SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE
General Questions
Sustainable Development <br />(School Building Projects)
To ask the Scottish Executive how climate change is being addressed through public-private partnership school projects, for example by enabling the installation of biomass heating systems in circumstances where wood fuel represents the best local option for sustainable development and long-term value for money. (S2O-6861)
Sustainable development, including energy use, is a key component of the school estate strategy in Scotland. Last December, we launched a new publication focusing specifically on how to achieve sustainable schools, irrespective of the means of procurement. Local authorities are responsible for decisions about their own school estates.
I thank the minister both for that response and for the letter that I received this morning on the need to change the Scottish community and householder renewables initiative and the various options that require to be assessed. Does the minister acknowledge that there is considerable frustration in many communities, for example among those who are connected to the new Breadalbane Academy, who will miss the boat if the review of the SCHRI and the implementation of any new rules or schemes are delayed until the autumn? Can the minister assure me that the review and any changes that arise as a result of it will be in place by August this year?
We aim to conclude the review by the summer, although I have not put a specific date on that. I share Mr Ruskell's concern that we should arrive at our conclusions sooner rather than later.
In a letter to me dated 30 April 2005, the Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning wrote that he appreciated my frustration that the rules on the Scottish community and householder renewables initiative ruled out the use of a biomass system at Breadalbane Academy, in my constituency. Let me reinforce the point that was made by Mr Ruskell: it is essential that any reform of the system is put in place so that the frustration of members of this Parliament, including ministers, is addressed and so that we can make a constructive contribution to tackling climate change by ensuring that we build new schools on a sustainable basis.
I agree with what Mr Swinney is saying. As I have said before in the chamber, we believe that it is important to ensure that sustainable development, equipment and projects are part of this major opportunity. Mr Swinney has referred regularly to the case of Breadalbane Academy. I appreciate the importance, urgency and timing of the matter. We will do our best to pull together the conclusions of the review as quickly as possible.
Town Centres (Development)
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied that all town centre developers have equitable access to information from its officials regarding development proposals. (S2O-6887)
Requests for information that the Scottish Executive receives are handled in line with the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
Is the minister aware that none of the existing town centre developers in Lanarkshire was invited to the Scottish Executive's retail forum in November 2004, which provided the opportunity to discuss emerging Government retail policy? They had to request invitations from the Executive. Is the minister also aware that those companies did not receive copies of the Glasgow and the Clyde valley structure plan consultation document when it was published earlier this month, so they had to request copies?
Briefly, please.
Given that I am referring to major investors and developers that have invested hundreds of millions of pounds in the Scottish retail sector, does the minister find the situation surprising?
I was not aware of the situation that Michael McMahon describes. This is the first time that I have heard such details. I am more than happy to speak directly to him about the matter and to go into detail about the issues that have been raised.
Diabetes (Renal Disease)
To ask the Scottish Executive what improvements it has made in preventing renal disease in those with diabetes. (S2O-6876)
The link between diabetes and renal disease is well recognised in several initiatives, which include the Scottish diabetes framework, the diabetes managed clinical networks and the clinical standards for diabetes and for renal services that were produced by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland. The quality and outcomes framework of the new general medical services contract also includes 18 indicators that relate to the management of diabetes.
The minister may be aware that one of the easiest and most efficient ways in which to measure renal function in diabetic people is to use the glomerular filtration rate. Will the Executive consider including that method in the Scottish intercollegiate guidelines network guidelines that cover diabetes?
We should acknowledge that we have had, and expect to have, significant improvements in the monitoring and treatment of renal disease as a result of some of our initiatives. One main question for the SIGN guidelines group that has been established on chronic renal failure will be what the most accurate and practical method is of assessing GFR. It is expected that, once published, the guidelines will be implemented at national health service board level through the use of protocols.
Will the Scottish Executive rise to the challenge that is set by Diabetes UK Scotland in its action today, health tomorrow campaign to establish equitable access to an effective retinal screening programme for all people with diabetes?
Of course, we always want to rise to meet our communities' expectations. We need to consider requests that relate to the effectiveness of the delivery of such schemes. We are working with many groups—including patients' groups and Diabetes UK—on long-term conditions, enabling self-care and preventive medicine, so I am happy to consider such matters further. I will correspond with the member in due course about a formal response.
Acute Hospitals (Older People)
To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to improve the care and treatment of older people in acute hospitals. (S2O-6838)
The central message of "Adding Life to Years"—the report of the chief medical officer's expert group, which was published in January 2002—was that older people's health is a priority for NHS Scotland and is fully part of its mainstream business. The national framework for service change, which was given to ministers yesterday, has a section on the provision of services for older people.
In this morning's debate on age discrimination, the deputy minister said that the Executive would learn the lessons of the independent inquiry into the care and treatment of patients by NHS Lothian. Will she say in more detail how she will do that and apply those lessons throughout Scotland, to acknowledge that older people's care and treatment are a concern not only in Lothian, but elsewhere?
As the member knows, NHS Lothian has established an independent care review group to examine in detail the arrangements for older people's care. That group will be chaired by Anne Jarvie, who is a former chief nursing officer and a champion of older people's rights. I cannot anticipate what the lessons that we can learn will be, but it is clear that we will need to be able to learn lessons from that review. Any lessons will be disseminated to other health boards.
NHS 24 (Performance)
To ask the Scottish Executive what indicators it has used to assess the performance of NHS 24. (S2O-6824)
Health Department officials receive weekly performance reports from NHS 24 that cover the average and maximum times taken to answer calls, call abandonment rates, call-back rates and the average and maximum times taken to call back. All those are important measures of NHS 24's performance and of whether the service's quality and responsiveness match the service that the people of Scotland expect to receive from the organisation.
I thank the minister for his answer, although I did not hear the first part because of the acoustics.
I apologise that the member did not hear the first part of my previous answer. I said that we receive an enormous amount of information about NHS 24's performance. The responsibility to deal with performance issues is primarily that of NHS 24's board.
I receive a fairly steady level of complaints about NHS 24 from my constituency, which concerns me, in view of the sparsity of population, inclement weather and geography of the area, in which a doctor is not just a few streets away. However, the answer to a written question some weeks ago showed that the number of formal complaints is negligible. Are many people not following the proper complaints procedure? I would be grateful if the minister were to give the matter his personal attention. Will he meet me to examine the problem in more detail and to get to the truth of the matter?
The report from Owen Clarke and his team will be useful in guiding that discussion. I am happy to meet the member to start to resolve some of the challenges. NHS 24's new chief executive has said that he wants to build on existing links in the communities that the member talks about and to use NHS partners better and more effectively to provide a better service for those who are concerned about how the service is delivered. I accept the invitation to meet the member. The review team's work stream will focus on some of the issues that concern his constituents. I hope that, as a result of the actions that follow the report, the service will improve and confidence in NHS 24 in those areas will be rebuilt.
Skin Cancer
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to hold an annual sun awareness week to highlight the dangers of skin cancer to Scots in particular. (S2O-6886)
I am pleased to express my support for sun awareness week, which is taking place this week. The campaign is co-ordinated nationally, together with SunSmart—the Cancer Research UK prevention and awareness campaign—and funded by the four United Kingdom health departments. I have also discussed skin cancer prevention messages recently with both the Scottish cancer coalition and the west of Scotland melanoma group, and Rhona Brankin recently met representatives from the Scottish Dermatological Society.
I thank the minister for his comments and for his confirmation that this is indeed sun awareness week. It is a timely reminder to all of us not just to welcome the good weather, but to cover up when we are in the sun. Does the minister accept that fair-skinned Scots are at particular risk of developing skin cancer, that we are in the grip of a skin cancer epidemic and that there is a duty on us here in Scotland, more than in any other part of the UK, to encourage people to be aware of the risks of being out in the sun? Will he look at whether health education messages about sun awareness are going in the right direction? In particular, will he look at projects such as Fife's keep your shirt on campaign, with a view to encouraging such programmes across the whole of Scotland?
Mr Macintosh is right to draw our attention to malignant melanoma, which is the 11th most common cancer in males and the sixth most common cancer in females, and to the fact that the death rates for malignant melanoma are too high. I fully support SunSmart, the keep your shirt on campaign in Fife and Tayside, and other work that our health boards are doing, including some very good practice in Lanarkshire. We must draw people's attention to the issue and we must work with suppliers of suntan lotions to ensure that they provide the right information to customers.
Crofters Building Grants and Loans Scheme
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide an update on its programme of reform of the crofters building grants and loans scheme. (S2O-6891)
The new croft house grant scheme replaced the former grants and loans scheme on 1 January, and priority areas under the scheme were identified earlier this month. The effectiveness of the new scheme in supporting the renewal of crofter housing will be kept under review.
I look forward to helping to inform the review over the next couple of years.
I can certainly give Mr Morrison the assurance that we have kept a close eye on the matter and that officials, including the head of the department, have been to Uist to see the challenges for themselves. Measures have already been put in place to allow support for the renewal of fencing, and additional payments have been authorised for those crofters who had previously reached the limit of their usual eligibility under the crofting counties agricultural grants scheme, taking into account the impact of the January storms on those crofters. We shall continue to consider innovative and imaginative ways of ensuring that those needs are met.
What is the total number of crofters who could benefit from the new scheme and is it the case that some people are being put off because the loan element has been removed? Do constraints such as the condition of township roads and the difficulty of getting water supplies prevent more people from applying for the croft house grant scheme?
There is no reason why crofters anywhere in the crofting counties of Scotland should not apply for the scheme. Mr Gibson will be encouraged to hear that, in the first three months of this year alone, there were more applications under the new grant scheme than there were for the whole of last year under the former scheme. A total of 124 applications were made for a sum of approximately £2 million in assistance to housing over those three months.
Dental Action Plan
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it still considers the remuneration proposed for dentists in its dental action plan to be adequate. (S2O-6866)
Yes. I consider that the new and additional funding of £150 million demonstrates the Executive's commitment to national health service dental services in Scotland.
I acknowledge the investment that the Executive is putting into our dental services, including the increased remuneration for dentists within the NHS. However, when will those improvements lead to my constituents, and constituents throughout Scotland, being able to access an NHS dentist? They are currently denied such access.
I am very much aware of some of the problems surrounding access to NHS dentists in Fife. A considerable number of measures are being put in place by NHS Fife to improve access to NHS dentists. I do not have time to go into those measures in detail now, but I am more than happy to have a meeting with the member.
Members will wish to welcome the Swiss Ambassador, His Excellency Alexis Lautenberg. [Applause.]