First Minister's Question Time
Engagements
To ask the First Minister what engagements he has planned for the rest of the day. (S3F-1805)
I have a range of engagements to take forward the Government's programme for Scotland.
This week, a damning report on child protection services in Dundee said:
"Inspectors were not confident that all children who were at risk of harm, abuse or neglect, and in need of protection, were identified and received the help and support they needed."
We can hardly be surprised at that, given that 23-month-old Brandon Muir was beaten to death by his mother's boyfriend in that city. His mother was a heroin addict and Brandon's short life was brutal and chaotic. What action has the First Minister taken since that tragedy?
As Iain Gray knows, Peter Wilson, the former chief constable of Fife Constabulary, is conducting an independent inquiry and has initiated an independently chaired significant case review of the tragic case of Brandon Muir.
On the general position of child protection in the city of Dundee, the Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education report, which was published on 23 June, showed serious deficiencies in child protection in the city. That is not the worst of a number of reports that we have had. On the strenuous and stringent system of inspections that have been carried out in all local authorities in Scotland, we have identified five local authorities, of which Dundee City Council is one, where there are serious deficiencies. That is now being addressed. On 18 June, Fiona Hyslop, as Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, and Adam Ingram, as the identifiable and responsible minister, met Dundee City Council's child protection leadership, which included the chief executive of the council Alex Stephen, the director of social work, the chief executive of NHS Tayside Professor Tony Wells and the assistant chief constable of Tayside Police. They did so to put in place the substantial remedial action that the council will take to improve the situation and protect the children of Dundee.
As part of the First Minister's answer indicated, cases such as that of Brandon Muir are not one-off cases that happen in one city or another. We can all remember other examples from the past. We know that 10,000 to 20,000 children in Scotland live with drug-addicted parents and that many more—perhaps up to 100,000—live with parents who are addicted to alcohol. We have heard those same figures from the Scottish Government for two years now. I have been saying for months that we do not need to count those children; we need to find them, and quickly, so that we can protect them. What steps has the First Minister taken in the past two years to find out exactly who those 10,000, 20,000 or 100,000 children are?
First, there is the in-depth investigation and inquiry into the tragic case of Brandon Muir. We should all await the outcome of Peter Wilson's inquiry before we jump to any assumptions about the precise nature of the case.
Secondly, the reason why we are uncovering the deficiencies in social work and child protection in a variety of areas in Scotland is that we have the most systematic and strenuous inspection system certainly anywhere in these islands and perhaps anywhere in Europe. That has identified that there are deficiencies in five local authorities; 26 authorities are broadly satisfactory or better; and five local authorities—Inverclyde Council, East Renfrewshire Council, Renfrewshire Council, West Lothian Council and Perth and Kinross Council—are very good indeed.
That system was planned by the Parliament in 2005 and has been implemented by this Government to remedy deficiencies when they appear. I hope that Iain Gray will acknowledge that one of the other reports that was published yesterday, on the city of Aberdeen—the follow-up report from an unsatisfactory report six months ago—found substantial progress as a result of the action that has been taken. Therefore, not only in one tragic case where an inquiry is pending but in social work protection for children right across Scotland, this Government applauds—as I hope all in the Parliament applaud—the action that is being taken to make safer the children of Scotland.
The inspection regime, which I think my colleague Peter Peacock introduced and which was agreed by the Parliament—as the First Minister indicated—is an important move forward. It has identified deficiencies in five local authority areas. That said, surely those deficiencies and the fact that 20,000 children are at risk because of their parents' addiction indicates a national problem. Overstretched social workers are doing their best, but something needs to change. That is a job for the First Minister. As the minister with the highest office, he should be working for the most vulnerable children in the country. Will the First Minister support my call for a national inquiry to devise a new and better child protection system for Scotland?
We have a very good child protection system in Scotland, which is identifying deficiencies, authority by authority, and remedying them. The system was introduced by the Parliament and implemented by this Government.
Iain Gray said that social workers are hard pressed. I agree with him. When tragedies have occurred and difficult situations arisen, I have expressed, I hope, the support of the Parliament for the difficult job that social workers do.
Iain Gray asked about my involvement in the issue. It is enough to know exactly what the profession itself is saying about the position in Scotland at the moment. Figures were published yesterday that show a record number of social workers in Scotland: we have 5,072 social workers, up 126 on the position in 2006. They also show that we have a record number of social workers in children's services—2,349, up 59 on the position in 2006—and that vacancy rates for social workers have dropped this year to a six-year low. In the publication Community Care, Ruth Stark, the British Association of Social Workers professional officer for Scotland, stressed that the level of political support for social work in Scotland explained why the vacancy level in Scotland is so dramatically lower than vacancy levels across the United Kingdom.
What I say next is for not only Iain Gray but the entire chamber. When professional social workers, given the difficult job that they do, express appreciation for the cross-party political support that they are receiving, all members must, for goodness' sake, rise to the compliment and keep up our cross-party support to protect the children of Scotland.
The First Minister simply misses the point. I do not criticise social workers. I believe that they try—overstretched as they are—to implement the system that we have put in place. The First Minister defends the system with the figures that he cited. My argument is that the system has to change. I will explain.
We are about to embark on our summer recess. Scotland's schools are also about to go on summer holiday. Summer is a time for children—as we remember from our childhoods—but not for children such as Brandon Muir. The times in which those children live are brutal, chaotic and joyless—summer or winter. We need to change the balance in terms of leaving those children with their families or keeping them safe. The time has come to challenge and change the orthodoxy that underpins our system and to be quicker to remove and protect. Doing that needs a national debate and leadership to start it. Does the First Minister agree? If not, why not?
We have appointed Peter Wilson to conduct an independent inquiry. When lessons are learned and recommendations are made that are specific either to the local or national area, they will be implemented. I will not accept from Iain Gray any suggestion that the system that the Parliament put in place and which is now being enforced is doing anything other than improving protection for the children of Scotland.
The key relevant findings are not just that we have more social workers and a dramatically lower level of vacancies than that south of the border, but that systematically, council by council, mistakes and deficiencies are being identified and, above all, rectified. Does Iain Gray not understand the significance of the fact that not only have deficiencies in the city of Dundee been identified, but, as a result of the identification of problems in the city of Aberdeen, action has been taken that will protect the children of that city, and such action is being taken by the vast majority of councils across Scotland?
Given that we as a Parliament introduced the systematic inspection process, all of us should take pride in the fact that it is working and improving the safety of children in this country. Of course we will take forward the independent inquiry's recommendations, but we will probably wait to see what its recommendations are before we jump to any conclusions.
Prime Minister (Meetings)
To ask the First Minister when he will next meet the Prime Minister. (S3F-1806)
I have no plans to meet the Prime Minister in the near future.
I have in my hands a copy of the Scottish National Party manifesto and no, I am not going to rip it up, because it is hard evidence of the promises that Alex Salmond has broken over the past two years on class sizes, on student debt, on first-time buyers, on council tax and on the Scottish Futures Trust. The list goes on. If that were not bad enough, the First Minister has picked fights with Westminster at every opportunity. He has even politicised swine flu. Will he spend the recess deciding whether he is running a Government in power or a Government in opposition? Will he apologise to all the voters whom he has misled?
On the last day before the recess, I am delighted that I, too, have a list. [Interruption.] I am being asked by back benchers and some front benchers to read it all. The council tax freeze, the small business bonus, the abolition of tolls on the Forth and Tay road bridges, the reversal of the decision to close the accident and emergency units at Monklands and Ayr hospitals, and the delivery of funding for 1,000 more police officers are just the first five—I could go on to list all 51 commitments that this Government has kept and, in many cases, exceeded.
I do not expect Annabel Goldie to judge this Government kindly, but I do expect her at least to respect the judgment of the Scottish people. Can she have forgotten that only two weeks ago, there was an election across Scotland, in which the Tory party was, I think, pleased to come third, even though its vote had declined? Does she not remember that the SNP came first, which implies that among the people of Scotland there is some level of satisfaction with the performance of this SNP Government?
That is just more hot air—more emissions from the First Minister. Heaven help our climate change targets.
To return to the First Minister's broken promises, a flagship policy in his manifesto was:
"Scotland can be smarter. It's time for … smaller class sizes and it's time to dump student debt."
So what happened? It is less a case of a smarter Scotland and more one of a smugger First Minister, if the performance that we have just had is anything to go by. We have as First Minister a man who blames everyone else for his own failures and who will fritter away £40 million a year on free prescriptions for the wealthy, but who will not hesitate to pick a political fight with Westminster over funding for flu vaccinations. Has he no sense of guilt, no twinge of conscience, over his broken promises? I again ask him whether he will use the recess to apologise to all the voters whom he has misled.
I had only got to number five in my list of all the commitments that we have met, but I note that at number 10 is delivery of the funding to phase out prescription charges. As Annabel Goldie will remember, that was affirmed in a vote of this Parliament, which is something for which she has the most enormous respect.
Annabel Goldie must accept that there is a substantial degree of evidence that the people of Scotland are reasonably satisfied with the progress of the SNP Government. However, on the attitude of or respect between Scotland and Westminster, I must say to Annabel Goldie that I see that Michael Forsyth seems to be picking a few fights with her. I do not know whether that is a Westminster-Scottish confrontation or just an internacine war within the Conservative party.
One of the reasons why this Government is respected by the people of Scotland is that we stand up for them without fear or favour.
Cabinet (Meetings)
To ask the First Minister what issues will be discussed at the next meeting of his Cabinet. (S3F-1807)
The next meeting of the Cabinet will discuss issues of importance to the people of Scotland.
I am not quite sure what an "internacine" war is, but I am sure that we will hear in due course.
As part of the Scottish National Party's campaign to centralise the police under the control of ministers, the Government announced yesterday the formation of a national police board. How will that board report to this Parliament?
A party must have lots of members before it can have an internacine war, so the Liberals will not be familiar with it.
Like many of the initiatives that we are taking to improve justice in Scotland, the initiative to which Mr Scott referred will have a substantial role in the effective delivery of the justice system in Scotland.
For 150 years—[Interruption.]
Order.
No, I am not going there. This issue is quite serious, so we might try to get a serious answer, but I suppose that we will wait some time for one. The First Minister is always good for the jokes, but we never get an answer from him.
For 150 years in this democracy, people have been worried about the Government gaining political and operational control over policing, so why does the First Minister not see that a national police board, appointed without debate in Parliament and with no basis in law, moves us down that dangerous road? Northern Constabulary has achieved the best clear-up rates for crime in the United Kingdom, but how much of that will be lost when a newer priority is dictated by a minister here in Edinburgh? The Grampian joint police board convener said this week:
"Grampian Police are leading the way in many innovative projects … We need a police service that is responsive to local needs not subject to central diktat and centrally imposed targets."
This is the slippery slope to one police force, is it not?
Operational control remains with the local authority-denominated police boards across Scotland. However, I hope that Tavish Scott agrees that certain areas require national co-ordination. For example, the initiative to tackle serious crime is a national initiative that requires to be taken across the country. Just this week, information was supplied on the success of the specialist unit that is addressing the serious problem of sex crime in Scotland. Again I say to Tavish Scott that I hope that he, with the whole Parliament, accepts that that work must be taken forward on a national basis.
They are doing that already.
Mike Rumbles says that they are doing that already, but they are doing it because the Cabinet Secretary for Justice has introduced reforms. That is exactly why we need both responsive local police boards and national co-ordination across Scotland, which was brought into being by this Government after eight years of inaction by Mike Rumbles and his colleagues.
I will take one constituency question from Marilyn Livingstone.
I am sure that the First Minister is aware of the situation facing MGt plc in my constituency. Due to circumstances outwith its control, MGt has been adversely affected by the very public difficulties facing Setanta's UK operations. MGt is a very successful company that plays a significant role in the mid-Fife economy. This is the first time in its 11-year history that it has had to invoke a consultation process with its staff that may see up to 95 redundancies and that will include a review of costs.
Can the First Minister give a commitment that all key agencies will work together to ensure that all available support is given to MGt's highly skilled workforce to ensure that it can continue its valuable contribution to Fife's economy? Will the First Minister's Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth enter into discussions with MGt to see what support the Scottish Government can give that important and enterprising business and its workforce?
Yes, I can give assurances on the cabinet secretary's intervention and the mobilisation of the partnership action for continuing employment team to help with the position in Kirkcaldy. As members know, MGt has suffered because it provides call centre arrangements and billing and software services for Setanta. As a result, perhaps up to 100 posts are at risk out of the company's 1,000 employees in Scotland.
The situation is serious, and I agree with Marilyn Livingstone that it is not in the direct control of the company. In the past, the company has received regional selective assistance grants from the Government. The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth will directly and personally intervene to see what can be done to help with this particular difficulty.
Alcohol Summit
To ask the First Minister how the outcomes of the Scottish Government's alcohol summit will be taken forward. (S3F-1813)
The alcohol summit was a very productive event that brought together all partners with an interest in tackling the long-standing problem of alcohol misuse in Scotland.
The Government has already signalled its intention to introduce an alcohol bill before the end of the year, which will include proposals on minimum pricing, further bans on irresponsible off-sales promotions, and several other initiatives. We welcome continued discussion with other political parties and with other social partners. We are working with the alcohol industry and other interest groups as we take our proposals forward.
I draw the First Minister's attention to a letter in The Herald today, from Stephen House, the chief constable of Strathclyde Police, which states:
"Cheap drink is fuelling crime in Scotland. It is blighting our communities, damaging our quality of life and even costing lives. It cannot go on."
There is overwhelming evidence that the price of alcohol and the level of consumption are closely linked—similar evidence was submitted at the alcohol summit. Will the First Minister ensure that when a minimum pricing scheme is introduced, it will tackle the problem of cheap alcohol effectively? Such a scheme is regarded as a key way in which we can go about changing Scotland's unhealthy relationship with alcohol.
Alcohol misuse is one of the biggest public health challenges ever faced by our country. We acknowledge that no single solution to the problem exists, and that action will be required on a number of fronts. That is why the framework for action sets out legislation that is designed to effect change in the short term, and sets out actions that focus on achieving cultural and behavioural change over the longer term.
Strong evidence exists that increases in health harms are driven by increased consumption, which, in turn, is driven by price. That is why one of the cornerstones of our approach is to introduce a minimum price per unit of alcohol. We do not underestimate the challenges in pursuing that policy; it is a groundbreaking area of policy in public health. However, as Dr Peter Anderson—a consultant in public health who has advised the World Health Organization and the European Union—made clear at Monday's summit, the eyes of the world are on us, and we must have the courage to introduce minimum pricing.
How will the First Minister's Government protect our whisky industry within the proposals on minimum pricing?
As I am sure the member will have seen from a number of projections, the whisky industry is not directly affected by the proposals on minimum pricing.
It is very important indeed, as we promote and defend our vital whisky industry overseas, that whisky is marketed as a premium product and not in any sense as a cut-price or a cheap product.
Scotland and whisky are very much conjoined in terms of image. Whisky should be marketed from a nation that can be proud not only of its products but of its record in public health. It is therefore in the interests not only of the whisky industry but of everybody in Scotland that we take on and defeat Scotland's problem with alcohol.
I am glad that the Scottish Government saw fit to take up our suggestion of an alcohol summit. It was very helpful that such a range of people gathered together. However, it would also be helpful if the First Minister said that he regarded the summit as the beginning of a process rather than as an end in itself. At the summit, a number of areas of contention arose, as well as a number of areas of consensus. The contention was not only in relation to minimum pricing.
There is willingness among industry representatives, political parties and other stakeholders to ensure that the debate continues. Will the First Minister assure us that he and the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing will consider ways of bringing industry representatives together with cross-party groupings of MSPs, on an on-going basis, to ensure that we build genuine consensus, rather than force through something that people are not signed up to?
Cathy Jamieson will know that, by definition, we as a minority Government cannot force things through this Parliament. That ability might lie elsewhere, but it certainly does not lie here. We propose legislation; the Parliament disposes of it and, I hope, rallies behind it.
On Monday, the Deputy First Minister gave the assurance that Cathy Jamieson has called for. This is the start of a process of engagement, and we are anxious to find the consensus that will allow meaningful legislation to be passed. The Parliament has already demonstrated that that can be done, for example in its approach to tackling climate change. In that regard, we have passed an historic, groundbreaking bill that sets an international example that we hope others will follow. Let us try as a Parliament, as political parties and as public representatives to do the same in tackling one of Scotland's scourges: the problem of alcohol.
Anti-sectarianism Strategy
To ask the First Minister when the Scottish Government will present a national anti-sectarianism strategy to the Parliament. (S3F-1808)
We will present our co-ordinated national approach to tackling sectarianism in Scotland to the Parliament in October, drawing together the different strands of existing activity that are already helping our communities to overcome this long-standing issue. For example, through sense over sectarianism we are already providing £412,500 over three years to people in the greater Glasgow area to develop and implement their own ideas for tackling sectarianism; through Nil by Mouth we are providing £118,000 this year and next to tackle sectarianism in the workplace; and through our support for YouthLink Scotland we are providing education resources to tackle sectarianism at all levels.
I genuinely welcome the First Minister's answer, which, following the commitment in principle that he gave me in the chamber on 18 September 2008, sets out a specific timescale for introducing a national anti-sectarianism strategy.
Will the First Minister pledge today that the strategy will contain, among other things, a commitment to a national rehabilitation programme for those who are convicted of religiously aggravated offences, a pledge to address the decline in the number of twinning programmes in schools and an acceptance that an anti-sectarianism programme should be rolled out across the primary and secondary school curriculum?
All those matters are being actively considered. I am sure that Bill Butler will not be disappointed with the co-ordinated strategy when it emerges in October.
I am glad that Bill Butler has welcomed the strategy and the timescale for introducing it. I am sure that he will also recognise and welcome the strong efforts that have been made in the various community initiatives that have been taken forward in schools and communities throughout Scotland. The organisations that I have listed—and I could list more—are doing vital work on behalf of us all, and they, too, will be part of the national strategy that will be announced in October.
Digital Switchover
To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to ensure parity of coverage for all homes in Scotland following the digital switchover. (S3F-1825)
As Iain Smith knows, the Scottish Government is actively pursuing a policy of independence, under which responsibility for broadcasting and issues around the digital switchover would transfer to this Parliament. It is worth noting that the Calman commission, which the member supports, would not give me, any minister, the Scottish Government or indeed this Parliament any new lever to intervene effectively on this vital issue. This is a question of powers and parity, and of the action that Liberal Democrats would no doubt like ministers to take. We are lobbying vigorously, but there is a world of difference between lobbying and having effective power.
I am not sure that I will bother thanking the First Minister for that answer.
Oh!
Well, it was not really an answer.
The First Minister will be aware that Consumer Focus Scotland's review of the digital switchover in the Borders highlights, not surprisingly, that many people were deeply unhappy at receiving a reduced service for the same amount of money. Forty-seven per cent of homes in the Borders get a reduced service, and it is estimated that one in five in the STV north area and one in ten elsewhere in Scotland will be affected. My constituents in Cupar have suffered from a reduced service for years, with no access to Channel 5 or Freeview. After the switchover, they will continue to receive a reduced service and will lose out further when free-to-view high definition channels and services such as BBC Alba and—if it ever happens—the Scottish digital channel are added to terrestrial digital transmitters. Does the First Minister agree that all licence payers deserve the same service and that the first call on any so-called surplus from the digital levy should be to equip relay transmitters to transmit the full range of terrestrial digital channels?
Yes, that is a laudable aim with which I agree, despite the customary graciousness of Iain Smith's question. I am prepared to agree that relay transmitters should be a big priority for the surpluses, as indeed should be a digital television channel for Scotland. Ministers have met Digital UK officials, most recently on 3 June, to talk about the digital switchover and to put many of the concerns outlined by Iain Smith to the responsible officials—Mike Russell is doing that as Linda Fabiani did before him. I ask the member to note that there is a world of difference between ministers in this Parliament, on behalf of members such as Iain Smith, lobbying officials of Digital UK and having the power, ability and legislative competence to do something about the concerns.