General Questions
United Kingdom Budget
The chancellor’s budget failed to provide any substantial measures to support economic growth or Scottish households. At a time when the economic outlook remains fragile, the Office for Budget Responsibility has confirmed that the United Kingdom Government’s measures will have a limited effect on its economic forecasts, and the Treasury’s analysis shows that the UK Government’s tax rises and benefit cuts will mean that the average Scottish household will be around £400 worse off next year. The budget provided £13.54 million in departmental expenditure limit capital consequentials over the next three years, but that will do little to offset the 33 per cent real-terms cuts to our capital budget that the chancellor has already imposed over the current spending review period.
The cabinet secretary knows as well as I do how significant the impact of high fuel prices is on the people of Scotland, particularly those in rural areas, who have no choice but to use their cars. High fuel prices affect every single one of us, as higher haulage costs lead to higher prices for everything that everybody buys, including the Government and local authorities. Does the cabinet secretary agree that the plan to hike fuel duty by 3p per litre later this year is entirely the wrong move at a time when everyone’s budgets are tight, and that it shows up the UK Government’s complete inability to get a grip on soaring fuel prices?
There is tremendous substance in the points that Maureen Watt makes. The issue is significant for all parts of the Scottish economy and public services. The fact that no action was taken yesterday to mitigate in any way the prospective increases in fuel tax will put further strain on households and the development of the Scottish economy, and the fact that there were no compensating measures in the budget to try to encourage or stimulate a higher level of economic growth merely reinforces the point that Maureen Watt makes about the damaging consequences of the decision on fuel duty.
Scottish Retail Consortium (Conference)
We want as many retailers as possible to take part in the conference, and we will work with the Scottish Retail Consortium to ensure that there is varied and broad participation.
Several weeks ago, I raised concerns about major retail chains because of closures in East Kilbride and Hamilton town centres. There have been some welcome developments since then, with new investment and new shops opening in vacant premises, but the overall picture is not good. Will the cabinet secretary ensure that invitations to any major conferences on the future of retail are extended to East Kilbride shopping centre and South Lanarkshire Council? Will he ensure that he addresses employment and regeneration in South Lanarkshire?
I am happy to extend an invitation either directly or through the Scottish Retail Consortium to participants from East Kilbride, and indeed to people from any other part of Lanarkshire who want to participate.
Female Unemployment (Fife)
The Government is focused on jobs and growth and is taking a range of actions to ensure that everyone who wants to work can do so. During 2010-11, inward investment activities in Fife through Scottish Development International resulted in the planned creation of 1,072 new jobs and safeguarded 69 jobs. Since April 2010, businesses in Fife have obtained regional selective assistance offers that total £9.4 million, which are expected to create or safeguard 1,507 jobs.
The claimant figures for women in Fife that were published last week show that the biggest increase in female unemployment was in North East Fife—an area that traditionally has a lower claimant count. In recent months, the figure has been steadily increasing. What specific actions is the Scottish Government taking to support women who face unemployment in rural areas? Those women often face childcare challenges as well as difficulty in accessing training, both of which are barriers to employment.
The Government is determined to ensure that all parts of the country are able to prosper. A concern that arose from yesterday’s budget is the clear direction that has now been set by the United Kingdom Government to establish market-facing pay rates at a local level. For public sector employees in parts of the country, that means that wage rates will go down to ensure that wage rates can be inflated in and around areas of congestion such as the south-east of England. Clearly, that is difficult and unwelcome news for women in North East Fife, and for people in other parts of the country.
Machrihanish Airbase Community Company
The Scottish Government is committed to supporting rural communities in acquiring land to help to build independent, resilient and flourishing communities across Scotland. Through advice and financial assistance, we have been supporting the Machrihanish Airbase Community Company to achieve its aim of buying the former Royal Air Force base at Machrihanish. We are working closely with the Ministry of Defence to take forward improvements to the water, sewerage and electricity infrastructure at the base.
I thank the minister for that reply, but he will be aware of concerns over problems with the water, sewerage and electricity infrastructure. What support is the Scottish Government giving MACC to tackle those problems and encourage the development of what could be a dynamic and economically important site for green excellence and a great economic opportunity for the people of Campbeltown and Kintyre?
We should be happy with the progress that is being made. I note the explicit request, following a meeting of the Kintyre initiative working group on 24 February, for continuing support, which we are giving. However, there was also a specific request that there should be no running commentary on the detail of negotiations at this sensitive time. The constituency member—Mr Russell—has respected that request, and I strongly urge Mr McGrigor to do the same.
I call question 6 from Elaine Murray.
Roads (A75 Improvements)
Presiding Officer, I think that we are on question 5, not question 6.
You are right: it is question 5, and Elaine Murray has asked it.
It is a great feeling correcting the Presiding Officer.
Do not do it twice. [Laughter.]
The statutory procedures for the scheme are complete, and construction will commence as soon as funding becomes available. The First Minister wrote to the Prime Minister on 2 March with a view to further capital funding being brought forward by the Scottish Government, with the co-operation of the Treasury, for a number of shovel-ready projects, including our planned improvements to the A75 between Hardgrove and Kinmount. However, those shovel-ready projects did not form part of the UK Government’s budget announcement yesterday.
I thank the cabinet secretary for his reply, although I point out that the improvement scheme was shovel-ready when his Government abandoned it a couple of years ago. However, I am pleased that it is Alex Neil who is answering this question, because, back in March 2000, he signed my motion calling for improvements to the A75. This is the last of the series of improvements, and it has not yet been commenced. Now that Mr Neil is in a position to make it happen, I ask him how high the £10 million Hardgrove to Kinmount project is on his list of priorities. Is it number 1 of the 36 that he submitted to the UK Government, or is it number 36? When will the project be done?
First, the capital cost is almost £15 million. Secondly, had our capital budget not been slashed by one third by the previous Labour Government, and had that cut not been continued by the Tory-led coalition, the project would have been completed by now. It is thanks to Alistair Darling, Gordon Brown, George Osborne and the current United Kingdom Government that we do not have the money for the project.
Roads (Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route)
It is hoped that the small number of objectors who oppose the AWPR will be willing to accept the recent Court of Session judgment, so that we can get on and build the road. Subject to no further appeal being lodged against the judgment, we will continue to work with our project partners to ensure that this vital project is completed as soon as possible.
I concur with the cabinet secretary’s thoughts about the objectors. The cabinet secretary will be aware of the suggestions for an alternative junction design at the north Stonehaven junction with the A90. Does he believe that there is some merit in those suggestions—there appears to be—and that they could yet be incorporated into the scheme?
Given the procedures that we have been through, such as the public inquiry and the various appeals in the Court of Session, I can say that there will be no further changes to the design of the AWPR. The project has been delayed for long enough and we are anxious to move ahead and get it under way.
If there are further delays to the AWPR, it will frustrate the majority of people in the north-east. Will the cabinet secretary at least give careful consideration to bringing forward the work on the Haudagain roundabout, which is a key congestion pinch point in the city, and not delaying that work until the AWPR is completed?
We have made it absolutely clear many times that we will do the work on that roundabout as part of the AWPR, and we hope that we will be in a position to start the AWPR process once we know whether there is going to be another appeal. Hopefully there will not be, and that will allow us to get on with the job of completing the entire AWPR.
Home Insulation (Energy Costs)
During the past 10 years, the percentage of houses in Scotland that are rated good for energy efficiency has doubled. That represents significant progress.
Between 2004 and 2009, the number of households in fuel poverty in the United Kingdom rose from 2 million to 5.5 million. The UK Government will shortly publish its annual report on fuel poverty statistics, which is likely to show increasing levels of fuel poverty across the UK in 2010.
I agree entirely. I point out that there is a huge difference between our approach to fuel poverty and that of the UK Government. The Tory-led coalition is slashing the fuel poverty budgets, continuing the process that was started under Labour. In the next three years, we will invest £0.25 billion in tackling fuel poverty in Scotland.
Methadone Treatments
Data on the average length of time and dosage for a course of methadone is not held centrally and never has been since methadone prescribing commenced. To address that, the Scottish Government has invested in Scotland’s first drugs misuse database, which will be linked to other relevant databases such as the prescriptions database. From 2012 to 2014, the databases will start to tell us more about the types of treatment that are offered as well as their duration for each individual client.
The Government spends more than £28 million a year delivering methadone maintenance treatment to more than 22,000 people, many of whom can be on methadone for 10 years or longer. At the same time, residential treatment units such as Castle Craig Hospital in West Linton in my region have seen a substantial fall in the number of patients who are referred to them. The hospital relies on patients from Holland, who are paid for by the private sector there, to support service provision. What strategies does the cabinet secretary have and what targets has he set to reduce drug dependency in Scotland?
That question relates to “The Road to Recovery: A New Approach to Tackling Scotland’s Drug Problem”, which was delivered in the previous session of Parliament with cross-party support. We introduced it because we realised the great difficulties and challenges that exist and the need to address many of the matters to which Graeme Pearson correctly refers.
When I was on a recent visit to Barlinnie, many of the inmates told me that they had joined the methadone programme simply to get through the boredom of the day. What measures will the cabinet secretary take to address that issue, particularly in Barlinnie, which, the governor tells me, has the biggest methadone queue in western Europe?
We face a significant problem with drug addiction in our prisons, which we have partly addressed in two ways. One is through the McLeish commission, because we need to ensure that we address the underlying issues that result in people offending. We are trying to deal with matters other than those that arise in prison. When people are in prison, the issue has to be dealt with by clinicians. We correctly take the view that the health service in the prison system should be part of the general national health service. That ensures that, when people leave prison, they have a place to go to.
Housing Policy (Private Rented Sector Tenants)
The private rented sector does not have as widespread a network of tenant representative bodies as the social rented sector has. To help to address that, we ensure that tenant advocacy bodies such as Shelter Scotland and others are involved in policy making on private rented housing. Similarly, to obtain the views of the many landlords across Scotland, organisations such as the Scottish Association of Landlords often represent the landlord view in dialogue on policy, through membership of the Scottish private rented sector strategy group.
The strategy group includes landlords, regulators and Shelter, but will the cabinet secretary reflect on whether it is appropriate and possible to find some way of inviting someone with direct experience of private renting, such as a representative of one of the groups that exist, to ensure that their experience and expertise are given equal prominence to those of landlords?
We are already attempting to do that. The private rented sector strategy group is supported by a wider virtual network of stakeholders who are kept up to date and invited to comment on the progress of the group’s work.
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