SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE
Cities Review
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the report of the cities review team. (S1O-5304)
The draft report of the cities review team will be submitted to me before the summer recess. The report will be published in the autumn together with a response from the Executive.
Glasgow is the city with the highest council tax in Scotland, providing services to the population well outside its boundaries. I ask the minister for an assurance that, when the report is published, there will be meaningful discussion with the city authority, MSPs will have a full part to play in discussing the available options and, crucially, the report will consider an appropriate status for Glasgow, which plays a particular role in Scotland and handles the needs of Scotland's most deprived citizens.
I am well aware of Pauline McNeill's interest in representing Glasgow and the assertiveness that she brings to that role. In the time that I have been responsible for the cities review I have been made well aware of the challenges that Glasgow and other cities in Scotland face. We have engaged in meaningful discussions with the leaderships of all the cities and will, of course, do our best to ensure that the issues that they raise are addressed as well as possible.
I am glad that the minister has said that the report will be brought before Parliament in the autumn. Is the minister aware of the report by the Glasgow council voluntary sector and work foundation, which states that current programmes will create only 7,500 jobs and that only 4,000 of those will go to Glaswegians? Glasgow needs 50,000 jobs. Will the minister tell us what measures are in the cities review to address the problem and create the jobs that Glasgow badly needs?
I am sure that Sandra White will appreciate the fact that I cannot extract one issue from the cities review prior to its publication and prior to the Executive's response, which I am sure she will be interested in. I assure her that the cities review team has considered seriously jobs, employment and who gets jobs. An analysis of those issues is embedded in the continuing work.
The minister will be aware of Professor Arthur Midwinter's report on the mismatch of local government finance after the reorganisation of local government. That report says clearly that Glasgow has lost out from local government reorganisation and is due at least £36 million extra in supplementary grant for services in the city. Will that be fed into the cities review, will it form part of the review's conclusions and will the Executive start to fund Glasgow properly?
I do not know whether Mr Sheridan was listening to what I said earlier. I made it clear that the cities review report will be published before the summer and that the Executive will give its response to it. I assure everyone in the chamber that the issues of funding, what is happening to cities and the challenge that they face with employment are at the heart of the cities review. We have engaged properly with city leaderships on those issues and have spoken to many experts about them. A comprehensive range of information and evidence is available to us when we make our decisions. I assure the Parliament that the review will be comprehensive and robust and that the issues that have been brought to our attention will be dealt with.
Glasgow Airport Rail Link
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will bring forward a timetable for the construction and completion of the Glasgow airport rail link. (S1O-5320)
We expect to receive our consultant's final report in the autumn and we will then seek to agree with other interested parties a timetable for obtaining parliamentary powers and design and construction proposals.
I thank the minister for that cautious response. The minister will be aware that there is tremendous and overwhelming support in Glasgow and west central Scotland for the early construction of a rail link to Glasgow airport. Indeed, there is cross-party support for the development at all levels of government. Does the minister agree that, should the Executive agree the development in the near future, it would have economic benefits and would support the development of Glasgow airport as the main centre of scheduled aviation services between the west of Scotland and the rest of the world? Does he agree that the development would not, in itself, damage the prospects of other Scottish airports?
Yes. I recognise the economic arguments for the rail link. That is why we have identified rail links to Glasgow and Edinburgh airports as a priority in our transport policy. I concur that the construction to Glasgow airport will not have a negative impact on any other airport in Scotland. We are implementing our policy even-handedly and in such a way as to reflect the economic priorities of the whole of Scotland.
I am a former member of Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive and I recall that, when the subject was discussed, there was concern about some of the local authorities outwith Glasgow being prepared to take the rail link through their areas. Has there been any consultation with those local authorities on the rail link's route?
We are talking to local authorities and the Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive about the options. As Mr Young will know, consultants are working on that at the moment. We expect a final report in the autumn and an interim report shortly. The reports are based on consultations with interested parties as well as on examination of the engineering and economic options.
Is the minister aware of the feeling in Glasgow about the time lag for the project? Can he assure the chamber that he is prepared to show leadership on the matter, to bring together all the necessary parties and to clear in good time any logjam in relation to funding, the potential route and parliamentary powers, to allow the project to go ahead quickly—"quickly" being the operative word?
The Executive recognises the need for progress on the project. We will seek to bring together interested parties and to establish a timetable that can deliver quickly. We must take into consideration the proper procedures and planning requirements in relation to the route and we will not short-circuit that in an irregular way. However, we recognise the need for early progress to obtain the powers for the project to go ahead.
Volunteers' Week
To ask the Scottish Executive what it is doing to mark volunteers' week. (S1O-5310)
The First Minister launched volunteers' week on 7 June at the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow and joined children of Berryhill Primary School in Wishaw to celebrate their volunteer project. On 8 June, the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport gave a keynote speech at a conference on volunteering in the arts, which is the theme of this year's volunteers' week. The Minister for Health and Community Care has also launched a new publication, "Celebrating Volunteers in Health". Throughout the week, several ministers have participated in volunteering opportunities across Scotland. Last Saturday, I visited the flexicare project in Paisley and tomorrow I will visit the Johnstone day centre for older people.
The Executive has been very busy. Does the minister agree that volunteering helps to develop confidence, raises self-esteem and fosters a sense of citizenship? What does the Executive plan to do to support volunteering by young people?
I agree with Cathy Peattie about the role of young people in volunteering and the benefits that volunteering can bring. The flexicare project that I visited last Saturday not only provides services to young people but engages young people, from the age of 14 into their early 20s. I was impressed by their enthusiasm and commitment. We seek to encourage such enthusiasm in our work to support volunteering across Scotland.
Several organisations with which I have volunteered in the past week have brought to my attention an issue that it would be useful to review. The organisations talked about the fact that they have to spend money by the end of the financial year or lose it, despite the three-year funding arrangements. Will the minister assure me that he will review that to allow voluntary organisations to carry forward money from one financial year to another?
That is a totally different issue from the question of encouraging volunteering. Volunteers' week aims to encourage people to participate in volunteering, but Fiona McLeod's point is about the funding of voluntary organisations. The Scottish Executive is undertaking a review of the way in which it funds voluntary organisations. Some of those issues are more properly the responsibility of local government and I am sure that it will consider the situation. That should not detract from our intention to encourage as many volunteers as possible to participate in many worthwhile organisations across Scotland.
Will the minister join me in congratulating the hit squad attached to Langlees school in Falkirk, which I visited on Monday morning, and the Cruse Bereavement Care counselling group in Hamilton, which I visited on Monday evening? Will he confirm whether the Executive has any plans to fund the vital services that the latter provides?
I cannot give a specific commitment about an individual organisation. It would be completely inappropriate to do so in this forum. However, I share Lyndsay McIntosh's enthusiasm for the work carried out by groups such as those that she has visited, which could be replicated in every constituency in Scotland.
Genetic Manipulation Technology
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to undertake a national debate on genetic manipulation technology similar to that announced by Her Majesty's Government. (S1O-5338)
Scottish ministers fully support the Agriculture and Environment Biotechnology Commission's recommendation for a full and informed public debate in advance of decisions on the commercialisation of genetically modified crops. We are working with the United Kingdom Government to ensure that such a debate takes a form that will enable Scottish issues, values and opinions to be heard.
I thank the minister for that encouraging response. He will be aware that there was originally a pretence of consultation on GM planting at Roskill farm in Munlochy in my constituency. At the end of the day, after all the civil servants and scientists had come, my constituents never had any chance of preventing the continuation of the trial. What will be the terms of reference of the national consultation on GM technology? If the debate goes against current Executive policy, will the minister give a commitment to abandon the Executive's programme for the promotion of GM?
John Farquhar Munro raises two related points. I have never made any pretence of saying that the current regulations occasionally use the word consultation, but I do not think that that has the connotation that members would currently put to it. It is more a question of an information system than of a consultation, whereby members of the public participate actively in a decision. The only decisions that are taken are in Parliament's passing the regulations that give rise to that.
I might have misinterpreted what the minister said at the beginning, because it sounded to me as if he was telling us, in advance, of the decision to plant commercial crops. I would still like him to be absolutely clear. Does he mean that the decision on whether to plant commercial GM crops in Scotland will depend completely on the outcome of the public debate? I ask him to confirm or deny that.
I am not quite sure what Robin Harper is driving at. I am saying quite clearly that, as he knows, two issues are involved. We have a regulation problem, which we must address because, as it stands, there is no legal basis for stopping commercialisation. We also have an opportunity. The opportunity that has arisen is the agreement that there shall be no commercialisation until we have finished the present field trial process. It is enormously helpful that the AEBC has recommended that, within that process and informed by its outcome, the amount of public concern should trigger a fully informed public debate. That debate must inform the decision not only of this Parliament but of the United Kingdom Parliament and how we then address the present European regulation. The public debate will have a heavy influence on how we address those issues, because there has not been such a public debate since GM developed 10 or 12 years ago. I hope that everyone welcomes such a debate taking place before we decide on whether to have commercial GM crops.
Will the minister acknowledge the potential for immense environmental as well as economic benefits from GM science in Scotland? There is also the possible development of life-saving medicines from GM science. I urge the minister to stick to the precautionary principle, but to promote an informed debate to balance the scaremongering that is coming from certain quarters.
John Home Robertson, if he has done anything, has just started stage 1 of the debate—which is proper and is what is required. Those who have serious and genuine concerns should be able to put their point and those who see a potential advantage in GM crops can also contribute to the debate. That is the whole purpose of my—and, I hope, the Parliament—being supportive of the Executive having such a wide, informed, public debate before a decision is taken on the commercialisation of GM crops.
Dental Health (Greater Glasgow)
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it is making on improving dental health in the Greater Glasgow NHS Board area. (S1O-5347)
A number of initiatives have been implemented nationally and in Glasgow to improve oral health. Pre-school preventive programmes on oral health, based on the Possilpark initiative, have now been expanded to seven other local health care co-operatives. Those initiatives, combined with other initiatives on diet and dental health funded through the health improvement fund, will start to deliver a significant change in Glasgow over the next five years.
Is the minister aware of the fact that 84 per cent of five-year-olds in the Glasgow Springburn constituency have a record of dental disease? Will the minister consider a pilot in my constituency or perhaps in the Glasgow area to ensure that young people are registered with a dentist? Many of the dentists I have met, including Kieron Fallon from my constituency, have made the point that ensuring that young people are registered with dentists is an effective way of dealing with dental disease.
I am aware that a number of children throughout Scotland are not getting the service that they need. Therefore, I would be interested to discuss further with the member his suggestion. The Executive is keen to consider any alternatives that answer the needs of young people throughout Scotland.
Question 6 has been withdrawn.
Anti-social Behaviour
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to address the issue of anti-social behaviour. (S1O-5341)
The Executive is taking a range of steps to address anti-social behaviour at the local level. We have introduced new legislative measures such as probationary tenancies and interim anti-social behaviour orders. We have also acted to identify and disseminate good practice and new approaches.
Is the minister aware that North Lanarkshire Council has established a task force to tackle anti-social behaviour? How does the minister intend to promote good practice such as that at a local level? Does she agree that there is a need for interim anti-social behaviour orders, as was suggested during the progress of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001, to allow councils to deal urgently with the problem?
Those questions raise a number of issues. We are taking action across several fronts. We have made some £250,000 available for three years to promote good practice, which includes the work going on in North Lanarkshire. I intend to visit there in the near future to discuss housing issues and I will examine the issue of anti-social behaviour while I am there. We have funded the post of a social neighbourhoods co-ordinator, who is based in the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities. We have also funded Safeguarding Communities and Reducing Offending in Scotland, to promote and develop mediation services throughout Scotland. Interim anti-social behaviour orders will be addressed in the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill. That has happened because of what occurred during the passage of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001.
In the light of what I believe is widespread ignorance among police, councils and communities about the Protection from Abuse (Scotland) Act 2001, which helps individuals and communities to take action against certain types of anti-social behaviour, will the minister indicate whether she is willing to take steps to ensure greater knowledge of the act's potential?
Yes, I am happy to give the assurance that we will take action and work with colleagues to ensure that knowledge of the 2001 act is disseminated. Mr Stevenson will know that the act began as a committee bill, but the Executive took responsibility for ensuring that the act was properly implemented.
Is the minister aware that, a few years ago, Dundee City Council had a policy of locating anti-social tenants in specific areas? Some might call that ghettoising. Does the minister approve of that move and, if so, will she encourage other authorities to do the same, to bring peace to the many responsible tenants who find anti-social tenants impossible to deal with?
Mr Gallie must be referring to the Conservatives' policy of sin bins—
It was a Labour council.
Bear with me; I will try to address the point. Phil Gallie's comments bear a striking similarity to Bill Aitken's proposal for sin bins, which he made during the passage of the Housing (Scotland) Bill. I accept Phil Gallie's point about Dundee City Council. The Executive is clear about the unacceptability of anti-social behaviour. We want to take decisive action to eradicate that behaviour and to ensure that there are proper penalties for those who engage in it. During the passage of the Housing (Scotland) Bill, we were not persuaded that sin bins are appropriate. I do not know the details of the scheme in Dundee, but I have been particularly impressed with the Dundee mediation project, which is making significant strides in tackling anti-social behaviour.
Drug Abuse
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will review its plans for tackling illicit drug abuse. (S1O-5346)
We have no plans to review our current drugs strategy. We have provided significant new resources. Diverse local needs and priorities are increasingly being met through local partnership in Scotland's 22 drug action teams. Within the overall framework of the strategy, we constantly develop and implement new approaches to meet changing patterns of drug use and other problems. Examples of that include drugs courts, support for children of drug-misusing parents and our "Know the Score" communication strategy. Drugs courts are proving to be successful at the pilot stage, which is why we are considering their adoption as a model for youth courts.
I welcome the change in the funding formula that the minister announced earlier this week. The formula now reflects the pattern of drug misuse and is not worked out on a population basis.
The precise nature of the provision in the north-east is a matter for the drug action teams in that area. The Executive is aware of the higher ratio of the use of crack cocaine to that of cocaine in Grampian and the high level of heroin injectors among young people in that area. As Mr Adam said, we have changed the basis of the funding formula so that it takes account of the number of drug misusers in an area. That is based on the research that we produced. As I announced in Aberdeen the other day, further funds are available through the New Opportunities Fund and will also be distributed on the basis of needs on the ground.
Like other members from Aberdeen, I am pleased that the minister recognises the scale of drug abuse in Aberdeen. He launched the £10 million better off programme in Aberdeen recently. Given that drug treatment and testing orders are in use in Aberdeen, will the minister consider locating Scotland's third drugs court in the city?
Elaine Thomson will be aware that, when I was in Aberdeen, I opened the drug treatment and testing order office. Its initial success has been very impressive, as is the work of the staff in the office. DTTOs are important and we are developing them.
Has the minister seen last week's The Economist, which cited the UK Government's own figures showing that, despite the increased enforcement measures that have been taken in the UK, the street price of class A drugs has sharply fallen in the past five years and is still falling? Does the minister agree that that demonstrates yet again that measures to cut demand through treatment, rehabilitation and education are far more effective in tackling drug misuse? Furthermore, will he ensure that the Executive's resources are deployed accordingly?
Various figures have been bandied about.
They are not being bandied about—they are official figures.
I have not read the report in The Economist, but I know that it is recognised that as far as street crime or other such elements are concerned, a saving of between £3 and £6 or £7 can be made by putting money into treatment, depending on the model that is used. However, we need a balanced programme, which means that enforcement is equally important. The Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency is proving to be highly effective in disrupting the supply of drugs and indeed is being considered as a model elsewhere in the UK. That said, we will continue to develop our treatment and rehabilitation programmes. In fact, as the member knows, we are in the middle of a major expansion of such programmes.
Joint Future Group Report (Implementation)
To ask the Scottish Executive how the implementation of the recommendations contained in the report of the joint future group is proceeding across Scotland. (S1O-5305)
The joint future group made 20 recommendations. In particular, we will have doubled our resources in 2003-04 for rebalancing older people's services to develop more intensive and flexible home care. As for the two main areas that have been identified, local authorities and health boards are working towards the implementation of joint resourcing for older people and single shared assessment for all community care services by next April, which should result in a more effective service for older people.
The minister is aware that extra national health service funding has been diverted into free personal care for the elderly. Is that likely to affect adversely the development of clinical and essential social services in Scotland? Moreover, will sufficient funding be available to implement the recommendations in the integrated human resource working group's recently published report on the human resource implications of the joint future group agenda?
I should clarify one issue. We are talking about additional resources; they have not been diverted from the funding allocation for free personal care, which I understand is a policy that the Tories supported.
Closed-circuit Television
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will support the expansion of closed-circuit television schemes wherever necessary throughout Scotland. (S1O-5314)
Since 1996, we have awarded nearly £10.3 million to 161 CCTV projects across Scotland. Last October, we announced details of a new community safety partnership award programme that supersedes both the CCTV and community challenge competitions. That initiative started on 1 April 2002. The new scheme will give all local authority-led community safety partnerships a share of £12 million over the next three years for local community safety partnership initiatives. It is for those partnerships to determine their own local priorities, which could of course include the installation and maintenance of CCTV systems.
Although I welcome the minister's answer as far as it goes, does he acknowledge that CCTV not only reduces crime levels and the opportunities for crime but increases the clear-up rates of crime? Will he keep as a high priority the need to expand those successful schemes throughout Scotland?
Although CCTV undoubtedly plays its part, it is still only one aspect of the development of appropriate community safety measures. That should be done in partnership with local authorities and in turn with their partners in community safety partnerships. As a result, it should be up to them to decide precisely how the money is spent. In the member's area, the Lothian partnerships will receive a total of £583,000 in 2002-03. If they choose to use some of that money on CCTV installation and maintenance, that is up to them.
I, too, welcome the minister's announcement about CCTV. However, will he note that in the burgh of Inverkeithing, which is in my constituency, the community council has strong concerns and has made strong representations to me? That community council is frustrated that it has not been included in this round of the bid. I am pleased to note that the minister has said that there will be second and third-year bids. That will be warmly welcomed by the communities that I represent.
Fife as a whole, part of which the member represents, is receiving £202,000 this year—the community to which she referred may care to talk to the community safety partnership about that. Fife is impressive as one of the pilot areas. The CCTV systems have been hard-wired into the police headquarters in Glenrothes. I looked at the system the other day and was impressed by the fact that that will mean an even greater ability to respond to CCTVs in Fife.
Is the minister aware of the apparent success of CCTV, as used by Lothian and Borders police, in identifying ring-leaders when there has been vandalism, for example, so that they can be dealt with differently from hangers-on? Notwithstanding what the minister said, I have information from Lothian and Borders police that there is insufficient money to continue with such projects, which seem to work. Will the minister ensure that such projects continue?
The member mentioned the success of CCTV. A study found that, out of 1,000 cases that were brought, only 95 were unsuccessful—CCTV systems are therefore highly successful. Christine Grahame's area has a grant of £92,000 to upgrade CCTVs. She should have discussions again with the local community safety partnership on how that money should best be spent.
The minister will be aware that there are particular difficulties in rural towns and villages in raising funding to help to pay for CCTV community funding, as they do not have as many big commercial businesses that are willing to contribute. The Executive's announcement on community safety funding has helped towns such as Dunoon, where there is a crisis and a threat that CCTV units might be lost completely. However, there is a longer-term problem in funding the replacement of outdated equipment that has come to the end of its life. Will the Executive consider the rural problems and specifically how a replacement programme might be funded in the future and how the gap might be closed in the current balance sheets relating to some communities' CCTV units?
I will make two points about that. First, the sum for Argyll and Bute is £84,000. I know that there is a problem in respect of rural communities. A number of community safety partnerships are choosing to use their funds on mobile cameras, which are not permanent and can play a part in rural areas. Nobody knows whether such cameras are in place or not and that creates uncertainty among the criminal fraternity. That is important. Measures can therefore be taken.
Less Favoured Areas
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will announce the less favoured area scheme funding proposals for 2002-03. (S1O-5333)
Final draft options are currently being discussed with the industry working group and the European Commission. The proposals will be issued for consultation as soon as discussions have been completed.
I thank the minister for his reply. Does he accept that time is of the essence and that crofters and farmers in my constituency await announcements? Will he ensure that announcements are made and decisions taken as quickly as possible?
I can only repeat that proposals are being discussed. The Commission is being extraordinarily helpful, constructive and rigorous in its examination of the scheme. I appreciate the need to get the results of those consultations out, as there is wide interest throughout the LFA area. Some 85 per cent of Scottish agricultural land is covered. I repeat that, as soon as the Commission has completed its consultation and we finalise it within the representative industry working group, we will put proposals out for consultation.
Will the minister ensure that the social and economic factors that are experienced by people in remote, rural and island communities will be taken into account during the implementation of the new scheme? Those people experience much less favoured farming conditions than those in the rest of Scotland.
I assure the member that we received many representations in the process of the formulation of the proposals, but I am not able to say what will be the response of the Commission to the proposals. We hope that the Commission will accept all the factors that were put forcefully to us when we framed the new proposals. If it does, that will be a very positive outcome.
Is the minister satisfied that the level of LFA payments is adequate and that the payments are going to the areas where they are most needed? In addition, bearing in mind the fact that the rural stewardship scheme was underfunded last year for 420 applicants, how will it deal with the 600 applicants this year?
First, the level of payments going into the less favoured area scheme under the Executive is the highest level of LFA support that there has ever been. That is a full recognition by the Executive of the importance of less favoured area support. Secondly, Jamie McGrigor raises a tricky issue. If he is saying that within the less favoured area some areas are much less favoured than others, he could get into a dangerous debate. I hope that he is not suggesting that we should reduce the quantum and size of Scotland's less favoured area. The Scottish Executive would not support that suggestion.
Non-trunk Roads (Maintenance)
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will implement a strategy to ensure the effective maintenance of non-trunk roads. (S1O-5307)
A code of practice for maintenance management was published by the Institution of Highways and Transportation in July 2001. The code applies throughout the UK. Responsibility for implementing the guidance in the code rests with individual local authorities.
As the minister is aware, local authorities are desperately struggling to bring their non-trunk roads infrastructure up to a tolerable standard. In Stirling, a figure of £20 million, which is still rising, is needed for the repairs backlog. It is unrealistic for the council to meet that figure from its current roads budget. Does the minister recognise the anger and frustration felt on the issue, especially in many rural communities? Furthermore, does he recognise the need for a long-term strategy and continued support from the Executive?
We are aware of the difficulties that some local authorities face. It is for them to make their allocations for the services that they require to fund. We have recognised some of the difficulties by providing an additional £20 million in the current year. Dr Jackson will recall that we also allocated an additional £70 million in capital funding over the three years to March 2004. It is for councils to take the initiative in this area. They will shortly undertake a road condition survey to examine the condition of local roads and bridges. We are working with them on the technical aspects of the survey, because we believe that it is right that they should undertake such a survey in order to come up with an objective assessment of the condition of roads in various council areas.
The minister will be aware of the local campaign in Campbeltown to trunk the section of the road between the town and the rest of Kintyre, and beyond. He will also know that the previous minister for transport ruled out that policy on the ground that the traffic flow was not substantial enough. Given the imminent return of the Campbeltown to Ballycastle ferry and the expected increase in traffic flow, will the minister revisit that decision?
Our policy is always to maintain an eye on the levels of traffic and levels of usage of the entire road network. We have no proposals at this stage to extend the trunk road network, but we are aware of the points that Duncan Hamilton raises. As with many other points that affect the roads network throughout Scotland, we will maintain our watching brief.
In a recent meeting with MSPs, Highland Council stated that £90 million is required to address the structural condition of non-trunk roads and that £55 million is required to strengthen bridges. Highland Council also stated that it could only
As I said in my reply to Dr Jackson, we have allocated significant additional resources to local authorities to deal with local roads issues. We will continue to work with local authorities in addressing the issues that they face. Local councils would not welcome it if we did other than leave with them the initiative in determining how they allocate the resources and what priorities they set. We will expect them to continue to do that and we will continue to work with them to assist them to address the issues that they face.
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