General Questions
A few seconds early, we come to the next item of business, which is general question time.
Single Farm Payments (Deer Farmers)
Mr McGrigor will be aware from the correspondence that he and I have shared of all the arguments surrounding deer farmers and the single farm payment scheme. I regret that they do not have automatic access to the scheme and, furthermore, I am sorry that there is nothing that can be done under the existing direct payment regulations to change the position.
I thank the cabinet secretary for that assurance, as this situation has been going on for a long time.
I assure the member that we have considered the issue carefully. He will be aware that single farm payment entitlements are based on subsidies that were received during the 2000 to 2002 reference period and that Scottish deer farmers, along with many other unsupported sectors, do not receive single farm payments under our historic system of payments. That was not signed up to by this Administration; it was, of course, signed up to by previous Administrations.
Local Authorities (Private Sector Solicitors)
I have had no such discussions with local authorities.
I thank the cabinet secretary for that interesting reply. Does that mean that he is unaware that, apparently, the City of Edinburgh Council now spends more on external legal advice than any other Scottish council and that, last year, it spent £2.3 million—a staggering two thirds more than it spent two years before—on such private legal advice?
I am surprised at the hostility of a member of the Conservative party to private enterprise.
Benefits Review
The Scottish Government welcomes some aspects of the coalition Government’s proposals for welfare reform, such as the simplification of an overly bureaucratic system under the universal credit and the strong links to localism.
Of recipients of incapacity benefits in Scotland, 45.2 per cent qualify because they suffer from mental health problems. They will all be reassessed in 2014 under the work capability assessment to decide whether they qualify for the new employment and support allowance.
The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing and I, as well as other members of the Government, have been in touch with Iain Duncan Smith, Lord Freud, Maria Miller and Chris Grayling at the Department for Work and Pensions to make two points. First, we have not been consulted on any of the benefit changes before they have been made and, secondly, we specifically believe that many of the proposed reforms will be extremely damaging, including for people with mental health problems. I am happy to take up yet again with those ministers—as we are doing—our very real concerns about the damage that the reforms are doing.
What discussions have ministers had with local authorities about the implications of the decision to close the independent living fund, given that many local authorities—including Glasgow—lever in ILF moneys to support people with disabilities to live independently?
We have been heavily involved with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities in making joint representations to the UK Government. The most recent meeting that I attended was a joint meeting between Chris Grayling, Keith Brown, who was then the Minister for Schools and Skills, and Councillor Harry McGuigan, COSLA’s spokesperson for wellbeing and related matters.
Post-probationary Teachers (Employment)
The employment of teachers is a matter for local authorities. However, the budget agreement that we have secured with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities will ensure, among other things, that there will be sufficient posts for all those who leave the induction scheme in June 2011 to apply for. Of course, no one is guaranteed a job and the posts will be available through open and fair competition to all teachers who are seeking employment.
Last week my colleague Peter Peacock asked why the Scottish National Party never argued prior to coming to power that there was an oversupply of teachers and yet is doing so now. In response, the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning spent a few minutes indulging in rhetorical verbiage—as is his wont—but did not actually answer the question.
I was in fact quoting Jackie Baillie on the issue of smoke and mirrors, as I think I made clear at the time. I had hoped that Michael McMahon was focused on the very real issue of teacher unemployment and how we resolve that issue. That is what I have been focused and working on. I am sorry that Mr McMahon does not share my concern and that he simply wants to score his usual cheap political points.
Edinburgh Royal Hospital for Sick Children
The Government is fully committed to delivery of the Royal hospital for sick children. The substantial cut in our capital budget means that we have taken the decision that it should now be financed on a revenue funding non-profit-distributing basis. With support through the Scottish Futures Trust, NHS Lothian will take forward the project as quickly as possible.
The cabinet secretary will know of widespread concern in Edinburgh that the new sick children’s hospital will not receive the direct Scottish Government funding that the sick children’s hospital in Glasgow and the Southern general in Glasgow have received. However, will she guarantee that there will be no undue delay in building the hospital and that the Scottish Government will provide on-going revenue support to meet the annual charges arising from a privately funded hospital, especially given that NHS Lothian already receives £69 million less than it should receive according to the distribution formula?
I thank Malcolm Chisholm for the close interest that he continues to take in the issue.
Fuel Poverty
The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring, as far as reasonably practicable, that by November 2016 people are not living in fuel poverty in Scotland. The three principal factors contributing to fuel poverty are fuel prices, incomes and the energy efficiency of housing. We are providing support to tackle fuel poverty through the energy assistance package and the home insulation scheme. However, the major challenges to meeting the target are household incomes and rising fuel prices, over which we have no control—yet.
I think I asked the minister whether we were on target. I am not sure that I got an answer.
If I may say so, anyone on the Conservative benches has a cheek to complain about the situation, given the savage cuts being imposed on the Scottish Government by the coalition Government in London. Cuts were also imposed by the previous Labour Administration in London.
Rising fuel prices and benefit cuts are indeed two aspects of fuel poverty. However, does the minister agree that, in order to target fuel poverty, we need additional insulation measures and reduced tariffs for those in such poverty? In that respect, is he aware that the New Policy Institute report on behalf of the Energy Retail Association’s home heat helpline has concluded that 400,000 households in Scotland could benefit from energy companies by up to £260, but uptake of that scheme is only 12 per cent? Does the minister agree that every member in the chamber and the energy companies themselves must do more to promote the scheme and, indeed, support the Scottish Government’s excellent energy assistance package?
I agree with every word of Bob Doris’s question. In addition, I remind the chamber of two facts: first, 60 per cent of the fuel price for consumers is determined by the wholesale price; and, secondly, since September, fuel prices have gone up by something like 38 per cent. That is why we welcome the rather overdue inquiry by the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets into retail energy prices. I hope that when that report is published, we will see some action from the coalition Government.
Given that bulk buying presents a real opportunity for getting hold of heating oil at the cheapest possible price, what consideration has the Scottish Government given to using public agencies to bulk buy heating oil at a discount on behalf of the most needy households in Scotland, as a means of achieving an end to fuel poverty?
We are open to all suggestions but I point out that the practicalities of bulk buying for such a diverse community make such a move very difficult. Nevertheless, we are having on-going negotiations on such matters. Indeed, I chair the carbon emission reduction target strategy steering group, which includes the energy companies, and with regard to fuel poverty we are looking at every possible way of relieving the pressure on our most vulnerable citizens.
Energy Assistance Package
Since its start, the energy assistance package has provided energy savings advice to more then 134,000 households. The categories of people who are able to access help who did not benefit under the central heating programme, such as families on low incomes, have been widened. We are making Scotland’s homes more sustainable and are able to reach all parts of Scotland with solutions suited to the local environment. Moreover, at a time when the private sector is facing difficulties, we are creating jobs—for example, the new contract with Scottish Gas will support more than 370 jobs throughout Scotland—and providing opportunities to grow the green economy.
I thank the minister for his reply and will study his figures very carefully.
The decisions to cut budgets were originally made by Alistair Darling and Gordon Brown, and the situation has been exacerbated by the Liberal Democrat and Tory coalition. [Interruption.]
Order.
It is a bit cheeky, to say the least, for anyone on any of the unionist benches to complain about budget cuts. We are doing everything we possibly can to help the most vulnerable members of our community—and we should bear in mind that, under Labour, poverty in the United Kingdom got worse, not better.
Is the minister able to report on Scottish Gas’s progress in clearing the backlog of work in installing central heating systems? [Interruption.]
Order. Can we have a bit less silence—[Laughter.] I mean, a bit more silence, please.
Myself excluded, Presiding Officer.
We are making substantial progress throughout Scotland, including in the Western Isles, and we have dramatically reduced the turnaround time from what it was under the old central heating programme to under three months under the energy assistance programme. I believe that we will reach a substantial installation figure by the end of the financial year. Of course, demand is rising because of the inclement weather, which is probably the best advert for the line whose number I quoted. In the first week of the inclement weather, the number of calls throughout Scotland totalled more than 7,000, which directly resulted in 1,600 families being helped that week through the home energy hotline.
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