Plenary, 18 Jun 2009

Meeting date: Thursday, June 18, 2009

Official Report 655KB pdf

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Question Time

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SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE

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General Questions

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Nuclear Material (Transportation)

To ask the Scottish Government what structures are in place to monitor the transportation of nuclear material in Scotland. (S3O-7463)

The transportation of irradiated or spent nuclear fuel is governed by internationally agreed standards that are recommended by the International Atomic Energy Agency and are in accordance with the Nuclear Industries Security Regulations 2003. Those regulations are administered and enforced by the office for civil nuclear security.

The concerns of constituents in my region about nuclear convoys passing up and down the M74 have been reinforced by the recent screening in Lanark of the documentary "Deadly Cargo". Does the minister share my disappointment that the Calman commission saw no need to devolve further powers over nuclear materials to the Scottish Parliament? Does he agree that, far from frustrating United Kingdom Government plans for nuclear power stations and a new generation of Trident, the Scottish Government's opposition to those plans represents the views of the overwhelming majority of those who live close to the M74 and of people across Scotland who want our country to be nuclear free?

We clearly share the view that Scotland and, indeed, the world would be a safer place without nuclear weapons. We of course seek to manage the risks associated with those weapons while they are here. It is disappointing that the Calman commission did not include discussion about the wider issue of independence, which would give us the powers to engage with the nuclear issue directly, but the member should be assured that we will do everything within our powers and work with others to protect the safety of people as long as we, of necessity, have the convoys on our roads.

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Sports Facilities

To ask the Scottish Executive how it is monitoring local authorities through single outcome agreements to ensure that they continue to commit to providing high-quality sports facilities, as detailed in "Reaching Higher", the national strategy for sport. (S3O-7404)

In reaching agreement with community planning partnerships on their single outcome agreements, the Scottish Government is pleased to note that 25 local authorities have identified sport and physical activity as a priority area in the latest round. I am confident that local authorities are developing a range of initiatives to meet local needs, including the provision and development of facilities. They will be developed further as we roll out our legacy plan for the 2014 Commonwealth games with the support of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and the Voice of Chief Officers of Cultural and Leisure Services in Scotland.

I thank the minister for her efforts in this field generally, but I draw her attention to what a BBC journalist recently reported about a sports facility:

"If you doubt my words take a trip to the dump that is Meadowbank velodrome. It is dilapidated, tumbledown and overgrown. … Ramshackle stands, tired changing facilities and grass untroubled by a lawnmower".

Dare I suggest that the City of Edinburgh Council is trying hard to meet the national strategy? Can the minister comment on how the council will manage to do that, when we know that cuts to local government expenditure are coming?

Sportscotland is engaged in visiting every local authority and discussing how each one can make the most of not just its current facilities but the opportunities to open them up through the community sports hubs initiative that will be a key part of the Commonwealth games legacy. Those discussions are going forward positively.

Margo MacDonald specifically mentioned Meadowbank. Clearly, the decision on its future is for the City of Edinburgh Council. Any support to be provided by the Government through sportscotland will depend on how the stadium fits into and supports the council's wider agenda for the development and provision of sport across the city. I am happy to write to Margo with any further detail, if she requires it, and to speak to her, while we continue the dialogue with the City of Edinburgh Council and the other local authorities that are striving hard to ensure that they make the most of 2014.

Is the minister aware of the situation at Glasgow Gaelic school, where pupils have to use the assembly hall and the canteen for gym facilities, and where only limited use can be made of the blaes pitch because of its poor condition? Although the parents body has put forward proposals that are backed by sportscotland, positive feedback from Glasgow City Council is still required. In the light of what the minister said to Margo MacDonald, will she facilitate similar dialogue with Glasgow City Council, with a view to it coming to a conclusion in the process?

Sportscotland is heavily engaged with Glasgow City Council. Given that the authority will host the 2014 Commonwealth games, it has a key role to play in ensuring that it makes the most of the opportunities that the event will bring for the city. I would be happy to bring Sandra White up to date on how those discussions are proceeding, but I can assure her that our ambition is to ensure, through the community sports hubs and the other measures that we are taking, that the legacy that the games leave to Scotland comprises not just improved facilities but improved participation and greater use of those facilities.

How can the Scottish Government ensure that new-build schools offer top-quality sports infrastructure that includes running tracks to encourage athletics?

That is made a lot easier by the £2 billion of investment that the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning has already committed. The additional £1.25 billion that she announced in yesterday's statement will help to rejuvenate not just the school estate in general but the sports facilities in schools.

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Antisocial Behaviour (Holiday Flats)

To ask the Scottish Executive how the "Promoting Positive Outcomes: Working Together to Prevent Antisocial Behaviour in Scotland" framework will contribute to resolving repeated instances of antisocial behaviour by users of holiday flats. (S3O-7423)

Antisocial behaviour should not be tolerated wherever it occurs, and our new framework will help local agencies to work together, in partnership with local communities and others, to respond in a proportionate, appropriate and timely fashion.

I recognise the efforts that Sarah Boyack and other members have made in raising the issue of holiday flats. In light of that, we are engaging with local agencies to establish the scale of the problem and the extent to which existing measures can deal with it. Once that exercise is complete, we will be well placed to consider what further action, if any, may be appropriate.

I welcome the fact that the minister is beginning to look at the issue. The focus is on addressing the causes of antisocial behaviour but, if antisocial behaviour by users of holiday flats is to be dealt with, effective enforcement of antisocial behaviour measures is required. Does the minister agree that it is difficult to identify who lets such flats, as section 83(6)(d) in part 8 of the Antisocial Behaviour etc (Scotland) Act 2004 exempts owners of holiday accommodation from having to register with the council? Will he use the powers under section 83(7) to amend the act to ensure that local authorities have the right range of tools to apply antisocial behaviour notices in such circumstances?

Those matters are under review. I am aware that there is an issue even in my constituency—I have had meetings about it in Lochend, as Sarah Boyack is aware. In addition to the Government's work, I have engaged with the City of Edinburgh Council on the issue, and it believes that the current antisocial behaviour legislation is adequate and appropriate. That said, we are reviewing other matters, such as houses in multiple occupancy. We must address the problem because it is clear that it represents a significant nuisance.

In my experience, people tend to know who the landlord is. The landlords of the properties in question are frequently absentee landlords. In Lochend, the factors knew that the landlord owned not just one but 40 premises in the locality. It is a question of ensuring the appropriate balance. We must engage with agencies and local authorities to ensure not only that we protect from harassment every weekend those citizens who rent or buy a flat but that we do not constrain people who seek to let property for tourism purposes, as that would damage our economy and many parts of rural Scotland.

We are investigating the issue. We accept that there is a problem and we will work with local authorities to ensure that they have the appropriate powers.

Can the cabinet secretary confirm that he is open-minded about modifying section 7 of the 2004 act so that antisocial behaviour notices can be enforced on landlords? In questions to and correspondence with the Scottish Government, I have so far been told that it has no intention of doing so. If there has been a shift in the Government's position, I very much welcome it.

From discussions at official level and with councils, it seems that section 7 is not necessarily the panacea that people seem to think that it is, because the short nature of the tenancies means that it is difficult for the legislation to be used effectively. We are happy to discuss the matter with members. We understand that antisocial behaviour notices have been served on landlords in only a few cases, and not at all in relation to holiday lets. It is not necessarily the case that section 7 offers a quick fix.

We recognise that there is a problem. We must keep the issue in proportion and recognise that holiday lets are important in many parts of Scotland, especially rural areas. Equally, we must ensure that people who are trying to get on with living their lives, who have to get up for work the next day and who want their kids to have a sound night in bed are not disturbed by party flats.

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Hospital Catering (Fruit and Vegetables)

To ask the Scottish Executive how many portions of fresh fruit and vegetables patients in hospitals operating a cook-chill system receive on a daily basis. (S3O-7430)

The cook-chill system of food delivery is only one method of delivering hot plated meals to patients, and it has no direct bearing on the number of portions of fruit and vegetables that patients receive while they are in hospital care.

The national dietary food standard of five portions of fresh fruit and vegetables per day is only one aspect of the nutritional standards that the Scottish Government has set for patients in hospital care.

I agree with the minister that the system of catering in a hospital should not influence the number of portions of fresh fruit and vegetables that patients receive but, unfortunately, it seems that it does have such an influence on the ground.

Regardless of the system that is in place in any particular hospital, can the minister advise what monitoring happens at ward level to ensure that the reality for patients who are unfortunately in hospital matches the aspiration that we would all have for them?

The national catering and nutrition specification advises:

"The menu must provide the opportunity for patients to choose at least five servings of fruit and vegetables across a day including as wide a variety as possible (can be included as snacks)."

The nutritional care of patients in hospital is a priority that is backed by £1.5 million of new investment, which covers the screening of patients, the introduction of the nutrition specification, to which I have just referred, and the provision of nutrition leaders in national health service boards to ensure that nutrition is a priority.

As far as monitoring is concerned, senior charge nurses play an important role in ensuring that patients are given the care and support that they require, and protected meal times ensure that patients' meals are not interrupted. I hope that the member agrees that the present position is far better than it used to be.

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Cycling (2020 Target)

To ask the Scottish Executive what investment it will make in the current financial year towards achieving the target of having 10 per cent of all journeys made by bicycle by 2020. (S3O-7409)

The 10 per cent target in the "Cycling Action Plan for Scotland" is proposed as part of the consultation process. Scottish Government investment in cycling this year will be in the region of £18 million. If they wish, local authorities can add to that total from their own budgets.

European-style targets deserve European levels of funding. According to recent research by Spokes, funding for cycling has fallen even further behind since the Scottish National Party took over. Is the minister prepared to act on the suggestion, which Spokes made in its recent letter to John Swinney, that an additional allocation of £5 million, funded from underspends, should be made to Sustrans in the current financial year? Is the minister serious about achieving the 2020 target, or is that another slice of pie in the sky from the SNP?

I was happy to support bike week yesterday, and I am sure that other members will wish to do likewise. The support that the Government has given to cycling, through local authority funding, which is increasing and which now represents a greater share of Government spending than previously, and through direct subventions, is contributing to a significant increase in the proportion of journeys that are made by cycle. For example, in Moray 8 per cent of children cycle to school, which is eight times the national average. We know that we can achieve significant improvements within the existing spending framework. I hope that other council areas will tak tent of what has been achieved in Moray and follow its lead.

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Local Government Concordat <br />(Progress Reports)

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish regular progress reports on the implementation of the specified set of commitments contained in the concordat agreed between the Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities. (S3O-7396)

Information from the Scottish Government and local authorities on progress on each concordat commitment is already in the public domain. We have no plans to produce further reports beyond what is already available.

The cabinet secretary has confirmed that no formal, comprehensive and all-embracing reporting mechanism exists to monitor progress on the specified set of commitments, which are reviewed at private meetings between COSLA and ministers for which no minutes, agendas or background papers to inform discussions are published.

A glaring gap exists in the accountability for and public scrutiny of key commitments that cover major policy issues, such as class size reductions. If the cabinet secretary and COSLA have no intention of publishing an annual progress report, would he welcome an annual progress report from the Accounts Commission and Audit Scotland, pursuant to their annual audits of Scotland's 32 councils?

I fear that Mr McLetchie did not listen to my answer, in which I said that information from the Scottish Government and local authorities on progress on each concordat commitment is already in the public domain. Mr McLetchie suggests that the Accounts Commission and Audit Scotland might consider the point. As he well knows, that is a matter for them. I do not intend—and it would be inappropriate for me—to invite them to undertake such work.

I am genuinely surprised that Mr McLetchie, who is such a champion of efficient government, wants the Government to duplicate effort by publishing information—all ring-bound and possibly in a glossy document—when all the information is available, if only he could join it all together.

I fear that the cabinet secretary worries about the accountability of his Government. The Scottish National Party manifesto commitments totalled £500 million; he gave local government £87 million. That is why he does not want clarity about such matters. Is it not the case that the Parliament and the public deserve a better insight into the fudge that exists at the heart of the concordat?

I was surprised that Mr McLetchie did not listen, because he normally pays attention, but Mr Kerr never pays attention to what is going on. If Mr Kerr had listened carefully to me, he would understand that the information on progress on each concordat commitment is already in the public domain.

No, it is not.

I encourage Mr Kerr to work just a little bit harder to get that information at his ready disposal—[Interruption.]

Order.

That would allow him to understand the full progress that has been made.

Of course, if Mr McLetchie had continued his question, he would generously have acknowledged that the Government has delivered a substantial number of commitments in the concordat even after just two years in office, such as the reduction in small business rates, which Mr Kerr voted against when it was in our first budget, and the council tax freeze, which Mr Kerr also voted against when it was in our first budget—actually, he did not manage to vote against it—

He abstained.

Mr Kerr abstained—I thank the First Minister for correcting me.

Let us remember that, even just two years into the Government's term, significant parts of the concordat have been delivered.

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Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will announce the findings of the public local inquiry into the Aberdeen western peripheral route before the summer recess. (S3O-7413)

When the report is available from the reporters in the summer, it may contain findings and recommendations. We remain confident that the first traffic will travel on the Aberdeen western peripheral route in 2012, as previously announced.

The Scottish Government has said that it will bring the Aberdeen western peripheral route back to Parliament for a final decision. We now know that that cannot happen until September at the earliest. The minister said that travel on the route would begin by 2012. Does he still believe that that will happen? More important, how will he fund the route?

The relevant Scottish statutory instrument will come in the earliest possible order and will of course be dealt with under the proper parliamentary processes.

As I have told the member before, we will fund the route with money.

That concludes general questions. Before we come to our next item of business, I am sure that members will wish to join me in welcoming to the gallery the ambassador to the United Kingdom from the Netherlands, His Excellency Mr Pim Waldeck. Your Excellency, you are most welcome. [Applause.]