UK Visas and Immigration
To ask the Scottish Government what relationship it has with UK visas and immigration. (S4O-04234)
The Scottish Government has regular contact with UK visas and immigration on matters relating to Scotland’s interests and priorities. We will continue to press the United Kingdom Government to provide an immigration system that meets Scotland’s needs.
I was contacted by two constituents who required assistance on an immigration issue. As there are no members of Parliament at present, I was approached as a local member of the Scottish Parliament. On contacting UK visas and immigration, I was told the following:
“If they have not already done so, they can contact a Westminster parliamentary candidate during the current pre-election period.”
Does the minister agree that that decision undermines our democracy, in that UK visas and immigration is suggesting that constituents contact a member of the public for assistance rather than an elected representative?
Yes, I agree entirely with the member. It is completely unacceptable that any department of the UK Government could demonstrate such a lack of respect for the hard-working members of the Scottish Parliament across the entire chamber. It is essential that our MSPs are able to represent their constituents appropriately.
I call on the incoming UK Government, whoever is in it, to take a respectful approach to Scotland’s MSPs and to work with us to best serve the people of Scotland. This is a practical and pragmatic issue, as Gordon MacDonald rightly demonstrates, but it is also about people’s lives. People and their families are getting ripped apart because of UK immigration rules, and hard-working MSPs are being completely dismissed by that UK Government department. I agree entirely with the member—it is an affront to our democratic mechanisms and it is completely unacceptable.
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. It is about respect. There was nobody on the Opposition front benches for general questions, although that has changed now. I think that that is disrespectful to you and to members in the chamber—do you share my concern?
There is no such rule and all the members who wish to ask a question are here in the chamber, which is the priority.
Defibrillators (Funding)
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will use consequential funding to help provide defibrillators in public places. (S4O-04235)
“Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: A Strategy for Scotland” was published on 27 March 2015. It is a five-year plan to improve Scotland’s response to out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, with the aim of saving an additional 1,000 lives by 2020.
At the Scottish cardiac arrest symposium on 27 March, as well as launching the strategy I announced that £100,000 of health consequentials spending will be used to support the delivery of the OHCA strategy. Work with stakeholders is now in hand to ensure that that funding is used to best effect to strengthen the chain of survival to deliver improved cardiac arrest outcomes.
Following the budget, George Osborne announced £1 million for defibrillators south of the border, which will result in an extra £100,000 for the Scottish Government to spend. Will the minister commit to that money being used to help fund defibrillators in public places across Scotland? Will she agree to undertake a review into the siting of defibrillators in public places in Scotland to provide an accurate picture of their availability?
I agree with Nanette Milne. I mentioned the chain of survival and that is absolutely crucial. It is not just about the provision of defibrillators—it is about rapid recognition of cardiac arrest; early bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation response; early defibrillation; effective pre-hospital resuscitation; and advanced post-resuscitation care. I absolutely agree with Nanette Milne—lots of organisations are fundraising and have provided defibrillators, and it is very important that we map where they all are and that the Ambulance Service knows where they are so that it can inform the bystander CPR response.
Nursing at the Edge
To ask the Scottish Government what support it will provide to the kind of nurse-led initiatives highlighted in the Royal College of Nursing Scotland campaign, nursing at the edge. (S4O-04236)
The Scottish Government welcomes RCN Scotland’s nursing at the edge campaign and the excellent work that is highlighted in its report. Nurses have a critical role to play in tackling inequalities by empowering communities and individuals to be involved in decisions that affect their care; helping to assess and address local population health needs; and providing specialist support and intervention, particularly for vulnerable individuals, families and groups.
Wide-ranging work is under way to strengthen that contribution further. We will continue to ensure that we have the right number of nurses in place with the right skills to deliver high-quality care to the people of Scotland, whatever their needs.
Does the cabinet secretary agree that, as well as taking general action to deal with inequalities in society, it is important that the health service should have specific initiatives to address the needs of those who are most disadvantaged and vulnerable in society, and that the kind of nurse-led initiatives that the RCN highlights are a very important part of that?
Will the cabinet secretary meet the RCN to discuss how those nurse-led initiatives can be promoted, including discussion of training and research issues, so that the new integration authorities can provide the best services possible to address the health inequalities outcome?
I meet the RCN regularly, and I am happy to meet it on the specifics of the nursing at the edge campaign and the issues that Malcolm Chisholm has raised.
The new integrated joint boards have a responsibility to look at how they invest to tackle health inequalities in the communities that they serve. There is an important opportunity through integration to do that more effectively. I am happy to meet the RCN and take forward the issues relating to the campaign.
Question 4, in the name of Graeme Pearson, has been withdrawn for understandable reasons.
Rolls-Royce (East Kilbride)
To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with Rolls-Royce regarding its presence in East Kilbride. (S4O-04238)
The Scottish Government’s economic development agency Scottish Enterprise is in regular contact with Rolls-Royce. Scottish Enterprise officials most recently met Rolls-Royce at its East Kilbride and Inchinnan sites on 31 March, following the company’s announcement of potential job losses at its United Kingdom facilities. The purpose of that meeting was to discuss the implications of the announcement and what support could be provided to reduce any impacts on the company’s sites in Scotland.
The decision of Rolls-Royce to withdraw from East Kilbride and move to Renfrewshire was, as the cabinet secretary knows, meant to secure jobs. Now we know that there will be a wave of redundancies. Will the Scottish Government urge Rolls-Royce to seek an alternative to job losses and to co-operate with the local council in finding a new use for its soon-to-be-vacant site in East Kilbride?
It is important that we recall that the announcement that Rolls-Royce made on 26 March was part of a group restructuring exercise that was previously announced in November 2014 and affects 2,600 Rolls-Royce staff worldwide, so it is not a specifically Scottish issue aside from the short-term point that Margaret McCulloch raised.
Maintaining employment will be at the heart of the representations that the Government makes through Scottish Enterprise to Rolls-Royce, and will form part of our approach to finding mechanisms and interventions that will support employment in Scotland on behalf of Rolls-Royce.
The move to Inchinnan is taking place as was previously announced. The Government will continue to discuss with Rolls-Royce the importance of employment in Scotland, and we will do whatever we can with the support that is available to us to assist the company in undertaking that dialogue.
Finally, Margaret McCulloch raised the issue of the future of the site in East Kilbride. I appreciate the significance of that manufacturing site, and it is important that the company works constructively and actively with South Lanarkshire Council and with Scottish Enterprise to find ways of ensuring that such an important and prestigious manufacturing site is used for further manufacturing activity in future.
I highlight to the cabinet secretary that co-operation is indeed crucial in such situations, and I ask him—yet again, sadly—-to impress on South Lanarkshire Council the idea that co-operation works both ways, and that it would be useful if the council would include all political representatives and parties in the area in the struggle to bring work to East Kilbride through the East Kilbride task force.
It is important that there is co-operation on those points. I am thinking of the experiences that we have had in different circumstances where we have had to deal with employment loss. One example that springs to mind is when we convened the task force in West Lothian to deal with the Halls of Broxburn issue. We invited and welcomed participation from constituency members elected to this Parliament who were party colleagues of mine, but we also included representatives of the Labour Party who were constituency members for the area in Broxburn.
It is important that we try, whenever possible, to work collectively and collaboratively to address difficult circumstances that are affecting members of the public and the uncertainties that come with the loss of employment.
NHS Fife (Meetings)
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met NHS Fife and what issues were discussed. (S4O-04239)
Ministers and Government officials regularly meet representatives of NHS Fife to discuss matters of importance to local people.
The cabinet secretary will be aware that the First Minister, in her previous role as health secretary, stated her desire to get bonuses in the health service under control. Earlier this month, following a freedom of information request by The Scotsman, it was found that that had not been achieved and that there is continuing use of discretionary awards and discretionary payments—the latter having risen by £3.5 million. I therefore ask the cabinet secretary whether she has discussed bonuses with NHS Fife and whether she is aware of any plans by the board to award such payments.
Claire Baker will of course be aware that distinction awards, which were paid under the previous Administration, were stopped under this Administration, led by the First Minister when she was Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing. Discretionary payments are different from distinction awards, as I am sure the member will be aware. That has always been part of the system and it continues to be so. It is important that the member understands the difference between distinction awards and discretionary payments, but I am certainly happy to write to her to explain that in more detail so that she fully understands the difference.
South Lanarkshire Council (Meetings)
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met South Lanarkshire Council. (S4O-04240)
Ministers and officials regularly meet representatives of all Scottish local authorities, including South Lanarkshire Council, to discuss a wide range of issues as part of our commitment to working in partnership with local government to improve outcomes for people in Scotland.
The next time that the minister meets South Lanarkshire Council, will he tell it about the successful application by East Kilbride and District Shopmobility for a people and communities fund grant, which the organisation was recently given? Will he impress on the council the particular needs of town centres in new towns when it comes to town centre regeneration?
The Scottish Government was pleased to highlight shopmobility when we launched the online town centre toolkit just a few weeks ago. I know that the member has been extensively involved with East Kilbride and District Shopmobility, including helping it at the start of the process to get the PCF grant, which shows the contribution that members can make. I pay tribute to her constant, repeated personal representations to me in the run-up to the announcement. I was pleased that shopmobility received support from the people and communities fund, which is now part of the community empowerment fund, helping groups across the country.
Because of the Raith interchange construction work, Bothwell residents have been subjected to construction lorries parking illegally on the road in front of driveways and have had to put up with excessive dust, dirt and noise. Will the minister confirm whether South Lanarkshire Council has oversight of that part of the construction work? If it does, will he urge it to look into the issues that I have outlined?
I urge all councils to respond to issues raised by people living in their areas. I undertake to write to the member with further information once I have had the chance to investigate and to discuss the issues with the council in question.
Ayrshire College (Student Support Funding)
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that Ayrshire College is facing a shortfall in student support funding. (S4O-04241)
The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that students at all colleges across Scotland are supported throughout their studies. Ms McDougall will be aware that, earlier this year, I announced that the estimated £7 million shortfall in student support funding for 2014-15 would be met. Since then, the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council has been working closely with colleges including Ayrshire College to ensure that all students remain financially supported. Going forward, the Scottish funding council will ensure that funding for student support is matched more closely to colleges’ estimates of need, and I understand that that will result in an additional 10 per cent, or £900,000, in student support funds for Ayrshire College in 2015-16.
This year, Ayrshire College and other colleges had to cover a shortfall in student support funding by using depreciation funds—money that is not meant to be used for that purpose. Some colleges do not even have that money to spend. The situation simply is not good enough, and students are suffering because of a lack of funding. What assurance can the Scottish Government give that student support will be fully funded next year, so that colleges do not have to use depreciation funds to vire funds from discretionary funds into bursaries, which means that colleges are then unable to meet requests from students—particularly mature students with hardship challenges such as housing costs?
I had hoped that Ms McDougall would welcome the additional funds that have been made available to Ayrshire College. In addition to the £900,000 being made available in core student support, £320,000 in student support is available for students funded through the European social fund. That is an additional £1.2 million of funding for student support in Ayrshire College, which is now receiving a total of £10.5 million for student support. That is a 47 per cent real-terms increase in student support since 2006-07.
The Scottish funding council has made additional funds available as part of the in-year redistribution process. We will carry out the same exercise for 2015-16, and we will of course look to a longer-term solution.
A valid debate is going on in further education about an entitlement-based system versus a discretionary system. We are alert to that debate, and we are engaging with the relevant stakeholders.
It is understood that the reclassification of the college sector by the Office for National Statistics changed the financial reporting rules, resulting in confusion and in the freezing of about £17 million of Scottish colleges’ cash budgets. Was the Scottish Government consulted on that change? What is being done to ensure that that money is not lost to the sector?
Mr Brodie touches on an important point. As a result of the unwelcome ONS reclassification, colleges became subject to two sets of financial reporting rules, and a conflict arose between those two sets of rules, which in effect froze £17 million of cash from budgets. It is not helpful when United Kingdom bodies make changes that have a far-reaching impact on Scottish institutions.
Notwithstanding the change and the challenges that are caused by it, the Scottish Government and the Scottish funding council worked together with the college sector to allow colleges to release those funds to spend on shared priorities. That included putting more money into supporting students financially, which I am sure we can all agree is an imperative for enabling students to complete their studies.
Charter for Budget Responsibility
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact on the lowest-income households in Scotland of the spending reductions required to achieve the targets laid out in the charter for budget responsibility. (S4O-04242)
The three largest parties in the most recent United Kingdom Parliament signed up to the charter for budget responsibility, which commits them to billions of pounds of further cuts in public services and the benefits system in the first years of the next Parliament. We know that the most deprived parts of the UK have borne the brunt of the UK Government’s austerity programme. With child poverty organisations warning that an additional 100,000 children in Scotland could be living in relative poverty by 2020—after housing costs—because of UK Government welfare reforms, it is essential that we adopt an alternative approach to cutting the deficit, as advocated by the Scottish Government.
Does the minister agree that we cannot sustain further austerity, which results in those with the least being hurt the most? Does he share my belief that we need to see a commitment to public spending increases, which would ensure that we can help those who need it most and get our economy working to its full potential?
I agree that modest increases in public spending would still see the deficit come down year on year. That approach would also ensure that the ideological cuts that have prolonged the recession can be replaced by an investment in recovery.