Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Thursday, January 10, 2013

Official Report 817KB pdf

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General Question Time

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Fuel Poverty (Public Health Implications)

1. To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it is giving to the public health implications of the recently published Energy Action Scotland discussion paper, “The Relationship Between Fuel Poverty and Health”. (S4O-01669)

The Scottish Government recognises that the determinants of health include more than access to health services. Housing and fuel poverty are two components of a complex picture that play a part in people’s poor health. Hence, the Scottish Government is committed to tackling fuel poverty, with £68 million allocated in the current year to tackling the issue, as part of around £0.25 billion that we are spending on fuel poverty and energy efficiency over the spending review period.

Statistics from the 2011 Scottish house condition survey show continuing improvements in the energy efficiency of dwellings, with 65 per cent now rated as “good”, compared with 31 per cent 10 years ago.

Fuel poverty statistics that were published in December show that 684,000 Scottish households were in fuel poverty in October 2011. Without improvements in the energy efficiency of dwellings, a further 35,000 households would have been pushed into fuel poverty.

I thank the cabinet secretary for that detailed and comprehensive response. In its conclusions, the discussion paper highlights significant physical health benefits for very young children arising from tackling fuel poverty, especially in terms of infants’ weight gain and hospital admission rates, to give two examples.

Will the cabinet secretary consider any further action that can be taken to ensure that the issue of fuel poverty and its health impacts on very young children are highlighted to health professionals such as health visitors and general practitioners and to family nurse partnerships, in order to continue to raise awareness and to help families that are affected by fuel poverty to access appropriate advice and assistance?

I am pleased to say that such work is already on-going, as the Scottish Government’s energy assistance package includes a community liaison component. The purpose of that component is to work with trusted intermediaries, including health professionals and poverty and advisory groups. Local community liaison officers who are based with the five energy saving Scotland advice centres develop links and work with local organisations to encourage vulnerable households to access support under the package, and to facilitate that work. The community liaison officers have delivered more than 3,500 events, meetings and workshops since the programme began and have established more than 900 contacts within trusted intermediary organisations.

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Scottish Court Service (Meetings)

2. To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet Secretary for Justice last met the chief executive of the Scottish Court Service and what was discussed. (S4O-01670)

I met the then interim chief executive of the Scottish Court Service, Mr Eric McQueen, on Wednesday 14 November. I take this opportunity to congratulate Mr McQueen on his recent appointment as the permanent chief executive of the Scottish Court Service. We discussed a number of current civil and criminal justice policy issues.

I thank the cabinet secretary for his response.

I have obtained figures from the Scottish Court Service that show that, in the past three financial years, 90,000 fines that were issued by the justice system had to be chased up with an arrest warrant because offenders failed to pay up. In addition, more than 200,000 citations have been issued ordering offenders to appear before the courts for non-payment.

In light of those figures, can we now acknowledge that a policy that allows more offenders to be fined as an alternative to prosecution has failed to achieve its objectives, is wasting police and court time and, more worryingly, is letting down victims of crime? Will the cabinet secretary instigate a review of that failed policy to ensure that those who break the law face the full consequences of their actions?

The position has been and remains that sentences are decided by the imposing sheriff or judge. If Mr McNeil wishes to vary that, he can seek to change the current understanding of our constitution. We, as a Government, respect the right of sheriffs and judges to decide what the basis of a sentence should be.

We accept that, once a sentence is imposed, it demeans and undermines the integrity of the system if the terms are not met. That is why the Government introduced fines enforcement officers. Things would be made easier if we were able to deduct payments directly from welfare benefits, but such matters are reserved to Westminster.

So far, Mr McNeil prefers that Westminster deals with the question of welfare benefits, whether that involves an attack on child benefit or the ability to take money from those who have prejudiced and done damage in our communities. I hope that he will work with us on that so that we can ensure that, once a sentence—whether it is a fine or a period of imprisonment—is decided by those with the powers to do so in Scotland, it is obtempered, and that collection is made easier by dealing with the Department for Work and Pensions.

On the proposed changes to court services, the cabinet secretary will be aware of the consultation that closed on 21 December. Can he give us an idea of the timescale for the publication of the consultation responses?

Obviously, that is a matter for the Scottish Court Service, which is currently reviewing the responses now that the consultation has closed. It is for the SCS to decide what proposals it wishes to take forward, but the Parliament will ultimately have the right to decide on any suggestions that the SCS makes.

I am due to meet the Lord President very shortly, and Mr McQueen will doubtless discuss matters with the Lord President in his role as chair of the Scottish Court Service. I am happy to come back to the member on the proposals thereafter, but we can work on the basis that the Scottish Court Service is taking the opportunity to review the numerous responses to the consultation and to consider its position, and thereafter it will return to Parliament if that is what it wishes.

Concerns have been raised that the proposed closure of Cupar sheriff court and the removal of trials from Kirkcaldy to Dunfermline will not realise significant savings but will significantly reduce access to justice locally.

Does the cabinet secretary share my concerns that the Scottish Court Service has not published a robust cost benefit analysis of proposed closures and reorganisation that recognises the potential for increased costs as well as perceived savings?

No, I do not. The Scottish Court Service has set out in its consultation document a significant basis for its thoughts and proposals. Having said that, it is a consultation, and the SCS is prepared to consider the responses. I do not know whether Claire Baker made a submission, but if she did, it will doubtless be reflected on by Mr McQueen and colleagues acting with him.

The Scottish Court Service is acting fairly and appropriately. The points made by those in the bar or on Fife Council, or by Ms Baker or anyone else, will be reflected on, and it will be for the SCS to decide where to take matters next.

Question 3 has been withdrawn for understandable reasons.

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National Health Service Boards (Meetings)

4. To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing last met the chief executive officers of NHS boards. (S4O-01672)

I last met all Scotland’s NHS chief executives yesterday, when we discussed the priorities for Scotland’s national health service and matters concerning the health of the population.

When we last met, Scottish National Party members in the chamber appeared to be outraged when Labour called the PricewaterhouseCoopers review “a whitewash”. I have to say that Labour is still of that view because the review failed to cover the period in which misuse of the social unavailability coding was most likely to be prevalent.

My question to the cabinet secretary today is simple. Can he explain how Lanarkshire Health Board was able to achieve a remarkable reduction of 75 per cent in the level of social unavailability, from a high of 27 per cent in the summer of 2011 to a low of 7 per cent in 2012, as reported in appendix 4 to its recent board papers? Both those levels of social unavailability cannot reflect a similar application of that particular coding.

I have asked all the health boards and all the board chief executives to take the audit reports very seriously. While we had no repeat of the exact situation that we had in Lothian, it is clear that there were a number of issues that every health board—including Lanarkshire—will have to address to ensure that we get timeous and accurate reporting of waiting times. I am very determined to ensure that that happens.

I am happy to write to the member to give him a detailed breakdown of the reasons why there has been such substantial progress on figures relating to social unavailability in Lanarkshire—and elsewhere—as confirmed by the PricewaterhouseCoopers report on Lanarkshire.

Last year, we had the report into bullying and the management culture at NHS Lothian, which was soon followed by the report into the waiting times scandal. Now, we have the revelation that NHS Lothian has been deliberately withholding information from Audit Scotland. When will the health minister intervene to sort out what is clearly a dysfunctional and secretive organisation?

Following the reports in this morning’s newspapers, I asked one of my senior officers to contact NHS Lothian and make absolutely clear to it—this should already have been made clear—that every element of transparency has to be fulfilled and that there is nothing to hide. It is very important that every health board is open, transparent and totally accountable both to the Parliament and to its local population. My strong view is that, outwith the restriction of taking into account any commercial or patient confidentiality, every health board should be totally transparent in all its activities.

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Prisons (Child-friendly Visiting Times)

5. To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to make prison visiting times child friendly. (S4O-01673)

As with all questions regarding the operation of the Scottish Prison Service, I have asked Colin McConnell, the chief executive, to consider this question, and he has advised the following:

“The Scottish Prison Service ... recognises the need for contact to be maintained between children and their carers or parents who serve custodial sentences. The SPS already makes substantial provision for prison visits in general and is currently developing its approach to improving contact with the children of those in custody. The chief executive recently directed prison governors not to utilise children’s visits as an earned privilege for good behaviour in prisons, but rather to maximise the opportunities to encourage and facilitate contact whenever possible but of course within the constraints of sensible prison operations.”

As the cabinet secretary is well aware, father-and-child visit contracts are being used at Shotts prison. Looking at the detail of the contracts, I note that visiting times are 9.30 am and 1.15 on Thursdays and Fridays. Does the cabinet secretary agree that such timings further disadvantage already vulnerable children, particularly when they should be in school or nursery, and disadvantage the parent on the outside, who may have to take extra time off work?

Those things are very difficult for the Scottish Prison Service, but it does what it can in difficult circumstances. For example, HMP Cornton Vale operates mother-and-child bonding visits seven days a week, morning and evening, and HMP Peterhead has late-night visiting and will soon introduce a new, extended family-and-child bonding visit session on a Saturday morning.

Clearly, each prison has difficult matters and criteria to deal with, given the nature of the prison estate and facilities and the prisoners. In the circumstances, all I can do is remind Mary Fee that the chief executive is committed to doing the maximum and has made it clear to governors that the contact visits should not be used to try to deal with the individual prisoner but should be viewed from the child’s perspective. I ask Ms Fee to recognise the progress that the chief executive has made and the difficulties under which the Scottish Prison Service operates, which would only be made much worse were the policy of Mr McNeil, who asked a question earlier, ever to be implemented. Maybe Labour should get on script on prison matters.

Alison McInnes will ask a brief supplementary question. [Interruption.] Can we hear the question, please?

Visiting national prisons is a particular challenge for family members, given the travel involved. I support the view of HM chief inspector of prisons for Scotland that the provision of visitor centres would make a significant difference. Is the cabinet secretary able to advise what progress has been made on such provision at Polmont, Glenochil, Cornton Vale and Shotts?

I agree that visitor centres are important. We already have them at Edinburgh and Perth. Dedicated visitor facilities are also available at Barlinnie, Kilmarnock and Addiewell. In addition, visitor facilities will be dealt with as part of the new build at HMP Grampian and HMP Inverclyde. Some of the difficulties are due to the nature of the prison estate that has been inherited. As Alison McInnes will know, because I know that she has visited prisons, the facility at Barlinnie cannot be provided within the confines of the estate and is having to be provided in a church hall that is as proximate to the prison as can be.

We should welcome the progress that the Scottish Prison Service has made. The Edinburgh and Perth outlets are the template that we seek to follow, and visitor centres will be dealt with in new builds, which is why Grampian and Inverclyde will have them built in. We are seeking to do what we can to ensure that, in facilities such as Barlinnie, where they have not been specifically built in, steps are taken.

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Grassroots Football

6. To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made on developing grassroots football. (S4O-01674)

We are putting record levels of investment into football, with almost £8.5 million being invested in 2011-12 to support the development of youth and grassroots football in Scotland. Our investment has seen increases in participation, with 14 per cent more players in Scottish Football Association accredited community clubs, 10,000 more registered players, including 1,500 registered female players, and 2,000 more registered volunteers and coaches.

Through the cashback for communities programme, we are investing some £8 million in Scottish football up to 2014. That investment is delivering free football activities, a network of six female development officers and 22 new high-quality 3G football facilities in communities across Scotland, which will allow people to access excellent quality facilities all year round.

I thank the minister for that comprehensive reply. Uruguay, which is a nation of 3.3 million people, has won two world cups, two Olympic gold medals for football and the South American championship a record 15 times, which is seven times more than Brazil. Indeed, Uruguay is the current holder. What can Scotland learn from grassroots football in successful small footballing nations such as Uruguay to raise the standard of our national game and ensure that we, too, can compete at the highest international levels?

I cannot profess to be an expert on football in Uruguay, although I recall that the last time Scotland played Uruguay was at the Mexico world cup in 1986. It was a nothing-each draw and it was a rather ill-tempered game, if I remember correctly, particularly for Gordon Strachan.

As a Government, we have set aside some £25 million to help to support a new national performance centre for sport, which will be completed by 2016. [Interruption.]

Order.

The centre will provide world-class facilities for high-performance sports, including football, and offer elite performers outstanding facilities and specialist support services in a single place where athletes can come together with their coaches to train, develop and go on to do as well as possible on the international stage.

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NHS Fife (Meetings)

7. To ask the Scottish Government when it last met representatives of NHS Fife. (S4O-01675)

The Scottish Government meets representatives of NHS Fife regularly to discuss issues of importance to the people of Fife.

Can the cabinet secretary explain why the shortage of nursing across Fife hospitals had a direct consequence in the death of one of my constituents, who fell from an open window? What is he doing to address that situation?

Obviously, this is a very serious matter. I do not accept the premise of Helen Eadie’s question—that the death was due to a shortage of nurses. Appropriate procedures and reviews are going on to identify the proper cause of death and any lessons that need to be learned. I think that it would be more in tune with that if I write to Helen Eadie with the outcome of any review undertaken by NHS Fife into the matter.

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Scottish Literature (Promotion in Schools, Colleges and Universities)

8. To ask the Scottish Government how schools, colleges and universities are promoting Scottish literature. (S4O-01676)

The value and importance of Scottish literature is being promoted in a variety of ways across education and at every stage of learning. Support is provided by a range of bodies including Education Scotland, the Association for Scottish Literary Studies, the Scottish Book Trust, Stòrlann and Scottish Language Dictionaries. I am also pleased to recognise that the first world congress of Scottish literatures will be hosted by the University of Glasgow in July 2014.

I thank the minister for his response, but does he agree that it is a bit of a travesty that there is only one chair of Scottish literature in Scottish universities?

As someone who studied Scottish literature at Glasgow, I certainly concur with the member’s enthusiasm for Scottish literature chairs. I know and value the contribution that Professor Alan Riach has made as chair of Scottish literature at the University of Glasgow.

I agree that it is certainly unusual for any country to have only one university chair solely dedicated to its national literature. I would of course welcome the creation of similar posts in other universities and will continue to engage with the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council and universities on the issue.