Good afternoon, everyone. The first item of business is portfolio questions.
Culture and External Affairs
Independence (European Union Membership)
To ask the Scottish Government what so-called red lines an independent Scotland would set when negotiating membership of the EU. (S4O-03017)
As is set out in “Scotland’s Future”, the Scottish Government will base its approach to EU membership negotiations on the principle of continuity of effect—a transition to independent membership that is based on the EU treaty obligations and provisions that apply to Scotland under our present status as part of the United Kingdom, and without disruption to Scotland’s current fully integrated standing within the legal, economic, institutional, political and social framework of the EU.
The Scottish Government has said that EU membership would be a matter for negotiation. I asked what the Scottish Government’s red lines would be, but my question was not answered, so I will try again. Would the euro, the Schengen arrangements, the UK’s rebate, common agricultural policy reform and rest-of-the-UK fees be red lines? Would a derogation from the EU directive on banking headquarters be a red line? Am I to assume that, because the cabinet secretary will not tell me what the red lines would be, the Scottish National Party Government has no red lines on EU membership and would be content to join the EU at any cost?
I recommend that the member read not only “Scotland’s Future” but “Scotland in the European Union”, which was issued at the same time as the white paper. If he had read those papers, he would be better informed. With six months to go to the referendum, people not only expect information and explanations from the Government but kind of expect a better-informed Opposition and no-vote position.
If Scotland votes for independence, how will the Scottish Government deal with a requirement from eastern European EU member states that any admission of Scotland to the EU should be conditional on transitional measures that last for up to and beyond 10 years? Will the Scottish Government refuse to accept any such transitional conditions? If not, what is the maximum period that it will accept for them?
I am sure that the member has read the material that I just referred to. She will understand that the white paper “Scotland’s Future” does not present an analysis that talks about Scotland as an accession state.
The member will recognise from the evidence that is being given to the European and External Relations Committee that there is significant support from well-informed and experienced contributors for using article 48 to vary the treaties from within continued membership, which is a completely different matter. She should also acknowledge that not one EU member has said that Scotland would not be part of, and a continuing member of, the EU.
Does the cabinet secretary share my disappointment that the Labour Party in Westminster is doing the political hokey-cokey by supporting an in/out referendum on EU membership? Does she agree that the only way to secure Scotland’s place in the EU is with a yes vote?
Yes. I think that many Labour members are uncomfortable that Labour’s stance is being driven by a reaction to an anti-EU party that loses its deposit in Scotland.
As for the UK Government’s position, even the Secretary of State for Scotland acknowledged on “Sunday Politics” on 24 November last year that he did not
“think anybody can give any guarantee”
that the UK would still be in the EU by the end of this decade.
I return to Mr Bibby’s question about red lines. A few weeks ago, Ms Sturgeon indicated in the chamber that there would be at least one red line—something that would be a line too far for the Scottish Government. Does Ms Hyslop agree with that position and would she like to restate it?
I am sure that the member is aware that 11 EU countries do not use the euro. Before being permitted entry to the eurozone, a member state must meet five economic preconditions, including voluntary participation in the exchange rate mechanism for at least two years. None of those preconditions is legally binding on a member state. In relation to understanding and being informed on the issue, it is therefore clear that a member state cannot be legally obliged to adopt the euro as its currency in the first place.
Question 2, in the name of Fiona McLeod, has not been lodged, for understandable reasons.
Cultural Heritage (European Funding)
To ask the Scottish Government what European funding streams are available to help safeguard the cultural heritage of communities. (S4O-03019)
A wide range of European funding streams are available, many of which could provide funding to safeguard the cultural heritage of communities. For example, in the member’s Highlands and Islands region, the creative industries and media centre in Stornoway has received more than £1 million of European regional development funding; the Skara Brae and Urquhart castle visitor centres have received £316,000 and £893,000 respectively in recent years, also from the ERDF; and the Applecross landscape partnership scheme has received £94,000 from the LEADER programme under the European agricultural fund for rural development.
I have written previously to the cabinet secretary about the precious archaeology in the Western Isles that has been lost due to coastal erosion. I stood recently in a neolithic house that was appearing out of the side of a sand dune; the other half of the house was already strewn on the beach below, lost to future generations. Will the cabinet secretary seek to access funding from the European Union or indeed other sources to protect that archaeology before much of it is lost for ever?
There are some challenges in the focus of European funds going forward to Europe 2020 in relation to accessibility. However, I acknowledge the challenge for archaeology of coastal erosion, which we see not just in the Western Isles but elsewhere in Scotland. On identifying opportunities for European funding, one of the best ways to access European money is to do so in co-operation with other countries; indeed we are already in discussions with Ireland on how we can take that forward.
Film Studio (Glasgow)
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Scottish Enterprise regarding the establishment of a film studio in Glasgow. (S4O-03020)
Scottish Enterprise in partnership with Creative Scotland and the Scottish Government—which have been monitoring the issue through the delivery group for film and television that I established last year—commissioned a report from the consultants EKOS. The report, which was published on Friday, indicates that tax incentives have created a surge of interest in filming in Scotland, which is driving demand for studio space. The report assesses several potential options and recommends that representatives of the private sector be invited to submit their own development briefs for a studio facility. If that request for proposals fails to identify a suitable commercial project, the report recommends that public sector agencies should concurrently proceed with a detailed appraisal of and business plan for a foundation studio.
As the cabinet secretary knows, Glasgow has recently had a number of very successful forays into the world of film production and those are now being shown widely in our cinemas. That seems to me to demonstrate that there is huge demand for such a facility in Glasgow. Independent film producers have been crying out for it for a long time, and although the EKOS report is welcome it does not tell us anything that we did not know.
While we have been waiting for the publication of the EKOS report, we have had the spectacle of Northern Ireland and Wales becoming seriously involved in the area. Is it not time that we stopped talking about it and actually began to establish a film studio in Glasgow?
The member is a former culture minister and had responsibility for establishing a studio and developing the film industry. Obviously, the market conditions have been challenging, not just during her period in government but at the start of ours. The conditions have now changed, in relation to not just the welcome tax incentives that this Government campaigned for, but the relationship between the dollar and the pound, which creates opportunities.
The member is quite correct to identify successes. In September, we saw the premieres of five major films—“Filth”, “Starred Up”, “Sunshine on Leith”, “The Railway Man” and “Under the Skin”. “Filth” and “Sunshine On Leith” were the two biggest grossing United Kingdom-made films on release in the UK.
I agree with the member that action is needed, which is why we are taking forward the recommendations in the EKOS report and why, on 26 February, John Swinney and I met Independent Producers Scotland to discuss a number of areas, including a studio and other support for the film industry. We will take that work forward proactively over the next period.
Can the cabinet secretary confirm how much has been provided from the Scottish public sector purse to support the screen sector in the past three years?
Yes. Total public sector support for the screen sector over the past three years was £58.2 million: £19.7 million in 2010-11; £17.5 million in 2011-12; and £21 million in 2012-13. It is important to recognise the importance of that sector not only to Scotland’s economic growth but to the portrayal of Scotland and the cultural development of the indigenous film industry.
College of Piping (Support)
I call Kezia Dugdale to ask question 5. [Interruption.] I ask members to ensure that their phones are off, please.
5.
To ask the Scottish Government how it supports the College of Piping and the wider traditional music sector. (S4O-03021)
The Scottish Government supports the traditional music sector through Creative Scotland, which disburses nearly £2 million each year to organisations that directly form part of the sector. Creative Scotland supports piping mainly through the National Piping Centre. It has never received an application for funding from the College of Piping, which is also based in Glasgow, although it has advised the college that it has the same opportunity to apply for funding as any other body. The College of Piping is not a statutory body and is not funded through the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council, although it awards Scottish Qualifications Authority-recognised exams in tandem with the Piping and Drumming Qualifications Board.
The minister will be aware that the Scottish school piping championships were held only a couple of weekends ago. I am sure that she will join me in congratulating all the winners of that contest. However, she might be aware that all the winners in three of the categories were from private schools and that there is a problem in attracting state school kids to learn the pipes. Will her Government consider introducing a right to piping in schools and will she discuss that matter with her education colleagues?
I am a keen champion of piping. I have attended the world pipe band championships in the past number of years. My father was a member of a pipe band and I look forward to welcoming the British pipe band championships again to Bathgate in my constituency.
Kezia Dugdale is also right to note that we need to ensure that piping and piping tuition are more widely accessible. Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia Pipe Band, one of Scotland’s premier pipe bands, is in my constituency. It has an excellent relationship with young people from all schools. We need that community approach to piping and the dedication of the members of staff not only at the College of Piping but at the National Piping Centre to pass piping on.
I certainly hear what Kezia Dugdale says and would be more than happy to discuss it with my education colleagues.
The availability of bagpipes as a musical instrument in schools is variable, to say the least. Tuition costs range from zero to more than £250 a year, which is prohibitive for many families. Will the cabinet secretary consider a more consistent approach to piping in schools to provide opportunities for more pupils to play the bagpipes and more schools to form pipe bands?
I am certainly in favour of more piping in schools and more generally. Mary Scanlon raises an issue that cuts to the heart of the extent to which central Government can provide consistency across local authorities before we hear cries for local authorities to have the independence to make their own decisions.
As Mary Scanlon will have seen, my colleague Alasdair Allan has been proactive in addressing some of the issues about instrumental provision in schools. We are keeping a close eye on that, but I acknowledge the calls for recognition of piping. I have heard magnificent piping in our schools and will always remember hearing in Linlithgow academy a combination of the orchestra and the pipes in “Highland Cathedral”. We have many talented young pipers, but we need to ensure that the pipeline of pipers continues.
Syrian Conflict
To ask the Scottish Government what representations it has made to the United Kingdom Government regarding the impact of the Syrian conflict on the Scottish Government’s external affairs strategy. (S4O-03022)
The Scottish Government’s international framework sets out our strong and enduring commitment to securing democracy, the rule of law and fundamental human rights across the world.
In keeping with that commitment, the First Minister wrote to the Foreign Secretary last September and the Prime Minister in January about the situation in Syria, urging the United Kingdom Government to support the resettlement of those fleeing the conflict who are most in need and stating that Scotland would play her part in providing a welcoming safe home for Syrian refugees. That was reiterated in a letter from the First Minister to the Home Secretary on 4 March, and I am pleased that the UK Government has agreed to do so.
Although the UK Government’s provision of humanitarian assistance to Syria is to be welcomed, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has called on European Union member states to provide shelter to 30,000 of the most vulnerable Syrian refugees. Germany has agreed to take 10,000 refugees and Sweden has accepted 25,000, while the UK has agreed to accept only 500. Does the minister agree that the UK and Scotland should do much more to assist men, women and children who are escaping the humanitarian crisis in Syria?
It is important to emphasise that the UK Government has played a leading role in supplying overseas aid during the Syrian crisis by providing more than £650 million. We should also welcome the fact that the UK Government has agreed, as Jim Eadie said, to take a number of Syrian refugees. We hope that it will be a first step on which to build in years to come, because the crisis is huge. Approximately 2.5 million people have been displaced externally and 6 million people—more than the population of Scotland—have been displaced internally. We should welcome the UK Government’s decision to play a part, and Scotland will play a part too. In addition, we will encourage the UK Government to play a further role wherever it—and Scotland—can do so.
John Muir Festival (Californian State Government)
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Californian state government and governor regarding how to ensure a lasting legacy from the Homecoming Scotland 2014 event, the John Muir festival. (S4O-03023)
The John Muir festival is a signature event in the homecoming 2014 programme of more than 700 events that are taking place in every local authority area throughout Scotland. The legacy of the festival’s celebration of that great Scot’s life will be the opening of the spectacular Falkirk Kelpies and of the John Muir way, which is a new national pathway stretching for 120 miles across central Scotland from Dunbar to Helensburgh.
Scottish Natural Heritage has worked jointly with the US National Park Service to produce detailed digital models of John Muir’s birthplace home in Dunbar and his family home in Martinez, California. I will be using Scotland week in the USA to take part in a tree-planting ceremony in the Muir woods on the edge of San Francisco to mark the creation of the John Muir way. Plans are being drawn up for meetings during my visit with representatives not only from the Government but from the Sierra Club, which is keen to explore opportunities for the on-going promotion of the way to its members across the United States.
I thank the minister for that comprehensive answer. April sees the principal kick-off of the John Muir festival, with the town of Dunbar—his birthplace—as a focal point of that festival. On the back of that, will the Scottish Government seek to establish twinning arrangements with towns in California further to the current arrangement between the towns of Dunbar and Martinez?
Twinning arrangements such as the long-standing links between Dunbar and Martinez enrich communities across Scotland by fostering friendship and understanding between cultures and celebrating important ancestral connections such as the global legacy of John Muir.
The Scottish Government is keen to encourage meaningful twinning where it is appropriate, but it is a matter for individual local authorities. Of course, in principle, we will support twinning where connections are meaningful.
Culture and Arts (Young People)
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to promote young people’s interests and talents in culture and the arts. (S4O-03024)
In addition to all the cultural and artistic activity that is taking place in our schools and colleges, the Scottish Government is promoting young people’s engagement with the arts and culture through “Time To Shine: Scotland’s Youth Arts Strategy”, which I launched in November last year. Creative Scotland’s youth arts programme is taking shape and funding for regional youth arts hubs will be awarded shortly. Creative Scotland is working with Young Scot to identify the membership of the youth arts national advisory group, which should be in place by mid-May.
I thank the cabinet secretary for that comprehensive answer. Is she aware of the success of North Lanarkshire Council’s creative residency programme? It was established nine years ago and provides 50 school students with the opportunity to spend one week each year developing their artistic talents in a creative environment, which has resulted in the pupils producing superb garments, paintings and sculpture that have been exhibited at the Summerlee museum of Scottish industrial life in Coatbridge. Does she consider that such programmes should be available to more students and pupils throughout Scotland?
That programme is a good example of embedding arts and creativity in curriculum for excellence; we can ensure that other authorities are aware of it, and I look forward to learning more about that particular project.
Infrastructure, Investment and Cities
National Housing Trust (Completed Units)
To ask the Scottish Government how many units have been completed under the national housing trust. (S4O-03027)
The national housing trust initiative—the first guarantee-based model for housing in the United Kingdom—is a major success. Deals for the delivery of more than 1,600 homes across 10 local authority areas have been signed, and more deals are expected to be signed shortly. Five hundred and fifty-five NHT homes are already complete.
The minister will be aware that, despite the existence of the national housing trust, there remain a number of potential investors in both the private and institutional sectors who seek to work in partnership with local authorities to provide affordable housing. Will the minister consider what can be done to escape the inflexibility of the national housing trust and begin to deliver the encouragement and support that are necessary to ensure that our local authorities take up that investment and begin to cut waiting lists?
The national housing trust is a very popular way to build houses at no cost to the Scottish Government and is something that we will continue to do and to promote, as it serves a particular need in the areas in which it delivers. At the same time, our financial innovation unit continues to work with investors to discuss ways in which we can go forward with major investment through—as the member said—pension schemes and other types of investment in the housing sector. We continue to do that, but we will also continue to support and develop the NHT.
Glasgow Airport and Glasgow City Centre (Transport Links)
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will support improved transport links between Glasgow airport and Glasgow city centre. (S4O-03028)
The recent Glasgow airport strategic transport network study identified much that Glasgow City Council and Renfrewshire Council, working with Glasgow Airport Ltd, could do in the short term to improve bus services to and from the airport. Few risks are attached to the implementation of those measures and much can be achieved at low cost.
I have also asked Transport Scotland to work with Glasgow Airport Ltd and the councils to consider further the feasibility of a tram-train link from Glasgow airport to Glasgow Central station.
Will the minister fully fund any suggested tram-train link between Glasgow airport and Glasgow city centre? If so, when will it happen? Will such a link involve the repurchase of land sold off when the previous plan was shelved?
I think that it is obvious from the statements that are in the report and that have been made by the partners that we are at a very early stage. We have said that we will initiate the work that is required and will look for contributions to it to ensure that we can do the feasibility and design work that is necessary to take the link further forward.
I make it clear that we recognise—as does the report—that there are risks inherent in the tram-train link and that it is not a straightforward thing to do. We understand that point at this stage. That also means that, as yet, there is not a fixed trajectory for the tram-train link; in fact, the report covers three options. Further work on those will tell us whether further land would have to be acquired. I think, from memory, that the routes would not require any buy-back of land previously disposed of, but we will have to wait and see exactly what comes forward. The tram-train link should be considered alongside the other achievements—the M74; the M80; funding fastlink; and the Paisley corridor improvements—that this Government has taken forward.
Does the minister agree that a major disadvantage of the Glasgow airport rail link scheme was that it would not have linked into any local communities? If he is looking at future options, could one of them be a light rail link that goes through Braehead and Renfrew, which would boost local communities and reduce car journeys to shopping centres?
The member mentions an important point, which is that the report vindicates the Scottish Government’s decision to cancel the GARL project based on its cost benefit ratio. At this stage, we want to focus on further consideration of the proposals in the report and to look at more details of the feasibility of delivering the tram-train solution that has been identified.
Will the minister outline any discussions that he or his officials have had with Network Rail or the Office of Rail Regulation on the tram-train system that is known as dual running? Can he confirm the earliest possible opportunity at which such a scheme could be approved?
The report, which was just published last week, would have taken into account some of those factors. Detailed discussions on the implications of those are the next stage that we are ready to push forward on, in concert with our partners at Glasgow City Council, Renfrewshire Council and, of course, Glasgow Airport Ltd, which carried out the study. We will discuss the issues with them and some of the issues that Mark Griffin mentioned will have already been considered when the report was compiled.
The history of this issue precedes by many years the arrival of the minister in this Parliament. I have painful recollections of ministerial rigidity, for which I cannot blame Mr Brown, excluding everything but an expensive heavy rail link. Echoing John Mason, I ask the minister whether he agrees that any consideration of improved transport links to Glasgow airport would benefit from flexibility of approach and a range of options.
Annabel Goldie is right. The report lays out other options, for example personal rapid transport and a number of bus improvements, which could be made quite quickly, as well as the tram-train link. We said at the start that having cancelled GARL and having seen its cost benefit analysis, we would not fund a heavy rail option. That could still have come forward—others might still want to progress with that—but we have said that we would not fund it. All the other options that have been proposed have been seriously considered. A statement of our intent in that regard is our willingness to take forward the tram-train option and look at it in much more detail.
Strategic Infrastructure Developments (Aberdeen)
To ask the Scottish Government how it will support strategic infrastructure developments in the Aberdeen city region. (S4O-03029)
We welcome Aberdeen City Council’s strategic infrastructure plan, which was published in the autumn, and we expect to continue to support and complement local and regional investment in Aberdeen that can unlock sustainable economic growth.
The latest national planning framework recognises that expanding Aberdeen harbour, including the roads infrastructure, is a national priority. Does the cabinet secretary agree that connecting the new harbour facilities to the rail network could create business and jobs, for example in commissioning offshore renewables and in decommissioning oil platforms? Will the Government undertake to work with Aberdeen Harbour Board, Network Rail and other interested parties to ensure that those opportunities are not missed?
I agree with Lewis Macdonald, but all the issues he mentioned are opportunities for Aberdeen if it gets it right. I am certainly happy to undertake to work with all the stakeholders and agencies that Lewis Macdonald mentioned, including the harbour board, Network Rail and the council. We are keen to work collaboratively to ensure that we make strategic infrastructure investments that unlock Aberdeen’s economic potential.
Aberdeen is one of the fastest growing parts of Scotland and we need to ensure that its infrastructure facilitates the further economic success of the city. We are happy to work with anybody and, as I said, we support the strategic infrastructure plan that Aberdeen City Council has published. We look forward to working together with it directly and through the collaborative framework of the Scottish cities alliance to look at how we take those things forward.
One of the key infrastructure projects in Aberdeen is the improvements to the Haudagain roundabout in my constituency. The Minister for Transport and Veterans joined me at a meeting with Middlefield residents on Monday evening to discuss the Scottish Government’s plans. Residents welcomed the certainty provided at that meeting but they want politics to be left to the side and the Scottish Government and the council to work together to improve the area and deliver the project. Will the cabinet secretary join me in calling on the council administration to join the Scottish Government in that approach to ensure that the project is delivered for the betterment of the city and the community?
I strongly endorse Mark McDonald’s comments. It would be to the benefit of everybody in Aberdeen if we left a lot more politics out of some of these really important discussions. We are all politicians, but we are also public servants who are there to serve the needs of the people of Aberdeen. Mark McDonald talks about the important investments that are required in the Haudagain roundabout. We are now moving forward with the western peripheral route after many years of delay—which was not of this Government’s making—and it is important that that continues apace so that we can deliver the important improvements at Haudagain.
As I indicated to Lewis Macdonald, we are committed to working with anybody, regardless of politics, to maximise the potential of the great city of Aberdeen. I hope that we can all get together in that spirit and do exactly that.
Open Market Shared Equity Scheme (Fife)
To ask the Scottish Government how many people in Fife have received support from the open market shared equity scheme since 2011. (S4O-03030)
Between April 2011 and December 2013, 64 homes have been purchased through the open market shared equity scheme in Fife.
I have been approached by constituents who are struggling to find a suitable property in their preferred area of Anstruther and who believe that the price thresholds are too restrictive. Are there any plans to review the thresholds, particularly taking into account the fact that property prices in Fife are far from uniform?
The threshold prices for the open market shared equity scheme are currently set at the lower quartile, which is the most commonly used measure for identifying affordable houses in the private sector. That allows us to help as many buyers as possible and to continue to target those people who need help to access the affordable housing market. We will continue to keep the threshold prices under review, but the open market shared equity scheme is just one of a range of initiatives operating across Fife and Scotland to help buyers to access home ownership. The Scottish Government’s popular help to buy (Scotland) scheme has 51 developments across Fife that are registered to participate in the scheme. The industry-led my new home scheme, which is supported by a Scottish Government guarantee, is also helping home ownership in Fife.
How many people from homes owned by councils and registered social landlords have been accepted for the scheme? What further support will be given to target the scheme at those people who are on low to medium incomes?
I do not have those figures with me, but I can certainly get them to the member. The scheme has been set for a particular group of people and RSL tenants have moved from RSL lists into the open market shared equity scheme and the National Housing Trust scheme after discussions on affordability. I do not know whether we keep those figures but I will check and let the member know.
Scottish Welfare Fund (Vulnerable Families)
To ask the Scottish Government how the Scottish welfare fund supports vulnerable families in Glasgow and across the country. (S4O-03031)
Glasgow City Council has a budget of £7.7 million to deliver the Scottish welfare fund in its area. That represents 23 per cent of the total £33 million fund.
To the end of December, informal monitoring showed that Glasgow City Council had spent more than £5.4 million on crisis grants and community care grants. Across the country, local authorities have made grants worth around £18.5 million during the same period.
In addition to help directly from the Scottish welfare fund, applicants can also be referred or signposted by local authorities for support from other agencies such as advocacy services, welfare rights, housing and money management organisations.
My constituents in Glasgow who rely on the Scottish welfare fund for money, often because of draconian United Kingdom benefit cuts and sanctions, sometimes face a variety of other challenges and have other support needs. The cabinet secretary alluded to that. Can the cabinet secretary give some more details about how the Scottish Government measures the successful outcomes for those who receive cash and other support from the Scottish welfare fund for those softer types of support such as signposting for welfare rights, jobseeking skills, and other things of that nature?
As Bob Doris will be aware, a variety of information about the operation of the welfare fund is being collected and reported regularly. Last October, we appointed Heriot-Watt University to undertake an independent review of the operation of the new fund. We expect to be in a position to publish the evaluation report in the spring, and it will help us to identify any changes before we put permanent arrangements on a legislative footing.
In the course of that evaluation and our regular reporting, the type of help that is being given to people is obviously important. As Bob Doris will be well aware, local authorities are responsible for deciding how to make awards that best meet the needs of the applicant, whether they be for cash, goods or signposting, and they need to be able to use discretion.
My final point is on sanctions. We have concerns about the application of the sanctions regime and we are in the process of changing the welfare fund guidance to local authorities to make it clear that help can be given to people who are in crisis because of the application of sanctions.
New Build Completions (Dumfries and Galloway)
To ask the Scottish Government how many housing association new builds were completed in Dumfries and Galloway in 2013. (S4O-03032)
During the calendar year 2013, 27 housing association new builds were completed in Dumfries and Galloway. A further 659 approved units are expected to be completed by March 2016.
We also support affordable housing in the area through a range of national programmes such as the national housing trust, open market shared equity and the help to buy (Scotland) scheme.
The minister will probably be aware that that figure of 27 new builds is the lowest number of completions in any year since 1999. In 2013, there were only 47 house starts, the lowest number since 2010, and 38 were improved, which is the second-lowest figure since 1999. Does the minister agree that, as there are more than 5,000 households on the registered social landlord waiting lists in Dumfries and Galloway, action must be taken to increase the availability of social housing for rent in my constituency?
As the member says, at face value, the figure of 27 does not look that high, and the figures appear to suggest that those are the only completions and that the number of completions has declined significantly. A number of figures contributed to that. The figures are for the calendar year and, already this year, there have been a further 44 completions, with another 30 to come, which will come to a total of 101 up to the end of this financial year. However, there is also a large contract of 312 units in Dumfries and Galloway, which I am sure that the member is aware of. Most of those are complete and tenants are in them. However, they will not appear in the statistics until the full contract is complete. That is why the figure may seem as low as it does.
I can assure the member that we are still building more social rented houses in Dumfries and Galloway than were built under the previous administration and we will continue to do that. Housebuilding in the social and RSL sectors is higher since 2007 than it was under the previous administration and we continue to go forward towards our target, which we intend to meet.
Poverty (Housing)
To ask the Scottish Government what contribution it considers that housing can make to tackling poverty. (S4O-03033)
Too many of Scotland’s people still live in communities suffering the effects of deprivation and disadvantage. As outlined in the revised child poverty strategy for Scotland, which was published on 10 March, we intend to focus on area-based factors that currently exacerbate the effects of individual poverty for many families. Housing is a key part of our physical, economic and social fabric and getting housing right will contribute significantly to our wider aims with regard to tackling poverty and health inequalities and building confidence and capacity in communities.
Has the minister seen the report on poverty that was presented to the City of Edinburgh Council last week and identified the stark difference that exists between the richest and the poorest areas in the city, and the fact that we now have 152 bids for every social rented property that becomes available, with 25,000 people waiting on our housing lists? What is she doing to work with the council to help to deliver the 16,000 affordable rented houses that the council estimates are needed over the next decade? A huge amount of social housing was built in the early years of this Parliament but I am afraid that, given the current austerity measures that our housing associations are experiencing and the council’s lack of finance, we are not getting the rate of social housing starts that the city and its residents urgently need.
The Scottish Government understands the affordable housing issues in Edinburgh and has supported the city with significant levels of Scottish Government funding over the past few years. In the period from 2012-13 to 2014-15, £81.168 million of Scottish Government grant funding, managed through the transfer of management of development funding arrangement with the City of Edinburgh Council, has been made available, and is expected to assist in the delivery of 1,469 affordable units, and we have just announced a further £88 million for the period to March 2019. We continue to work with the council to help it to address the housing need in Edinburgh.
What consideration has the minister given to targeting future affordable housing investment in areas where there are the greatest job opportunities?
As the member will be aware, it is the local authorities that determine housing in their area. We have an arrangement with them and with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities about how the affordable housing supply funding is distributed. That arrangement is in place and we will continue with it. We will also continue to work with the councils in the areas of high demand in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, where there are job opportunities for people who move into those areas. We are working with those councils in innovative ways in order to ensure that there is a proper level of housing for all those who require it.