SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE
General Questions
Road Safety
To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to improve road safety. (S3O-6657)
The Scottish Government will shortly publish a new road safety framework for Scotland for the period to 2020. We provide £1.3 billion for infrastructure funding to Transport Scotland to ensure a safe strategic road network and we fund significant educational initiatives through Road Safety Scotland.
As I highlighted in this morning's debate, when I undertook my survey in Inverkip, which achieved a response rate of 41 per cent, some 81 per cent of respondents said that they want action to be taken on the A78 junction at Inverkip. I welcome the fact that Transport Scotland will now undertake a survey, but I ask the minister to accept my invitation to come to Inverkip to see for himself the dangerous and potentially life-threatening junction. Will he agree to meet members of the Inverkip and Wemyss Bay community council to hear their concerns and to discuss the matter further?
As I said in the previous debate, the member's engagement with local communities on the issue is impressive. I will certainly seek to make time available in my diary to visit Inverkip to see the junction for myself and to meet members of the community council.
It is understandable that blind and partially sighted people, as well as other disabled people, have concerns about the development of shared-surface schemes in some of our towns and cities. Will the Scottish Executive consider a moratorium on new shared-surface schemes until the completion of research, either by taking part in the Department for Transport's research or by conducting its own research on the issue?
The member makes a fair point. When I met representatives of blind and partially sighted people some time ago, I was given a clear exposition of the real difficulties that can arise when we share space. The history of such schemes, particularly in the Netherlands, is generally good, but I think that we have cultural as well as engineering issues to consider. I will not make the commitment that the member asked for at this moment, but he can be assured that I am aware of, and we are engaging on, the issue.
Business Support (North-east Scotland)
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps have been taken to ensure that adequate business support and advice is available to companies in the north-east. (S3O-6643)
Business support and advice is available to companies in the north-east mainly through the business gateway, which provides advice and support to all businesses via its website, inquiry centre and advisers. Responsibility for business gateway delivery was transferred from Scottish Enterprise to local authorities on 1 April 2008 to provide a more local delivery of service and to reflect the fact that businesses already interact with local authorities on a range of local issues. Complementing that activity, Scottish Enterprise also provides support and advice in the north-east, with a focus on companies of high growth potential and key sectors. Scottish Enterprise's activity in the north-east is informed by its regional advisory board—Aberdeen city and shire economic future—which brings together the public and private sectors to shape delivery.
As the minister will be aware, since the management of business gateway contracts was transferred from Scottish Enterprise to local authorities, concerns have been raised about the use of local contact details. Scottish Enterprise precludes the use of local phone numbers by contractors who wish to advertise services. As a result, the contractor that delivers the enterprise service in Grampian and Tayside has reported a 75 per cent drop in first inquiries, which makes it extremely difficult for them to hit targets. I have no objection to challenging targets, but will the minister address the issue of using local telephone numbers?
We do not preclude the use of local telephone numbers once contact has been established and things are moving forward, but the ethos of business gateway is based on the assumption that inquiries should go to a central location to avoid confusion, to create better effectiveness and to maintain the brand. Officials from the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and from the Scottish local authorities economic development—SLAED—group accept that position. It is interesting that while the target for total inquiries was 40,000, the actual figure was 39,543, which is 98.9 per cent. We hear what the member is saying, but I think that local telephone numbers are used in on-going inquiries.
Does the minister recognise that, through no fault of their own, several well-run, enterprising small companies in the oil and gas sector in the north-east currently face difficulties with overdraft facilities? What action has Scottish Enterprise taken to ensure that companies in that position have ready access to advice and, if need be, to short-term funding?
Scottish Enterprise is openly engaged with such companies. The Scottish Government has been pressing the banks to ensure that contacts are made and that funds flow through. The member will be aware that that has been the focus of activity of the United Kingdom Government as well as of the Scottish Government. We are now beginning to see signs that funds are flowing through, but we will maintain our focus and will continue to make the necessary contact. We will listen intently to concerns about particular situations in which good, viable companies struggle to get the funding that they need.
National Concessionary Travel Scheme
To ask the Scottish Executive whether consideration was given to the recognition of bus passes across the United Kingdom in its review of the national concessionary travel scheme. (S3O-6594)
The review of the Scotland-wide free bus travel scheme for older and disabled people is almost complete and we expect the report of the review to be published early in May. It would not be appropriate to pre-empt the report and its wider considerations at this time.
I welcome the minister's statement that mutual recognition of bus passes throughout the UK has been considered by the Government's review of the concessionary travel scheme, which is due to report back imminently. Can he confirm that the stakeholders who were consulted during the consultation process included various user groups? Mutual recognition of bus passes throughout the UK would be of great benefit to people such as my constituent, Graham Chandler, whose parents, who reside in England, plan frequent trips to Scotland to assist their son with child care.
It is clear that an extension of the free bus travel scheme and the reciprocity that would have to be part of that could deliver benefits. Indeed, I have been in correspondence with members of the Northern Ireland Assembly on the subject, in which they have a shared interest.
Does the Government have plans to follow the Labour Government at Westminster by withdrawing many travel concessions from those who are entitled to them?
I think that I have said on a previous occasion that we intend to augment the free bus travel scheme by extending it to cover disabled ex-servicemen. It is certainly not our intention to impose restrictions or to reduce the concessions that have been made available in the past.
National Health Service Aroma Cafe
To ask the Scottish Government how it intends to roll out the NHS Aroma cafe concept. (S3O-6625)
A trial involving two Aroma sites, at Glasgow royal infirmary and the Southern general, is under way. The new Stobhill and Victoria hospitals are expected to join the trial, and a further two sites are planned for the NHS Highland area.
I thank the cabinet secretary for her answer and I have noted her public comments. I accept that the Aroma cafe concept that she has endorsed has some merit, but I hope that she accepts that a one-size-fits-all approach is not appropriate and that Aroma cafes should not displace hard-working charities and volunteers, such as the league of friends at Inverclyde royal hospital.
I echo Duncan McNeil's comments about the league of friends and similar organisations, which do a fantastic job on behalf of the national health service. I know that all NHS boards respect and value that work, and I would fully expect Andrew Robertson or any other health board chair to communicate those sentiments to volunteers who do such work.
Wrongful Death (Damages)
To ask the Scottish Executive what its view is on the recommendations in the report on damages for wrongful death published by the Scottish Law Commission. (S3O-6602)
Officials are currently considering the report on damages for wrongful death alongside the Scottish Law Commission's two other recent reports on damages. We will take a view about our response to the recommendations in those reports and the timing of any bill in due course.
I thank the cabinet secretary for his extremely cautious response. He will be aware that reform of the Damages (Scotland) Act 1976 would, among other things, remove the need for some cases to go to court, thereby allowing victims and their relatives to access the compensation to which they are entitled more swiftly and avoid a stressful and potentially intrusive court process. It would also guarantee a fair, standard level of compensation for loss of earnings.
As I said to the member earlier, I appreciate his interest in the matter. Professor Thomson's report has been welcomed, but it must be considered and reviewed by all the stakeholders who have an interest in it. First, we must consider carefully the terms of the report and see whether they will fit precisely into a legislative framework.
Road Safety
To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish its 10-year road safety strategy. (S3O-6584)
I will announce the date of publication within the next few weeks.
When the minister came to office he stated that road safety was a priority, but it seems to me that the Scottish National Party is in a different time zone from the rest of us—it has taken two years to produce the road safety strategy.
The framework for speed limits is, of course, created by the DFT, not by us. A review of speed limits on roads that councils are responsible for is under way. We are working closely with DFT colleagues and have provided input to the consultation on driver licensing and on speed limits. We will continue with such work, because the member makes a perfectly good point—night time and rurality are particular vectors of risk that we need to understand and respond to.
Public Sector (Pay and Conditions)
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of recent research by the Institute of Directors that suggested that Scottish workers may have to work until over the age of 70 to pay for public sector pensions, whether the Scottish Government intends to conduct a review of public sector pay and conditions. (S3O-6579)
I note the Institute of Directors report. Occupational pensions, including public service pensions, remain a matter reserved to the United Kingdom Government. However, public service pensions in Scotland have been reformed in recent years, including the introduction of new schemes for teachers, police, firefighters and NHS staff, and, as recently as 1 April this year, a new scheme for local government staff.
Is it time to examine the financial viability of the existing local government and other public sector pension funds to alleviate the need in future for emergency cash injections from taxpayers to those pension schemes?
As I said in my original answer, we have very recently completed a process, which was started by the previous Administration, to review the local government staff pension scheme. I assure Mr Wilson that there is regular dialogue and interaction between the Scottish Government and the Treasury on the financial health and sustainability of public sector pensions. The issues that Mr Wilson has raised today about the sustainability of pensions are material to honouring the commitments that have been made to public sector workers who have contributed to their pensions.
Scotland Rural Development Programme
To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects its review of the Scotland rural development programme to be concluded. (S3O-6632)
Our external reviewer, Peter Cook, is in the process of finalising his advice and will be submitting it to the Scottish Government shortly. That will enable the Government to make any decisions about changes to the Scotland rural development programme, in the light of that advice, during May.
The minister will be aware of the dismay of NFU Scotland and crofters at the recent postponement of the next round of rural priorities applications. The NFUS described the decision as having left many of its members in limbo. Will the review of the SRDP consider that decision? Will the minister explain to Parliament the reasons for the decision that has disappointed so many crofters and farmers, who have spent a lot of time and money preparing applications?
There have been four funding rounds in the past seven months, which even the member will agree is quite a considerable number. The funding round in February led to more than 1,000 approvals. In a sense, we were a little a victim of our success. We have extended the deadline for the next funding round and we will fix a date for that to be finalised as soon as we can. It is a matter that Peter Cook, who is an independent reviewer, may be considering—we will find out when he presents his report to us—but the success of the previous funding round flies in the face of all the people who were bemoaning how difficult it was to get money out of the SRDP and bodes very well for the future.
As Peter Peacock suggested, Scottish farmers and crofters incur sizeable costs when preparing proposals for the SRDP. Does the minister accept that, given the seasonal nature of many activities supported under rural priorities, her decision to cancel the next round of regional project assessment committee meetings will, as well as cause confusion, at best require proposals to be recast and at worst require them to be dropped entirely for a year or more, with all the costs that that would entail?
No. I do not think that that is necessarily the result. The existing applications will still be able to go forward. We have not cancelled anything. All we have done is extend the deadlines. We have had four in seven months, which by any standard beats previous records. I think that we intend to go on doing so.
Great Britain Football Team
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the Scottish Football Association about the proposal for a GB football team at the 2012 London Olympics. (S3O-6653)
The Scottish Government, at official and ministerial level, has been in regular contact with the Scottish Football Association about a range of issues. The SFA has categorically stated its opposition to the concept of a GB football team. The Scottish Government whole-heartedly backs that position and the Scottish ministers are on record expressing their concerns that a GB football team would jeopardise the future of Scotland as an independent footballing nation.
Will the minister assure me that she will continue to work with the SFA in opposing the idea of a GB football team, which could jeopardise the future independence of Scottish football, and that she will work with the SFA to ensure that the damaging proposal never sees the light of day?
I very much agree with the member. The Scottish Government has always made it clear that it wants to increase the opportunities for Scottish teams to compete on the international stage. The existence of a GB football team could put that at risk, so we will continue to support the SFA's position strongly.