General Questions
Scottish Parliament Election (Votes for Prisoners)
The Scottish Government does not agree that convicted prisoners should be able to vote while they are in prison, but that is a matter for the United Kingdom Government. Westminster legislation is required to change the franchise for the Scottish Parliament elections. No change will be made before May, so convicted prisoners will not be able to vote in the forthcoming Scottish Parliament election. Overall, the Scottish Government is keen to ensure that the burden that any change places on the Scottish Prison Service, the Scottish Court Service and those who administer elections is kept to the minimum.
Will the minister confirm that any claims that are brought by prisoners will fall to be contested by the UK Government?
Indeed. Any claims that are brought by prisoners will fall to be contested by the UK Government, which will have to pay any compensation that is ordered by the courts. That is a given fact.
Does the minister believe that convicted criminals who are serving a community part of their sentence should have the ability to vote?
That is another debate that must happen at Westminster. We look forward to that and to the live court cases on the matter that are under way at the moment, including Toner v United Kingdom in the European Court of Human Rights.
Unemployed Young People (Edinburgh)
The Scottish Government provides a range of support to help unemployed young people back into work across Scotland, including in Edinburgh. For example, Skills Development Scotland has increased the level and range of training places in the city, better to meet local need and consistent with the Government’s wish to ensure that young people have every opportunity to improve their job prospects by staying in learning post-16.
I am sure that the minister shares my concern about the 17.2 per cent of young people in Edinburgh who leave school and go straight on to the dole. The City of Edinburgh Council has alerted us to the fact that, because of an anomaly, £2.2 million has been removed from employability training in Edinburgh. We are disappointed that, to date, the Scottish Government has not accepted that there is an issue. Will the minister consider the potential job losses that would affect 3,500 vulnerable young people in Edinburgh, as vital services from a variety of providers would be removed? Will the minister step in, consider the issue and resolve to act?
The funding to which Ms Boyack refers was additional time-limited funding of £2.2 million that was given to the City of Edinburgh Council for 2009-11 to address regeneration, employability and poverty. I stress that it was additional and time-limited money. Nonetheless, I share her concern that Edinburgh has the highest percentage of unemployed school leavers, although I express my surprise that Ms Boyack and her colleagues yesterday voted against 25,000 modern apprenticeships, 46,500 training places, 1,200 additional college places, a job fund to be delivered through the voluntary sector, £15 million for further education bursaries and the retention of education maintenance allowance, all of which would improve the prospects of young people throughout Scotland, including Edinburgh.
I share Sarah Boyack’s concerns. Is the minister aware of the recent report from Citizens Advice Scotland, which shows that young people are now three times more likely to be unemployed compared with the rest of the working-age population? Given the urgency of the situation, has the minister had the opportunity to explore ways of developing a microcredit finance scheme for young people as a way of tackling youth unemployment? She will remember—
Quickly please. It is a supplementary question, Mr Harper, not a speech.
I will stop there.
I will be brief. We are considering the microcredit scheme. It might be of reassurance to Mr Harper to know that training programmes in Edinburgh and the Lothians are on the increase. That includes modern apprenticeships, get ready for work and training for work, as well as other programmes including access to industry, passport 156, ProjectScotland and so forth.
Preventive Work (Vulnerable Young People)
The Scottish Government places high importance on preventive work with vulnerable young people who are at risk of becoming involved in criminal or antisocial behaviour. We are committed to addressing the causes as well as the effects of youth crime and antisocial behaviour, with a clear focus on prevention and early intervention. There is broad consensus among key stakeholders that that is the correct approach. Data published in the “Scottish Policing Performance Framework: Annual Report 2009-10” suggest that the approach is starting to show results, with recorded youth crime falling by 12 per cent between 2009 and 2010.
I am encouraged that the minister recognises the important work that many local organisations are doing to divert at-risk young people away from potential criminal behaviour. An example is the highly innovative drama project the street, which is run by Regen:fx Youth Trust in Hamilton and which was singled out as an example of excellent practice in the recent report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education into South Lanarkshire Council’s child protection services. I have been lucky enough to see that project. We know from recent comments by Labour’s justice spokesperson that Labour would divert the very successful cashback for communities fund, which helps to finance such vital work, into the general policing budget.
Question, please.
Will the minister reassure me that an SNP Government will protect cashback for communities and continue to invest in crime prevention work with young people?
I am aware of that excellent scheme in Hamilton and I congratulate all who are involved.
Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeenshire Council (Funding)
The Scottish Government is always open to suggestions for improving the local government finance distribution formula. Suggestions for future settlements will be considered jointly with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, on behalf of all 32 local authorities, as part of the normal consultation process.
As the cabinet secretary knows, I have been campaigning for all councils to receive a minimum of 90 per cent of the average Scottish funding. Does he agree that that would give Aberdeen Council more than £25 million extra per year, thereby dramatically improving its current crisis funding situation? Today, Aberdeen Council will pass a budget that will cut vital services such as education and care for the vulnerable, making hundreds of staff redundant. After four years in office, the cabinet secretary has given Aberdeen Council and other councils lots of warm words and sympathy, but no action. Will he come to Aberdeen to meet me, my fellow MSPs and council leaders and give a commitment that will deliver real and substantial change?
As Nicol Stephen knows, we met to discuss those questions when he fully and properly advanced the suggestion that he has reiterated to Parliament today. I understand the merits of the proposal, but applying a threshold of 90 per cent would require either the shifting of £120 million of resources within the local government settlement, or the addition of £120 million to the local government settlement. The arrangement could not come about without significant cost.
National Health Service (Access and Support Budget)
I meet the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing regularly to discuss NHS funding, including funding for reducing waiting times.
Will the cabinet secretary please take note that, along with my fellow Fife MSPs, I have campaigned for some time in Fife on a variety of issues, particularly access to treatment? Some patients are denied any treatment whatever under the national health service, particularly in the fields of in vitro fertilisation and bariatric surgery. Also, in a recent incident, a patient lay on a trolley in a Fife accident and emergency unit for 23 hours. Will the cabinet secretary please give priority to Fife in his deliberations?
Helen Eadie will be aware that resources are distributed to health boards on the basis of a formula that has been widely agreed.
Employment Legislation
Senior Scottish Government officials took part in discussions with their UK Government counterparts on 14 December 2010.
Will the minister share the context of those discussions? That would be helpful. I am concerned about proposals to change the threshold for full employment rights from one year to two years. I am interested in the Scottish Government’s approach to that. Does it support such measures from the UK Government? If not, what will it do as an employer to maintain minimum standards in employment rights?
I acknowledge that Mr Park has been involved and interested in the matter for a long time. I value his input and I would be keen to talk with him further about the subject.
Will the minister confirm that, instead of undermining workers’ existing employment rights, employers should be reminded of their obligations—particularly in relation to short-time working and redundancy legislation? Will the Scottish Government use all the resources and influence that are at its disposal to ensure that all workers’ employment rights are protected in these difficult economic times?
The matter is of course reserved and we do not yet have detailed proposals from the UK Government. However, the Scottish Government will—as ever—act in the best interests of the people of Scotland. Our newly approved budget is evidence of our capacity to support individuals, communities and economic growth concurrently. That will continue as we tackle the issues that have been raised.
Kintore Station
Transport Scotland commissioned Network Rail to deliver an initial feasibility study on how to deliver improvements to the Aberdeen to Inverness railway line. The study identified proposals for significant infrastructure enhancements, including potential new stations at Dalcross and Kintore. Discussions are taking place between Transport Scotland and Network Rail on the findings and the way forward.
Network Rail submitted to Transport Scotland a report on proposals for the Aberdeen to Inverness railway line, as the minister said. Aberdeenshire Council’s director of transportation and infrastructure says that he has not seen that report but that discussions that he has had with Network Rail suggest that Network Rail does not favour the early construction of a station at Kintore. Will the minister make the Network Rail report public? Will he make a commitment today to give the go-ahead for that vital north-east transport project?
Such projects are complex and costly. It is right to take time to get them right. The discussions between Transport Scotland and Network Rail that I mentioned are the right way to go forward and will continue. Those bodies will discuss whether to proceed to guide to railway investment projects stage 3—the option selection stage—and how that is best done.
While work continues on Kintore station, does the minister agree that the people of the north-east are welcoming today his announcement yesterday that work will start on Inveramsay bridge, for which they have waited for ages? That is happening under the current Government but was delayed under the Lib Dems.
That question has absolutely nothing to do with Kintore station.
My question goes a bit further into the future. It has been brought to my attention by constituents that there would be use in having a branch line from Kintore to Alford—which used to exist—to deliver freight. If the minister is having discussions with Network Rail, will he flag that up so that, if and when Kintore station is finally reopened, that branch line is not blocked for the future?
I apologise for not hearing the initial part of Nanette Milne’s question but, on the latter point, I will certainly take up the matter with Network Rail and get back to her on it.
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