend on the choices that students make, and that will then determine the consortium arrangements across the Renfrewshire Council area.
What discussions are taking place with education bodies in Scotland to ensure that all pupils who wish to study for the advanced higher have the opportunity to do so, even if it means taking advantage of courses in neighbouring schools or in the independent sector?
Schools use many innovative systems in order to offer increased provision of subjects. For example, the SCHOLAR programme, which was developed by Heriot-Watt University, provides the opportunity for pupils to take advanced highers in several subjects through computer-based learning with support from teachers. With the continuing uptake of the glow project, such arrangements will be rolled out. There are innovative ways in which students can study for a range of advanced highers.
Can the minister say categorically that no school will have to withdraw advanced highers or reduce the number of advanced highers that are on offer to students because of funding cuts? If that is the case, will she confirm that there will be more presentations for advanced higher in Scotland in the coming academic year than there were in the previous one?
The rate of pupils staying on for secondary 6 has remained broadly consistent in recent years. The uptake of advanced highers has also remained consistent. The Scottish Government has increased the budget to local authorities by 5 per cent, 4.1 per cent and 3.4 per cent in the next three years. As I said in my response to Hugh Henry, it is the responsibility of individual schools and local authorities to determine how they manage and deliver qualifications.
Falkirk Council (Meetings)
To ask the Scottish Government when the Minister for Communities and Sport last met with representatives of Labour and Conservative-led Falkirk Council. (S3O-3229)
I have not met any representatives of Falkirk Council.
Although the minister has not met any representatives of the Labour and Conservative administration, he will be aware that it has decided to abandon the indoor football arena that was to have been built at the Westfield stadium in Falkirk. Having secured £3 million through the national and regional sports facilities strategy, the council has chosen to tear up that £3 million cheque. Does he agree that such a facility would have been of significant benefit to the local community and to the wider area? Does the situation not demonstrate the hollowness of the claims and calls that come from the Tories and the Labour Party for more sports facilities, given that when they can deliver such facilities, they choose to tear up a £3 million cheque that would have allowed them to do so?
The member used the word "hollowness" and that is at the heart of the decision. The fact is that £3 million was available. It is unfortunate that the project will not now go forward, as I understand it, although I have yet to receive formal notification from Falkirk Council. It will be very disappointing for the people of Falkirk. It is for the local council to decide on its priorities; clearly, it has decided that this project is not one of its priorities.
Council Houses (North Lanarkshire)
To ask the Scottish Government how many council houses have been built by North Lanarkshire Council since 1996. (S3O-3226)
The latest data for which new build figures are available show that North Lanarkshire Council built 30 council houses in the period between the first quarter of 1996 and the third quarter of 2007. All 30 of those new properties were completed in 2001.
Will the minister join me in welcoming North Lanarkshire Council's announcement that it is investigating the possibility of building 150 new council houses? Does he agree that that is a result of the Government's policy of restricting the right to buy on any new social housing? What further benefits for a new generation of council housing does he foresee as a result of the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing's recent announcement of additional funding to assist local authorities in building new council homes?
I welcome the proposals for 150 new council houses in North Lanarkshire. As was said in this morning's debate, North Lanarkshire and a number of other councils have suddenly decided that they will build or propose to build new council houses. That is clearly connected to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing's announcement about our proposals to invest an additional £25 million to kick-start a new generation of council house building, and to abolish the right to buy for new-build properties, thereby guaranteeing that they will stay in the social rented sector. Those twin announcements are at the heart of the sudden changes that we have seen in councils' attitudes to building houses.
School Building Programme (Edinburgh)
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on Edinburgh's school building programme and whether more money is needed before progress on Portobello high, Boroughmuir and James Gillespie's schools can begin. (S3O-3183)
The City of Edinburgh Council has statutory responsibility for the provision and maintenance of school buildings in its area. Questions regarding investment priorities and the allocation of resources for individual schools are matters for the council.
The minister must recall her written answer to me that confirmed that, after more than a year in office, no building of new schools has started, apart from those that were already in the pipeline under the Labour Administration. I know that the minister has had discussions with the Scottish National Party and Liberal Democrat-led council about Portobello high school in particular. Will she say now how that school's new building will be funded and when building will start? She has a responsibility to the Parliament to give us an answer now.
As I said, that is a matter for the City of Edinburgh Council. The city council has been given £202 million in capital funding over the next three years, which is made up of £70 million this year, nearly £67 million in 2009-10 and £65 million the following year. The council can use those capital moneys for school buildings if it so wishes. We said that we would match the previous Administration's plans for school buildings and we must find the money to deliver that. Since May 2007, we have signed off seven projects, delivering 45 schools. Schools are being built throughout Scotland. We know that, by the end of this session, around 250 schools will have been delivered under this Government.
Broadband (Highlands and Islands)
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made to secure full broadband coverage across the Highlands and Islands. (S3O-3207)
We have made great progress with our project, which aims to bring affordable broadband to all eligible Scottish businesses and households that notified us of an access problem. We have received state aid approval for the £3.4 million of Government-funded procurement, which has now entered its final stage of discussions with a preferred supplier. We expect to sign a contract in June, with solutions being delivered over the course of this year from that point.
I welcome the progress that the Government has promised, which builds on the progress that was made under the previous Administration. I thank the minister for the letter that I received earlier this week, which covered some of the issues. However, will he accept that I am still receiving representations on the matter from across the Highlands and Islands, including from the Black Isle, which is very close to Inverness, a big urban centre, and from parts of the Western Isles, Caithness, Sutherland, Ross and Cromarty, Skye, Lochaber, Badenoch and Strathspey and Moray. Those areas, or parts of those areas, remain without broadband coverage or have inadequate broadband capacity. Will he go further today than he has hitherto been able to go and offer a definite commitment to those people who are still registering for broadband that they will get the same Government support as those who have already registered?
I think that the member is recognising what is a good-news story. We have listened to many members as they have raised the issue. We have raised awareness. We have 3,500 registrations. The work is happening, and in a crisp, businesslike fashion. We have cleared the state aid hurdle. On late registrations, the initial statement was that we were closing registration on 18 January. We did not; we have kept it open, and we will keep it open continuously through May before the contract sets in June. We will then deliver affordable solutions from the good suppliers that we have attracted. The contract will be awarded next month.
Interisland Ferries
To ask the Scottish Executive what importance it places on small interisland ferries. (S3O-3236)
The Scottish Government acknowledges the crucial role that small interisland ferry services have in ensuring that the remote communities that are served by them have access to essential goods and services and connectivity to onward destinations.
At present, the national concessionary fares scheme extends only to bus fares. Given the commitment of the Scottish Government to supporting fairer transport costs, will the minister look into the potential benefits of extending the scheme to all small interisland ferries?
The member will be aware that the concessionary fares scheme provides some support for ferry passengers in the Western Isles and elsewhere. We are reviewing the national scheme this year, and the issue that the member raises is one of the things that we will consider.
Before we move to First Minister's questions, I remind members to stay behind at the end for an official photograph for the Parliament's annual report. The photograph will be taken here in the chamber, not on the steps down to the garden lobby, as was previously intimated.
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