SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE
Scottish Executive Budget 2000-01
To ask the Scottish Executive what its current estimate is of underspend in its 2000-01 budget. (S1O-4871)
We estimate that the level of available resource will be less than 1 per cent of this year's budget by the end of the financial year.
I thank the minister for taking time off from briefing against his colleagues in order to be with us this afternoon.
I have no idea to what Alasdair Morgan was referring in the opening part of his supplementary question—it deserves no further response.
Order. I think that we have the point, minister.
Will the minister explain how the Executive used last year's EYF?
As we have said, EYF is designed to promote sensible spending. It ensures that we stay focused on our key objectives rather than spending it on low priorities simply to get the money out of the back door—the money is not lost to Scotland. Last year we spent our money on the McCrone settlement; delivering schools through public-private partnership projects; the coronary heart disease plan; care homes; training for nurses; police modernisation; capital money for courts; student support; the Vestas Wind Systems project; the careers service; and the fishing decommissioning scheme. I could go on and on, but the important point is that we decided what we would spend the money on. We thought matters through, rather than trying to rush the money out of the back door at year-end.
Will the minister assure us that he will not plan to underspend in order to go on a spending spree just before the next election?
Of course, the Conservative party never took that approach in the past. We recollect that from the party of boom and bust. We also recollect the time before EYF, when money in Scotland went back to the Treasury. Those much-needed resources disappeared from Scotland. That was the system that the Conservatives operated.
Bus Transport (Aberdeenshire)
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average cost to passengers per mile is for a bus journey in Aberdeenshire in comparison with the average cost in the city of Edinburgh. (S1O-4891)
The information requested is not available centrally. However, the grant-aided expenditure, for which the Scottish Executive is responsible, for subsidised bus services amounts to £4.33 per head in Aberdeenshire and £4.32 per head in the city of Edinburgh.
I have a penny here, minister.
I wonder whether Mr Stevenson is the only person in Scotland who is unaware of our commitment to introduce free local off-peak travel for pensioners and disabled people from October of this year.
Will the minister confirm that local authorities have already received, as part of their allocations from the Executive, funds to provide the free concessionary transport for all senior citizens? Will he also confirm that councils such as Aberdeenshire Council have the mechanisms in place to implement the service when it is due to be implemented later this year?
I confirm both those points. I also confirm that Aberdeenshire Council is one of the councils that have taken further steps to take advantage of the powers under the Transport (Scotland) Act 2001. Those steps include a pilot scheme on through-ticketing, which is already in place in Aberdeenshire and will be extended to a community in Mr Stevenson's constituency in due course if it proves to be successful. I am also aware that Aberdeenshire Council has an existing non-statutory quality partnership with Aberdeen City Council and the two main local bus operators to provide bus services. Mr Rumbles is right to highlight that Aberdeenshire Council is one authority that has taken advantage of the provisions that we made in the Transport (Scotland) Act 2001.
Voluntary Sector (Child Care)
To ask the Scottish Executive what assurances it will give to voluntary organisations awaiting registration decisions on child care workers under part V of the Police Act 1997 that such organisations will comply with the law on 1 April 2002. (S1O-4892)
Local authorities currently carry out fit-person checks on behalf of registered child care providers. Part V of the Police Act 1997 will be implemented on 29 April 2002. It provides for the new Scottish disclosure bureau—Disclosure Scotland—to issue criminal record certificates to child care workers among others. From 1 April 2002 to 29 April 2002, as a transitional arrangement, the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care will process applications for registration under the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 using the existing Scottish Criminal Record Office disclosure system.
Does the minister agree that voluntary organisations, such as the YWCA in my constituency, must be reassured that there is no cut-off date for registration as they have advised and that the good work that they undertake in child care should not be undermined while they await vetting outcomes?
I acknowledge the value of the voluntary sector in providing a range of services, including child care. Obviously, it is important that we have high-quality services and that the protection of children be given the utmost priority. As Pauline McNeill is aware, a number of safeguards are in place. Registration is one of those safeguards. Voluntary organisations—like public sector organisations and, indeed, the private sector—will have their own ways of ensuring that appropriate references are taken up for applications for people working with children.
What records are available on deportees who are returned to Scotland? Will those records, if they exist, fulfil the objectives of the registration schemes?
I am not aware whether Mr Gallie is referring to a particular set of circumstances. His question includes a number of matters, some of which relate to reserved matters. If Mr Gallie wishes us to follow up particular circumstances, I am sure that the Minister for Justice and I will take them on and consider them. The protection of children and the appropriateness of people who work in child care organisations in Scotland are our priorities. We will seek to ensure those every step of the way.
Is the minister aware that many youth organisations have real concerns about the burden to the voluntary sector of administration costs? Has the minister considered that? What assistance and reassurance can she give?
The member will be aware that a significant number of representations were made during the course of discussions on the setting-up of Disclosure Scotland. Those representations were taken on board, and it is our intention to try to make the system as straightforward as possible, so that people who wish to work with children and young people are able to obtain the appropriate certificates and so that the organisations involved in the process are able to administer things easily.
Education (Support for Deaf Children)
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied with the availability of special school support for deaf children. (S1O-4848)
The Scottish Executive is satisfied that local authorities are meeting their legal duty to provide adequate and efficient school education for their areas, including provision for deaf pupils.
In the light of her response, would the minister be disappointed to learn that Renfrewshire Council has made a decision to close Gateside School for the deaf, a facility that has existed for nearly 40 years, without engaging in the full consultation procedures?
I am sure that the member will be aware—as I am, from conversations and other communications about the centre with the local MSP, Hugh Henry—that Gateside nursery school, which is a Renfrewshire Council centre, currently caters for three children with hearing impairments alongside other local children of nursery age. I understand that there is also one child with a visual impairment there.
Does the minister recognise the importance for young deaf people and others of disability of being able to access goods and services that hearing people can readily access? Will she, with ministerial colleagues, consider giving early priority in such services as NHS 24 to the Typetalk service, which is the only national telephone service in the world that gives deaf people the ability to communicate with hearing people anywhere in the world? Will she consider including deaf youngsters in the improvement and development of such services?
I thank Brian Fitzpatrick for his information. Our priority is to ensure that every young person has the opportunity to participate fully in the educational opportunities that are available to them. I would want to consult my colleagues in the health department in particular to discuss how we can ensure that as many avenues as possible are explored to allow young people to reach their full potential. Initiatives such as that which Brian Fitzpatrick suggests are obviously worth considering.
Is the minister aware that an identical school, Garvel School for the Deaf, in Inverclyde, is in the same situation as Gateside School? It is a purpose-built school that is threatened with closure. Does the minister accept that the anticipated change gives parents of hearing-impaired children in Inverclyde real concerns about the potential disruption to their children's education? Does she accept that consultation has a long way to go before the anxiety and cynicism that are felt by parents are removed? Does she approve of the proposal whereby the specialist headship at Garvel may end?
As I have already outlined, our priority is to provide the best-quality services for children and young people. How to proceed with that is primarily a matter for local authorities. Consultation with parents is important to ensure that young people get access to the specialist support and help that they require. It is also important, where possible and in cases where it is in the child's best interests, that we seek to include the children and young people to whom Colin Campbell referred within the mainstream school setting.
National Health Service (Nurses)
To ask the Scottish Executive how it is working to attract nurses back into the NHS. (S1O-4836)
The Scottish Executive is committed to attracting nurses back into the national health service. On 26 February, at the first of six local nursing recruitment and retention conventions, I launched a national year of recruitment and retention, with investment in new initiatives this year amounting to £5 million. A key initiative is a return-to-practice programme to encourage experienced nurses to retrain and rejoin the NHS.
Does the minister agree that finding financial support for retraining can be a real problem for women who want to return to nursing? Does he agree that his new initiatives for funding those schemes will bring real benefit to the hundreds of women throughout Scotland who want to return to work in nursing?
I am sure that the return-to-practice courses will be widely welcomed by women—and, indeed, by some men—who wish to return to nursing. Course costs, as well as the cost of travel, books and child care if required, will be paid. This is one of several initiatives that we are driving forward in order to start more nurses in training—250 nurses, over and above the existing increase, will begin training in October—and to get back nurses who used to be part of the work force but have left it.
We welcome any initiatives to tackle problems of recruitment and retention. However, does the minister agree that if we want a true picture of nurse numbers in the NHS, we should concentrate on the additional number of nurses practising in the NHS, rather than on the number of those who qualify as nurses? If so, does he accept that there are fewer whole-time-equivalent nurses working in the NHS now than there were when Labour and the Liberal Democrats came to power in 1999?
That is not the case. In this morning's debate on the national health service we discussed the issue of nurse numbers. There are more qualified nurses now than in 1999 or in 1997. There are also significant variations. For example, there is a significantly greater number of nurses working in the acute sector and in the community. There are fewer nurses working in learning disability hospitals, but that is a good thing. We want people in learning disability hospitals to move out of those and to live in the community. When such people are transferred to the community, some of the nurses who work in learning disability hospitals are transferred to local authorities and are no longer counted as nurses. Shona Robison should consider in detail the profile of nurses in different categories.
What the minister says is very welcome. Does he accept that there are still financial disincentives for some people to re-enter nursing because they lack support when seeking to requalify? Will he examine the small print of many schemes to ensure that they work in accordance with his excellent intentions?
I am not sure whether Donald Gorrie is talking about the return-to-practice scheme, but the point that I made about that remains: course costs and additional costs are covered. Some people may want to enter nursing as mature students, and more places are available for that. All those students are included in the bursary system. We are also starting five nurse cadet schemes, which are an alternative route for people who may not have the educational qualifications to start the full nursing course.
Regulation of Care (Health Management Structures)
To ask the Scottish Executive what recent discussions have taken place with the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care (the care commission) concerning the creation of new health management structures. (S1O-4853)
No discussions have yet taken place with the care commission on the creation of new health management structures. On 12 December last year, I announced plans for a comprehensive review of management and decision making in NHS Scotland. We fully intend to ensure that that important piece of work is taken forward in an open and inclusive manner that engages all the key stakeholders, including the social care sector.
Does the minister agree that that the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care needs to include in its work a range of professional knowledge and expertise from nursing, medicine and teaching? Will he explain how the commission's senior management structure will reflect the diversity of input that is needed for the commission to address competently the issues for which it is responsible?
I am sure that all members welcome this first-ever national system of care regulation, which will start in April and will implement the first-ever national care standards. I assure Trish Godman that those who previously worked for NHS boards on regulating nursing homes, for example, will transfer to the commission. That means that nurses, pharmacists and other medical professionals will work for the commission. If the member is concerned about membership of the commission board, I can tell her that it includes a nurse and someone from the education sector.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps were taken to consult representatives of patients and carers in relation to the membership and remit of its working group on the report by the chief medical officer at the Department of Health on chronic fatigue syndrome/ME. (S1O-4884)
We have asked Helen McDade, the secretary of the cross-party group in the Scottish Parliament on ME, to help us to identify patient and carer representatives to serve on the short-life action group. She has been sent a copy of its proposed remit. The membership of the group, which will begin its work next month, will be announced shortly.
I thank the minister both for the way in which he has involved the cross-party group in choosing the patient representatives for the working group and for keeping the group informed of the remit of the working group.
The chief scientist office of the Scottish Executive health department would be happy to consider good-quality proposals for research into all aspects of CFS or ME. Those would obviously be subject to committee review. In the longer term, the UK Medical Research Council's research strategy will address the new scientific advisory group.
What consideration has been given to the special difficulties for ME sufferers in accessing benefits?
The question of benefits is reserved, but a number of local authorities, supported by health agencies, conduct active welfare benefit take-up campaigns. I am sure that the good-quality advice throughout Scotland is as available to ME sufferers as it is to any other group. However, access to specific benefits is a reserved matter.
I hope that the minister is already aware of the considerable scientific and medical expertise that exists throughout Scotland in this field, in the form of such eminent practitioners as Dr Vance Spence, Dr Abhijit Chaudhuri and others. Will he ensure that those experts are included in his working group in their own right and not just as representative voices of wider organisations?
The representative nature of the group is under consideration and a number of people have been approached. We have sought to engage a cross-section of opinion and expertise that will give the group added weight. I note the comments that Alex Fergusson has made and I am sure that that will be reflected as much as is possible. However, it will not be possible to appoint every person with an expertise, or every person who is regarded as having a specific interest, to a group of this nature. It is unfortunate that some people will therefore be disappointed.
Youth Crime
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to its recent announcement of an extra £2 million to support mediation and reparation projects, whether it has plans to commit any additional funding to tackling youth crime. (S1O-4866)
We have allocated £25.5 million over four years to tackle youth crime. There will be £3.5 million in 2000-01 and £5 million in 2001-02 and 2002-03, supplemented by an extra £2 million for restorative justice projects in 2002. We will double that investment to £10 million in 2003-04. Decisions on future investment levels will be taken forward as part of the forthcoming spending review.
Given that the results of the study that the Justice 1 Committee commissioned confirm that youth crime remains a serious problem, as do the contributing factors of poverty, lack of resources and the shortage of preventive measures, I thank the minister for that positive answer. I am pleased to hear the additional sum of £10 million for 2003-04 being mentioned, because investment to date has been sadly lacking due to the shortfall of £10 million.
There is not a lot that I can say to that, other than thank you.
You are not obliged to say anything.
Does the minister agree that tackling youth crime is not only about the justice system? It should also be about working with young people in our communities to help them to understand their rights and responsibilities as citizens as well as providing them with the opportunities to realise their potential. A lot of the funding that the minister mentioned goes to local authorities. How can local authorities best use the funding from the Executive to assist in achieving those aims?
As Elaine Smith is well aware, a number of local authorities have begun to involve themselves in projects that consider reparation and mediation. A significant amount of money was given to Elaine Smith's local authority area. North Lanarkshire Council has already received £357,000 this year for the youth crime action plan and an additional £143,500 as a result of the £2 million distribution for the restorative justice grant.
On tackling youth crime, does the minister agree that extending the children's hearing system to take in 16 and 17-year-olds might mean that a husband who abuses his wife or even a drunk driver could be referred to the children's hearing system? Does she agree that that would make a mockery of the criminal justice system?
I am pleased to be able to reassure the member, who takes a genuine interest in children and young people's issues. I have just come from a meeting with the Scottish Children's Reporter Administration. At that meeting, I clarified the possibility of pilot projects for 16 and 17-year-olds. It is the case that many 16 and 17-year-olds could benefit from the measures available through the children's hearing system. It is also clear that there are many situations for which that system would not be appropriate. There is no intention to bring into the children's hearing system the offences to which the member refers, as they would not be appropriate.
Environmental Justice
To ask the Scottish Executive how it intends to promote the aim of environmental justice. (S1O-4850)
In his speech to the environmental resources management forum on 18 February, the First Minister set out our commitment to environmental justice. That is a commitment on which the Scottish Executive will deliver. The member will agree that many of our existing programmes will contribute to delivering environmental justice. However, as the member is also aware, environmental justice covers a wide range of issues and we are currently considering how we can embrace and co-ordinate those to deliver that aim.
I am prepared to agree that some of the minister's intentions might achieve his aims.
I welcome Robin Harper's warm welcome for the First Minister's commitment to environmental justice. As Mr Harper will be aware, the current European Union regulation, 90/220/EEC, is seriously lacking in its failure to provide for adequate public consultation on crop trials. As the member will also be aware, a revised directive, 2001/18/EC, gives far more provision for that.
Does the minister agree that the report published last Thursday by the Transport and the Environment Committee on petition PE327 presents a strong case for environmental justice? Will the minister read what the report says about illness in the community of Blairingone and about the potentially toxic elements of waste in streams? To allay public anxiety, will the minister now publicly endorse the committee's recommendations that the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and the health authorities should carry out an investigation into illness in the area and that their conclusions should be made public?
I am grateful to the member for advance notice of that question. I am also well aware of his personal interest in the issue, largely as a result of several unsavoury incidents in his constituency.
Domestic Abuse
To ask the Scottish Executive what further action it plans to take to tackle domestic abuse. (S1O-4876)
We are taking action on a number of fronts, including a second phase of funding projects through the domestic abuse development fund, and a further phase of the refuge development programme. The national group to address domestic abuse, which I chair, expects by this summer to receive three specific issue reports from working groups reviewing refuge accommodation, legislation and prevention.
The minister will be aware—
I am sorry, but your microphone does not seem to be working.
Do you have difficulty hearing me, Presiding Officer?
I think that it is my loudspeaker that is not working. On you go.
I will start again.
I am aware of the work to which Jackie Baillie referred, and to which she made and continues to make a significant contribution. The respect project pilot has been evaluated and we have received positive reports. I am about to consider recommendations on the roll-out of the project and to begin discussions with some of my colleagues in the Executive, notably the Minister for Education and Young People and the Minister for Finance and Public Services, to ensure that we roll out the project in Scottish schools.
My apologies to Jackie Baillie. It was my machine that was not working.
Will the Executive consider piloting a project similar to that implemented in West Yorkshire to tackle repeat victimisation in cases of domestic abuse? Not only does the project sound positive, it reduces the number of cases of repeat domestic abuse and victimisation.
I thank the member for that information. I recognise his commitment in this field and the energy that he has given to tackling domestic abuse. We will happily consider any models of practice that address domestic abuse, because we take the issue seriously. As Gil Paterson knows, the Executive is determined not only to tackle the symptoms of domestic abuse through service provision, but to address its underlying causes and to stop repeat victimisation. We wish to tackle the fundamental causes of domestic abuse in Scotland and to make it completely unacceptable. I am happy to examine the project to which the member referred.
Housing Stock Transfer
To ask the Scottish Executive what support it will give to local authorities that do not proceed with housing stock transfer. (S1O-4854)
Councils that do not wish to transfer their housing stock will continue to fund investment in council housing through a combination of new borrowing, usable capital receipts and capital funded from revenue.
In the event that tenants vote against the housing stock transfer, does the minister agree to plead with the Chancellor of the Exchequer to change the borrowing rules, because the manner in which the housing stock transfer is being carried out in Scotland is tantamount to blackmail?
The key to how stock transfer proposals are being progressed in a number of local authorities in Scotland is, first, that the facts are laid before the tenants and, secondly, that the tenants are the people who are being given the choice. It is their decision. The rules that apply are the same rules that apply to transfers in other cities in the UK. The fact is that transfer—in particular in Glasgow, because I think that that is where Mr Quinan is thinking about—will allow housing debt to be lifted, will enable public resources to be freed up and will allow Glasgow City Council to access resources that are currently not available to it. The result is that in four years, we will have secure homes for tenants, in six years, we will have warm, dry homes for tenants, and in 10 and a half years, we will have completely refurbished tenants' homes. All of that will happen with rent guarantees that will last for at least eight years and potentially for 30 years.
With regard to the powers that the minister has under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001, which was passed by the Parliament, does he intend to make progress in devolving to local authorities the funding that is currently held by Communities Scotland? Does he agree that local authorities with a good record of managing large-scale housing investment, such as West Lothian Council, would be good councils with which to start?
Unlike the housing policy of some opponents of transfer, the Executive's housing policy is driven not by ideology, but by tenants' requirements in different parts of Scotland. We must acknowledge that local authorities are in different circumstances. Some authorities do not have a high level of housing debt. They charge low rents and do not need investment as urgently as does Glasgow, for example. In all instances, the decision about how to develop housing is for councils and, as I said, for tenants.
Cancer Services
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to improve services to cancer patients. (S1O-4875)
Supported by £60 million additional funding by 2003-04, more and better equipment and facilities and more staff in all professions and disciplines will be available to secure better access and ensure more rapid diagnosis and improved services for people with cancer.
The minister's reply chimes with Malcolm Chisholm's recent announcement of formal approval for the much-needed second phase of the Beatson oncology centre to be sited at Gartnavel, in the Glasgow Anniesland constituency. Will the minister assure the chamber that mechanisms are in place to make patients' experience and the expertise of cancer specialists integral to the planning of cancer care provision?
The Scottish Executive takes the involvement of patients and clinical specialists in plans for cancer services seriously. Patients and cancer specialists are involved in regional cancer advisory groups. Each of the three regional groups is developing the most appropriate local ways forward to feed into the Scottish cancer group. Clinicians are part of the managed clinical networks and patients participate in local focus groups that are arranged around Scotland, so patients and clinical experts are involved.
The minister is aware of the Scottish Breast Cancer Campaign's questionnaire for women breast cancer patients. Does she agree that it is vital to hear about women's experience of breast cancer? Will she consider undertaking a larger-scale survey of women who are using breast cancer services to evaluate the quality of the service throughout Scotland?
Like many members, I am aware of Rhona Brankin's situation. She is a great example to many women throughout Scotland. As I said to Bill Butler, it is essential that we use the experience of those who have had to deal with cancer in planning the services of the future. Only by doing that can we ensure that we have a truly responsive service.
Ferry Services (Tendering Procedure)
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the current tendering procedure for the west coast ferry network is compliant with both UK and European competition law. (S1O-4893)
The Executive believes that our provisional proposals for tendering those services comply with UK and European Community law. The European Commission has taken account of our case for the single-bundle approach and the way is now clear for us to tender the network as a whole.
Doubtless, the minister will be aware that on the Gourock to Dunoon service, the public service obligation—the public subsidy—is for the passenger-only service. He will know that that has given rise to the suggestion that vehicle transportation might be removed from the route. Will the minister confirm that that would be economically daft, on the ground that where Caledonian MacBrayne can potentially make money would be on vehicle transportation, not on passengers? May I suggest that if such a move were to come about, that would leave an effective monopoly on the route in the hands of another operator, Western Ferries, and that that might be contrary to chapter 1 of the Competition Act 1998 and, indeed, articles 81 and 87 of the Treaty on European Union?
As Duncan Hamilton indicated, the vehicle service provided on the Gourock to Dunoon route is an out-of-undertaking service. That means that it is for CalMac to make the judgments on the commercial profitability of the service and it is not open to ministers to instruct it to increase or decrease the provision of the vehicle service. The passenger service, on the other hand, is within the undertaking and we continue to support it.
The minister will be aware that there is great concern in the local community after recent press speculation on this issue. Will the minister confirm that the Executive is fully committed to providing financial support for the ferry route in the future? Can he also confirm that CalMac has no plans to withdraw the current service, as has been rumoured in the local community?
CalMac has not discussed with ministers any plans that would impact on the level of service. Because of his constituency interest, Mr Lyon will be aware that the Scottish Executive is considering responses to the consultation on the service specification. We will consult further on it soon.
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