Justice and the Law Officers
Police Pay and Conditions (Scottish Police Federation)
To ask the Scottish Government what meetings it has had with the Scottish Police Federation to discuss the federation’s position on the impact in Scotland of the Winsor review of police pay and conditions. (S4O-01895)
I regularly meet the Scottish Police Federation to discuss a range of issues, and I will be meeting it tomorrow.
The federation has highlighted to me that, due to the Winsor review, officers in England and Wales will see a dramatic reduction in their salaries over their career when compared with their colleagues in Scotland. I have made it clear that the Winsor package of changes to officers’ terms and conditions will not be introduced in Scotland.
The Parliament is set to debate a Liberal Democrat motion on justice this afternoon. It is reassuring to hear this Government support rather than denigrate the police force. Will the cabinet secretary outline what other measures the Scottish Government is taking to support Scotland’s police service in keeping our communities safe?
We have chosen to recognise that reform is the way to ensure that we maintain the police numbers that have delivered a 37-year low in recorded crime while not undermining or betraying the trust of those who serve as part of the wider police family. Police reform will protect police numbers and the terms and conditions of those who do a difficult and sometimes dangerous job.
Policing in Rural Communities
I begin by offering an apology to the chamber as I must leave following my question for an engagement.
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the police force of Scotland has had regarding policing in rural communities. (S4O-01896)
The police service of Scotland is being built with local policing at its heart, and local delivery will be tailored to meet the needs of people in all parts of Scotland, including rural communities. There will be a policing plan for every local authority area and a community plan for all Scotland’s 353 multimember wards. The plans are based on widespread discussions with communities and their elected members, who will play a key role in shaping priorities and scrutinising delivery.
In my Aberdeenshire West constituency, we have responsibility for policing royal visits. Will that have an impact on the single police force?
Obviously, the protection of the royal family is a matter for the Metropolitan Police Service. However, as the member says, Grampian Police provides additional security when the royal family is at Balmoral, as does Lothian and Borders Police when the royal family is in Edinburgh and Northern Constabulary when they visit the Castle of Mey.
The single service offers an opportunity to ensure that forces do not have an undue burden. There have been instances when Grampian Police has felt significant pressure because of events at Balmoral. Equally, there will be efficiency savings in that various officers will be able to move around with the royal family rather than having to hand matters over to others.
The royal family will continue to be well served and protected by the officers who will be part of the police service of Scotland. The single service will benefit not only the safety and security of the royal family, but the safety and security of the communities that surround them and that have provided those officers.
Will the cabinet secretary give an assurance that there will be no plans to close local police stations in rural communities?
I certainly have no plans, but that is not the responsibility of a cabinet secretary for justice, whether me or my predecessors or successors. Such matters are for the Scottish police service, and Jenny Marra should engage with Steve House or Vic Emery on that. They will be here tomorrow, courtesy of the convener of the Justice Committee.
Prisoners (Purposeful Activity)
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to increase the number of hours that prisoners are engaged in purposeful activity. (S4O-01897)
We are always seeking to engage with prisoners, and ensuring that they are engaged in purposeful activity is an appropriate way in which to seek their reform and rehabilitation.
However, I support the view that Colin McConnell, the chief executive of the Scottish Prison Service, expressed when he gave evidence to the Justice Committee recently—during its inquiry into purposeful activity in Scottish prisons—that measuring activity by hours alone does not provide the most effective evidence of achievement.
The Scottish Prison Service is already looking at gathering information in a way that shows how purposeful activity contributes to addressing the needs of individual offenders to improve their life chances and helping them to desist from further offending, whatever that purposeful activity may be—whether work or greater support regarding addictions or education.
I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. I know that the Justice Committee is looking at the issue. A press report in the Daily Express on 4 March was headlined, “Lazy cons spend 90% of time doing nothing”. What help is being given to prisoners to access educational courses within prisons? What courses are on offer, and what information is held on prisoners’ pass rates?
All convicted prisoners attend a national induction programme and receive information on how to access education services and what courses and qualifications are available to them. A range of courses are available, such as literacy, numeracy, information technology, art, life skills and indeed money management, as well as access to the Open University. Those courses may lead to a number of national qualifications under the Scottish credit qualifications framework and other bodies. During the last academic year, which ended on 31 July 2012, prisoners obtained 4,081 Scottish Qualifications Authority qualifications and almost 1,300 other qualifications.
The Prison Service does what it can to work with individuals. Obviously some of these issues require the individuals to show willing, but in my experience, those who show willing are provided with an opportunity to improve themselves.
The cabinet secretary will recall that he replied to some written questions that I lodged on this matter last month. He will know that the average number of hours spent on purposeful activity, including physical education and all other purposeful activities, is as low as 16 hours per week at Polmont and 18 hours per week at Glenochil, compared with 29 hours per week at Kilmarnock and 27 hours per week at Low Moss.
Does the cabinet secretary have a number of hours per week in mind as an appropriate number of hours of purposeful activity, either for young offenders or for adult prisoners?
The member raises a valid point. There are significant differences, as members know, within the prison estate. It is for the Prison Service, in particular for prison governors, to decide on what is appropriate. Clearly the needs and wants of a young offender at Polmont are different from the needs and wants of a female offender at Cornton Vale or of those offenders who are serving longer sentences.
The member makes an appropriate point—there is clear divergence. We need to allow the chief executive to carry out his research and to look at what has and will come out of the welcome Justice Committee investigation to ensure that we look at examples of good practice and that good practice can be shared across the prison estate, irrespective of the category of prisoners that are being dealt with. Equally, we need to allow governors to tailor good practice to particular individuals who may face an issue that would be dealt with differently in a different institution.
Will the cabinet secretary confirm that many of the courses that he listed are simply not available or even on offer to prisoners on short-term sentences who would otherwise take advantage of them?
We recognise that. The Prison Service faces challenges with individuals. One of the difficulties around purposeful activities is the requirement to ensure that we work out the needs and issues facing an individual. As the member will know, that is an argument that the Scottish Prison Service put forward against short sentences, because the time that it takes to work out someone’s individual problems and difficulties is significant and is frequently longer than the period that the individual may be incarcerated for.
Polmont Young Offenders Institution (Implementation of Inspection Recommendations)
To ask the Scottish Government what support it is giving to Her Majesty’s Young Offenders Institution Polmont to implement recommendations arising from the full inspection carried out in October 2012. (S4O-01898)
Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons inspection report on HMYOI Polmont referred to a number of positive aspects, such as the modern facilities and good conditions, no overcrowding, and the good relations between staff and young offenders. However, the report also identified a number of areas for improvement.
The Scottish Prison Service has responded positively to those concerns and, although recognising the challenges, the chief executive has already made clear his intention to drive forward the action that is needed to respond to the report’s recommendations, in particular to fully engage young offenders in custody in order to maximise their potential for positive change.
The SPS has already developed an action plan to support the SPS objective of encouraging and supporting young offenders to develop life skills, improve their education and learning and, in particular, develop skills that will improve their employment prospects, reflecting HMCIP’s recommendations.
How does the Scottish Government plan to address the fact that, currently, only 45 per cent of young offenders at Polmont access education programmes? Does the cabinet secretary share my view that greater participation in those programmes, smaller class sizes and increased opportunities to participate in learning during evenings and weekends are imperative if we hope to reduce reoffending rates and encourage rehabilitation of young offenders in our communities?
I do. The member makes a valid point. It is a point that is being viewed seriously by Colin McConnell, the chief executive of the SPS, who is working with Bill Maxwell, the former senior chief inspector of education to see what can be done to tailor the education provision in those institutions.
To its credit, the SPS does what it can, but it has to do more and Brigadier Munro has pointed that out. We are dealing with a variety of ages and a great difference in the educational challenges that are faced. That said, more can be done and I would be happy to keep the member apprised of progress on the matter, which is a priority for the SPS.
On 26 February, the cabinet secretary referred to
“our first national directory of services, which catalogues for governors and community practitioners what is provided, both in and out of prison”.—[Official Report, Justice Committee, 26 February; c 2381.]
How is that progressing?
That work is on-going. It is being taken forward as part of the throughcare and service project in the second phase of the reducing reoffending project. We will have completed an initial audit by August 2013, which will establish how the directory is being used and by whom and what the directory tells us about the availability of services. I am happy to keep the member apprised of the situation.
Work is on-going. We would prefer the date of the initial audit to be sooner, but the date of August 2013 at least shows that things are moving with some alacrity to ensure that people can refer to something that tells them what is available and who can get it, and, indeed, allows people to consider whether that resource should perhaps be spread elsewhere.
Cancelled Court Cases (Cost)
To ask the Scottish Government what the annual cost is of cancelled court cases. (S4O-01899)
Courts never cancel cases, as such, but many cases do not proceed, for a variety of reasons.
No statistics are held by the Scottish Government or the Scottish Court Service on the cost of court cases that do not proceed. We cannot know what the costs are of non-Government parties and of agents, although we recognise that cases not proceeding can cause inconvenience to victims and witnesses as well as financial costs.
There is no cost bearing directly on the Scottish Court Service as a consequence of court business not proceeding. That is because it recognises the inherent unpredictability of court business and organises its business accordingly.
I have been approached by constituents who have been asked to attend court, either as jurors or witnesses, and who have taken days off work to do so only to be sent home for one reason or another. It is astonishing that the Scottish Government does not know how much that costs. According to the advice that I have, there have been 100,000 such cases in the past five years. Can the minister confirm that figure?
I have explained to the member why it is almost impossible to come to a global figure on costs that covers civil and criminal cases. Since, for example, the reasons for not proceeding are so many and so various, to assign blame—as it were—for the cost would be extraordinarily difficult, and it would be almost impossible to assess unless one were to consider the issue on an individual, case-by-case basis, which would be inordinately expensive to do, because fees and other on-going expenses vary from one case to the next.
We are concerned about the issue and the Government is doing a number of things to try to ensure that things change. On the civil side, we are consulting on a draft courts reform bill to try to ensure that cases are heard at an appropriate level in the civil court hierarchy, which would certainly make litigation in Scotland cheaper and quicker. We are considering changes to sheriff and jury procedure, which I think that the member specifically talked about. Those proposals arise out of recommendations by Sheriff Principal Bowen and will be implemented through a forthcoming criminal justice bill.
We are conscious of the problem and are trying to do what we can to make things a great deal easier. However, I suspect that what the member is asking for would cost much more than the figure that we would get to.
Prisoner Rehabilitation Programmes
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take to improve the quality and consistency of sentencing and enhance the availability of prisoner rehabilitation programmes. (S4O-01900)
At the heart of our approach to sentencing policy is the commitment to maintain the independence of Scotland’s judiciary in reaching sentencing decisions relevant to each case. With that context, we are discussing with the Lord President arrangements for establishing, before the end of this parliamentary session, a Scottish sentencing council. Once it is established, the council may wish to consider issues relating to the quality and consistency of sentencing.
Once someone receives a custodial sentence from our courts, the Scottish Prison Service works with that prisoner to address their individual risks and needs. That includes seeking to promote changes in the prisoner’s attitude, thinking and behaviour that gave rise to the offending in the first place, so as to reduce the chances of the offender committing further crimes in the future.
Does the cabinet secretary agree that the levels of recidivism among male and female offenders are too high and that there is a need to be open to more innovative methods of rehabilitation in order to decrease the likelihood of reoffending?
The member makes a fair point. As an Administration, we recognise that the biggest challenge is the revolving door whereby a small number of people repeatedly commit offences. That said, reconviction rates are at their lowest levels for 13 years, although we recognise that they remain too high.
That is why we are working to introduce the reducing reoffending change fund, which will allocate £10 million between 2012 and 2015, to ensure that we can provide mentoring schemes that are designed to steer offenders away from crime and towards better, more productive lives. Some £1.5 million has already been allocated to schemes across the country to ensure that, for example, offenders are met at the prison gate on their release, can be helped to deal with their alcohol and drug addiction and, I hope, can be prepared for a return to gainful employment.
Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the effectiveness of the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012. (S4O-01901)
The overwhelming majority of football fans are law abiding and want to enjoy the friendly rivalry that is part of any game. The Government has made it clear that bigotry and religious hatred should have no place in our national game and that we wish to stamp them out wherever and whenever they occur. That is why we introduced the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012, in response to calls from the police and prosecutors to strengthen the law.
It is still early days—indeed, we do not yet have a full year’s worth of statistics—but the latest figures show that there were convictions in 54 of the 64 cases of offensive behaviour at regulated football matches completed by the end of 2012. A full evaluation of the act will be undertaken in due course, in accordance with commitments that I made when the act was considered, but I suggest to Parliament that a conviction rate of 84 per cent demonstrates that the act is already being used effectively.
No one would disagree that the blight of sectarianism and hatred in Scotland must be challenged strenuously and determinedly, but does the minister recognise the genuine concerns of lawyers, academics and others that football supporters are facing police harassment and that their rights are being routinely eroded under the new act? With supporters being put under surveillance, stopped at airports, remanded and refused bail before cases are dropped, and subjected to what can only be described as dawn raids on their homes, is the minister as concerned as I am that, rather than challenging sectarianism, this criminalisation process is actually heightening tensions, especially when only supporters groups, such as the union bears at Ibrox and the green brigade at Celtic park, are being deliberately targeted, although the problem permeates the whole of Scottish society?
Indeed, the most offensive comments that I have seen recently were from the police officer who was responsible for overseeing such actions, who said on Facebook that he was a pest controller dealing with vermin—
Mr McMahon, you must finish.
Is that not the type of language that we should be dealing with?
Enforcing the legislation is of course a matter for the police. Like Michael McMahon, I have seen some of the extensive coverage that was in a number of newspapers a week or so ago and I have seen the allegations that have been made in a variety of different places, including social media.
The difficulty for me and others in the Government is that none of the allegations or complaints has resulted in a formal complaint being made to the police or elsewhere. No human rights points have been taken by any of the lawyers concerned. As I have not noticed that the Scottish legal profession is backward in coming forward when it comes to human rights issues, I am sure that, if it was felt that there was a human rights issue, lawyers would want to take a point.
There is an understandable feeling that people are being policed more vigorously but, in a sense, that is exactly what we want to do to ensure that the scourge of sectarianism is driven out of our national game.
Rural Affairs and the Environment
Local Meat and Poultry
To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting the campaign to encourage consumers to buy local meat and poultry. (S4O-01905)
To build on the recent upsurge in consumer demand for locally sourced meat, which has resulted in more than 90 per cent of butcher shops recording increased sales, the Scottish Government has provided an additional £1 million to Quality Meat Scotland to fund a number of promotional activities to further strengthen the visibility and provenance that underpin the Scotch label. I urge retailers and every outlet that serves food to buy local, and I urge consumers to buy and eat local.
I welcome the additional money for Quality Meat Scotland. Does the cabinet secretary agree not only that efforts to buy local support local businesses, agriculture and the economy and cut the carbon footprint of eating at our dinner tables, but that buying Scotland’s world-renowned and responsibly sourced beef, poultry and seafood is a natural solution for dealing with mislabelled food?
Yes, I agree with those sentiments. Buying good-quality produce from local shops certainly means a shorter supply chain and, in the case of meat at local butchers’, full traceability. That can only be a good thing for a number of reasons. For example, it involves fewer food miles, and Scotch beef has a smaller carbon footprint than beef from a number of other countries throughout the world. There are a number of win-wins, so I urge people to buy local and I urge retailers to source local.
Will the cabinet secretary acknowledge the effectiveness of Dumfries and Galloway’s Savour the Flavours initiative? Does he agree that that organisation provides a good example of how a local food-related network can operate? Will he give an update to Parliament on the progress of the think local initiative, which he announced last October but of which not an awful lot has been heard since?
I commend the work of Savour the Flavours in Dumfries and Galloway. I support people being able to sample and enjoy products from their local larder, which is promoted by such local food networks. There are also benefits for local tourism.
To help to promote such initiatives throughout Scotland, the think local initiative will be launched this summer. Last autumn, I announced a number of initiatives, of which that is one, to help to promote the agenda throughout 2013 and certainly in the run-up to the major events in 2014.
Rural Payments and Inspections Division
To ask the Scottish Government which minister has portfolio responsibility for the rural payments and inspections division. (S4O-01906)
Some of the functions of the Scottish Government’s rural payments and inspections division are the direct responsibility of Mr Lochhead, as Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment. Other functions are my responsibility, as Minister for Environment and Climate Change, including the management of the Scottish ministers’ estates and divisional functions that contribute to the delivery of our climate change targets.
Given the minister’s responsibility for the management of estates, can he tell us when the decision was made to put the lease for sporting rights on Raasay out to tender; when the decision was made to issue in November 2011 the notice to quit to Raasay Crofters Association; and how and when ministers were made aware of each of those decisions?
There were a number of questions there. The first related to the lease. It was a 50-year lease, which changed hands in about 1995 to the Raasay Crofters Association. It was always known that the lease would end around November 2012, and the notice to quit was served in line with the expectations in the lease.
On my involvement in the decision, I first became aware of the issue when Dave Thompson, the constituency member, raised it with me, followed closely thereafter by Jamie McGrigor. The decision to award a contract to South Ayrshire Stalking was taken on 8 January, and I became aware of it on 14 January.
I have written to all 112 residents on the electoral roll on Raasay to ask their views on community ownership. Will the minister support community ownership if that is what the people of Raasay want and, if so, how can he help?
I welcome Dave Thompson’s engagement with the Raasay community in his capacity as the local MSP to hear views on the community buy-out of Raasay. We fully support community buy-outs. We welcome any interest from the community in a buy-out and stand ready to advise on the procedures and processes involved. The Scottish Government is preparing a consultation of our own on the future of the Raasay sporting rights and we are committed to helping the local community to maximise the benefits that those rights can offer its economy.
We will extend the previous lease until 1 March 2014 to allow time for a consultation to be held with the whole Raasay community on options for the future. The three options for consultation are: a non-competitive long-term lease of up to 175 years granted to the local community; a new lease advertised in the market, which would include weighting and assessment to maximise community benefit; and a community buy-out of Raasay, which would include the sporting rights.
Second Report on Proposals and Policies (Low-carbon Behaviour)
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to integrate low-carbon behaviour change into the second report on proposals and policies. (S4O-01907)
Low-carbon behaviour change is integrated into the draft second report on proposals and policies currently being considered by Parliament. The report is clear that the successful take-up of many of the policies and proposals it describes critically depends on changing attitudes, behaviours and habits.
The “Low Carbon Scotland: Behaviours Framework”, which was published on 4 March, complements RPP2 and will drive and support the move to low-carbon living in the 10 key behaviour areas that have the biggest impact on reducing emissions. Last week I participated in the first low-carbon dialogue with stakeholders in Parliament to understand drivers of consumer behaviour and challenges to adopting green behaviours.
I thank the minister for his full response. Will he and other ministers consider how the good principles in the behaviour change framework will be taken forward in the development of proposals and policies in the RPP?
The member raises a very good point. One of the things that we are keen to do is implement the ISM—individual, social and material—model through a series of workshops involving Government staff, in order to roll out those messages to ensure that behavioural factors are incorporated into thinking about future proposals and policies. Thereafter, we will develop that by taking on board the opportunity to roll out those workshops to other stakeholders to make sure that they are familiar with the approach that we are taking.
What support will there be within the RPP for behaviour change in low-income families and challenged communities?
That relates to the point that I made to Jean Urquhart. The ISM tool that we are developing is about understanding how behaviour is contextualised. Not everybody is in a position to be able to undertake all the 10 behaviours, but we can all make a contribution in some form or another. We need to take into account issues such as income, geography and the available resources for such things as public transport, in order to understand what is possible locally. That is an important aspect of our work going forward.
The minister will welcome, as I do, the praise received this week from the United Kingdom Committee on Climate Change for the progress that Scotland is making in reaching its climate change, emissions reduction targets. What is the minister doing to encourage the European Union to move to a 30 per cent target?
The Scottish Government recognises the position. It has always taken the view that the EU must increase its level of ambition for emissions reduction and it will continue lobbying to influence that decision.
Whenever the opportunity has presented itself to me, such as in speeches and bilateral meetings—Doha is a good example—I have stressed the measures that we are taking to develop a low-carbon economy in Scotland and I have presented the moral and economic case for other countries to raise their ambition, too.
School Food (Sourcing and Standard)
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the recent announcement of a school meals sourcing summit, when the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment will meet local authorities to discuss the sourcing and standard of food in schools. (S4O-01908)
Last Wednesday, the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, the Minister for Local Government and Planning and I met representatives from the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland, North Lanarkshire Council, Renfrewshire Council, Scotland Excel and the National Parent Forum of Scotland to discuss local authority food and drink procurement and school meals.
At the meeting, we reiterated our intention to work with local government to give renewed impetus to the important hungry for success agenda to continue to drive up the standards and quality of school meals. I am delighted that the initiative is being refreshed and a working group called still hungry for success will have its first meeting tomorrow to discuss taking this work forward.
During yesterday’s debate, the cabinet secretary was asked a number of times to clarify the Government’s position on the traceability of school meals, and he failed to do so. Will he take this opportunity to tell us what specific actions the Scottish Government is taking to improve the transparency and traceability of school meals in light of the recent food scandal?
As I have explained to members on numerous occasions, traceability requirements are built into the procurement process. I should point out that Labour councillor David O’Neill, who is president of companiesLA, said
“Scotland’s councils are committed to excellence in all their services, including the standard of food served to those within their care.”
I am disappointed not to have heard one positive comment from Labour members in the past few weeks about the enormous amount of progress that has been made with the quality of school meals during the past decade or so. That does a real disservice to the many good people who work in our catering services, including those who have helped with that progress.
Of course, there are still lessons to learn, which is why the still hungry for success working group will meet tomorrow. I just wish that we could hear some warm words of welcome for that from the Labour members. Many Labour councils are doing a good job, and it does them a disservice that their Labour colleagues in the Parliament keep talking them down.
Question 5 is from Margaret McCulloch. I ask for brevity in questions and answers, please.
Second Report on Proposals and Policies (Marine Issues)
To ask the Scottish Government whether the second report on proposals and policies will contain marine issues that were not previously included. (S4O-01909)
As required by the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009, the draft second report on proposals and policies is currently subject to parliamentary consideration. We will consider further amendments for inclusion in the final document when they arise during that process.
I am aware that the subject of blue carbon was raised during the committee stage of the consultation. We are examining how best to include those opportunities, while recognising that the science underlying the subject is relatively new. We will seek to improve our understanding of its potential as the evidence base develops.
Will the Scottish Government outline the research and data collection steps that are being taken towards a sound proposal for blue carbon? I understand that it could match the contribution of peatlands in tackling climate change. What timescales can be attached to any proposals?
The member has raised an important point about the emerging importance of peatlands and how their contribution could be replicated by blue carbon. However, we are at a very early stage in our understanding. We will look to refer to blue carbon in the final RPP document, and I would welcome an opportunity to meet the member to discuss her ideas.
Food Products Labelling
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the European Union regarding the labelling of products since the discovery of horsemeat in other meat products. (S4O-01910)
I discussed the mislabelling of meat products with the European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy, Tonio Borg, and United Kingdom ministers when I was in Brussels on 25 and 26 February. I conveyed the Scottish Government’s strong support for additional testing within the European food supply chain, and the need to extend labelling to processed meat products.
I recently visited a local butcher—a Mr Lupton. It is clear that J Lupton’s feel that one of the big advantages of local butchers is that everything that they sell is quite correctly traceable back to the place of origin. Does the cabinet secretary agree that it would be a great comfort to the public and would help local producers if all meat foodstuffs, including pre-packed and frozen products, were clearly labelled to ensure the provenance of the product?
I agree with that. One of the benefits of shorter supply chains—which we all encourage following the horsemeat scandal—is that traceability is easier and more transparent. That can only be a good thing.
On labelling, I have long advocated that labelling be extended to processed meat products, as well as fresh meat. I have lobbied for that in Europe and with successive UK secretaries of state, all of whom—Conservative and Labour—have been reluctant. I am glad that the Conservative Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs now seems to support the Scottish position.
I call Claire Baker. Please be brief.
Although there is no current evidence of products that are produced in Scotland being contaminated with horsemeat, there has been contamination of beef products with pork. Does the cabinet secretary agree that cuts since 2008 in numbers of meat inspectors, environmental health officers and trading standards officers have contributed to problems with mislabelling of products?
If Claire Baker has any evidence of that, I would be pleased to hear it. The reason why there has been a decline in the number of meat and hygiene inspectors, who are part of the Food Standards Agency in Scotland these days, is that there are fewer abattoirs in Scotland, so fewer staff are required. Also, many of the tasks that the inspectors carry out are at the behest of European regulations. When those regulations change, the functions of those services also change. I am not sure exactly what Clare Baker is suggesting, but I am not aware of any evidence that there have been implications for food safety due to changes in the structures or formats of those services.
Environmental health officers are the responsibility of local government.
Common Agricultural Policy
I declare an interest as a farmer.
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the European Commission and the UK and Irish Governments about convergence issues with regard to CAP reform and the impact on Scottish farmers.
(S4O-01911)
I met Commissioner Ciolos when he visited Scotland in November last year, and I travelled to Dublin for a meeting with the Irish minister, Simon Coveney, who is now president of the EU agriculture and fisheries council
. Common agricultural policy issues including convergence were discussed at both meetings.
I have also had regular meetings with Owen Paterson, the United Kingdom Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and at all those meetings I have stressed how important it is that Scotland get a fairer share of the UK’s CAP budget. I encourage Mr Scott to use any influence that he has with his colleagues at Westminster to help to deliver that, because there is as yet no sign of the UK Government’s being sympathetic to Scotland’s needs.
The European Union agreement on the budget has set a commitment to achieve a more equitable distribution of funding among member states by ensuring that all member states receive at least €196 per hectare by 2020. As the cabinet secretary knows, Scotland has one of the lowest rates of direct payment per hectare in Europe and the lowest rate in the UK. Is the cabinet secretary seeking a commitment from the UK Government to achieve internal convergence and ensure that all regions of the UK receive at least €196 per hectare when we make the move from historic direct payments to area-based payments?
The best way to address the issue, which I know John Scott is interested in, is for Scotland to become an independent member state of the EU. If we were independent, under the current formula and the system that was agreed as part of the budget deal in Europe, we would qualify through our low share of direct payments for an extra €304.5 million by 2020. Because we are part of the UK, we stand to lose hundreds of millions of pounds for Scotland’s rural communities between now and 2020, unless we become independent and can negotiate for ourselves, rather than letting others do it for us. It is clear that, at present, they are not doing that.
River Almond (Removal of Weirs)
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the suggestion that the Scottish Environment Protection Agency may remove the Fair-a-far and Dowie’s Mill weirs on the River Almond. (S4O-01912)
SEPA and Rivers and Fisheries Trusts of Scotland are working with the owners of those weirs to determine the most suitable option for improving fish passage. However, ultimate responsibility for the decision on how fish passage is improved rests with the owners of the weirs.
Given the strength of feeling locally, will any decision on the future of the old weirs on the River Almond be subject to full consultation of local people and stakeholder groups before work is actioned?
I know the weirs that Mr Keir mentioned because they featured in my—sadly very average—geography higher exam dissertation. As someone who grew up in the area, I am aware of their significance as landmarks for the local community.
SEPA has actively engaged with local community groups on the matter and will continue to do so to ensure that the community’s views are understood. However, as I said, the final decision on the future of the old weirs on the Almond lies with the landowner.
Therapeutic Horticulture
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment has had with his health counterparts to support the development of therapeutic horticulture. (S4O-01913)
The Scottish Government recognises the health benefits that participation in physical activity, including horticultural activity, can bring. As such, we have supported a number of initiatives to both deliver and develop on-the-ground therapeutic horticulture to the value of nearly £1 million since 2008.
Please be brief, Dr Simpson.
I thank the cabinet secretary for his answer and welcome the money that the Government has put in. However, will he consider bringing back into action small brownfield sites, which might provide allotments and opportunities for more localised therapeutic horticulture outlets? That is being done in Fife, but it should also be done elsewhere.
I will take that forward in any way that I can. Of course, as we discussed in yesterday’s debate a lot of work is already under way in Scotland to make more allotments available. I also note that a number of partnerships, particularly involving the national health service estate, are taking forward therapeutic horticulture with Forestry Commission Scotland and other agencies.