General Questions
Carers Strategy
We are developing the carers and young carers strategy in partnership with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and working closely with carers organisations, health boards and other organisations. Subject to agreement with COSLA, the strategy will set out our joint vision for Scotland’s carers, the outcomes that we collectively wish to achieve and a wide range of action points that are intended to work towards those outcomes and that vision.
I welcome the fact that we will have a carers strategy in the near future. I welcome the carers who are joining us in Parliament today during carers week and pay tribute to the fantastic support that they give to their families. Without them, the financial cost to the public purse would be billions. Given the economic context that the minister talked about, will she remind local authorities of their duty to support carers and consult them fully when cuts are proposed? The concordat is not working for carers, particularly older carers. Will she commit to ensuring that local authorities use equality impact assessments to ensure that carers do not lose out disproportionately in budget decisions? I am sure that I do not need to remind her of the problems that we had in Edinburgh recently with the care tendering process, which thankfully was abandoned.
I join Sarah Boyack in welcoming carers to the Parliament. I acknowledge the hard work and efforts of unpaid carers day in, day out. I meet them regularly. I pay tribute to the hard work of their representative organisations, which have worked incredibly hard to develop the carers and young carers strategy, which will be published soon.
Does the minister agree that it is time to review the carers allowance, which, under the previous Labour Government, remained low at £53.10 a week? Does she agree that that is not a very generous reward for carers who look after family members and loved ones, thereby saving the taxpayer millions of pounds a year?
I agree. On behalf of carers organisations that wished us to do so, we made several representations to the previous United Kingdom Government on the carers allowance. Those representations were not only on the level of the allowance but on the unfairness in the rules about those who have reached 65. We will continue to make those representations to the new coalition Government on behalf of carers and carers organisations in Scotland.
I am concerned about the situation of informal kinship carers, who are usually grandparents who have essentially rescued their grandchildren from the care of drug-addicted parents and are often left literally holding the baby, with little or no support and no financial help. Does the minister have any plans to ease the plight of that group of carers?
We recognise and value the extremely important support that kinship carers give children in Scotland. A lot of work has been done to support kinship carers. However, I am sure that the member is aware that there have been some issues to do with benefits. We want to continue to have discussions on those issues with the new coalition Government.
The Government has said that the consequentials of any increase in expenditure on health in England and Wales will be relayed to Scotland, too. Does that apply to any increase in investment in respite for carers in England and Wales, especially for young people, to which the UK Government has said that it is committed? Will those consequentials come to Scotland, too?
We are aware of the announcement of £20 million from 2011 on, to which I assume the member refers. Of course, we will discuss those matters as part of the spending review, which is about to begin.
Adaptations and Home Care Packages (Children)
Children with life-threatening and life-limiting conditions are supported in various ways by local authorities and the national health service. Local authorities have a duty to provide a range of services for disabled children to help the child to lead as normal a life as possible. The Scottish Government published new guidance on the provision of equipment and adaptations in December 2009 to assist local authorities and their NHS partners in promoting a consistent approach to the assessment for, and provision of, equipment and adaptations.
The minister will be aware that I have a constituent with twin daughters, one of whom requires 24-hour palliative care, who has experienced considerable difficulties in accessing the care packages that she requires and in working between local government and central Government responsibilities for aids and adaptations. Her case highlights gaps in the system, and I would certainly welcome an opportunity to discuss with the minister the circumstances and what help can be given to that family and other families in similar circumstances.
I would certainly be happy to discuss that with Des McNulty. I understand that the director of social work was in contact with the family concerned about two weeks ago and that the visit is being followed up. I also understand that Des McNulty will meet the leader of West Dunbartonshire Council, Councillor Ronnie McColl, in just over a week’s time. Councillor McColl has informed me that he will be happy to give him an update at that meeting.
Business Rates Transitional Relief Scheme
Around 60 per cent of ratepayers in both Scotland and England are better or no worse off after the recent revaluation. For those ratepayers, the average annual saving in Scotland, before appeals and reliefs reduce bills further, is more than £1,300 per property. In England, with a transitional relief scheme, the average saving for the same group is only £770. In addition, relief schemes in Scotland, notably the small business bonus scheme, are significantly more generous than in England. I therefore see no competitive disadvantage for businesses in Scotland.
Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce says that every organisation in the region, large and small, will be paying on average £1,580 more than last year. The region faces an increased rates bill of £30 million per year. More than half the organisations in the region—private, public and third sector—will be paying increases that would have qualified for transitional relief in the past.
That was a rather illuminating contribution from Alison McInnes, as she referred to small business rates relief as a “red herring”. If it is now a Liberal Democrat policy that small business rates relief and the Government’s small business bonus scheme are a “red herring”, we look forward to communicating to every small business in the country the fact that the Liberal Democrats are against the small business relief that the Government has put in place for the past three years.
There seems to be a growing tendency for questions and answers to be taking on all the characteristics of speeches. I want members to speed up the process a bit please.
Does the cabinet secretary think that it is good enough just to say to those who are facing increases of 100, 200 or 300 per cent in their rates that they should appeal?
If Mr Whitton is going to complete his proposition, he should also be prepared to go to the companies that have made significant savings, to which the independent evaluation process has indicated that they are entitled, and tell them that he wants to put their business rates up.
Question 4 was not lodged.
International Flights (Costs)
The cost of international flights from Glasgow compared with the cost of such flights from London is driven by a combination of competitive pressure and demand.
The minister might be aware of the research that I undertook recently, which showed that a family of four flying from Glasgow to Florida this summer will pay £1,000 more than a family flying from London, despite the fact that the return flight from London takes an hour longer than the Glasgow flight. The travel companies have stated that the reason for the extra cost from Glasgow is the greater loads per plane that travel from London compared to from Glasgow. Does he agree that, if it were £1,000 cheaper to fly from Glasgow than from London, the load figures would be the exact opposite of what they are now and that perhaps the fact that it is £1,000 cheaper to fly from London skews the load figures and causes Scottish families to travel to London to get their holiday flight?
The member makes a range of interesting and valid points. I have recently met the managing director of Glasgow airport and I assure the member and others that she is working hard to gain additional services and is using pricing as part of the mechanism for doing that. I have also met business interests that are looking to develop a Scotland-based airline. One of the key issues is that airlines find it easier to provide cheap, cost-effective services from their home base. We are at a significant disadvantage in that regard. We will continue to work with the interests that are working to deliver an airline for Scotland.
Does the minister agree that one way in which Mr Maxwell’s concerns could be assuaged would be through the development of additional direct international flights serving Scottish airports, which could be achieved by reinstating an amended version of the air route development fund? That has long been sought by Labour and is supported in the Confederation of British Industry Scotland manifesto, which was published this week.
The member will be aware of the rules governing the use of air route development funding. We cannot support routes to catchment areas of more than 5 million. However, the European Union is reconsidering the rules and we are optimistic that the controlling regime will enable the reintroduction of a scheme of some kind to support airlines. That is something that we will watch and respond to.
Renewables (North-east Scotland)
There has been significant investment in renewable energy and support for infrastructure in the north-east since May 2007. Over the period, ministers have approved more than 300MW of renewables capacity in the north-east, which we estimate will have attracted private sector investment of the order of £300 million. Government support for renewables includes the establishment of the Scottish European Green Energy Centre in Aberdeen in 2009, which has already supported successful bids to the European economic recovery programme with a total value of more than £100 million. In addition, significant support has been provided by our enterprise agencies for both projects and infrastructure development. Those levels of investment reflect the huge opportunities in the north-east and the Government’s commitment to delivering on them.
I am sure that the minister will agree that those are encouraging levels of investment. Nevertheless, if Scotland is to achieve its renewable energy potential, more will be needed. Does he believe that gaining access to Scotland’s fossil fuel levy to encourage further investment in renewables is vital for the renewables industry in the north-east and throughout Scotland? Does he believe that the refusal of the previous Labour United Kingdom Government to consider allowing that was indefensible?
I welcome the new UK Government’s commitment to review the arrangements for Scotland’s fossil fuel levy. That is a long-overdue step in the right direction. We are working with the UK Government to ensure that the funds are released as soon as possible in addition to the Scottish budget. The fossil fuel levy surplus could support the further development of the renewables sector in a way that would maximise its strategic long-term benefit to all Scotland. There is no doubt that the north-east will play a leading role in Scotland’s renewable energy future. As to whether the previous Government’s position was indefensible, I believe that it was perverse and potentially damaging.
United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
The Scottish Government welcomes the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Our approach to implementing the convention in Scotland complements our existing work to promote disability equality and independent living for disabled people. We are working with disabled people, the Equality and Human Rights Commission and the Scottish Human Rights Commission to raise awareness of the convention among disabled people in Scotland and to ensure that the work that we are doing to uphold the human rights of disabled people in Scotland is adequately reflected in the United Kingdom’s report to the UN. Disabled people and other interested parties will have an opportunity to comment on the UK’s draft report early in 2011.
I thank the minister for that very helpful reply. It has been a whole year since the convention was ratified by the UK and progress everywhere seems to be slow. I assume that we can be assured that the Government is making every effort to implement the convention. Does it intend to offer a disability impact assessment on each piece of legislation that it introduces in the future to help to meet the general obligations under article 4 of the convention?
We recognise the importance of considering the implications of equality in the development of Scottish Government legislation and will continue to do so. The Scottish Parliament’s procedures require Scottish Government bills to be accompanied by a policy memorandum that must include an assessment of any effects of the bill on equal opportunities.
In respect of services that are delivered at local authority level, can the minister confirm the importance that is given to equality impact assessments in single outcome agreements to ensure that people with disabilities have the entitlements and the services that they need?
As I have said in Parliament on a number of occasions, we will continue to work with local authorities to ensure that we get the best outcomes for services for people with disabilities. That is why we are undertaking work on self-directed support through the strategy and the proposed bill. I hope that Johann Lamont will give her support to that.
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