SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE
General Questions
Child Detentions
To ask the Scottish Executive how many children under 16 are currently detained in institutions in Scotland. (S2O-6652)
There are different grounds on which under-16s may be detained, either for their own welfare or for the welfare of the communities in which they live. On 11 May, there were 80 young people under the age of 16 in secure units. All of those young people are in secure units because that is the best way of meeting their needs or because they have committed a serious crime and a court has ordered that they be detained. We are investing heavily to modernise the secure estate, provide more places and ensure the provision of the range of specialist programmes that are required. In 2003-04, 20 young people under the age of 16 were detained under mental health legislation in Scotland.
Wrong minister. What the minister did not mention is that, at one point, six children were detained at Dungavel house. They were referred to the reporter to the children's panel, as the Minister for Education and Young People confirmed in an answer that he gave to me in Parliament. He said:
Although welfare is a matter for the Executive, deportation is not.
I put on record that if Christine Grahame has concerns on those matters, she should take them up with the appropriate minister. She asked the Minister for Education and Young People about the children in question and he provided a response. I can only reassure the Parliament that if investigations were under way and the matter was not taken to a hearing, it must have been the case that, along the way, someone decided that those children were not in need of compulsory care measures.
Neurology Services
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in improving neurology services. (S2O-6716)
Neurology is a diverse but important specialty. We have doubled the number of consultant neurologists in Scotland over the past 10 years, from 23 in 1994 to 47 in 2004. The stroke strategy has improved the quality of care that is available to stroke patients. Most national health service boards now have dedicated acute stroke units and over the past 10 years there has been a 14 per cent increase in the 30-day survival rates following a stroke.
I welcome the Executive's efforts to recruit more neurologists, but there is still an insufficient number of them. People with epilepsy are still having to wait for diagnosis and treatment. One of the ways of reducing the workload of neurologists is to use specialist epilepsy nurses to provide medical care and support to epilepsy sufferers. What progress has been made on increasing the number of specialist epilepsy nurses to work with neurologists?
Our strategy on epilepsy rests on the managed clinical networks that we are developing around Scotland and the national network for paediatric epilepsy, which has a significant part to play in that. We have four consultants who have a special interest in epilepsy. According to the number of posts that are available in the boards, we have 13.5 whole-time equivalent specialist nurses in Scotland. Given members' inquiries on such matters, I accept that I can encourage boards to increase the number of specialist epilepsy nurses. However, that is a matter for boards' local planning and the framework that they seek to deliver in their communities.
What progress has been made by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland towards producing clinical standards for neurological conditions?
Scottish intercollegiate guidelines network guidelines for epilepsy have already been launched. I have been advised that NHS QIS will soon begin work on a project to improve standards of care for people with all neurological conditions.
Migrant Workers (Highlands and Islands)
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will support migrant workers in the Highlands and Islands. (S2O-6705)
There are a number of ways in which migrant workers are supported at present. Those include the fresh talent initiative's relocation advisory service, which provides a wide range of practical advice to anyone interested in living, studying and working in Scotland. There are also local initiatives, such as Ross and Cromarty Enterprise's work with Highland Council and other partners to provide a range of support, such as language training; further support is planned in areas such as translation services, information and communications technology training and citizenship training.
I thank the minister for that positive response. Is he aware that, in spite of the increase in reported racist incidents, community groups, Highland Council, Northern constabulary and other agencies are all committed to supporting migrant workers? The community education service is particularly concerned to help them settle in by providing English lessons, but I have been told that some employers are unwilling to allow the community education service access to their work force for such lessons. Can the minister encourage employers not to reject such initiatives?
I encourage the initiatives that a range of public bodies are implementing to ensure that migrants to Scotland, and specifically to the Highlands and Islands, are made welcome. I am concerned about what Maureen Macmillan says about the difficulties some employers may be putting in the way of the community education service getting access to allow the teaching of English. Two initiatives may be relevant here. First, Highlands and Islands Enterprise has commissioned research on migrant workers in the HIE area in order to establish a broader understanding of the issue. Part of the research is to obtain the views and opinions of employers and migrant workers. I will ensure that HIE is aware of the specific concern raised by Maureen Macmillan. Secondly, officials in my department are working towards the production of an English for speakers of other languages strategy for Scotland. The strategy will go out for public consultation next month, and Maureen Macmillan's point should be taken up in the context of that consultation.
What specific steps is the Executive taking to attract more Highlands and Islands people to the area and retain them, thereby both augmenting the impact of migrant workers and boosting economic activity in the Highlands and Islands Enterprise area?
I take Jim Mather's point. We want to retain people local to the Highlands and Islands as well. At 2.9 per cent, the unemployment rate in the area is lower than in Scotland as a whole, and manufacturing jobs in the Highlands and Islands increased by 41 per cent between 1997 and 2003. The employment rate—at 80 per cent—is higher than in Scotland as a whole. As we know, the Scottish level of employment, at 75 per cent, is higher than anywhere else in the European Union except Denmark. Much has been done by Highlands and Islands Enterprise and the enterprise network in the Highlands and Islands to promote employment and activity, and I hope that the increase in manufacturing jobs at least will provide opportunities for people to stay and work in the Highlands and Islands.
Fife (Economic Regeneration)
To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to regenerate the economy in Fife. (S2O-6640)
Our enterprise strategy, "A Smart, Successful Scotland", provides strategic direction to the enterprise networks and the framework for direct support available from the Executive. The strategy sets out the basis for economic regeneration, in Fife as elsewhere, with the aim of improving productivity and competitiveness across the whole of Scotland.
I thank the minister for that answer—I think. Does he accept that one of the most effective ways of boosting the Fife economy would be to abolish the tolls on the Forth and Tay road bridges, rather than to increase their cost? That would not only encourage people to visit Fife—where there is a feeling, particularly in the tourism sector that there is a conspiracy to close Fife down altogether—but it would free up commuter traffic at busy times. Does he further accept that the Executive should help to meet the spiralling cost of repairs to the Tay road bridge, and that regular users of the bridge should not have to foot the bill for what is part of the national road network?
As I said in response to a similar question last week on the Erskine bridge, transport infrastructure is a key driver of economic growth. That is a fact of which we are wholly cognisant in the Executive, hence the substantial resource that we have put into improving transport infrastructure both in road and rail transportation throughout Scotland. That is a pattern of investment that we intend to continue. How best we invest is a decision for ministers that we take in the course of the spending review; toll charges, as an item in that expenditure programme, are always under consideration.
Does the minister agree that the central Fife action plan, which considers the particular problems that face the economy of central Fife, is crucial to the whole economy of Fife? Will he meet me to discuss how we can maximise its impact?
I look forward to meeting Marilyn Livingstone. Scottish Enterprise Fife has an effective strategy for developing and implementing national projects, as well as positioning Fife as a broader city region in contact with Edinburgh to the south and Dundee to the north, and helping Fife businesses to compete. All of those factors will be considered when we get the opportunity to meet.
Family Mediation
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to support the work of the family mediation network. (S2O-6647)
The Executive already invests in family relationship support through the national voluntary bodies, including Family Mediation Scotland. We also currently fund 10 local mediation services.
Is the minister aware that Family Mediation Tayside, and presumably other regional groups on whom he will rely to deliver aspects of the Family Law (Scotland) Bill, are extremely concerned that their funding from the Executive will end in 2007? He suggests in written answers that they could then apply for further funding, but other sources are telling them that they will get nothing more from central Government after that point. Does he agree that they are doing important work, which needs to be properly funded? They cannot expect to plan in a vacuum. Will he clarify what appears to be a mixed message from the Executive in respect of that funding?
There is no mixed message from the Executive. We have already made clear our support for family mediation services, and we have significantly increased the funding available. However, there is an anomaly, in that we fund 10 local organisations. If Roseanna Cunningham—and her party, which consistently tells us that we should not interfere with local authorities in their decision-making process—wishes us to assume responsibility for making grants to local bodies, I look forward to her correspondence on that matter. However, the responsibility for funding local organisations is best made at local level. What the Executive wants to do is to transfer the money that we are investing in a more appropriate way to those who are best able to make local decisions. We will not cut the money off; we will try to ensure that it is more appropriately placed. However, I repeat that if Roseanna Cunningham wishes us to make decisions about funding local organisations, it cannot be for only those 10 organisations; it must be for all others. I look forward to her submission on that.
Community Right to Buy
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the right-to-buy provisions of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, which enable community bodies to register an interest in land after it has been placed on the market, are working effectively and are beneficial to rural communities. (S2O-6670)
Yes. I was pleased to announce the first consents to the community right to buy at Crossgates in Fife on 28 February. A number of other rural communities are currently making progress with registering an interest in land and with raising funds to allow them to put their plans in place.
I thank the minister for that response and for the reference to Crossgates community woodland. Does he believe that, in circumstances where the idea of a community purchase arises only when the opportunity unexpectedly presents itself, all rural communities in Scotland should continue to enjoy the right to submit late registrations?
The legislation is designed specifically to be available and appropriate for rural communities throughout Scotland. It also provides for late registrations. That provision does not change; it remains part of the act. The requirements for late registration are different from those that are made timeously, and there are criteria in the act that need to be met whenever an application is made. It would be essential for ministers, in considering any application, to ensure that it meets those criteria.
National Health Service (Homoeopathy)
To ask the Scottish Executive whether an estimate has been made of the benefits derived from the provision of homoeopathic medicine within the NHS. (S2O-6691)
The Executive does not monitor the provision of homoeopathic medicine directly. We accept that complementary medicine can be beneficial to patients who suffer from a wide range of conditions, and it is open to national health service boards to provide homoeopathic medicine and other complementary treatment on the basis of their assessment of local needs.
The minister will be aware of the excellent model of integrative care that is provided for patients with chronic conditions at the Glasgow homoeopathic hospital at Gartnavel hospital in my constituency. I am delighted that the minister has accepted my invitation to see that modern facility in operation. I am certain that he will receive a whole-hearted welcome from Dr David Reilly and his team and the patients who depend so much on the hospital. Will the minister do everything in his power to encourage Greater Glasgow NHS Board finally to come to a decision on whether its proposal to close the in-patient facility will go out to consultation or will be—at last, and quite correctly—rejected? Can the minister say when he will be able to clarify the status of the draft agreement, fourth revision, reference HB4/1/10 of 1974 regarding the Glasgow homoeopathic hospital and the in-patient service that it so ably provides?
I am well aware of the member's interest in the matter. He has represented the hospital effectively in all forums, including the Parliament. In the first instance, it is a matter for Greater Glasgow NHS Board. I am aware of the time that is being taken over the decision, which the board is expected to make soon. Irrespective of the content of the draft agreement, fourth revision, reference HB4/1/10, the decision regarding the significant changes to services that are provided at the homoeopathic hospital lies with Scottish ministers.
Organ Donor Register
To ask the Scottish Executive how it is encouraging people to put their names on the national health service organ donor register. (S2O-6710)
As part of our organ donation strategy, we have been running an award-winning campaign to encourage people to register and to tell their families what their wishes are. We have also published a teaching resource pack on the ethical issues relating to organ donation and transplantation. The pack is aimed at senior secondary school pupils and has the potential, over time, to raise awareness in the whole population of the importance of organ donation.
What progress has been made on bone marrow and blood stem cell donations? I remind the minister that, in April 2004, the then Minister for Health and Community Care advised the Public Petitions Committee that, in respect of the Anthony Nolan Trust,
I do not have that specific information to hand, but I am more than happy to furnish the member with that information and to meet him to discuss the matter. The Executive is concerned about the serious shortage of organs that are available for transplant. There are currently 659 people on the waiting list for a transplant. We are very keen that everybody—including everybody in the chamber—registers as quickly as possible to become a potential donor.
Nuclear Waste
To ask the Scottish Executive what responsibility it has for the high-level and intermediate-level radioactive waste produced at Torness, Hunterston and Chapelcross nuclear power stations and from the nuclear site at Dounreay. (S2O-6668)
Radioactive waste policy is a devolved matter. Scottish ministers have responsibility for the policy on the management of intermediate-level and high-level waste in Scotland and for overseeing the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority with regard to matters affecting nuclear sites in Scotland.
The minister will be aware that the radioactive waste that is produced by nuclear power generation can remain harmful for exceedingly long periods of time and that the plutonium that is produced at Torness and Hunterston, which has a half-life of 25,000 years, will become harmless only after 250,000 years. Ministers have this week given permission for the low-level waste that is produced at Dounreay to be stored on site. Can the minister say for how long the radioactive waste that is produced and stored in Scotland will need to be monitored and how much that will cost?
I assure the member that the subject of low-level, intermediate and high-level waste has been a matter for intense consultation and we are waiting for the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management's report on intermediate and high-level waste. I do not have the figures to hand for the precise number of years nor for the cost, but I will certainly provide them to the member.
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