SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE
Environment and Rural Development
Homes (Grants Schemes)
To ask the Scottish Executive how many homes have been built in the Western Isles under the croft house grants scheme since its introduction, and how this compares with the number built under the crofters building grants and loans scheme. (S2O-12151)
First of all, I apologise for arriving late. Under the former crofters building grants and loans scheme, the average number of approvals for new houses in the Western Isles over the five years to March 2004 was 61 per annum. Under the new croft house grant scheme, which we introduced on 1 January 2005, the average number of approvals for new houses in the Western Isles rose to 89 per annum for the first two years of the scheme's operation. Those figures are based on approvals granted, not on houses built, as the timescale for building the houses can vary.
As the minister knows, the crofting building grant scheme is subject to review. Will she agree that any assessment or review of the CBGS should also consider assisting crofters with the installation of microrenewable heating systems? Given her own exemplary record in Parliament of promoting such systems, does the minister agree that that should form part of the review? Will she agree to meet me and the convener and vice-convener of the Western Isles Council and representatives of the Hebridean Housing Partnership, all of whom can ably demonstrate how the crofting home building schemes have benefited the islands over the years?
I would certainly be keen to ensure that we have joined-up government and that crofting communities are able to benefit from the Executive's Scottish community and householder renewables initiative—SCHRI. I would be keen to meet the member to discuss how we can promote the croft house grant scheme and ensure that crofters are aware of the opportunities that can come up under SCHRI. I would also be more than happy to meet local representatives from the Western Isles. The last time I visited the Western Isles, I was very impressed by the work that was being done by the local housing association to reduce people's fuel bills from £700 a year to £200 a year. If there is more work that we can do with the crofting communities, I would be keen to do it.
I am glad to hear that the review is going to take place, which we welcome. Could the minister help us just now by saying what provision she intends to make for housing grants for forest crofters and for the housing needs of new crofters? How much might be required in the next five years? Has she budgeted for that?
The next five years takes in the next spending review, so we do not have a five-year programme, as such.
Question 2 has been withdrawn.
Scottish Water (Performance)
To ask the Scottish Executive what its assessment is of the current performance of Scottish Water. (S2O-12130)
Scottish Water has improved customer service and achieved better quality and environmental standards. At the same time, it achieved greater cost reductions than any other water company in the United Kingdom in the four years from 2002 to 2006. As a result of that achievement, households and small businesses saved about £211 each. That is an outstanding performance.
I concur whole-heartedly with the minister's answer. Scottish Water—retained in the public sector—is delivering for the people of Scotland. It has achieved savings that equate to £211 per average household, as the minister said, as well as improvements in the quality of our drinking water. It has allowed for much-needed housing and economic growth via investment in new strategic water and sewerage capacity.
I strongly prefer to concentrate on ensuring that Scottish Water delivers for the future by providing more connections, by achieving high standards for customers and by reducing costs. The last time Tory plans for water services were put to the electorate, they were resoundingly defeated. Nearly three quarters of the electorate in Strathclyde responded and 97 per cent rejected the plans. That is a lesson to all of us to ensure that we are clear about our plans.
Is the minister aware that Welsh Water—the only mutual water company in the UK—produces significantly higher average bills than does Scottish Water? That is partly because Welsh Water has no access to cheap public borrowing and must rely on private banking. Will she therefore rule out private financing of Scottish Water, which a mutual would have to obtain, as a strategy for improving Scottish Water's performance?
When the Environment and Rural Development Committee visited Wales, I was most interested in the lengthy discussion that we had with Welsh Water, which reached its position after the previous private company went bust. When lessons can be learned from companies throughout the UK, we shall learn them. My interest is in making the current system work, with the Water Industry Commission for Scotland and our record investment levels, to ensure that we achieve environmental performance, new connections for businesses and the best value for customers.
Is the minister aware that in Wigtownshire last week, severe delays were experienced in providing bottled water to a large number of people whose water supply was cut off for an extended period? It is not good enough for Scottish Water's spokesman to say:
Scottish Water is tested on that issue, and delivering on its targets is an operational matter for it. If the member has insights that he wants to pass on from experience in his constituency, I am more than happy to address them.
Waste Management (Island Communities)
To ask the Scottish Executive how it is promoting the application of the proximity principle for waste management in island communities. (S2O-12121)
The national waste plan makes it clear that area waste plans should, as far as possible, take account of the proximity principle. In addition, we have made funding available through the strategic waste fund for a range of local projects in island communities. They include an anaerobic digestion plant in the Western Isles; recycling facilities on islands; work by Remade Scotland to develop markets for recycled products in rural areas, including islands; the Waste and Resources Action Programme's home composting programme, which covers several islands and will be extended throughout Scotland later this year; and work by the community recycling sector.
I thank the minister for that list of positives. However, there is one area in which the proximity principle cannot be applied—waste oil. Prior to implementation of the European directive on the incineration of waste, garage premises could be heated using recovered oil in small oil burners. I know of a case in Shetland where that has been forbidden by the implementation of the directive. The oil must now be transported off Shetland to be reprocessed elsewhere, and new oil to heat the garage must be imported to Shetland. That makes a nonsense of the proximity principle and of any pretence that the directive is an environmental measure. The same directive is interpreted differently in England and Wales, where small waste oil burners do not come within its scope. That is an injustice. What will the minister do to rectify it?
I am intrigued that the Green Party should advocate the burning of waste oil; that is an interesting and, perhaps, new policy position for it to adopt. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has examined the directive in question and is deeply concerned about both the by-products and the process of waste oil burning. The process cannot be dealt with on its own. This is not "an injustice", as the member put it, but a serious environmental issue. The oil should be reused for a purpose, or otherwise treated, in a way that does not give rise to the same level of emissions. We should not condemn a directive that is intended to improve the quality of the environment.
The minister will be aware that in Shetland waste is turned into energy in a combustion plant. Does he have a view on whether that would be appropriate for other islands?
Maureen Macmillan makes a good point. I am concerned that all local authorities and island communities stick to these fundamental principles: we aim to reduce the amount of waste that we generate; we aim to reuse the maximum possible amount; and we aim to recycle. The question of what we should do with residual waste arises only after we have met those primary principles. I am happy that there are in the islands projects to extract energy from waste, such as the one in Shetland to which the member referred, and the anaerobic digester in the Western Isles. Those are perfectly legitimate and they play their part, provided that the three principles that I outlined are met.
Scottish Water (Status)
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it believes that the performance of Scottish Water would be enhanced by mutualisation and whether it has any plans to change the current status of Scottish Water. (S2O-12093)
As the First Minister said at First Minister's question time on 8 February 2007,
I asked about the Scottish Executive position, but we have heard nothing about that. Perhaps there is a secret plan. It is well known that Mr Finnie, the minister who has been responsible for Scottish Water for the past eight years, now believes that it should be denationalised and converted into a mutual company, a policy that has long been advocated by the Scottish Conservatives in Parliament and which was previously denigrated by Mr Finnie, Ms Boyack and others.
Mr McLetchie should not hold his breath. First, there has been no change whatever in the Environment and Rural Affairs Department. Members of Parliament are, quite rightly, developing policies for the election campaign, which will happen soon enough. I am confident that the Scottish Executive is giving the right directions and guidance to Scottish Water. We are making funds available so that Scottish Water can do the work that it needs to do. We have a new protocol between Scottish Water and local authorities to ensure that throughout Scotland the right connections are delivered to enable us to develop our environment and our economy.
Is the minister satisfied that issues to do with Scottish Water's performance that were of major concern in the past, such as delays to new housing projects and noxious smells from waste water treatment works, have been adequately addressed? Will she discuss with me how the time that is taken to deal with more minor but equally important issues, such as low water-mains pressure in Coaltown of Balgonie, which I have been dealing with for well over a year, might be reduced?
A key issue is that work now takes place between Scottish Water, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and local authorities to ensure that development constraints are identified and tackled. There are issues to do with odour management, which is why the Scottish Executive was keen to put in place a new protocol. From 1 April there will be new requirements throughout Scotland in relation to odour management.
How did the minister react to the most recent well-argued Fraser of Allander institute paper by Jim and Margaret Cuthbert? The Cuthberts are on the minister's case. They suggest that the Executive should reconsider the current-cost regulatory capital value approach that is used to set utility prices in Scotland, especially as they have proved that the overall effects of the RCV approach include substantial overcharging and potential distortion of capital investment programmes, which makes it more strategic for Scottish Water to put in place capital investment instead of fixing leaks. Will she address the damaging current-cost RCV approach which, if it remains unchallenged, could push Scottish Water beyond mutualisation towards privatisation, at huge cost to Scottish households and businesses?
The member's view is very much a minority view in Parliament—[Interruption.] I would like to continue. The Minister for Finance and Public Service Reform has made it clear—I concur with him—that the Water Industry Commission sets the financial framework for Scottish Water. The WIC has set Scottish Water's total expenditure and determined the capital expenditure that is required between 2006 and 2010. Lest the Scottish National Party again deliberately mislead people in Scotland, it is important to stress that Scottish Water has available to it every pound that the WIC and Scottish Water say it needs. Jim Mather raises the issue in Parliament time and again, but we just do not agree with him.
I am sure that my good friend and colleague the Deputy Minister for Environment and Rural Development is aware of the position that the Scottish Labour Party set out at its conference in Oban, which is to retain Scottish Water as a publicly owned and publicly accountable organisation. Does she agree that that policy, which has been implemented successfully in recent years, has resulted in the success of Scottish Water to which she referred in her answer to Mr Butler?
Yes.
Local Produce
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to encourage consumers to buy local produce. (S2O-12129)
Factors such as price, quality and availability have an impact on consumers' choices about which products to buy. The Scottish Executive is helping Scottish producers to improve their marketing, through the provision of food marketing grant assistance, and we are encouraging clearer labelling.
I welcome the Executive's recent action to ensure that caterers identify the origin of the beef that they sell. What further measures is the Executive taking to encourage not just individual consumers but local authorities and Government agencies to buy local produce? The procurement of local food is more environmentally sustainable and we know the high standards that local food meets.
As—I hope—the member will be aware, we have been encouraging that through a project that started its life in the provision of catering to the educational services in East Ayrshire, which demonstrated that the opportunities for local procurement and seasonal produce could be greatly enhanced. We are rolling out that project across Scotland, not just in the schools estate, but in other public sector bodies.
Health and Community Care
Carers (Strategy)
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide an update on the development of its strategy for carers. (S2O-12157)
We are taking forward work on the four agreed strategic priorities of respite for carers, young carers, carer health and carer training. We have put in place, among other things, new incentives for general practitioners to identify carers and refer them for relevant support, and carer information strategies will be put in place at health board level throughout the national health service from April.
That information is very welcome. The deputy minister will be aware that respite care is vital for carers, but its provision is patchy across the country. How is the Executive taking on board the views of carers? Will the Executive consider ring fencing funding for carers and for work around caring?
As part of our response to the care 21 report, "The Future of Unpaid Care in Scotland", we have established a task group that is considering a number of issues around respite care. The group is pooling evidence on provision—to which Cathy Peattie referred—and demand, along with evidence of the value of respite care to carers and those for whom they care. Work is going forward in those areas.
Does the minister agree that there is a need to invest more in carers centres, especially where there are no carers centres or where the carers centres are finding it financially difficult to continue?
Euan Robson makes a valid point. Carers centres provide a valuable part of the support that exists, and we expect local authorities to work with the voluntary sector, in particular, which is responsible for providing much of that support. Since 1999, we have quadrupled the amount of funding that we provide to local authorities to more than £20 million in support for respite care and for carers in general. We expect local authorities to include within that support for carers centres, where appropriate. Of course, we also provide funds at our own hand to voluntary organisations that are involved in providing such support.
The minister will be aware that more than half of all carers are yet to receive an individual assessment of their personal needs in addition to an assessment of the needs of the person for whom they care. Can he tell me what the Executive is doing to ensure that carers receive an individual assessment of their needs?
That is something that we want to see. We are working with local authorities and health boards; we are encouraging them to co-ordinate provision of services and to carry out assessments on an agreed basis. We think that that offers the best way forward.
Child Poverty
To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it intends to take to improve children's health following the publication of the UNICEF report on child poverty in perspective. (S2O-12115)
We have a range of measures already in place to tackle the long-standing problems of poverty and to improve the health of children in Scotland. Those begin with antenatal health care and the information and support that are provided to expectant mothers. The care continues for new families with home health visiting, community-based breastfeeding initiatives and surestart Scotland, which targets young children in the areas of greatest need. The health-promoting-environment approach in our nurseries includes supervised tooth brushing and the provision of free water and fresh fruit to young children.
I am a bit surprised that the minister did not mention the "Children's Rights Impact Assessment: The SCCYP Model", which was laid before Parliament on 31 October 2006 by Scotland's commissioner for children and young people, Kathleen Marshall. I would like the minister to consider that document. How and where has the Scottish Executive implemented the recommendations of that document in recent legislation?
We are always open to new ideas and initiatives. Matters such as the children's commissioner's report are considered seriously. However, I totally dismiss the accusation that we are somehow failing or betraying our children in Scotland. The free water and fruit in our schools and the supervised tooth brushing initiative are turning round the health of communities throughout Scotland.
Prescription Charges (Long-term Conditions)
To ask the Scottish Executive what the latest position is on its review of national health service prescription charges for patients with long-term conditions and on what date it expects to present the outcome of the review. (S2O-12124)
We intend to publish a report on the review in the near future.
I am disgusted by the minister's answer. Four years ago, the Executive promised to review NHS prescription charges because it accepted that the current exemption arrangements are not fit for purpose. Thirteen months ago, the minister asked Parliament to reject the Abolition of NHS Prescription Charges (Scotland) Bill, which I introduced. He promised that the Executive would introduce proposals to exempt from charges many people who suffer from long-term conditions. On 10 November, he told me in a written answer to a parliamentary question that the Executive would
That is certainly the first time I have heard Colin Fox pretend to speak on behalf of the medical profession. However, the medical profession and other respondents to the consultation have given a mixture of messages. For that reason, he is wrong—although Colin Fox takes the view that there is a single, simple solution to this complex question.
Is not it the case that the Executive's continuing prevarication will mean that the inequities that exist in the system will persist into the future? Would not it be fairer to phase out prescription charges, as is planned by the SNP and as has been successfully implemented by the National Assembly for Wales, to end this tax on ill health?
The point of devolution is, of course, to find our own solutions. Shona Robison will present her party's proposals at the election; she may rest assured that we will do the same.
Elderly People (South Lochaber)
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will meet me and representatives of the communities served by Glencoe hospital to discuss the future provision of services for elderly people in south Lochaber. (S2O-12076)
As the member is aware, I have already agreed to meet him and community council representatives next week to hear their views on the matter.
On behalf of the communities of Duror and Kentallen, Glencoe, Ballachulish, Onich and Kinlochleven, I thank the minister for his prompt response to that request. Will he provide reassurance to those communities today that Glencoe hospital will remain open until such time as the alternative plan is fully detailed, worked out and accepted by the local community?
I thank the member for the way that he put his question. I offer an absolute guarantee to him that I will read whatever evidence the communities seek to put before me about that very important matter. As I made clear during the recent debate in Parliament, it is absolutely incumbent on national health service boards to ensure that alternative sustainable service provision that meets users' needs is in place before significant service change takes place. I will need to be satisfied that the board is able to deliver that prior to any decision being made.
Children's Health
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide an update on the steps it is taking to improve the health of children in our communities, schools and homes. (S2O-12139)
We are working to improve children's health in all those settings, for example through parents and children together teams in Glasgow, which provide intensive support to families at home; the Schools (Nutrition and Health Promotion) (Scotland) Bill, which will establish nutritional standards for food and drink in schools and ensure that all schools are health-promoting environments; and the tooth brushing initiative in nursery and primary schools, which has helped to deliver the best dental health among Scotland's children since records began.
I appreciate what is being done, but I could not help but note that in an earlier answer from the minister to Rosie Kane on the same subject, he mentioned alcohol and tobacco. One of the problems in many areas is the abuse, or even just the use, of those substances by people who are too young or who should not be using them. What progress has been made in stopping the sale of tobacco to under-age people, increasing the age at which it can be purchased and, in particular, trying to stop alcohol being supplied, as it often is, to young people?
Gordon Jackson is right to highlight the importance of those substances. A considerable amount of work is under way in respect of both alcohol and tobacco. We are in the midst of consultation on the recommendations in the report of our expert group on smoking prevention, which focuses particularly on young people because it recognises that most smokers start smoking in their teens, regret it and seek to stop thereafter. It is critical that we break the habit of cigarette smoking in that age group.
Myocardial Infarction<br />(NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde)
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will encourage NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to make Omacor available to patients to tackle the level of myocardial infarction in its area. (S2O-12146)
Omacor is one of a number of potential treatments for the secondary prevention of myocardial infarction.
I welcome the minister's response and acknowledge the consortium's recommendations. However, given that the treatment has been adopted in many other parts of Scotland, and given the high level of heart disease in the greater Glasgow and Clyde area, why cannot the health board consider making it available? If the minister can discuss the matter with the health board and convince it at least to reconsider its present position, that would be a welcome development for patients in the city of Glasgow who require the treatment.
Our preventive and anticipatory health care activities and our approach to preventing cardiovascular disease through the use of statins will result in significantly positive outcomes for the people of Glasgow. I point out that total mortality through cardiovascular disease has fallen by 46 per cent over the past decade.
Health Protection (Vulnerable Groups)
To ask the Scottish Executive what assurance it can give that it is taking all possible action to ensure that vulnerable groups receive the highest quality of health protection while reducing bureaucracy for local and national stakeholders. (S2O-12152)
Over the past few years, we have brought forward new legislation to protect mentally ill people, adults with incapacity and, most recently, other adults who for other reasons are unable to safeguard their own interests and are at risk of harm. Last week, members unanimously supported the Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Bill, which gives local councils the duty to act in such cases and provides a statutory basis for multi-agency adult protection committees that cover every local authority area.
I am sure that Parliament roundly supports the Executive's measures, including the bill that was passed last week, to protect vulnerable individuals and groups in our society. I note that the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Bill is also proceeding through Parliament.
I am happy to assure the member that as designed and drafted—and as approved by Parliament—the Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Bill will remove any doubt about the duty on local authorities to act in such matters and give them a proper basis on which to do so. The detail of how that will be done will be directed by a code of practice, under which authorities will be allowed to consult users, practitioners and the voluntary sector to ensure that any action that is taken is appropriate to the particular level of need.
Nursing Home Places (Moray)
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will investigate the extent to which any shortage of nursing home places in Moray is exacerbating delayed discharges from local hospitals. (S2O-12082)
It is for Moray Council and NHS Grampian to determine the level of provision required to meet the needs of older people and to arrange an appropriate range of services. In consultation with local authority and national health service partnerships, we have set challenging new delayed discharge targets to free up valuable hospital beds and I expect all partnerships to work together to achieve them.
Is the minister aware that in rural Grampian, particularly in places such as Moray, care home residents are often placed in or offered places in homes that are far from their communities? Has he issued any guidelines to local authorities and health boards on this matter? It can be distressing for clients in care homes if their families have to travel a long way to see them.
We expect local partnerships to do their best to prevent delayed discharge through avoiding unnecessary use of hospital beds; seeking appropriate places to which people in hospital can be discharged is certainly a key part of any such approach. We also expect partnerships to work together to take and maintain that approach in every local area and to ensure that the individual's interests are fully taken into account.
Question 9 has been withdrawn.
Health Expenditure
To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated per capita expenditure on health will be in 2007-08 and what the comparable figure was in 1999-2000. (S2O-12136)
I am pleased to say that the estimated per capita expenditure on health in 2007-08 is £2,013. The comparable figure for 1999-2000 was £974.
How does the substantial increase in expenditure translate into real benefits for national health service patients in terms of waiting times and the numbers of doctors and nurses? Does the minister envisage that the increase will continue in the future?
It is not just the money that is important, but the effect that we have on the lives of people throughout Scotland. That includes the smoking cessation services in our communities; the new way in which we are working with our primary medical services; the see-and-treat model; our work to ensure that we identify risk and take a preventive approach to health care; the huge investment that we are making in the infrastructure of our national health service; the 14 per cent increase in staff; and the almost tripling of the capital budget. When we take all those together, what we have is a combination of investment in the infrastructure of our national health service.
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