SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE
Local Government Finance
To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has had from local authorities regarding this year's local government financial settlement. (S1O-1380)
We have received representations from the majority of councils about the local government settlement.
Will the minister reconsider the unfairness of a system in which the most prudent and efficient councils, such as Angus Council, get the least money, while the least efficient get the most money? Punishing the prudent to reward the profligate is never a wise financial policy.
That is a generalisation. The system does not punish the most efficient councils and assist the least efficient. However, councils across Scotland have questioned the system, and we have given a firm commitment to review it to ensure that it is fair and delivers the high-quality services that Scotland deserves.
Will the minister comment on how Clackmannanshire Council's Scottish National party administration set its budget? In particular, will he comment on its initial proposals to increase corporate services by 21 per cent—more than £1 million of new expenditure—to be funded by a nursery school closure, other school closures or mergers, community hall closures and by reneging on the previous Labour commitment to fund the excellent Barnardos Freagarrach project for young offenders, which is to be adopted by three other local authorities?
Given the debate that we had last December about the amount of budget information available to the chamber—the most information ever provided by a Parliament in the UK—I was surprised that the nationalist council in Clackmannanshire had not even put a final budget line on its budget at its council meeting last week.
Has the Scottish Executive made any representations to the Westminster Government about increasing the block grant, so that larger amounts of money can be made available to local government?
Local government funding in Scotland is planned to increase by more than the rate of inflation this year, next year and the year after. The total budget available for the Executive's programmes is determined in accordance with the funding rules published in March 1999 by HM Treasury, and the future funding of local government in Scotland will be considered by the Executive in the course of the current spending review that is in progress.
Organic Agriculture
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to invest in research and development for organic agriculture. (S1O-1371)
The Scottish Executive, and previously the Scottish Office, have funded research on organic agriculture for many years. In particular, a major programme has been undertaken by the Scottish Agricultural College in Aberdeen at a cost of £840,000. Investment in research that deals specifically with organic agriculture will continue via a further major project at SAC Aberdeen over the next three years. In addition, two further new projects at the SAC are currently being considered.
Notwithstanding such measures as the setting up of demonstration farms at the SAC, will the Scottish Executive rural affairs department consider switching the majority of its funding from support for genetically modified organisms biotechnology to substantial support for organic agriculture?
That option does not exist and, in any case, we intend to continue our support for organic research and organic conversion. I welcome the fact that the organic aid scheme is attracting a lot of support from farmers in Scotland. Five hundred farms are now involved in the scheme, and 400,000 hectares of Scottish farmland are now being converted into organic production. That is meeting a genuinely new demand in the market and is good news for rural Scotland.
The SAC is finding it very difficult to service the organic aid scheme.
My department's research programme includes three organic farming projects, which are worth £228,000 this year, rising to £327,000 next year. We are, therefore, making progress. I hope that Mr Harper will join me in welcoming the fact that there are clear signs that organic production is increasing in Scotland, which is good news for the rural economy.
Rural Housing
To ask the Scottish Executive what Scottish Homes' spending plans for rural areas are for the coming year. (S1O-1376)
Scottish Homes plans to spend approximately £45 million in rural areas in 2000-01, an increase of more than 10 per cent on the current year's approved budget. That will allow Scottish Homes to build and improve more than 1,500 homes in rural Scotland. Scottish Homes will also provide a further £1 million for the rural partnership for change project, which we have just announced with Highland Council.
I thank the minister for her answer and welcome the extra spending. Is she aware that there is a shortage of rented housing in mid-Argyll, with waiting lists of up to 200 in a small rural community? Can Argyll and Bute expect to benefit from the extra spending? Also, can the minister give a guarantee that the Executive is responding to the concerns of rural communities, such as mid-Argyll, about the right to buy?
The new money that we have provided will allow an increase of 67 per cent in the number of units that will be built in Argyll and Clyde. We have asked Highland Council to consider how we can tackle issues such as land assembly and development costs, which have made it difficult for homes for rent to be built in some of our most pressurised remote rural areas in the past.
The minister will be aware that in rural Scotland, 43,000 homes are damp and 90,000 homes have condensation. Will she outline the targets and time scales that she has set to tackle those problems?
I am happy to outline plans to target dampness. Three programmes are under way. The warm deal is particularly geared towards private properties suffering from dampness. We expect that to deal with 100,000 homes during the next four years, of which about a quarter could be anticipated to be in rural areas. We are also announcing capital allocations, which should allow for a further 100,000 council homes to be improved over the period ahead. Finally, the new housing partnership programme is expected to tackle dampness in a further 100,000 homes in Scotland, some of them in rural areas.
Will the minister comment on the recently announced Highland rural housing pilot and how it relates to some of the concerns expressed in the January housing debate?
Highland Council has made powerful representations to us about the current exemption in remote rural areas, primarily designed for holiday homes, which it was felt was not effective in protecting social rented houses in those areas. We have therefore asked Highland Council to consider a more appropriate designation to protect the most remote rural areas.
Meat Safety
To ask the Scottish Executive whether Danish pigmeat, fed with meat and bone-meal, meets the same safety standards as that produced by the Scottish industry. (S1O-1383)
Under European single market rules, products from any member state that meet European Union standards of production can be dispatched freely to other member states. Danish pigmeat must meet those EU standards before it can be imported into Scotland.
Does the minister agree that, in the light of reports from Denmark that BSE has now been detected in the cattle herd, the only recommendation that members in this chamber should make is that people buy Scottish pigmeat, because it is the safest in the world?
I wholly agree. Even before the outbreak, we could have and should have been making that statement loud and clear. That is why the Executive has written to all public authorities to ask them to make that choice. The more members of the public who make that choice, the better for the pig industry.
Scottish Qualifications Authority (Meetings)
To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met officials from the Scottish Qualifications Authority and what issues were discussed. (S1O-1362)
I met the chairman and chief executive of the Scottish Qualifications Authority on 6 March to discuss priorities and objectives relating to the SQA's forward programme and the means of achieving them.
Has the Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning or any of his ministerial colleagues discussed higher still with the SQA? Has the SQA been made aware of the problems reported by parents, pupils and teachers about higher still in its first year of operation? They range from delays with materials to concerns about the operation of the internal assessment system.
I am grateful for that question on higher still. Implementation has gone much better than we expected. It is a major reform, and we obviously anticipated that there would be some difficulties.
There have been.
The SQA is keeping a watchful eye and is monitoring what is happening. The observations made by HM inspectorate of schools on progress are very satisfactory, but I can give Nicola Sturgeon the guarantee that, at the end of the year, we want to review what has happened. Higher still is, of course, a matter of vital importance to parents, children and teachers. The Government is determined to make progress in partnership, to ensure that the reforms are a success.
Question 6 is withdrawn.
Enterprise
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to promote enterprise and encourage innovation in the business and academic communities. (S1O-1393)
The Scottish Executive, together with the Department of Trade and Industry and the enterprise networks, have in place a range of schemes to promote enterprise and encourage innovation. They include a number of new initiatives to support small businesses and measures to encourage innovation through research and development, the commercialisation of research, technology transfer, the use of new technologies and the spread of best practice.
What steps have been taken to encourage academic innovation to be transformed into indigenous Scottish businesses?
We are doing a great deal of work on a number of fronts. It is encouraging that unemployment in Bristow Muldoon's constituency is now 4.7 per cent lower than the Scottish average. The key issue about the economy and about helping business is not just the creation of prosperity and wealth, but the provision of much-needed jobs.
In advance of next week's budget statement, what representations has the Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning made to the Chancellor of the Exchequer for fiscal measures to be taken to assist business investment, business development and, most important, business start-ups?
The Chancellor of the Exchequer—who is a Fife MP—has shown by example during his chancellorship that he is committed to the development of business, new technology and investing in every aspect of innovation and science. I have no doubt that next week's budget will reflect that.
National Health Service
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made in modernising the infrastructure of the NHS in Scotland. (S1O-1384)
The Scottish Executive is committed to developing an NHS that provides modern, high-quality services to the people of Scotland. That will be achieved through investment in new buildings, information and communications technology and other infrastructure, and by developing new patterns of service delivery and changes to working methods.
Can the minister advise me how that will assist in breaking down the barriers that were erected by competitive tendering and the internal market?
We must all recognise that, to achieve the change that we all want, we need changes and developments in buildings and systems, but we also need changes in ways of working. Those changes must be brought about through partnership in the NHS—partnership among staff, patients and the public. Many of the points that were made in today's debate point the way to a future when the NHS will be built on partnership—unlike the situation under the Tories—and when the public will be brought into the heart of the NHS in the way that services are designed and delivered.
Is the minister aware that the Tories, when they were in control, brought in a number of people from the Common Services Agency to work in the management executive in the Scottish Office? There are still more than 100 of them on loan to the management executive, working on different, short-term contracts. What is she going to do about that?
It would be inappropriate for me to comment in detail on the points raised by the member, but I am more than happy to provide him with a detailed written answer to the specific questions that he raises.
What progress is being made on the introduction of telemedicine throughout Scotland?
Telemedicine is potentially one of the most exciting areas of development in the NHS and will be of particular benefit to people living in rural areas. It gives us the potential to transform the way in which services are delivered in remote communities and allows us to deliver far more services in general practitioners' practices in communities where people would previously have had to travel to hospitals.
In the light of concerns expressed following the review of public health funding in Scotland, about the number of specialist professionals working in public health, has the Executive any plans to take action that would increase the number of staff working in public health?
I am very glad that Nora Radcliffe has raised the issue of public health. We spend much time in the chamber talking about what we spend on the NHS and what we do in hospitals. The real challenge for us, however, is to ensure that we prevent ill health in the first place and to ensure that fewer people are admitted to hospitals.
Roads (Rural Areas)
To ask the Scottish Executive whether properly maintained roads are essential to economic development in rural areas; whether there is any point at which it will deem the level and quality of road maintenance provided by local authorities in the South of Scotland to be unacceptable for economic development purposes, and, if so, what steps it would take to deal with such roads. (S1O-1385)
I fully recognise that an effective road network is an integral part of Scotland's economic development, particularly in rural areas. Although trunk roads are the responsibility of Scottish ministers, it is councils that have a statutory duty under section 1 of the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984, as local roads authorities, to manage and maintain all local roads in their areas.
Is the minister aware that councils in the south have consistently spent less than their grant-aided expenditure on roads, and that people in Dumfries and Galloway and South Lanarkshire are having to put up with roads that are littered with potholes and have severe surface deterioration?
It is important for local authorities to identify their priorities for spending on local roads. A survey is being carried out by the Society of Chief Officers of Transport of Scotland, which is examining that issue throughout all local authorities in Scotland. It is conducting a consultation exercise on the condition of local roads. I hope that that will provide information that can be taken up usefully by local authorities in identifying their own priorities.
Will the minister undertake to look into the maintenance problems of many old sandstone bridges that carry rural roads in the south of Scotland, including Tofts Barn bridge, near Lilliesleaf in my constituency? Will the Executive offer some help to local authorities that have a disproportionately large number of such structures in their care?
Following all our discussions on local authorities and finance, it is well accepted that there are certain formulae that identify the amount of money that goes to local authorities. The Scottish Parliament's priority—and mine as Minister for Transport and the Environment—is to work out how we maintain the structure of our key trunk roads and motorways. That must be my priority. The priority for local authorities is to set their own priorities.
In reviewing the survey that is to be undertaken, will the minister consider investigating the rise in insurance costs for local authorities following claims against potholed and defective roads? I hope that the minister recognises that, by robbing Peter to pay Paul—by allowing Jack McConnell to take money away from local authorities—costs are rising, inconvenience is growing, damage to vehicles is becoming more serious, and local authorities are having to pay the cost.
I would not accept that prescription. There has been a local authority settlement this year. The key task for everybody is to work out how to spend those resources wisely; that goes for roads and transport, as well as all the other local authority services for which local authorities are democratically accountable.
Will the minister indicate whether the review will take into account aspects of public safety? In my constituency, the issue of public safety on the roads is coming to a head. Perhaps the minister could feed that into the review, or consider another mechanism whereby we could address the issue of public safety on rural roads.
I am sure that that will be of great interest to the transportation officers as they look into the infrastructure of the local roads network. Safety is a key issue. Our national safety strategy for roads, which was announced last week, must apply throughout Scotland in tackling child accident rates and reducing the number of people who are killed on our roads.
Countryside Access
To ask the Scottish Executive what recent consultations it has had about the statutory right of access to the countryside, including access to water as well as to land. (S1O-1354)
Our proposals to legislate to introduce a statutory right of responsible access are based on advice that has been received from Scottish Natural Heritage. SNH's advice reflected the consensus that was reached in the access forum, an informal group representing all interests that are relevant to access.
As the Executive white paper promised a statutory right of access to both land and water—a commitment that is fully supported by the access forum and Scottish Natural Heritage—can we have an absolute assurance that the Scottish Executive will not give in to pressures from unrepresentative people who want to exclude access to water from the forthcoming bill? If there are any outstanding problems, will the Scottish Executive refer them to the access forum for further consideration?
Dennis Canavan can be assured that I am very keen to promote better public access to angling on rivers and lochs in Scotland, and I hope that that will be clear from the consultation document. However, access to water is more complicated than is pedestrian access to land. There are conflicting interests, not only between anglers and riparian owners but between different groups of anglers and between anglers and people with canoes and boats. It is a rather complex issue, which calls for further consideration. I hope that it will be considered as part of the consultation and that we will make progress on it.
Question 11 is withdrawn.
Coastal Bombing (Cape Wrath)
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with environmental bodies and the local community of Cape Wrath over the impact of the bombing of the coastal area by the navies of the United States, the Netherlands and Spain and what assessment it has carried out of any environmental damage caused. (S1O-1388)
Scottish Natural Heritage, the Scottish Executive's nature conservation adviser, is in regular communication with the local community, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the Ministry of Defence about the use of the range through the Cape Wrath management group. It is SNH's view that the use of the bombing range is compatible with the nature conservation interest in the area.
I thank the minister. She will be aware, of course, that the Ministry of Defence in London has invited several navies—from the US, Spain and Holland—to shell Cape Wrath, because in their own countries they cannot take such a risk. Is the minister aware that the US navy is using Scotland as target practice because it has been driven out of a Puerto Rican firing range after causing one death and devastating environmental damage by using 267 depleted uranium shells? Is the minister content that the MOD in London did not inform the Scottish Parliament before the US ships opened fire on Scottish soil and did the MOD—[Laughter.] Yes, they did. As Scots, we should be ashamed of that. Did the MOD inform the Scottish Executive, and did the minister give permission?
I had hoped that my first answer would reassure Dorothy-Grace Elder that consultation has taken place on the issue. There is monitoring of bird life—especially kittywakes—with a study every three years. We are able to monitor closely the local impact. The site is closed at certain times of the year, to make sure that there is no conflict with local environmental needs and tourist activity.
Will the minister say on which days she was consulted by the MOD on the action that took place at Cape Wrath?
My answer made it absolutely clear that SNH, as our nature conservation adviser, has been involved in consultation all along on the issue and has been in regular contact with the MOD. Clear chains of accountability have been put in place.
Scottish Consolidated Fund
To ask the Scottish Executive under what circumstances it would seek additional resources for the Scottish consolidated fund from Her Majesty's Government. (S1O-1367)
The statement on funding policy published by HM Treasury on 31 March 1999 sets out the circumstances in which it would be appropriate to seek additional resources for the Scottish consolidated fund from Her Majesty's Government. A copy is available in the Scottish Parliament information centre.
Given that last week the Labour leader of South Ayrshire Council decried the local government settlement for the next financial year as the worst in history, and that we read daily of financial crisis in the health service, does the minister agree with the Deputy First Minister's call on the Chancellor of the Exchequer to open his war chest and cancel the planned 1p cut in income tax, so that additional resources can be given to Scotland's hard-pressed public services?
We have had about eight debates or statements on local authority finance since this Parliament began. On not one of those occasions has Mr Gibson or any other representative of the Scottish National party promised any additional money for local government in Scotland. Mr Ewing, Mr MacAskill, Ms Sturgeon and everybody else spend the extra money, but Mr Gibson cannot promise a penny. [Members: "Answer the question."] The settlement to local authorities for next year increases funds in real terms and does so in a way that should improve education and other services. It is hypocrisy to condemn that settlement week after week in the chamber without promising another penny to local authorities.
Order. There is too much barracking during questions.
Does the minister agree that it is bizarre to hear the spokesman of the Scottish National party call on the UK Treasury to bail out a Scottish Parliament? Is it not time for the Parliament to stand on its own 258 feet, give up the begging-bowl mentality and use the tax-varying powers that it was given to raise its own revenues? That is what other Parliaments do.
The member makes a good point about taking on our responsibilities. As Mr McAllion is from Dundee, it is worth mentioning that two weeks ago Mr Gibson condemned council tax increases across Scotland, but last week the nationalist group on Dundee City Council proposed a higher council tax increase than that proposed by the Labour administration. Such hypocrisy, which can be found across Scotland, has to end.
In light of the enormous war chest of some £30 billion, which the UK Treasury has built up through EU budget rebates as a result of the excellent Fontainebleau agreement, will the Executive ask Gordon Brown for a few million pounds, so that EU money for Scotland's hard-pressed agriculture sector can be accessed?
As Mr McGrigor knows, the Executive is involved in such discussions, through the efforts of Mr Finnie. However, it is important, and right and proper, that the funding policy that we agreed should deliver the resources that are due to Scotland under the agreements. Mr McGrigor should welcome the fact that there is a budget surplus at UK level, unlike the national debt that existed when the Conservative Government was in office.
School Playing Fields
To ask the Scottish Executive how many state school playing fields have been sold for private development in the period 1990 to 1997 and since 1997. (S1O-1396)
The precise information that is sought on disposals by local authorities of school playing fields is not recorded centrally, but the Executive is not aware of any significant loss of school playing fields.
The main pressure on councils to sell off playing fields arises from the Executive's demand that they maximise the return from their redundant assets. Will the minister give an assurance that he will make it clear to councils that playing fields are not redundant assets, that he will agree to deals only if they involve a major improvement of local school playing field facilities, and that he will help councils to make the best possible use of facilities so that young people can have more sporting activity?
As I said, we have no evidence that there has been a significant loss of school playing fields. When new schools are built, new playing fields are provided—that is governed by regulations. There is an explosion of development of all-weather surfaces and so on across Scotland. Where it has been possible, we have issued planning guidance to local authorities to help guide decisions on developments on playing fields. To a certain extent, that addresses Mr Gorrie's point about the need to protect as many playing fields as possible.
Does the minister accept that for many local communities, playing fields attached to schools, which may be considered to be surplus, are often the only recreational facilities? In such cases, will the minister ensure that councils are encouraged to adhere to the guidelines in the national plan and guideline No 11?
Absolutely—I am happy to give that assurance. The guidance was issued specifically to protect communities in the situation to which Patricia Ferguson and others have referred. In addition, we ask sportscotland to take part in the planning process with the specific aim of ensuring that sports fields are protected for use in communities, because we regard them as an extremely valuable resource.
Public Health
To ask the Scottish Executive what will be the remit of the prevention and effectiveness unit to be established in the public health policy unit. (S1O-1397)
The broad remit of the prevention and effectiveness unit will be to support the Scottish Executive, the drug action teams and other key partners in the implementation of the prevention and effectiveness agenda as set out in the strategy document "Tackling Drugs in Scotland: Action in Partnership".
Can the minister give specific examples of what the unit will be responsible for?
The specific work programme for the unit will be drawn up in consultation with the Scottish Advisory Committee on Drug Misuse and other key partners in delivering the strategy. The key tasks of the unit are likely to include providing a central source of high-quality performance management information, developing robust evaluation to establish effectiveness, innovation and value for money, and—perhaps most important—acting as a clearing house for dissemination of evidence-based best practice and interventions.
Can the minister assure us that voluntary drug agencies and umbrella organisations such as the Scottish Drugs Forum will be fully consulted on and involved in the unit's work?
Every relevant agency in Scotland is represented, both through the feedback opportunities afforded by the local drug action teams—on which local drug forums are represented—and through the Scottish Advisory Committee on Drug Misuse. There are a number of different channels through which they can feed information back to the Executive and to the effectiveness and monitoring unit when it is up and operating in November this year.
General Teaching Council
To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received regarding its proposals to alter the structure and operation of the General Teaching Council. (S1O-1369)
Around 130 responses were received to a consultation paper that we issued last July on proposed changes in the composition and functions of the GTC for Scotland. Since our legislative proposals were published, the Executive has received around 10 representations relating to a number of aspects.
Does the minister accept that I have received representations from teachers in my constituency regarding the proposals? Does he believe that there is a need for the GTC to reflect the breadth and diversity of the Scottish teaching profession, rather than one particular group?
It is important that we continue to enhance the professional status of teachers. That is dependent on having a highly professional, highly representative, strong self-regulatory body—the General Teaching Council. For the council to gain public credibility and to be publicly accountable, it must represent not just the public but all aspects of the teaching profession. Our proposals and the changes that we are making are designed for that specific purpose—to ensure that the teacher representation on the GTC is not limited to one group, but extends to all teachers. I am happy to give the member that reassurance, and I hope that he will pass it on to his constituents.
Credit Unions
To ask the Scottish Executive what impact increased access to credit unions will have on communities that currently have no access to low-cost financial services. (S1O-1365)
Credit unions have been highly successful at extending low-cost financial services to their communities, particularly to those who are not well served by mainstream financial services providers. In addition, they promote self-help, develop skills and commitment in their volunteers and provide a channel for enterprise.
I am aware of successful credit unions, such as Tail O' the Bank, which has 3,000 members in my constituency and receives 20 new members every week. I am also aware of the Glasgow pilot project. What plans are there to expand that project into areas of Scotland where there is a high demand for low-cost financial services?
The health check programme, to which the member referred, was designed by Glasgow City Council, with contributions from the Royal Bank of Scotland, to provide development assistance for credit unions and to ensure that they increase their potential and are sustainable. A self-help toolkit will be developed and we intend to roll that out across Scotland.
I call Brian Monteith.
I have no further questions.
I did not think that Mr Monteith needed a credit union, but I thought that he had pressed his button.
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