Self-directed Support (Glasgow)
To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made in implementing self-directed support in Glasgow. (S4O-04114)
Self-directed support is an important part of the Scottish Government’s health and social care reforms. The change that we want to see in Scotland is greater flexibility, choice and control for individuals and carers who need support. In order to fully achieve our goal, a major culture change is required and that will take some time.
To help with that transformation, Glasgow City Council has received £2.4 million of funding from the Scottish Government between 2011 and 2015, and a further £279,000 has been allocated for 2015-16.
I have been contacted by a number of constituents who have worries about the way in which the legislation is being interpreted by Glasgow City Council. There is a belief that, in many cases, it is being used to cut budgets rather than for the benefit of service users.
Will the minister meet me to discuss further some of the concerns that I have?
I will start with the bottom line—self-directed support is not a mechanism for delivering cuts. The Scottish Government expects individual needs to be met by the local authority in accordance with the legislation. If it is implemented correctly, self-directed support can help people to achieve better outcomes within whatever level of resources is available. There are a number of very positive examples of that approach, and local authorities should draw on them in their delivery of self-directed support.
Mr Dornan will appreciate that it is not always possible for the Scottish Government to assist with an individual case. I am sure that he will know about the routes for seeking redress that exist and will be advising his constituents accordingly, but I would, of course, be very happy to meet him to discuss further any concerns that he and his constituents have.
Will the minister also agree to meet me to discuss the case of Achievement Bute, which is being threatened by the difficulties with self-directed support funding from Argyll and Bute Council? There is a lot of support for self-directed support across the community in Bute, but that will be eliminated if good organisations such as Achievement Bute cannot survive.
Minister, the original question was about self-directed support in Glasgow. I think that Mr Russell has gone a bit wide of that, but if you want to give a general response, that would be helpful.
Rather than incur your wrath, Presiding Officer, I will simply agree to meet Mr Russell.
Well done, minister.
NHS Ayrshire and Arran (Staff Numbers)
To ask the Scottish Government how many additional whole-time equivalent staff are employed in NHS Ayrshire and Arran compared with 2007 and what impact this has had on patient care. (S4O-04115)
As at December 2014, 8,697 whole-time equivalent staff were employed in NHS Ayrshire and Arran compared with 8,114 whole-time equivalent staff in September 2006. That represents a 7.2 per cent increase of 582.9 whole-time equivalent staff under this Government. In the same period, there was a 56.8 per cent increase in the number of medical consultants and a 77 per cent increase in the number of emergency medicine consultants.
Local patient care in NHS Ayrshire and Arran has undoubtedly benefited from this Government’s investment in staff. For example, there have been falls of 76 per cent in levels of C difficile infection in patients over 65 and of 62 per cent in levels of MRSA since 2007, and there were falls in mortality ratios of 14.5 per cent for Ayr hospital and 34.2 per cent for Crosshouse hospital between the quarter ending December 2007 and the quarter ending September 2014.
I thank the cabinet secretary for that very full answer. Can she please advise the chamber what the impact from the point of view of reducing mortality of having so many additional staff has been on the number of patient lives saved?
The impact on mortality has been significant. The measures that have been taken under the patient safety programme have resulted in the data indicating that, nationally, 15,000 lives have been saved since data collection commenced. That is a testament to the significant investment that we have put in and, more important, to the very hard efforts of our staff in the national health service.
Young People not in Education, Employment or Training (2014 School Leavers)
To ask the Scottish Government how many young people who left school in 2014 are not in education, employment or training. (S4O-04116)
From the school leaver destinations initial return published by Skills Development Scotland, 3,976 pupils who left from the school year 2013-14 were not in education, employment or training in October 2014. That is a rate of 7.7 per cent.
I thank the minister for that response. I know, from the most recent figures that are available, that 93,000 young people under the age of 24 are not in education, employment or training. For me, that is a national scandal—particularly as, under this Government since 2007, 54,000 fewer young people under the age of 24 are attending college.
The minister has stated in the past that we should not focus on headline figures. However, does she agree that we need to invest in our young people—to give them opportunities to gain the skills and get the jobs—and that the best way of doing that is to invest in our colleges, in training and in skills?
This Government is investing in young people. We have better rates of youth employment than the rest of the United Kingdom; we have lower unemployment rates of young people than the rest of the UK; and we have lower inactivity rates than the rest of the UK. By all accounts, those are achievements that should be welcomed.
I said that 7.7 per cent of the young people who left school are currently NEETs; in 2007-08, that rate was 13.6 per cent. We have returned the figure to pre-recession levels and we have done that by sustained investment over a number of years. That includes investment and refocusing within colleges, where a considerable amount of work is being done on young people’s engagement at college level. I would be very happy to talk to Alex Rowley in greater detail about the issue if he wishes to have that conversation.
Question 4 is in the name of Mark McDonald. For understandable reasons, he cannot be here today.
NHS Western Isles (Well North and Keep Well Programmes)
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with NHS Western Isles about the well north and keep well programmes. (S4O-04118)
The Scottish Government has maintained regular communication with all national health service boards with regard to keep well throughout the lifetime of the programme. That has been managed through the joint managers network and via NHS Health Scotland—the specialist health board that is tasked with managing the programme on behalf of the Scottish Government.
Does the minister share my view that staff in NHS Western Isles deserve praise and recognition for their first-class work in delivering the well north and keep well programmes?
As chair of the cross-party group in the Scottish Parliament on diabetes, I am particularly interested in diabetes screening using a biochemically stable test, which means that screening can be done at any time of the day rather than requiring a fasting sample. Will the minister agree to draw that excellent initiative to the attention of every health board in Scotland as an exemplar of best practice?
I thank Mr Stewart for raising the issue and I acknowledge his long-standing interest in the subject matter. I am always happy to praise our hard-working NHS staff, be they in the Western Isles or elsewhere in the country. I certainly agree that keep well has been invaluable in demonstrating that large-scale national programmes cannot be delivered in a one-size-fits-all manner. It will always be important that NHS boards learn good practice from one another, so I would be happy to draw that initiative to the attention of other boards.
Scottish Police Federation (Meetings)
To ask the Scottish Government when it will next meet the Scottish Police Federation. (S4O-04119)
I meet representatives of the Scottish Police Federation on a regular basis.
The cabinet secretary will be aware of the evidence given by the SPF to the Justice Sub-Committee on Policing with reference to police officers falling foul of data protection legislation, including the view of the SPF that
“The whole approach is just wrong.” —[Official Report, Justice Sub-Committee on Policing, 5 February 2015; c 19.]
Since the case of my constituent was highlighted in the press, other serving officers have come forward. Will the cabinet secretary undertake to discuss the issue at his next meeting with the SPF?
I am aware of the long-standing case that Linda Fabiani has highlighted and of the evidence that was provided at the Justice Sub-Committee on Policing.
Police Scotland’s professional standards division is working with the Crown Office criminal allegations against the police department in order to consider some of the issues around the level of data protection legislation cases that are reported to the Crown Office and the number that are not taken forward for prosecutions. My understanding is that they intend to hold further meetings in order to discuss the issue further.
The member might be aware that the Scottish ministers do not have a direct role in police complaints and conduct issues. However, the Scottish Police Authority has recognised that there is an issue with data protection legislation cases, relating to the timescale that is involved in dealing with criminal allegations in general and the impact that that can have on individual officers. Therefore, it might be appropriate for the SPA to ask Her Majesty’s inspectorate of constabulary for Scotland and the Inspectorate of Prosecution in Scotland to consider undertaking a joint inspection on the whole issue of criminal allegations against the police. I am more than happy to raise that matter with the chair of the SPA when I meet him later this afternoon.
Type 1 Diabetes (Insulin Pump Therapy)
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on how long patients with type 1 diabetes should have to wait for access to an insulin pump. (S4O-04120)
The Scottish Government expects all people who meet the clinical criteria and who would benefit from insulin pump therapy to receive it in a timely manner. Diabetes teams invest time in ensuring that patients who commence insulin pump therapy are highly motivated to self-manage their diabetes and are fully prepared for the change in their diabetes management. That includes undergoing appropriate structured education. The time that is taken in supporting the initiation on to insulin pump therapy is tailored to meet each individual’s needs.
Does the minister have a reasonable timeline for that education process? One of my constituents has been informed by NHS Lothian that, even after they have been selected for insulin pump treatment, they will have to wait at least a year to get a pump. Surely that is an excessive time and is not acceptable. Does the minister have guidelines on how long patients should have to wait to access an insulin pump once the education process has been completed? I am told that the issue arises because of a lack of specialists. What plans does the Scottish Government have to look at the issue? Will she investigate it personally to find out what is at the root of the problem?
I am certainly prepared to look into that individual case if Sarah Boyack provides me with the details. Most boards have met the targets that they have been set, but I am prepared to look into that case in Lothian for her.
Spring Budget Revision
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the spring budget revision. (S4O-04121)
As the member is aware, I provided evidence to the Finance Committee during its scrutiny session on the spring budget revision yesterday. As always, the Government has taken action to maximise the effectiveness of public expenditure through in-year adjustments to the budget, which were set out to the Finance Committee yesterday.
When the Deputy First Minister gave evidence to the Finance Committee yesterday on the spring budget revision, he said that there would be an underspend of about £150 million in 2014-15. Approximately what proportion of the £150 million underspend will be revenue and what proportion will be capital?
I imagine that the revenue-capital split will probably be about eight to one in favour of revenue. I think that that will be the breakdown. That is my best estimate at this stage, although some weeks in the financial year remain. As Mr Brown knows, because of the attention that we pay to maximising the effectiveness of public expenditure and ensuring that we deliver the underspend, which has already been factored into the 2015-16 budget that Parliament has approved, we can maximise the resources that we have available to support programmes for which Parliament has already committed expenditure.
Given that money is so tight, I am sure that we are all astonished to hear about the scale of the underspend. In what portfolio areas has the underspend arisen?
Jackie Baillie might need to spend a little bit of time scrutinising the management of public finances. If she believes that it would be prudent for any finance minister to try to achieve an absolute balance in a very small amount of public expenditure when the facility exists to carry that forward and use it in the forthcoming financial year with absolutely no loss to the taxpayer, that illustrates the Labour Party’s pathetic understanding of public finance management. Michael McMahon and others are shouting from a sedentary position about underspends but, before I became the finance minister, that bunch of incompetents had failed to spend £1.6 billion, so they are in no position to lecture me about underspends.
E-cigarettes
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the use of e-cigarettes. (S4O-04122)
Although electronic cigarettes are almost certainly less harmful than tobacco and might have the potential to help people quit tobacco or nicotine use altogether, their long-term impact on public health is not yet known. The Scottish Government has recently consulted on a range of proposals to regulate e-cigarettes. Those proposals aim to prevent young people from accessing e-cigarettes and to limit their appeal to young people and non-smokers. At the same time, we intend to balance that approach against the potential harm-reduction benefits to smokers if they can use such devices to quit tobacco.
I am aware that the consultation response is still awaited, but will the Scottish Government prioritise designating e-cigarettes as an age-restricted product that is to be purchased only by adults aged 18 and over?
The Scottish Government has been clear about our commitment to introducing an age restriction on e-cigarettes to protect young people aged under 18 from the harm to their health of developing a nicotine addiction and becoming accustomed to behaviour that mimics smoking. The proposal was included in our recent consultation and will be taken forward as part of the public health bill.
I thank the minister for her response, because juvenile use is an important issue. The safety of the contents and the delivery devices is also important. Will she talk to her colleagues about ensuring that adequate funding is available at least to pilot inspections by trading standards officers, who are under huge pressure? Such devices can explode and we need to be on top of that public safety issue.
I am happy to undertake what Richard Simpson has asked for and to get back to him.
Land Reform
I draw members’ attention to my entry in the register of interests.
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to address the reported concerns of smaller landowners regarding its land reform proposals. (S4O-04123)
The Scottish Government believes that Scotland’s land should be owned and managed in the public interest. The consultation on the future of land reform in Scotland closed on 10 February. More than 1,200 responses were received from a wide range of organisations and individuals, including a number of landowners. We are carefully considering all the responses as we develop our proposals for land reform.
The minister will be aware that the process, which appears to be designed to deal with the fact that Scotland is largely owned by a few large landowners, is failing to recognise that the vast majority of landowners in Scotland are small landowners and that the policies that the Government’s proposals pursue will damage the structure of land ownership in many communities. Will she reconsider the proposals to ensure that she does the right thing by those small landowners?
Scotland’s land makes a huge contribution to Scotland’s economy and society. The people of Scotland want Scotland’s land to be owned for the benefit of the many and not the few.
I declare an interest as a farmer. Is the minister certain that the land reform proposals that are under discussion will comply with the European convention on human rights, bearing in mind the recent Salvesen decision? Are the proposals that are under discussion fair to all the affected parties?
We will consult soon on changes to our succession law, including the extent to which partners and children should be protected from disinheritance when the distinction between heritable and moveable estate is removed. That means that it will still be possible for families to plan and agree how interests in and ownership of farms should be passed on to the next generation.
Before we move to the next item of business, members will wish to join me in welcoming to the gallery His Excellency Andris Teikmanis, the ambassador of Latvia to the United Kingdom. [Applause.]