SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE
Water Authorities
In accordance with your comments, Presiding Officer, I will ask my question in a very quiet way.
I will reply in an equally restrained manner.
I thank the minister for his answer, but will he take on board the concerns of the residents of areas such as Canonbie and Langholm, which are on the border not only between Scotland and England but between East of Scotland Water and West of Scotland Water?
I assure Mr Mundell that the Executive believes in inclusion, not exclusion. I further assure him and his rural constituents in Canonbie and Langholm, as well as those who live elsewhere in rural Scotland, that there is no discrimination between rural and urban areas in infrastructure investment by the water authorities.
Will the minister undertake to examine the problems of people who have private water supplies in rural areas? Is there scope for a grant scheme to enable them to fit mini filtration and treatment equipment, which can make those water supplies safer?
As the member will be aware, a consultation exercise on charging in general is being conducted at present. There is scope for members to feed into that exercise issues such as that raised by the member, so that the Executive can take on board those concerns.
Hospitals (Medical Staff)
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure an adequate supply of qualified medical staff for Scotland's hospitals. (S1O-2559)
At a national level, the Scottish Executive is already taking steps to increase the medical work force, including the 110 new doctor posts that were announced in June this year.
I thank the minister for her answer. I trust that she is aware of the great concerns, especially in Grampian, that exist about the lack of qualified medical staff, particularly consultants, who are available for recruitment.
Recently, I answered some very detailed written parliamentary questions not only on the levels of consultant vacancies in Scotland but on additional consultant posts that are being developed.
Will the minister tell us what contact she has had with the Scottish universities that teach the various subjects that relate to medicine and associated professions? What proposals has she made to them to step up their throughput over the long term? This is a long-term problem, so we do not need to know just what she intends to do in the short term.
As I said in response to Richard Lochhead, the matter has been the subject of considerable discussion over recent months with a range of interests. We shall be setting out further proposals in the Scottish health plan, which is to be published next month. As Mr Davidson will be aware from his professional background, a range of bodies is involved in this area. Over the past few months, I have met representatives from a number of those bodies, including the Scottish Council for Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education and the royal colleges. I have also met representatives of other staff bodies, because we must be concerned not only with the medical work force but with the wider NHS work force. We are actively pursuing our work in this area and will be taking further action in the near future.
Sustainable Development Ministers (Meetings)
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans for the Minister for Education, Europe and External Affairs to attend meetings of the sustainable development group of ministers. (S1O-2579)
The ministerial group on sustainable Scotland has already agreed that education has an important role to play in sustainable development. The Minister for Education, Europe and External Affairs may attend meetings of the group when topics within his portfolio are to be discussed.
I welcome what Mr Wilson says, but was dismayed to find out that the Minister for Education, Europe and External Affairs is not a full member of that group. Does Mr Wilson agree that sustainable development is not just about the environment or green issues, but about social justice, combating poverty and, above all, education? Unless the Executive recognises that at a ministerial level, it should come as no surprise that sustainable development is treated as a peripheral subject in our schools.
I certainly do not agree that sustainable development is being treated as a peripheral subject. Environmental education is within the remit of the Minister for Education, Europe and External Affairs, and it would be valuable to have Mr McConnell at meetings touching on a wide range of education issues, from environmental education to education on the spending programme for building and the wider environment. I pay tribute to Education 21, the World Wide Fund for Nature and other groups that are working with the Executive to promote education on the sustainable environment in schools.
I hope that when the sustainability group next meets, it will be discussing carbon emissions. Is the minister aware that the most recent carbon emissions figures, for the years 1990 to 1995, show that England's output has reduced by 10 per cent, while Scotland's has increased by 0.7 per cent?
I am sure that the United Kingdom and Scotland will be well represented by John Prescott at the meetings to which Mr Crawford referred. It is a case of the pot calling the kettle black for the nationalists to be accusing us of increasing carbon emissions, given their policies on fuel tax.
School Milk
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has in relation to the provision of subsidised school milk. (S1O-2556)
Following the European Commission reduction in school milk subsidy from 95 per cent to 75 per cent, I announced on 17 November that we would fund the £380,000 per annum top-up required to maintain the subsidy at its current level.
I very much welcome the minister's reply and her announcement with regard to primary schools. Does the Executive intend to fulfil the Labour party's 1997 election manifesto pledge to reintroduce subsidised milk in secondary schools and, if so, when?
I am glad that Mr Ingram supports a measure that has been taken by the Executive. It is refreshing, for once, to hear an SNP member acknowledge what we are doing. On diet generally, we are working to ensure that our investment decisions and policies allow us to make the interventions that will be most effective. The Scottish diet action plan, published a few years ago, provides a good policy statement about how that can be achieved. However, implementation has not been fast enough or active enough for my liking, which is why we will be seeking, through the national health improvement fund and measures to top up subsidies, to ensure that those policy aims are achieved. Ensuring that children get access to milk and that there is good nutrition in schools is part of that.
I must declare an interest in this issue, in that I was attending primary school when Baroness Thatcher decided to remove free school milk. I welcome the staff and pupils from my former school, St Catherine's Primary School, who are here with us in the public gallery. Will the minister join me in commending the Prime Minister for his attack yesterday on the milk snatcher, Baroness Thatcher, and use this 10th anniversary of her departure from Downing Street to declare the Executive's opposition to the Thatcherite policies that destroyed so many communities in Scotland?
I am happy to join Mr Martin in invoking the memory of Margaret Thatcher, milk snatcher. It is worth remembering that it is 10 years since Margaret Thatcher stood down, and that a new generation is coming through that may not remember just how bad her time in Government was. It is worth our reminding them.
With great respect, I do not think that the minister is responsible for Margaret Thatcher. I should not have allowed that question.
As you are aware, Sir David, I take an interest in dairy matters. [Members: "Cheese."] Members are overexcited. I belong to a generation that remembers the slogan, "Drinka pinta milka day". Does the minister agree that it would be a good idea to promote the drinking of milk, and that that would help some of our hard-pressed dairy farmers?
Over the years a range of promotional measures has been—and continues to be—taken, by Government and by industry, to increase the consumption of milk and other products. Those measures will benefit the industry in Scotland and improve the nation's diet. In taking forward our work on improvements in the nation's diet, it is important that we build stronger links between industry and health interests. There are many win-wins here, and we should exploit them.
Scottish Tourist Board
To ask the Scottish Executive what the anticipated costs are for the recruitment of a new chief executive to the Scottish Tourist Board. (S1O-2576)
Contract negotiations are for the STB rather than for the Executive. They are continuing, but I understand that the fee is expected to be around one third of the agreed first-year salary of the new chief executive.
Given that we have already spent £100,000 on the PricewaterhouseCoopers report, should we not be seeking to stop funding bureaucracy and to start spending on marketing Scotland abroad? Last year, only £1.8 million was spent by the STB's marketing department in our main markets of the USA, Germany and France. What figure will the minister recommend should be spent this year, given the collapse that is taking place in the tourism industry at present?
I assume that Mr MacAskill has not focused on spending through the British Tourist Authority, which benefits the Scottish tourist industry, only for reasons of political prejudice.
NHS Dental Service
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the annual target of 120 dental graduates it has set is sufficient to meet the needs of the NHS dental service. (S1O-2584)
The annual target of 120 dental graduates was set with full consideration of all issues. The target takes account of the estimated disease pattern over the next 10 years and maintains the quality of education in the teaching hospitals at Glasgow and Dundee. It was also set to maintain the balance of the whole dental team, taking into account the number of students and graduates expected in other areas such as dental hygiene and dental therapy.
Is the minister aware that there is a long-standing problem of access to national health service dental services in rural Scotland? The national average for Scotland is one dentist to every 2,500 people. However, in rural Aberdeenshire it is one dentist to every 4,500 people.
The recently announced dental action plan reaffirmed the Executive's commitment to an effective and accessible NHS dental service for everyone who wants it. We put our money where our mouth is by putting considerable extra resources into that objective. I am aware of the problems in Mike Rumbles's area and in other parts of Scotland. We are keen to promote salaried posts and give direct access grants where there is unmet patient demand. Thirty such grants have already been given to the value of £750,000.
Given that the minister said that he is keen on salaried posts, will he consider whether new graduates ought to have, as part of their conditions, the requirement to provide an NHS service and not an exclusively private one?
The implementation group on the access plan will make progress on access. We hope that the extra resources plus the new salaried posts and the direct access grants will achieve the desired purpose. If we do not make the progress that we want to make, other matters may have to be considered. That is not yet necessary.
Given that there is compulsory professional development for dentists, why was Dundee dental hospital offered £2.8 million for a new postgraduate centre last Wednesday, only to be told by the management executive on Thursday that it had made a mistake? How can the dental schools plan future training and education without the support of additional resources?
The dental plan also takes full account of training dentists and the other related people such as hygienists, which I referred to in my response to the original question. I will look into the specific example of Dundee that she has given. Dental training is focused on Dundee and Glasgow. We are committed to funding and building up those centres.
European Union Intergovernmental Conference
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any representations to Her Majesty's Government regarding any proposed extensions to qualified majority voting in devolved policy areas to be considered at the Nice intergovernmental conference. (S1O-2591)
The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government about issues relating to the intergovernmental conference, including qualified majority voting. Such discussions are, of course, confidential.
As the minister will know, three devolved areas could potentially be affected by the extension of qualified majority voting. What aspects of industrial policy in Scotland will be affected by those measures? What potential impact will there be on the responsibilities of the Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning?
It is appropriate to explain why it is important that those discussions are confidential. It would be wrong if we were to compromise the important negotiating position of the UK Government in those intergovernmental discussions by having a public debate with it in advance of its going into debate with other countries. In the Scottish Executive we want—
Mr McConnell anticipated the wrong question.
No.
Is it not the case, minister, as we saw in the negotiations about the structural funds in Berlin last year and again at this year's agricultural summit, that Scotland benefits from being part of a major member state? Is it not the case that after the Nice summit the voting strength of the larger states will be further increased as a proportion?
That is possible. We would not want to anticipate the outcome, although we expect that that might arise.
Given the importance of the Nice summit, will the minister confirm whether any officials from the Scottish Executive or Scotland House in Brussels will be attending it so that they can influence the negotiating positions on behalf of Scotland?
The Scottish Executive is happy that Scotland's interests will be well represented at the Nice summit by the full UK delegation.
Scallop Industry
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has for the future of the scallop industry. (S1O-2587)
The Scottish Executive is anxious to ensure the continued high reputation of the Scottish scallop industry and to promote a sustainable future for it.
First, generous compensation is being paid by the European Commission to Spanish and Portuguese fishermen whose boats have been tied up because they cannot get access to Moroccan fishing grounds. Why, in that case, does not the minister demand similar help for our scallop fishermen who have been tied up—or, rather, whose boats have been tied up [Laughter]—off and on for two years without any income whatever?
Tying up scallop fishermen is not a measure that I would welcome.
Given the fact that the entire work force of Abacus Seafoods in Mintlaw has been issued with redundancy notices, is the minister aware of the devastating impact of 100-plus job losses in the small rural communities of central Buchan? Abacus Seafoods is a modern factory with a first-class work force, but it will be the first in a blizzard of closures in the fish processing sector unless the minister can take action to help that sector.
I announced recently that, together with Scottish Enterprise Grampian, I am considering the future of fish processors in Scotland. I will be happy to discuss the issue with Mr Salmond and give him more information about our plans to examine the impact of what is happening in the processing industry.
Rural Economy (Fuel Costs)
To ask the Scottish Executive what impact fuel costs will have upon the rural economy in Scotland from now until April 2002 and what measures it will take to address any such impact. (S1O-2585)
We have long recognised that fuel prices are of special significance to rural businesses and rural communities and the Executive has used its devolved powers to help to mitigate their impact. As part of our three-year £500 million programme of public transport investment—and investment in transport generally—we have increased the public transport fund to £150 million, invested £18 million in the rural transport fund and announced an additional £55 million for lifeline services in the Highlands and Islands.
Does the minister agree that nothing has been done for rural motorists, especially those who have low incomes and who rely on a car to travel to work or to find work? Does she agree with SNP members that an immediate commitment to cut fuel tax to European levels is needed; that we must end the inequity of the price differential in the Highlands and Islands; and that we need an immediate cut of 10p a gallon in excise duty on fuel?
That is another new policy from the SNP while the Government is delivering. Following Gordon Brown's pre-budget statement, major benefits will be experienced directly by motorists and businesses throughout rural Scotland. The benefits for the haulage industry are equivalent to an 8p per litre reduction in fuel duty. That means that more than 30,000 lorries will have a 50 per cent reduction in their vehicle excise duty, which has been abolished for tractors and agricultural vehicles. For Scottish motorists generally, the Executive is ensuring that it lobbies Westminster. I note that Calum Macdonald secured a debate at Westminster on fuel duties the week before the pre-budget statement—not one SNP MP attended.
Family Poverty
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to alleviate family poverty. (S1O-2578)
We are investing over £470 million in early education, child care and sure start Scotland to break into the cycle of deprivation and give children the best possible start in life. We are also providing parents with the means to build skills and improve their employability. Furthermore, we are taking steps to help low-income families directly through a proposed £24 million water affordability scheme and a £350 million central heating initiative.
It has been consistently claimed in the chamber that the union is a success—Hugh Henry did so a short time ago. If so, why does Scotland—which is one of the top ten richest nations in the world—have levels of child poverty that are among the highest in the developed world?
I am glad that Christine Grahame recognises that the union is indeed a success. Since 1997, through a partnership arrangement between Labour at Westminster and a Labour-led Scottish Office—now the Scottish Executive—we have reduced child poverty by 70,000; 40,000 in the first year and 30,000 in the second year. We are on course to reduce child poverty by 100,000, which is something that this side of the chamber cares deeply about.
Does the minister accept that family poverty is especially harsh among the asylum seekers who are currently resident in Scotland? Furthermore, is she aware that voluntary organisations and charities are already being required to make emergency payments to asylum seeking pregnant women and families who have newborn children, who are in receipt of vouchers, but who are receiving no additional official help to meet those extra costs? Will she agree to take up that issue and the many other issues concerning asylum seekers that were raised at this week's Social Inclusion, Housing and Voluntary Sector Committee meeting both by representatives of the national asylum support service and by Home Office ministers? Will she ensure that, from this point on, asylum seekers are afforded the same respect and human dignity as every other resident of Scotland?
I thank John McAllion for his comments. We recognise some of the problems that asylum seekers experience and we are discussing the matter with both voluntary sector organisations and local authorities. Indeed, given his responsibility for the matter, my colleague Malcolm Chisholm is certainly aware of those problems. Earlier, the Executive indicated that it will monitor precisely what is happening to asylum seekers and that it will take that review forward.
Will the minister co-operate with the Minister for Health and Community Care and the Minister for Justice to tackle the issues that arise from the misuse of alcohol, which causes family disputes and break-ups, the abuse of children and the raising of children in a very unsatisfactory atmosphere? I hope that she and her colleagues can start to tackle such problems.
I can certainly give a commitment to co-operate very closely with the two ministers that Mr Gorrie mentioned. Indeed, in the next few weeks, the chamber will have the opportunity to debate a national strategy on alcohol misuse.
Railways
To ask the Scottish Executive when it plans to announce details of the consultation exercise for the renewal of the ScotRail franchise and how wide that consultation will be. (S1O-2583)
The draft strategic priorities for Scotland's passenger railways will be issued for public consultation in the near future. The consultation will last 12 weeks.
Will the minister ensure that there will be full consultation of rail users, local communities and relevant councils on any proposed changes to local rail services before they are introduced? For example, in my North-East Fife constituency, ScotRail has admitted that it failed to consult properly before it removed the 8:17 service from Leuchars, Cupar and Ladybank to Edinburgh in May and the 9:22 service from Ladybank in September. Will the minister join me and local campaigners in calling for those services to be restored as soon as possible?
There are standard procedures that must be followed when any timetable change is proposed. I understand from ScotRail that it intends to address the particular constituency issue to which the member referred in the new timetable, when it is introduced.
We move to question 12. I call Elaine Thomson.
On a point of order, Presiding Officer, question 12 is in my name.
I am sorry. I call Elaine Smith to ask question 12.
Disadvantaged Children
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to support disadvantaged children in their early years. (S1O-2571)
I apologise again to Elaine Smith. My sheet was mistyped. I call Nicol Stephen to respond to her question.
Our programme for government commits us to a range of targets to give all children the best possible start in life. Those targets include nursery education for all three and four-year-olds whose parents want that and a major expansion of child care provision. We are providing additional support for families in deprived areas who have very young children through sure start Scotland and through the health demonstration project, Starting Well. To achieve more and better-integrated support for vulnerable children, we have just announced the establishment of a children and young people's change fund.
The minister mentioned child care. I ask again: will the plight of shift workers, many of whom work in vital public services and who have difficulty accessing child care, be considered? Will the minister expand further on exactly how the £70 million children's change fund will have an impact in Coatbridge and Chryston? How can that funding be accessed?
We are committed to further significant expansion of child care. The target is 100,000 additional places and the public sector is a priority area for expansion.
Textile Industry
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to support the textile industry in the south of Scotland and to retrain textile workers made redundant for alternative employment. (S1O-2590)
The Scottish Executive recognises the importance of the textile industry to the south of Scotland. Scottish Enterprise Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Enterprise Borders are working closely with many textile companies. When redundancies occur, support is provided, including for retraining, mainly through the local enterprise company network. The Scottish textile forum, which is chaired by the Scottish Executive, is currently working up a national strategy for future support of the textile industry.
Is the minister aware that, a fortnight ago, 86 job losses were announced at the knitwear manufacturer Robertson of Dumfries Ltd, only days after the announcement of the creation of up to 700 jobs in the new technologies at the Crichton campus also in Dumfries? Does the minister agree that rapid action must be taken to ensure that people who lose their jobs in traditional industries are reskilled in the new skills that are required to work in the new technologies, which would allow them to take advantage of forthcoming job opportunities?
More can be done to retrain and upskill the textile industry. We are therefore delighted that Heriot-Watt University has been awarded a Faraday partnership to improve technical textiles, which are the high-value end of the market, where the industry's future lies. I am happy to confirm that we plan to launch a campaign early next year to make clear to all the textile companies in the area the full spectrum of public support that is available to them, including the teaching company scheme, which should raise quality in the way that the member seeks.
Does the minister understand that there are concerns about skills and labour shortages in certain parts of the textiles industry in the south of Scotland? Will she ask Scottish Enterprise to devolve funding to Scottish Enterprise Borders to allow it to take the lead on those and other issues that affect the textile industry in Scotland?
We are discussing with Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Enterprise Borders how they can manage joint textiles activity most effectively across the network. Some of the work will be done locally—I think, for example, of this year's increase in resources for local action plans for both the Borders and Dumfries and Galloway—but there are other areas where we will want to bring the full weight of the network to bear.
Social Justice
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to promote social justice in deprived communities. (S1O-2586)
Our social justice annual report sets out in detail the actions that we are taking to promote social justice across Scotland. As part of that programme of action, we are providing £150 million over three years to fund 48 social inclusion partnerships that are tackling the problems of disadvantaged groups and areas.
The minister will recall that, earlier this year, £90 million was set aside for the better neighbourhood fund. Can the minister tell me what criteria will apply to the allocation of that money and will she also say a little about the time scale within which local authorities can expect to access the money?
Irene Oldfather is correct about the fact that the better neighbourhood fund was announced by Jack McConnell in September with the provision of £90 million over three years. The member will appreciate that I cannot at this stage give any details of the criteria on which the awards will be made. I can say that Angus MacKay and I are considering how best to target communities that are suffering from deprivation to help them to improve their local services. We will discuss that with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities.
Does the minister agree that a short-cut to taking as many children as possible out of poverty might be for the Government in Westminster—which she supports—to return to the old-fashioned idea of taking from the rich, who have too much, and giving to the poor children, who do not have enough?
That is exactly what is happening. The increase to child benefit and the increase to the working families tax credit, through which 1 million families will benefit, demonstrate that our agenda is about getting people back in to work, because that is the best way to tackle poverty.
I will return to the subject of the original question. Does the minister agree that a large proportion of deprived communities have received considerable amounts of cash aid in recent years from consecutive Governments? Does she recognise the postcode discrimination that excludes many deprived people from enjoying the benefits of that investment?
The only part of Mr Gallie's question that I recognise is the part about the Government doing something about the persistent poverty that occurs in our communities. It is only right that we should place resources in the communities that are most disadvantaged, to reverse the inheritance that the Conservatives left us.
Question 15 has been withdrawn.
Water (Fluoridation)
To ask the Scottish Executive how the consultation on any proposals to fluoridate the water supply will be conducted and who will carry out such consultation. (S1O-2581)
I have announced the Scottish Executive's intention to launch in the new year measures to consult on and raise awareness of measures to improve children's oral health. A consultation document will be disseminated extensively, in print and electronically, to encourage the widest possible public participation in this important debate. The document will include options for fluoridation.
Given that a University of York study states that the research evidence is of insufficient quality to allow confident statements to be made about potential harms, or about whether there might be any impact on social inequalities, will the minister ensure that up-to-date research is done and that accurate information is available before decisions are made in Scotland? Will she also recommend that members of her party are allowed a free vote on the issue?
It is unfortunate that Mary Scanlon quotes selectively from that report, which is an important study on the issue. I commend the report to members. I am sure that it will feature in the debate that we will have on the subject. It shows the benefits to dental health that can be derived from fluoridation and demonstrates that there is no association between fluoridation and cancer or other health problems.
Fluoridation is an important issue. As the minister knows, dental extraction has been a major reason for children's admission to hospital. Can the minister assure us that the consultation next year will examine options such as the use of fluoride tablets and targeting, and that fluoridation of the water supply will not be the only option?
I am pleased to give that assurance, as I did in the dental health debate in the chamber a few weeks ago. I repeat that I hope that we will think widely about all the options to improve dental health. Margaret Smith said that dental extraction was one of the biggest causes of children being admitted to hospital for general anaesthesia. In fact, it is the biggest cause of children under the age of five having to receive general anaesthetics in hospital. I hope that we will address that severe problem.
Previous
Tinnitus