Foster Care
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Fostering Network Scotland’s survey that found children to be moving too many times while in care. (S4O-04478)
The Scottish Government recognises the need for all children and young people, including those who are in care, to live in a safe, secure, permanent and nurturing home. Regrettably, too many children and young people in care experience drift and delay, which leads to multiple placements. The Scottish Government is working with the centre for excellence for looked after children in Scotland—CELCIS—to deliver our permanence and care excellence programme, which brings together partners, including local authorities, children’s hearings, health, education and the courts to look at how they can improve systems and practice to deliver permanence more quickly for looked-after children and young people.
The minister will be aware that the Fostering Network Scotland’s recently published survey showed that approximately 8 per cent of the children surveyed were with their 10th family since going into care. What support is available to foster carers to ensure that children in care receive the stability that they require?
The Scottish Government is committed to supporting foster carers. In response to a recommendation from the national review of foster care, we are producing a learning and development framework that will provide foster carers with a mechanism to ensure that they are fully equipped for the role. We are also providing funding of £280,363 in each year from 2014 to 2016 through the third sector early intervention fund to support the work of the Fostering Network Scotland, which provides the fosterline support helpline and a range of other support services to all foster carers. [Fiona McLeod has corrected this contribution. See end of report.]
The minister will recall my members’ business debate on Midlothian kinship carers. Although I applaud the commitment of foster carers, given that kinship care often provides the stability that fostering might not what measures is the Scottish Government taking to provide support to the large and increasing number of kinship carers?
Ms Grahame will recall that, during that debate, I talked about the Scottish Government’s commitment to supporting kinship carers. That is why we have legislated for the first time through the Looked After Children (Scotland) Regulations 2009 and the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 to recognise and support kinship carers of looked-after and non-looked-after children.
We also recognise that more can be done to support kinship carers and those who are in care, and that there is a need for greater fairness in the provision of allowances. We are currently reviewing the financial support that is available to kinship carers with a view to tailoring support and tackling inconsistencies across Scotland.
Adults with Cerebral Palsy (Care Services)
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve care services for adults with cerebral palsy. (S4O-04479)
Access to care services for adults who have cerebral palsy is based on an individual assessment of need. Care services fall within core local authority social work service functions and are generally supported by the Scottish Government. Physiotherapy services can also offer assessment and advice, which might be followed by treatment and/or equipment provision. It is for national health service boards to determine the level of service that they provide, based on local priorities and need. Personalised and integrated services for adults who have cerebral palsy will be strengthened further with the implementation of the Social Care (Self-directed Support) (Scotland) Act 2013 and the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act 2014.
It is the experience of some of my constituents who are young adults who have cerebral palsy that, although services for those who are under 18 can be very good, once they reach the age of majority services for adults are patchy at best. Does the minister not think that there is a need for a more joined-up approach for those who are 18 and above and who have made that transition only to find that the services that they enjoyed while they were children are not there for them when they are adults?
Murdo Fraser will be aware of Bobath Scotland and its chief executive, Stephanie Fraser, who has raised some of the issues with me; I have corresponded with her directly.
I go back to my initial answer, which was that it is for each NHS board to deliver services locally. Cerebral palsy always presents differently in each individual and other conditions can manifest. It is important that each person’s clinical pathway should take a person-centred approach to their individual needs. That is as important for adults as it is for children.
If Mr Fraser wants to correspond with me directly and raise any specific concerns, I will be happy to get back to him.
Homelessness (Glasgow)
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the number of people who are homeless in Glasgow. (S4O-04480)
During 2013-14, there were 4,974 homeless or threatened with homelessness assessments in Glasgow. That is a 16 per cent reduction on the 5,921 homeless or threatened with homelessness assessments during 2012-13. The next homelessness statistics, which will cover 2014-15, will be published at 9.30 am on 30 June 2015. They will be able to be accessed on the Scottish Government website.
Much as I am delighted to hear about the drop in the homeless figures, they are clearly far too high.
The minister will be aware of the on-going dispute between the homelessness caseworkers in Glasgow City Council, which has led to those important staff members being on strike for the past 12 weeks. There have also been claims by a Glasgow Labour councillor that the fault for non-referrals to housing associations lay with the housing associations, which is a claim that they have vigorously denied and condemned. Does the minister agree that it is time for Glasgow City Council to be less intransigent with the striking workers for the homeless, to be less strident in its tone with housing associations and to work together with them to put in place a plan to ensure that vulnerable homeless people across Glasgow get the support and help that they need and desire?
As was indicated last week in response to a parliamentary question, the dispute in Glasgow is a matter for the council and its employees. I very much hope that the dispute will soon be brought to a satisfactory conclusion.
It is vital to ensure that homeless people receive the service that they need. Indeed, it is a statutory council duty. Housing associations and the council should work together to look at the housing options approach and provide the best services for homeless people in Glasgow.
Scottish Budget (Reduction)
To ask the Scottish Government what the impact will be on jobs, investment and services of the additional £107 million reduction in the Scottish budget recently announced by the chancellor. (S4O-04481)
The chancellor’s decision to cut the budget agreed by this Parliament is utterly unacceptable and falls a long way short of the Prime Minister’s promise to govern with respect.
I took the opportunity when I met the chancellor on 8 June to set out an alternative to the United Kingdom Government’s austerity programme that would allow us to invest in our public services while ensuring the sustainability of the public finances. We will see whether the chancellor has heeded my advice in his 8 July emergency budget, and we will reflect on the £107 million reduction in light of that announcement. In the meantime, I assure the member that I will strive to minimise the impact of the UK Government’s austerity agenda on jobs, investment and services in Scotland.
Does the First Minister agree that, as long as this Parliament remains at the mercy of budgetary decisions that are taken elsewhere, jobs, services and the communities that rely on them will be at the whim of a chancellor that Scotland did not elect? The sooner Scotland has the full range of powers to make its own decisions to raise and spend its resources, the sooner it can become a fairer and more prosperous country.
I agree with Mr Gibson’s point. Clearly, the Scottish Government’s ability to intervene and address some of the challenging issues that we face as a country is limited by the powers that we have. We use those powers to the full in every respect, but there are other measures that we would want to take but cannot because of the limitations of devolution.
There is also the added factor, which Mr Gibson highlights in his question, of in-year budget reductions that the chancellor applies after we have set our budget. That raises unwelcome implications for the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament that we must deal with.
I thank the Deputy First Minister for taking a robust line with the chancellor in opposing these counterproductive cuts and also for trying to persuade him that they are not required by the charter for budget responsibility. At what point did the Deputy First Minister realise that all that he had said during the election campaign about the charter for budget responsibility requiring £30 billion-worth of cuts was a load of rubbish?
The issue for Malcolm Chisholm is that his colleagues in the House of Commons trooped through the lobbies with the Conservatives to vote for the charter for budget responsibility, which involved a reduction in public spending of £30 billion over a two-year period. That was what the Labour Party supported.
The issue with the chancellor is that he is going even further and is trying to reduce public expenditure beyond what was set out in the charter for budget responsibility. That is the issue that I have raised in my submission.
I would have thought that the Labour Party, having pursued an ineffective strategy in the United Kingdom general election, would be trying to do what Malcolm Chisholm started off doing in his question—before he, regrettably, deviated from his original thrust—which is to stand shoulder to shoulder with this Government in resisting austerity.
Can the Deputy First Minister give me a guarantee that, when he announces the figures later this week, or next week, the underspend for last year will be a figure that is less than £107 million? If not, many of his remarks today are going to look a bit silly.
Mr Johnstone will not have to wait until next week. I would have thought that such an informed commentator as Mr Johnstone would know that the statement about the provisional outturn will take place this afternoon. If Mr Johnstone has sufficiently woken up for the parliamentary business, he will be able to interrogate me on that question in just a few hours’ time.
Question 5, in the name of Iain Gray, has been withdrawn for understandable reasons—he has his questions a wee bit later on.
Commission on Local Tax Reform
To ask the Scottish Government when the commission on local tax reform last met and what matters were discussed. (S4O-04483)
The commission on local tax reform is an independent commission that I jointly convene as the Scottish Government nominee, alongside David O’Neill, the president of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities.
The commission last met on 9 June—its seventh full meeting—when we heard the preliminary findings of commissioned research on international examples of local tax reforms. The commission also held a public round-table meeting on 15 June, with representatives of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy; the Institute of Revenues, Rating and Valuation; the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers; the Scottish Assessors Association; and the Improvement Service, to take oral evidence. That was the fifth of 10 such evidence sessions.
The commission remains on schedule to report in the autumn.
Given that the research by Professor David Bell and David Eiser of the University of Stirling that was reported in today’s Herald shows that the income gap between rich and poor has widened since 1997, to what extent has the commission considered international evidence not only on local taxation but on wealth distribution? Will the minister give an assurance that, in bringing forward proposals to replace the council tax, the principles of fairness, progressive taxation and ability to pay will be at the heart of the proposals?
The commission’s remit states that we are to
“identify and examine alternatives that would deliver a fairer system of local taxation”.
The first consideration that is listed is
“The impacts on individuals, households and inequalities in income and wealth”.
I would encourage any member to promote the five-minute survey at localtaxcommission.scot in order to enable us to get a better understanding of public priorities around that. No technical knowledge is required, and I would welcome the contribution of the member and all other members to that.
Forestry Commission Scotland (Land Transactions)
To ask the Scottish Government how much land and forest has been bought and sold by Forestry Commission Scotland since 2010 and at what cost. (S4O-04484)
Forestry Commission Scotland buys and sells land as part of its repositioning programme. That involves selling parts of the national forest estate that deliver few public benefits and investing the proceeds in new land and forests that deliver more for the people of Scotland.
Since 2010, Forestry Commission Scotland has bought 11,514 hectares at a cost of £39,646,541 and has sold 25,109 hectares totalling £58,150,784. The balance of the money is used to invest in the properties that have been bought—for example, by establishing starter farms or planting new woodlands.
Further details of all land that has been bought and sold by Forestry Commission Scotland since 1999 are available on the Forestry Commission Scotland website.
I have constituents who are concerned about the transfer and sale of land. At what size, in terms of acreage, can Forestry Commission Scotland sell a plot of land without consulting the local community?
There is no specific limit on the area of land or woodland that Forestry Commission Scotland can sell without community involvement and consultation. However, I assure Rob Gibson that the majority of sales that are carried out by Forestry Commission Scotland are part of its repositioning programme whereby the plots are offered first to communities or environmental non-governmental organisations to acquire or lease under the terms of the national forest land scheme.
There are occasions on which Forestry Commission Scotland will consider direct requests from neighbours and other private interests to acquire part of the national forest estate. That usually happens in situations in which the land in question is not contentious—for example, that might include sales of houses or other development sites to the sitting tenants; exchange of forest or open land to rationalise the boundaries of land holdings; or sales of small areas of land to adjoining owners. In such cases, Forestry Commission Scotland does not notify communities or environmental NGOs unless there is a known community interest.
Taxi Drivers (Licensing)
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take to prevent taxi drivers with a series of complaints against them in one local authority area from obtaining a taxi driver’s licence in another area. (S4O-04485)
Licensing authorities are obliged under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 to refuse an application where, in their view, the applicant is not a fit-and-proper person to be the holder of the licence. The legislation also requires authorities to make such reasonable inquiries as they see fit when considering an application. We would therefore expect licensing authorities to exercise their discretion in fulfilling that obligation and make inquiries with adjacent authorities where appropriate.
In addition, Police Scotland is a statutory consultee and is able to provide relevant information from across Scotland and beyond to the licensing authority. We shall further encourage such sharing of information when the best practice guidance is updated after the passage of the Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Bill.
As the cabinet secretary will know, cases have been reported in the media in which what I described has happened. What further measures might the Scottish Government be able to take through legislation or guidance for local authorities to tighten up licensing and make the experience of travelling in a taxi as safe as possible, particularly for young women?
I agree with Willie Coffey on the need to ensure that we have proper and effective enforcement in this area. That is one of the reasons why, in the Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Bill that is currently before Parliament, we have created the role of civic licensing standards officer; those officers will have a specific responsibility to look at areas around guidance at a local level and to supervise compliance and mediation.
I hope that that will add to the way in which we apply the national best practice guidance that will be issued alongside the legislation to ensure that the provisions are properly and effectively implemented at a local level.
On the subject of protecting consumers’ interests in the taxi market, does the Scottish Government consider that that should remain the principal aim in any provisions or regulations relating to licensing?
Licensing at a local level is administrated by licensing boards in local authorities, and there are no plans to change that.
Social Housing (Supply)
To ask the Scottish Government what initiatives it has introduced to increase the supply of social housing. (S4O-04486)
The Scottish Government has set a five-year target to deliver 30,000 affordable homes, 20,000 of which are for social rent, with 5,000 of those being developed through our council house new-build programme.
We are well on track to meet that target, as recent official statistics have demonstrated. We are achieving that through a range of initiatives, using traditional grant funding but also working creatively with partners on innovative financing routes.
I noticed recently that Falkirk Council is investing £30 million of funds from its pension scheme in social and affordable housing. That kind of sound investment, with a good return, which enables councils to build affordable homes in their areas, seems to be an excellent use of resources.
I gather that local government pension schemes across Scotland hold investments that are worth more than £30 billion in a range of assets. Does the minister believe that councils such as South Lanarkshire Council could be using their pension funds to help to build affordable housing and social homes in their council area?
Briefly, minister.
Pension fund managers have to make sound investment decisions to ensure suitable returns, but this Government is working to enable and support pension funds to invest in housing. The recent scheme in Falkirk is a trailblazer that shows that such investment is possible, and I encourage all pension funds to consider the opportunities that exist for investing in housing.