SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE
Road Freight
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made in reducing the amount of freight that travels by road. (S1O-3483)
Freight facilities grant awards made by the Scottish Executive during the past six months will remove a further 5 million lorry miles from Scotland's roads each year.
I welcome the minister's positive answer.
We are conscious that it is an uphill struggle to persuade people to move off the roads and on to rail. Everyone in the chamber will be aware that in the months since Hatfield there has been immense strain on the railway network, which has been a particular problem for freight hauliers who use it.
Multiple Sclerosis (Beta Interferon)
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made an assessment of how many patients with multiple sclerosis would take beta interferon if that drug were readily available on prescription. (S1O-3462)
No such assessment has been made. Whether an individual would take a specific drug in any given circumstance is a matter of conjecture. Treatment decisions are influenced by the clinical needs of the patient, the clinical judgment of the specialist concerned and the views of the patient.
Is the minister aware that multiple sclerosis sufferers are not receiving the same access to beta interferon throughout Scotland? Does she agree that a postcode lottery is neither socially inclusive nor acceptable? Will she give top priority to making certain that the drug is made more readily available throughout Scotland?
The Executive has made clear its determination to remove the postcode lottery of care that has, over many years, been allowed to develop across the NHS in Scotland.
In recent written answers, the minister has stated that the Executive has no plans to find out how many people are being deprived of beta interferon, even though they have been clinically assessed as needing it. When will the Executive end the misery of the postcode lottery and the cost limits that determine whether an MS sufferer can get the drug?
As Tricia Marwick is aware, this is not a question of cost limits. It is misleading to suggest that. I want to ensure that we take practical and positive steps to improve the care, treatment and services available to people with MS—and many other conditions.
Looked-after Children
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it plans to take to improve the education of looked-after children. (S1O-3495)
Support for educational attainment should be at the heart of care planning for every looked-after child. The recent joint inspectorate report, "Learning with Care", showed that that was not happening. We have asked each local authority for information, by 30 September, on their looked-after children and the action that they are taking to address the report's recommendations.
I know that the minister shares my concern about the poor educational prospects faced by young people in care. What further steps could be taken to provide the educational support that such children need?
A number of basic steps could be taken, such as ensuring that there is care planning for every looked-after child in Scotland. In too many cases that is not happening. Children in care need more, not less, education and the best, not the worst possible services. That requires a set of clear expectations, particularly with regard to special schools that service children in care, clear guidelines to local authorities and schools on looked-after children in mainstream schools who need that level of support and very close interagency working to ensure that the different services that those children need are being properly co-ordinated. That is, and will continue to be, a priority for us.
External Affairs
To ask the Scottish Executive when it intends to publish its policy on external affairs. (S1O-3468)
The Executive is committed to developing its strategy to build mutually beneficial links with other nations and regions in Europe by the end of 2001.
I thank the deputy minister for his reply. The question of an external affairs policy also throws up the question of scrutiny. Although I welcome the development of an external affairs policy, will the minister tell the chamber whether that will be the Executive's policy and which section of the Scotland Act 1998 stipulates that? Furthermore, should we not have a debate on an external affairs policy for the Parliament, which would include a discussion of scrutiny, instead of accepting the current suggestion that the European Committee should scrutinise external affairs?
I can speak only for the Executive, but I am aware that Hugh Henry and other members of the European Committee have discussed these matters. I will say, however, that the Executive and the Parliament can play an important role in these issues.
National Health Service
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that all health professionals play a full role in NHSScotland. (S1O-3481)
NHSScotland has a strong track record of involving staff, not just health professionals, through partnership working. The new unified NHS boards, which will be established by 30 September, will provide a further opportunity to strengthen the role of health professionals in planning, managing and delivering services in NHSScotland.
Does the minister agree that nurses and doctors who work on the frontline of health care are more than equipped to help with any decisions on the future priorities of NHSScotland? Furthermore, will she ensure that those health care professionals are involved in decision making, so that patients' needs are adequately addressed?
I absolutely agree that the staff of the NHS are the backbone of the service. As part of our programme of investment and reform, we are ensuring that staff on the frontline are being given the opportunity to do what they do best: caring for and looking after patients.
Will the minister tell us what mechanisms are in place to take account of public health concerns raised by professional health representatives? In that context, will she tell us exactly when the screening and vaccination of schoolchildren for tuberculosis will resume? When does she expect that programme to return to pre-1999 standards?
I am pleased to announce that, as Margaret Ewing is aware, arrangements are in place to recommence the BCG programme in our schools. I am happy to write to her with full details of the dates of and plans for resumption across the country.
Given that last year eight trusts had financial deficits and that this year 13 trusts have projected year-end deficits, will the minister encourage trusts to delegate more power to health professionals such as optometrists, whose skills and training could be more fully utilised in monitoring eye care for people with diabetes? That would free up consultants to do more surgery and provide more care in hospitals.
It is worth remembering that the year-end financial position of the NHS in Scotland last year was within 1 per cent of its budget, which would be an excellent outturn for any organisation, not least one with a budget of more than £5 billion.
Women's Refuges
To ask the Scottish Executive what new action it is taking to increase the number of available women's refuge spaces. (S1O-3479)
The Scottish Executive will put £10 million into the Scottish Homes budget over the next three years, both to increase and to improve refuge provision for women and their children. On Monday 14 May, I announced 10 projects that will begin this year. Forty-two new spaces and 21 improved spaces will be provided. Further projects will be considered following a review of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities' recommendation that there be one refuge place per 7,500 of the population.
Is the minister aware of the concerns that have been expressed by some women's aid groups—including Glasgow Women's Aid, which raised the matter with me—about the level of revenue support that is required to meet need while more refuge places are being created? Will the minister assure us that the Executive is committed, not only to providing an increased number of safe places for women who are fleeing violence, but to tackling the underlying causes of male violence against women, which make refuges necessary?
I will address Johann Lamont's two questions separately. First, local authorities are responsible for providing funding for women's aid refuges on the ground, either directly through their core grant, or through housing benefit. We specifically ask local authorities and their partners to demonstrate that revenue funding is in place before capital funding is released for refuge provision. That requirement has COSLA's full support. We recognise that there are difficulties, and the issue of revenue funding is being examined by the national group to address domestic abuse.
Europe
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made in developing relationships with other devolved administrations in Europe. (S1O-3477)
The Scottish Executive is involved in a continuing programme of contacts with a range of European partners. The purpose of those links is to enhance Scotland's profile and political influence, to facilitate trade and exchange ideas and to capture best practice. We are also involved in the second conference of the presidents of regions with legislative powers, which has been organised by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe, and in the Flanders colloquium of the constitutional regions.
I hope that the minister will agree to work with the Parliament in its attempts to establish relationships with other devolved assemblies and Parliaments throughout Europe, so that we can exchange good practice, learn from one another and work together to the benefit of our individual countries and nations. Does he agree that this week's contribution to the general election campaign by a certain retired politician has highlighted the clear difference between the Labour party and the Conservative party on European issues?
Patricia Ferguson tempts me.
Will the minister say whether he will include the Isle of Man—which, on a day like today, I can see from my constituency—in those discussions? If he does, will he ask its representatives why fiscal autonomy is appropriate in Douglas on the Isle of Man, but is not appropriate 30 miles north in Scotland?
The Isle of Man is not currently involved in our discussions. As a passionately patriotic Scot, I have never quite seen the similarities between our historic nation and that island in the Irish sea. There is an important difference between Scotland and the Isle of Man.
Does the minister agree that one of the practical benefits of links between devolved administrations is the opportunity for shared work experience? Would he join me in welcoming to the gallery educationists from Majorca and Menorca who are participating in an exchange programme to share good practice among education professionals? Does he believe that such links are of great benefit to Scotland's people and Scotland's children?
I could not agree more about the importance of those links and about the benefits that they can bring to us and to those with whom we associate. I also want to thank our colleagues for bringing the good weather with them.
Special Educational Needs
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that children with visual impairment receive the best possible support in mainstream education throughout Scotland. (S1O-3463)
The Executive's £13 million inclusion programme, which has more than doubled from last year, provides specific resources, in addition to local authority grant-aided expenditure, to enable local authorities to support children with special educational needs, including those with visual impairment, in mainstream schools.
The minister might be aware of the view of the Royal National Institute for the Blind that the level of support throughout Scotland remains variable and that it is a matter of postcode provision. Will the minister undertake to perform a survey of the local education authorities in Scotland to discover whether additional help and resources are needed so that we can meet the objective of maximum mainstreaming in Scotland, which was stated in the Education, Culture and Sport Committee's special educational needs report, which the minister welcomed?
I am always anxious to get the most up-to-date information. Unfortunately, the latest information on the number of pupils with visual impairment goes back to 1999. At that time, 253 pupils had visual impairment recorded as a note on their record of needs in mainstream schools while around 293 were either in specialist local authority provision or at the Royal Blind School. There is an opportunity to shift those figures in favour of further mainstreaming, but that will require not only proper support but adequate training for teachers. I will consider ways to ensure that that happens.
Question 9 has been withdrawn.
Renewable Energy
To ask the Scottish Executive what expenditure it has committed from the Scottish assigned budget towards the objective of increasing renewable energy capacity. (S1O-3492)
We have been allocated climate change levy funding of £9.6 million over the next three years from the UK energy efficiency fund, which we intend to use to support energy efficiency and to further the development of renewable energy in Scotland.
That is all very well, but would it not have been easier for the minister to respond to my direct question by saying that no resources were identified in the Scottish assigned budget this time round for renewable resources in Scotland?
No, I think that that is enough. I call Rhona Brankin to answer.
I have made it clear that separate funding is available in Scotland, on top of massively increased funding at a UK level. We will consider all options carefully before deciding on the allocation of funds. There is no shortage of funding. We need good projects to come forward. Yet again, we have an example of the SNP trying to pour cold water on what is a very strong commitment to the renewable energy sector.
I note the answers that the minister has already given, but can she inform us of the Executive's intention regarding the renewables obligation (Scotland)?
We have received more than 150 responses to our consultation on the renewables obligation (Scotland)—the ROS—and we are grateful to all those who took the time to write in. A report of the responses is in the Scottish Parliament information centre, and I will be making detailed decisions on the details regarding the ROS over the next month or so. I hope to be able to make an announcement after that.
Is the Executive still considering supporting waste-to-energy projects?
A final decision on the details of the ROS and the technology to be included in that has not yet been taken. I know that there are various concerns, including those of Robin Harper about incineration, but I assure him again that final decisions have not yet been taken.
Higher Education (Funding)
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has contacted the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council about the funding deficits at the universities of Aberdeen and Edinburgh. (S1O-3476)
The chief executive of SHEFC wrote to me on 21 May, confirming that no institution in Scotland has been required to provide a financial recovery plan. He also drew my attention to the fact that last July's financial projections took no account of the latest spending review, which gave an 8 per cent increase to the council for 2001-02.
Does the minister share my concern at the figures published by the Association of University Teachers, which show that many institutions in Scotland and throughout the United Kingdom have current account deficits? Does she share my concerns that balances may be achieved by the use of capital funding, rather than revenue funding, which will lead to the same problems that there have been in the health service?
I do not share the member's concerns, not least because the survey to which he refers suggested an increase of £38 million in borrowing last July. I pointed out in my initial answer that the Government—last July and in the autumn—committed an additional £108 million to Scottish universities for the next three years, which is about two-and-a-half times the sum of money that is under consideration.
I declare an interest as a member of the court of the University of Strathclyde.
I am aware of the important continuing discussions on both funding and teaching. What I think will interest the Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Committee in the weeks ahead is whether Annabel Goldie is prepared to argue for the position of her party, which is to end all grant in aid to universities in Scotland, in favour of using an endowment system to fund them.
Restriction of Liberty Orders
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to review the effectiveness of restriction of liberty orders. (S1O-3475)
An evaluation of the pilot restriction of liberty orders schemes was carried out by Professor David Smith and David Lobley of Lancaster University. The evaluation report was published in July 2000.
Did the evaluation highlight any deficiencies in the system? If so, will the minister guarantee that, after considering the evaluation report, the operation of tagging orders will be improved if necessary? Is he aware of my concern, which is shared by local police officers, about poor communication between the companies that operate tagging orders and police forces? Will he act on those concerns?
I am happy to acknowledge Karen Whitefield's interest in the pilot study of restriction of liberty orders. She will probably agree that the evaluation shows that the experience has been fairly positive, as 72 per cent of the orders were successfully completed.
Is the minister aware that, of 101 responses to the consultation on electronic tagging by the previous Tory Government, only one was in favour—mine? Does the minister consider that the Executive has benefited from that Government's decision to go ahead with electronic tagging, irrespective of the advice of some of his colleagues?
Mr Gallie will not be surprised to hear that I am significantly more interested in our own consultation process. We are examining the responses to that. Decisions and announcements have still to be made, but he will not be surprised to hear that the results of our consultation seem rather better than those of the Tory consultation.
Children (Out-of-school Activities)
To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that out-of-school activities benefit all children. (S1O-3482)
The Executive's excellence fund and the new opportunities fund are making extensive resources available throughout Scotland to create out-of-school activities, ranging from structured out-of-school learning to quality out-of-school care, which can benefit all children who take part.
Does the minister agree that encouraging all school pupils to participate fully in education and to continue into further and higher education is vital both for their future and for Scotland's? Does he agree that in schools such as Northfield Academy in Aberdeen North, where the number of kids going on to further and higher education is extremely low, developing out-of-school schemes, such as buddies schemes or study-skills groups, is vital and a key method of promoting social inclusion? How will those schemes be further developed?
The schemes to which Elaine Thomson refers are vital and are a great success. I recently had the privilege of visiting children who benefited from last year's summer school at Firrhill High School in Edinburgh, where children are assisted over the bridge between primary 7 and the first year of secondary school by participating in activities with their new teachers. That summer school is a great success and it expands every year.
Does the minister agree that the success of out-of-school schemes is more likely to be ensured if there is an adequate supply of specialist physical education teachers in primary schools? Those teachers could have the dual role of ensuring both that children grow up used to exercising on a regular, daily basis and that their parents become involved and take over some of the coaching of out-of-school activities.
The use of specialist teachers in the primary sector is a matter that we are considering as part of the development of the new staffing provisions in this year's teachers' pay and conditions agreement. However, that is only part of the jigsaw. Teachers and parents can already take part in out-of-school hours activities, and perhaps schools could employ other people to become involved in those activities. The funding that is available for out-of-school activities allows people to choose from a range of local options. There is no national prescription; rather, there are local options and local solutions.
I welcome the minister's earlier reference to community schools and the roll-out of that scheme. Will the minister assure me that the needs of remote communities, such as Wick and Thurso, will be remembered as and when the Executive approves the next tranche of community schools? Will the minister's department work as closely as possible with other Government departments in order to ensure that a holistic approach—if I may use that word—is adopted?
In the first round, community schools were chosen by local authorities. They prioritised those projects in their own areas and received funding for them. It is vital that, at the Executive level and at the local level, different agencies work together closely on community school projects.
Water Services Bill
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to publicise its proposals for a water services bill. (S1O-3467)
On 23 March, a consultation paper—Scottish Parliament information centre paper 12181—was published setting out the provisions that the Executive proposes for inclusion in a water services bill. The deadline for responses to the paper is 13 June. As John McAllion may be aware, the Transport and the Environment Committee is conducting an inquiry into the Scottish water industry. That has provided an additional opportunity for public debate on the issues.
Is the minister aware that many people disagree with the proposals in the water services bill, either because they think that the bill will increase the risk of privatisation or because they think that its provisions lack democratic accountability and could threaten jobs and damage employment conditions in the industry? Rather than simply placing a summary of those objections in a box file in SPICe, will the Executive consider holding a series of public meetings throughout Scotland at which the issues could be debated openly and the public could be better informed about them? Such meetings would also allow MSPs to be better able to judge the mood of the country on the bill.
Mr McAllion may be anticipating what will happen in the normal procedure of the Parliament, in which consultation papers are issued. The purpose of the Executive's consultation paper is to allow the public to express their views on the proposed bill—that is part of a continuing process.
Given that, under the Executive's proposals, up to five authorities will be involved in the supply of sewerage and water services to domestic households, is not the Liberal-Labour coalition sending the industry headlong into privatisation and into a state of affairs that will be every bit as bad as that of Scotland's railways?
That is absolute nonsense. There is not a shred of evidence to support Richard Lochhead's highly irresponsible assertion.
Does the minister accept that there are genuine fears about the privatisation of Scotland's water, given that the minister's senior partners in government have been in power for four years at Westminster and still refuse to return water and sewerage services in England and Wales to public ownership and control? Does he accept that the moves afoot by the Executive will pave the way for the effective privatisation of Scotland's water and sewerage services?
Absolutely not. The point has been completely misunderstood. Tommy Sheridan knows our record on the matter because a prominent Liberal Democrat—
I was talking about the Labour party.
I am not speaking for the Labour party—I am speaking for the coalition.
That is instructive.
That is my position. The question is quite simple. If the water regulator wants the industry to make serious savings and the industry fails to deliver them, while consumers—whom we have been elected to protect—find that they are having water and sewerage services delivered at a price that they cannot afford, and if the regulator finds that major public concerns remove themselves from the network and its financing, that would very much threaten the public ownership of the industry. The Executive's proposals are the way to protect public ownership of the industry.
Renewable Energy
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the recommendation in a report by the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee on 8 May 2001 to create a national offshore wave and tidal energy test centre, what steps it will take to encourage the establishment of such a centre in Scotland. (S1O-3478)
Officials are working with Highlands and Islands Enterprise to identify a potential location for a marine energy test centre. Their report should be available shortly.
Will the minister consider giving funds to the Western Isles and Orkney? Does she have any other plans to encourage the development of a renewable manufacturing industry in Scotland and to encourage the export of renewable electricity to England?
The HIE study is considering locations on Islay, the Western Isles, the north coast of Caithness and Orkney. The study will consider the relative merits of each of those and pool data on the wave and current patterns, for example, and the availability of the electricity grid. The marine energy developers' views on the sites will be sought. As I said, a report is expected next month and will recommend the preferred location. Thereafter, a detailed site survey will be required to confirm suitability. We have to move forward on the matter and we will do so as quickly as possible.
Rural Schools (Closure)
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to review its policy on the closure of small rural schools. (S1O-3486)
The Scottish Executive continues to take the view that the principal responsibility for school provision in rural and urban areas lies with the education authorities and that the current policy on which cases are referred to the Executive is appropriate. There are statutory consultation requirements that authorities must undertake when they propose to close a school. The Scottish Executive does not dictate the detailed policies that education authorities must follow in these matters.
Is the minister aware of the anger and dismay that is felt about the recent announcement of the closure of Abercorn Primary School in West Lothian? Does he remember stating in the Parliament six months ago that the process for a decision by the Executive usually takes three months and that an announcement was due in mid-February? Why did the announcement take so long and cover the period in which primary 1 applications had to be made? Will he review the obviously poor and flawed consultation process? Will he adopt SNP policy, which presumes against rural school closures?
Two proposals for the closure of small primary schools have recently been referred to Scottish Executive ministers—one for Abercorn Primary School in West Lothian and the other for St Vigeans Primary School in Angus. I am unable to talk about the Abercorn closure because a petition for judicial review in the Court of Session has been lodged today—therefore, it would be inappropriate for me to comment further.
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