SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE
General Questions
Additional Support Needs
To ask the Scottish Executive what powers it has to ensure that a local authority contributes fairly to the education of children with additional support needs who attend school in another local authority area. (S2O-10605)
Section 23 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 gives the Scottish ministers the power, on a reference from a local authority and in the absence of agreement between the authorities concerned, to determine the level of contribution that a home authority is to make towards the cost of a pupil's education in another local authority area.
Does the minister agree that an unintended consequence of the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 is that some local authorities might not be supporting children with additional support needs whom they previously funded? Does he agree that, given that we are talking about sums of more than £250,000 a year in some cases, the situation is unfair not only on some local authorities, such as East Renfrewshire Council, but particularly on parents and families, who do not wish to be caught up in disputes about funding between local authorities when they are worried about their children's education? Will the minister commit to working with me and the local authorities concerned to resolve the issue in East Renfrewshire, the many other pending cases and those that might arise in the future?
I think that the issue arises not from the 2004 act but from the 1980 act, which has been in place for many years. The central issue is young people's welfare. I expect all local authorities to make appropriate and adequate arrangements for all children in their schools, whether they are placed with them or otherwise. Under the 1980 act and the 2004 act in particular, parents have substantial rights. When necessary, they can enforce those rights in various legal and administrative ways.
I ask the minister again to consider rucksacking—if I may use that term—which is a solution that I have proposed before. It would mean that the care package and funding would follow the child, although they might have to be tweaked in another local authority. That would eradicate the conflicts between local authorities and would be a far simpler solution. Will he kindly investigate that?
I am not sure that Christine Grahame's proposal is as simple as she suggests. As she knows, local authorities receive a substantial and non-ring-fenced amount to spend on education and additional support for learning. When placement requests or other arrangements are made between local authorities to educate children from one local authority in a different local authority's area, provision is available to enable contributions to be made. That is where the issue has arisen. The question is how to resolve the issue, rather than taking the broader and somewhat different approach that Christine Grahame suggests.
To what extent do parents of children with additional support needs have a choice as to whether their children should go to a special school, whether it is in their own local authority's area or further afield?
As Lord James Douglas-Hamilton knows from his involvement in the passage of the 2004 act, parents have substantial rights in relation to the placement of their children. Local authorities can refuse a placement request only in some circumstances that are set out in legislation. That arrangement works fairly well. The 2004 act supplemented arrangements by making provision for mediation and early decision making in local authorities.
Does the minister agree that one of the major reasons why children with additional support needs have to attend schools in local authority areas other than those in which they live is to gain access to an educational psychologist? Often the situation is confused, and assessment and review meetings are delayed. Will the minister look into the matter and report back to us on his findings?
I confess that representations have not been made to me on the issue that Rosemary Byrne raises. If the member has particular concerns, I would be more than happy to discuss them with her. I do not think that placement in other local authority areas is the issue per se. There have been problems with the supply of educational psychologists, although numbers have gone up substantially during this session.
Sporting Attainment
To ask the Scottish Executive how it intends to improve sporting attainment. (S2O-10562)
The Executive, through sportscotland, will continue to provide financial and other support to athletes and sports governing bodies to ensure that our elite athletes are able to reach the highest possible level of attainment. The Executive is also revising the current sports strategy, sport 21, to ensure a renewed focus on improving elite performance and increasing participation.
I am sure that the minister agrees that access to good sporting facilities has an important part to play in improving sporting attainment. Can she explain why, after seven years of the Labour-Lib Dem Executive and 10 years of a new Labour Government at Westminster, the "National Audit of Scotland's Sports Facilities" shows that 74 per cent of our football pitches, 51 per cent of our tennis courts and 57 per cent of our athletics tracks are not up to standard, and 50 per cent of our indoor facilities are worn out? What will she do to address those issues, or is the report another example of why people are running out of patience with the Executive?
We were party to commissioning the report, because we needed to get that kind of information. It provides a snapshot of the condition of facilities at one point in time. However, we must make clear from the outset that the way forward is not to upgrade every facility that is in need of renovation. We need to decide on the right quality and mix of facilities that we need across the country to provide people with opportunities to participate in sport and to meet the needs of our elite athletes. The report highlights a number of facility issues, such as the need for robust maintenance regimes and the need to take a strategic approach to the planning, location and development of sports facilities to meet demands that change frequently and fast because of changing demographics and sporting trends.
I agree with the argument that has been made about sports facilities. Does the minister agree that far more emphasis on extracurricular and core-curricular sport in schools is crucial to improving sporting attainment?
Absolutely. That is why we have asked schools to provide young people with two hours a week of good-quality sporting opportunity and why we are investing £12 million a year in the active schools programme, which has already delivered 86,000 hours of quality activity for young people in schools.
Antisocial Behaviour Roadshow
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the targets set for its antisocial behaviour roadshow were met. (S2O-10599)
Attendance at the antisocial behaviour roadshow exceeded our expectations. We are delighted that the roadshow enabled more than 6,500 people in communities across Scotland to seek face-to-face advice on antisocial behaviour from local experts. That resulted in more than 800 referrals for action in specific cases.
The minister will be aware that 130 new referrals were made during the Kilmarnock visit. Of those, 92 were from areas of East Ayrshire that do not have community wardens, including areas in the constituency of the Minister for Justice. Does the minister agree that we should consider expanding community warden schemes and giving wardens powers to issue fixed penalties for dog fouling and litter, which would aid our communities to combat antisocial behaviour?
Margaret Jamieson raises a number of issues. I agree that the introduction of wardens throughout Scotland has been an outstanding success. Despite the criticisms of other political parties that are represented in the chamber, we have been proven right in pursuing that option. Local communities have responded positively and wardens are welcomed wherever they are deployed. I regret that if people vote Conservative at the next election there is a danger that wardens in Scotland will be scrapped. In the real world, in South Ayrshire, there is a Conservative administration, and people need to know about the dangers of voting Conservative.
In view of the Labour-Liberal Democrat coalition's failure to cut crime by 10 per cent, does the minister agree that priority should be given to ensuring that police and councils have the resources and support that they require to tackle youth disorder and that parents take responsibility for the supervision of their children, rather than passing new laws that alone will do nothing to address the problems associated with antisocial behaviour and youth offending?
Margaret Mitchell shows a considerable degree of confused and muddled thinking. On the one hand she says that she does not want new laws, but on the other she wants new requirements to be placed on parents, presumably through new laws. She should make up her mind about what she wants to do.
The minister is correct to say that immediate action needs to be taken to protect communities from appalling behaviour. However, we need to ensure that there is a long-term solution, rather than simply a short-term fix. What steps are taken at roadshows and elsewhere to ensure that, after an antisocial behaviour order has been granted, steps are taken to tackle hard-core youth unemployment, poor facilities and a lack of opportunities for personal and social development?
Kenny MacAskill raises an issue that he has raised consistently in the past. He is right to say that we need to examine some of the issues that underlie antisocial behaviour. However, I also disagree with him. As Cathy Jamieson and I have said time and time again, some of the worst manifestations of antisocial behaviour do not come from young people who are unemployed. It is a disgrace to suggest that simply because someone is deprived and unemployed they will behave in an antisocial manner. If a young person is unable to access a job, they should be helped. However, in the past couple of weeks my colleague Allan Wilson has referred the Parliament to some of the statistics relating to youth unemployment, which has fallen dramatically throughout Scotland. There are now more opportunities than ever for young people to get a job. Although some are still struggling to get one, the fact that so many young people come from Poland and elsewhere to work in this country shows that jobs are available at record levels. There are people with underlying literacy, numeracy and addiction problems. We need to work with them.
Youth Disorder (Glasgow Springburn)
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made in tackling youth disorder in the Glasgow Springburn parliamentary constituency. (S2O-10602)
Local councils, the police and other agencies have a responsibility to work together, using the powers and resources that have been made available to them, to prevent and tackle antisocial behaviour, including youth disorder. I expect agencies to redouble their efforts to make joint working a reality. There is a good range of multi-agency action in place in the Springburn constituency, including in Springburn park and Dennistoun, where joint work since last November has helped to improve the situation.
Does the minister, like me, believe that it is important that we deal with the perpetrators of youth crime, but also that we provide information to the vast majority of young people, who have constructive and positive lifestyles? Will the minister ensure that they are provided with information on local youth services, to ensure that they can continue those lifestyles?
It would be inappropriate for the Parliament or the Scottish Executive to specify in law what should be done on that locally. However, Paul Martin touches on an important issue. Local government is responsible for telling people in local communities exactly what is available to them. Local authorities should consider imaginative ways in which to communicate that information, such as websites, text messages to target groups or leaflets and posters. There is no point in developing a range of facilities throughout Scotland if people do not know about them. We need to tell people about the facilities and give them the opportunities, but, as Paul Martin said, if people persist with antisocial behaviour despite those opportunities, action must be taken.
Trunk Roads (Signage)
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to evaluate the impact of Transport Scotland's decisions on the community and economic life of towns and villages whose main streets form part of the trunk road network. (S2O-10558)
Transport Scotland uses the Scottish transport appraisal guidance process to determine the best solution to evidence-based transport problems. The STAG process is a multimodal framework approach that covers key criteria for the assessment of proposals, which include economic issues as well as matters of accessibility and social inclusion. The current strategic transport projects review is being undertaken in line with STAG.
Is the minister aware that Transport Scotland's guidelines on signage on trunk roads, which are restrictive, to avoid distracting people who are driving at high speed, are also being applied in communities such as Crieff, where the trunk road becomes a 30mph high street? Is the minister aware that Transport Scotland has refused permission to hang banners for a walking festival in October, which were made with an Executive grant? Does he agree that the inflexibility will impact negatively on similar communities throughout Scotland and that, in the circumstances, other communities would be best advised to pursue a don't ask, don't tell policy?
I am sure that the member will agree that road safety must be the priority of the agency to which the Parliament has given responsibility for those roads. I am happy to consider the impacts of signage where speed limits change—the member makes a fair observation about that—but it is important that, in constructing policy, we keep road safety to the fore.
Property Law
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will support legislation to regulate the subdivision of property. (S2O-10608)
Legislation is already in place to regulate the subdivision of property. The Title Conditions (Scotland) Act 2003 provides a framework to assist the owners of properties that are to be subdivided. Using those rules, an owner can impose conditions on a subdivided property, covering matters such as maintenance and repairs. The Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004 provides default rules for all flatted property, including subdivided property, on the maintenance and repair of common parts of the building. There are no plans to introduce further legislation on that.
I express surprise that Hugh Henry answered the question, as I did not know that the matter was within his remit. However, I am always delighted to get an answer from him.
The issues that Pauline McNeill raises cross portfolios. There is a requirement under planning law to examine the overprovision of certain types of accommodation in some areas. Houses in multiple occupancy need to be considered carefully. As far as building regulations are concerned, owners can take steps with the interiors of their properties, subject to planning permission, building warrants and restrictions in title deeds.
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