SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE
General Questions
Defence Aviation Repair Agency<br />(Market Testing)
To ask the Scottish Executive what meetings its Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Department has had regarding the implications of the market testing of the Defence Aviation Repair Agency establishment at Almondbank. (S2O-9091)
The Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Department has had no meetings on market testing at DARA Almondbank, but has been in correspondence with the Ministry of Defence at both ministerial and official levels.
I thank the minister for his response—I think—although my question was directed towards the implications of the market testing, which is moving on, slightly. I am astonished that there have been no meetings, given that local parliamentarians are meeting DARA chiefs and that the local council is concerned on an all-party basis about the future of the establishment and wants to reassure the workforce that the jobs will be saved for Scotland. I would have thought that the Executive would be taking a slightly more proactive approach. Would the minister care to elucidate?
I acknowledge the member's constituency interest and reassure her that we are actively engaged with the MOD in relation to the implications, if any, of the market-testing exercise that is currently under way at Almondbank.
Gaelic Education
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are studying the Gaelic language at further and higher education level. (S2O-9038)
From 2003-04 to 2004-05 there has been a notable and welcome increase in the numbers of people enrolled to study the Gaelic language in further and higher education. In further education colleges, the number has risen from 625 to 1,015 and at higher education institutions, the rise has been from 105 students to 185 students.
I thank the minister for that encouraging response. I am sure that he will agree that Gaelic is important to the cultural life of Scotland and that it is important that there are adequate numbers of teachers trained in Gaelic if we are to deliver the Scottish Executive's commitments. Does the minister share my concern that we need more people studying Gaelic in further and higher education so that the current shortage of Gaelic teachers can be addressed?
That is important and, clearly, it is happening. We need to ensure that courses are available and we need to encourage a number of students on them to go into teaching. Clearly, however, not all of them will take that career option. How we encourage them to do so is important and is something that my colleague, Peter Peacock, and the Education Department will be involved in. We are determined to maintain and improve the quality of Gaelic education in our schools and in our colleges and universities. In my area of responsibility, the position in relation to Sabhal Mòr Ostaig is encouraging. It has a record number of students and we are hopeful that a funding announcement will be made in relation to the institution by the end of March. I believe that it will be a positive announcement.
Does the minister agree that people who are trying to get into Gaelic teaching and are perhaps taking part-time courses should have remission of some of their fees, which would encourage more people to enter the profession? We must top up the numbers who are available to teach in schools. Remission of further and higher education fees would offer a considerable incentive to Gaelic speakers to move into Gaelic teaching, which has not happened speedily enough to date.
I am always willing to consider options in that regard. However, it is important that we have a system and structure that encourage people into teaching because it is an attractive and well-paid profession. That is increasingly the case in Scotland; reforms and the McCrone agenda have significantly improved the position of teachers in Scotland. That should have a positive knock-on effect for Gaelic teachers.
Chernobyl Disaster
To ask the Scottish Executive what lessons it has learned from the environmental and other impacts of the Chernobyl disaster on the 20th anniversary of the disaster. (S2O-9097)
The key lessons that have been learned are the importance of comprehensive monitoring to detect and assess radiation incidents and levels of radioactivity in food and the environment and, of course, the importance of good contingency planning.
The Chernobyl explosion severely contaminated 22 per cent of the Belarus landmass and caused the evacuation of 350,000 people. Those of us who express concern about nuclear safety have today been branded by the United Kingdom Minister of State for Energy, Malcolm Wicks, as immature "environmental fundamentalists". Do you regard that comment as a mature contribution to a very serious debate?
Members are well aware of the need to be alive and alert to the dangers of nuclear explosions, but we must also remember that the disaster happened in 1986 in a facility that—I am not an expert, but I think that we all know this—had severe problems in its design and operation. It is important to remember that in Scotland 10 farms, which contain about 13,600 sheep, are still actively being monitored. We cannot diminish the risks, but I will not engage in a debate that the member might more properly have with Mr Wicks.
Does the minister agree that the lesson to be learned is that other countries will develop nuclear power irrespective of decisions on nuclear energy in this country and that in some nuclear facilities there will—as was the case at Chernobyl—be fewer safety regulations and lower standards of care than we have in the United Kingdom? Does the minister agree that the fact that we had a strong nuclear energy industry allowed us to diminish the effects of the horrors of Chernobyl?
I know that the member takes a keen interest in matters nuclear. From my point of view, Chernobyl demonstrated that there are enduring environmental concerns. As I said to Chris Ballance, that is a lesson that we cannot easily ignore.
Does the minister agree that the best way of commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster would be to rule out any new nuclear power stations for Scotland? Does he agree that the best people to decide the future of energy for Scotland are the people who are elected to the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh here in Scotland, and not Malcolm Wicks, who makes fleeting visits to his energy colony now and again?
If there is to be a memorial to mark the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, one might more properly spend a little more time being concerned about the people who suffered seriously from the impact of the disaster, rather than making—if I may say so—a slightly cheap political point about how we commemorate such a serious disaster. If there is an enduring lesson to be learned, it is that irrespective of the form of power to be generated, it behoves us all to ensure that we apply the highest standards of engineering and health and safety, whatever we do.
Defence Aviation Repair Agency (Privatisation)
To ask the Scottish Executive how its Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department will support the staff and management of the Defence Aviation Repair Agency following its privatisation. (S2O-9039)
The Ministry of Defence has advised the Scottish Executive that no decision to sell DARA Almondbank has been taken. Furthermore, the MOD has no plans for redundancies at DARA Almondbank.
I think the minister will agree that a degree of uncertainty has been generated and that uncertainty is damaging and contagious, especially given that the DARA workforce is highly skilled. I support the member for Perth in asking the minister to maintain regular contact with the MOD and to keep the management and workforce at DARA informed of developments.
I certainly assure the member on his latter point, as I did the member in whose constituency Almondbank is.
I was delighted to hear the minister describe DARA Almondbank as a "world-class facility" in his answer to the member for Perth, because many of my constituents are employed there. Will the minister tell Parliament the steps that the Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department has taken to support the work that is undertaken at DARA, to build on the skills level there and to ensure that the facility continues to support world-class skills and to bring benefits in employment not just to Perthshire but to the wider Scottish economy?
The member will accept that the facility is ultimately a matter for the MOD, which wants to achieve a solution that offers best value for money while preserving operational effectiveness. However, the Scottish Executive, the member for Perth and Mr Swinney have a role in influencing MOD decisions in that context.
Scottish Driving Assessment Centre
To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is with regard to the Scottish driving assessment centre. (S2O-9051)
The Scottish Executive supports the Scottish driving assessment centre by providing an annual contribution to the running costs of the service. The Scottish Executive is also supporting the Scottish driving assessment centre in developing by the end of March 2006 a business case for potential expansion of the service in the west of Scotland.
I welcome the minister's helpful reply. He might be aware that the Scottish driving assessment service was established in 1983 and was entirely funded by the national health service until 2001. Members of the service have made me aware that the Scottish Executive Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department has been helpful to the service in its campaign for a second centre in the west of Scotland, which has been going on for some time, as the minister knows.
Stewart Maxwell is correct to say that the Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department has supported the project, to which it has allocated moneys for the financial years 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08. As he said, delays have arisen from difficulties in securing an appropriate site through the NHS. We responded to those difficulties by providing £35,000 from the allocated moneys to pay for a project manager, who has met Executive transport and health officials to try to progress the project, which is important. I understand that, following discussions, a business plan will be presented to the Executive by the end of next month. I assure Mr Maxwell that my transport and health colleagues are working together to produce a solution that will help to progress this important project for the west of Scotland.
Pubwatch (Lanarkshire)
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any concerns regarding the operation of the pubwatch schemes that are run by licensees in Lanarkshire. (S2O-9078)
I emphasise that the Executive has no locus in pubwatch schemes. They are voluntary schemes and locally driven collaborations between licensees. Their purpose is to promote a safer environment in establishments and thereby to reduce the risk of damage to property and assaults on staff.
Is the minister aware of cases, such as those in my constituency of individuals—mostly women—who have been banned for life from all the pubs in a pubwatch area for actions that did not warrant criminal prosecution? Some people have even been served with 10-year bans for the heinous crime of signing people into a social club against club rules. Does he agree that such punishments are disproportionate to the wrongdoing? Does he agree that although it is important that licensees should run their establishments in an orderly manner, they cannot be allowed to combine into organised kangaroo courts in which they act as judge, jury and executioner against people who might have committed no criminal offence? Will he undertake to examine whether pubwatch schemes act in accordance with the European convention on human rights, especially as they do not offer the accused even a hearing or an appeal against the punishments that are imposed?
I am aware of the member's concern. My department checked whether police in North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire had received complaints about the issue, but they confirmed that no complaints had been received in the past year. I understand that recent local press coverage concerned two women who had been barred but not informed; they were not informed because they were from outside the area and could not be readily identified.
Care and Nursing Homes (Bed Places)
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase bed places in care and nursing homes, in light of the projected rise in the number of older people. (S2O-9021)
Detailed planning of such matters is for the local authorities in the first instance. However, I expect a report in the next few weeks from the range and capacity review group, which we set up to consider the issues. The proposition that the best way to deal with growing numbers of older people is simply to place more older people in care homes is not one that I expect the group to support.
Does the minister accept that the fact that provision is in the hands of local authorities is one of the problems, given that local authorities are racing to close the homes that they fund and run? Is he the least bit concerned by the lengths to which some authorities will go? On Monday, West Dunbartonshire Council is to board up an elderly care home that has two residents in order to close 12 beds. It will disconnect the cooker and other appliances, put in security guards and withdraw all the staff. Is he concerned about such behaviour when we need the extra beds?
I would be concerned if such matters were dealt with in a way that was as alarming as Frances Curran's question implies. The reason why we look to local authorities to make such provision is that they are best placed to know the position in their areas and to plan accordingly. In addition, we do not accept that care homes offer the only way or the best way of supporting older people. We believe that the right direction of policy is to maintain the care home sector while fulfilling as far as possible the wish that older people have made clear to remain in their own homes for as long as possible.