Contents
- General Question Time
- First Minister’s Question Time
- Electric Car Rapid Charge Points
- Business Motions
- Lobbying (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3
- Lobbying (Scotland) Bill
- Point of Order
- Scottish Fiscal Commission Bill: Stage 3
- Scottish Fiscal Commission Bill
- Decision Time
General Question Time
Good morning. The first item of business is general questions.
Higher Education (Widening Access Scheme)
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish funding council’s announcement that the reduction to the higher education budget will prevent expansion of the widening access scheme. (S4O-05646)
The letter of guidance that I sent to the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council on 8 February was clear that there must be
“no diminution in efforts to widen access.”
It is my clear expectation that the number of students from poorer backgrounds who access university education will increase. I am aware of the indicative allocations that the Scottish funding council issued, and we will discuss further with it how the allocations enable us to realise our core ambition on access.
Last month’s budget announcement indicated that higher education funding would drop by £36 million, or 3.3 per cent, and the funding council has suggested that the fourth tranche of additional undergraduate places will not be allocated to universities next year for the widening access scheme. The Scottish National Party Government has stated categorically that one of its priorities is to help deprived young people into higher education, yet what I described shows that the opposite is happening. Given the evidence that young people from deprived areas of Scotland are half as likely to attend university as their peers in England are, is the cabinet secretary proud of the Government’s record?
I am proud that, during the SNP Scottish Government’s term of office, we have had more people from deprived communities leaving higher education with qualifications. The proportion of young people from deprived communities who will have benefited from free higher education by the time they are 30 has increased. In 2007-08, that proportion was 35 per cent, and it has now increased to 42 per cent.
It is a shame that Mr Johnstone fails to recognise that, for the fifth year in a row, the Government is investing more than £1 billion in higher education. My letter to the funding council makes it perfectly clear that we want to go further and faster in our ambitions for widening access. The recommendations from Dame Ruth Silver and the widening access commission are imminent, and they will inform us all about how to move forward and make systemic and lasting change to improve the widening of access.
Sex Offenders (Monitoring)
To ask the Scottish Government how many registered sex offenders there are in Scotland and what resources are being allocated to monitor them. (S4O-05647)
Police Scotland’s national offender management unit is responsible for collating and publishing statistics about registered sex offenders, the details of which can be found on the Police Scotland website. It is for Police Scotland, local authorities, the Scottish Prison Service and health boards, as the responsible authorities, to determine the arrangements that are necessary to meet individual requirements, risks and circumstances.
I do not want to be directed to a website; I want the specific figure. I advise the cabinet secretary that the latest figures provided by the Scottish Government show that convictions of sex offenders for offences against children have trebled over the past three years. Is the time not right to consider an urgent reform of how we manage registered sex offenders that will deal with how we sentence them and to look at whether we should put in place proper neighbourhood notifications so that our communities are aware of the most dangerous individuals in our country?
I am aware of the statistics that the member refers to, but he will be aware that a significant proportion of those are associated with historical cases that have been outstanding for some time and are now being reported. Of course, it is important that we are confident that we have robust measures in place to deal with the risks that registered sex offenders may pose.
The member will be aware of the robust multi-agency public protection arrangements that we have in Scotland, which Her Majesty’s inspectorate of constabulary in Scotland and the Care Inspectorate considered last year. In the report that they published, they set out what they believe to be the significant ways in which we deal with registered sex offenders; they also made several recommendations about further improvements, and we are taking forward that work.
In relation to accommodation, one of the recommendations that we are taking forward is about streamlining and reducing the bureaucracy that is associated with aspects of the environmental risk assessment for housing registered sex offenders. The national strategic group, which will be responsible for the governance and scrutiny of the process, met last month to consider how to take that work forward.
On the housing of registered sex offenders, I return to a regular concern of mine: the national accommodation strategy for sex offenders. As the cabinet secretary knows, such offenders must be returned to the place where they resided when the offence took place, unless another authority will take them. That means that, in some circumstances, they go back to where the crime took place, which is horrendous for the people in that area. Can a note be left for the incoming Government to ask it to revisit NASSO with regard to the rehousing of sex offenders?
Decisions on where sex offenders live are based on where they can be appropriately monitored and supervised and on minimising any risk that they might pose. In their report on the MAPPA procedures that we operate, HMICS and the Care Inspectorate picked up issues of streamlining and reducing the bureaucracy of the environmental risk assessment that is undertaken by the MAPPA responsible authorities in considering any accommodation issues.
As I set out to Mr Martin, work is being taken forward to implement that report’s recommendations. I assure Christine Grahame that we regularly monitor issues relating to sex offenders to ensure that, when the operation of the robust measures that we have in place can be improved, we improve it.
I think that the cabinet secretary is aware of my particular concern about the rehousing of sex offenders in multistorey flats and other properties with communal entrances and exits. Has any consideration been given to the dangers that such situations pose to young people who might live there, and does the Government plan to take any action as a result?
As the member will be aware, I just pointed out that under MAPPA and the national accommodation strategy for sex offenders, an environmental risk assessment is conducted to identify any risks that might be associated with housing-related issues for sex offenders. It is then for the appropriate responsible authorities to take forward any additional measures that they believe are necessary to address such issues. In short, there is an assessment process to identify risk, and it is then for the responsible authorities in those areas to take forward under MAPPA any appropriate action to address those matters.
Higher Education (Funding)
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of planned reductions in higher education funding. (S4O-05648)
Next year, the Scottish Government will again invest more than £1 billion in our higher education sector; indeed, it will be the fifth year in succession in which investment has exceeded that figure. We engaged closely with university principals in the lead-up to the draft budget, and we will continue to work with the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council and the HE sector to secure greater efficiencies, maintain benefits for learners and ensure that core outcomes remain the priority.
That answer is surprising, given that a number of universities face indicative funding cuts of as much as 3.9 per cent in the coming year. Has the cabinet secretary done any impact assessment at all on those numbers? She will be aware of the fact that Robert Gordon University, for example, is seeking 100 redundancies and of the programme of redundancies at the University of Aberdeen and elsewhere. Will she undertake an assessment of the impact of the cuts on teaching and research staff and on the quality of teaching and research at our universities?
As I indicated to Mr Macdonald in my original answer, we have an on-going dialogue with the HE sector and the funding council. Of course, the prospect of any job losses or redundancies at any time in any sector is deeply regrettable.
Universities are autonomous institutions, as we have debated to a great extent in the chamber. I expect them to work closely with trade unions to ensure that all staff are fully aware of the reasons behind decisions, in order to minimise the impact on students.
I will end with a quote from Professor Downes, who wrote to the Deputy First Minister on 23 February to say:
“I have now seen SFC’s announcement of indicative institutional allocations. This is still a challenging outcome in challenging times, but Universities Scotland members will recognise it as a significantly better outcome for institutions than what was being discussed in January. I am grateful to you and Ms Constance for the work done to achieve this.”
St John’s Hospital (Children’s Ward)
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commit to no downgrading or closure of the children’s ward at St John’s hospital in Livingston. (S4O-05649)
The Royal College of Paediatric and Children’s Health is a recognised body that has been commissioned by NHS Lothian to undertake a review of its children’s services across all of the Lothians.
The independent review team should be allowed to complete its work. The opportunity to offer comments to the review team runs until 18 March.
This week, I attended two public meetings on the future of paediatrics across Lothian. I heard parents tell how a 24/7 children’s ward service at St John’s hospital is absolutely essential to their children’s lives. The message from those meetings is that no downgrade whatsoever will be accepted.
The minister can end the speculation and worry today. Will she commit to ensuring that there will be no downgrading of services at the hospital—yes or no?
The reason for the public meetings is to hear the views of parents. That is why those meetings are going on.
As I said, the independent review team should be allowed to get on and complete its work. The opportunity for parents and anyone else to offer comments to the review team runs until 18 March, and I encourage people to take that opportunity.
Less Favoured Area Support Scheme
To ask the Scottish Government when crofters and farmers will receive their less favoured area support scheme payments. (S4O-05650)
Less favoured area support scheme payments will be made by the end of March 2016.
I suspect that, after the rally that we have just attended—I recognise that the cabinet secretary and the Deputy First Minister attended it, too—the cabinet secretary had better be right.
Does the cabinet secretary recognise that the question that farmers were asking outside was: can the Government guarantee that the full common agricultural policy payments will be made by the end of June? That is what farmers expect to happen.
As the member knows, the Scottish Government has just announced £200 million of national money to ensure that people can get their payments in April if their applications are not processed this month. That is a major sign of support for the sector, which I believe has been recognised across the industry—and, I understand, by his party, too. We will work flat out, because we want to get all the payments out as soon as possible. We have until 30 June. We have a number of months to go. Are we going to ensure that all the payments get out? Of course we are.
To what extent will devoting the necessary human resource that will be required to distribute the £200 million advance payment that the cabinet secretary has announced further delay the application process that must still be undertaken?
In recognition of the importance of supporting our farmers and crofters at this difficult time, we have employed additional staff. We have announced a scheme that we are confident that we are going to implement. That is the basis on which we announced it. It is vitally important to underpin our food businesses in this country.
Drugs Strategy
To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that its drugs strategy, “The Road to Recovery”, is working effectively. (S4O-05651)
Yes. Since the publication of “The Road to Recovery” in 2008, supported by Scottish Government investment of £254 million in frontline services, there have been substantial improvements across a range of areas. Drug taking in the general adult population is falling, drug taking among young people is the lowest in a decade and there have been significant reductions in the length of time that individuals wait to receive treatment for their drug problem, with 93 per cent now being seen within three weeks of referral. However, we are not complacent, especially with the reported level of drug-related deaths having risen substantially and given the complex health needs of a vulnerable, older cohort of persons who have an addiction.
We have also witnessed a huge rise in the number of recovery support groups in communities across Scotland. There are now more than 100 such groups meeting regularly, led by people in recovery, making recovery from addiction visible across the country. That is hugely important in demonstrating to those with an addiction that many can and do successfully complete the recovery journey.
I thank the minister for his response, and I welcome his statement that there is no complacency—nor should there be. According to the Information Services Division, there are currently 61,000 problem drug users in Scotland, which is up from 2009-10. The number of people being prescribed methadone has increased over the piece, drug possession levels remain unchanged, and the number of people being admitted to hospital for drug issues continues to rise.
Given the economic and social cost of the problem of drug use, which, according to the Scottish Government’s own figures, amounts to £3.2 billion a year, is it not time to listen to new voices and new ideas and to push for radical change in Scotland’s drug policy?
I acknowledge and recognise Duncan McNeil’s strong interest in the subject over many years. He is right: it is a substantial problem that we face as a society, and it is one that we take very seriously. As Mr McNeil may be aware, we have recently formed a partnership for action on drugs in Scotland, which is charged with trying to find radical solutions to tackle what is a pernicious problem in our society. I certainly agree with him that we have to be prepared to explore potential new and brave solutions to tackle the problem. I can convey to Mr McNeil that I am willing to do so.
Flood Mitigation Measures
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to identify and implement improved flood mitigation measures. (S4O-05652)
The Scottish Government is determined to reduce the devastating and costly impacts of flooding across the whole country. The flood risk management strategies, which were published by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency in December 2015, have been developed with that intention. They co-ordinate the efforts of all the organisations that are responsible for tackling flooding, and they concentrate the work of those organisations in the areas where the risk of flooding and the benefits of investment are greatest.
We now have the most advanced, nationally consistent and locally informed understanding of the causes and consequences of flooding in Scotland that we have ever had.
As the cabinet secretary will be aware, during the new year floods in my constituency, the town of Castle Douglas was partially flooded in an almost unprecedented situation. The source of that flooding was some 30 miles away in the upper reaches of the Water of Deuch, where there is widespread commercial forestry activity and a Scottish Power hydro scheme.
In considering improved flood mitigation, what steps is the Government taking to bring interests such as forestry and energy generators into discussions, along with the normal agencies such as SEPA, Scottish Natural Heritage and the others to which the cabinet secretary alluded in his response?
Alex Fergusson raises a fair point. Natural flood management, which takes into account the impact of forestry, is central to the new flood risk management strategies that have been published. Certainly, that is the way forward in many parts of Scotland. The various stakeholders to which Alex Fergusson referred must be part of that process, and the way in which we engage with them is constantly being improved to ensure that we get the right flood mitigation measures in place.
Budget 2016 (Oil and Gas Sector)
To ask the Scottish Government what representations it has made to the United Kingdom Government on behalf of the oil and gas sector ahead of the 2016 budget. (S4O-05653)
The Deputy First Minister wrote to the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 12 February specifying a series of tax measures for inclusion in next week’s budget and calling for the consideration of government loan guarantees. Those measures are needed to help the industry survive these tough times, to protect critical infrastructure and to sustain and incentivise investment.
One very telling example of the impact of the problems that the sector is experiencing is a marked reduction in the recruitment of oil and gas-related engineering apprentices for next year. What can be done to ensure that we continue to have a throughflow of engineering trainees? As part of that, what might the Government do to assist engineering training providers to get through what promises to be a difficult couple of years and to retain the teaching staff who are required for when the upturn arrives?
Mr Dey is quite right: to see the industry through these tough times, we must help young people by retaining their skills. There are decades of success ahead for the oil and gas industry once it emerges from these difficulties. That is precisely why an enhanced adopt an apprentice scheme was launched last year. Twenty-one apprentices have been helped to retain their work precisely because of that scheme, and that is a good thing.
The First Minister has announced a training programme of £12 million, which will be open to those seeking training to help with moves into other employment, whether in the oil and gas industry, in the wider energy sector and other sectors. Funding will not be dependent on their already having secured a job.
Before we move to the next item of business, members will wish to join me in welcoming to the gallery His Excellency Mr Lauri Bambus, the Ambassador of Estonia to the United Kingdom. [Applause.]