Sport (Regional Performance Centre in Dundee)
Funding for sporting infrastructure is routed through our national agency for sport, sportscotland, which has begun discussions with Dundee City Council on the new plans for a regional performance centre in Dundee. Those plans will determine the budget required for the project. It is expected that the centre will be completed by 2016.
Earlier this week, Ken Guild, leader of Dundee City Council, said
Discussions about the budget will follow the new plans; after all, one cannot set a budget without knowing what the new plans will look like and what they will cost. However, I can tell the member that the new steering group, in which the city’s two football clubs, both universities, Dundee College, Angus College, NHS Tayside and, of course, Dundee City Council are involved, met on 17 September, and discussions have begun with sportscotland to amend the plans for the national performance centre to a regional performance centre model. Once all that is done, we will know what the required budget will be, and that will be taken forward through sportscotland and Dundee City Council.
How will the regional performance centre build on the work of the community sport hubs and ensure that we get more children and young people in Dundee involved in sport?
I expect that, as well as supporting elite athletes in the Tayside area, the new regional performance centre’s inside and outside facilities will be very much community focused to allow many people of all ages, particularly young people, to enjoy sport. The centre will undoubtedly help young people in the area to be more active and will deliver a strong legacy from the Commonwealth games on top of some of the other fantastic facilities that have recently been taken forward in Dundee.
Commonwealth Games 2014
Good progress continues to be made towards the successful delivery of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth games. With less than a year to go, the games remain on track to be delivered on time and on budget. All permanent sports venues have been completed and are already available for use by the public, and interest in ticket sales has been tremendous with more than 2.3 million requests for around 1 million tickets and at least 70 per cent of the tickets for every session being available to the public. Of course, the Queen’s baton relay will begin its journey around the Commonwealth early next month.
The level of demand for tickets is exceptionally good news. During the London Olympic and Paralympic games, 125,000 tickets were made available for young people to take advantage of the events. Will the same be true of the Commonwealth games?
Plans and discussions are on-going with regard to a gift of the games initiative involving the games’ partners, and there will be news about that quite soon.
The minister will be aware of Glasgow’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community’s interest in and concerns about these matters. For example, it has not only organised positive initiatives such as pride house, which I gather the Government has given some support to, but highlighted the need to raise in as constructive a spirit as possible concerns about the record of Commonwealth countries in criminalising their LGBT communities. Is she willing to meet me to discuss how these interests and concerns can be given the most constructive possible expression during the games?
I am certainly happy to meet the member to discuss such matters. We have an opportunity to promote a positive message about Scotland’s journey and the progress that we have made, although I acknowledge that there is still progress to be made on these matters. If that journey can be an inspiration to others, I think that sharing our experience with others who might be at different stages in their own journey would be a very positive move.
Is the minister content that all venues and transport links will be fully accessible for people with disabilities?
The Scottish Government fully recognises the importance of accessibility for people with disabilities. We are working with the organising committee and public transport operators to ensure that the games are fully inclusive and accessible. To that end, Glasgow 2014 is currently finalising an accessible transport strategy, which will be published in November. Details of the strategy and the key principles for delivering accessible transport across the games network will be in that document.
Universities (Overseas Students)
In Scotland, we welcome international students and researchers to our world-class institutions and value the significant cultural, economic and intellectual contribution that they make.
In a letter that I received from the principal of the University of Aberdeen earlier this year, I was told that, since the removal of the post-study work scheme, the university has seen a drop in entrants from India of 60 per cent and from Nigeria of 22 per cent. What can be done to counter the damage that United Kingdom immigration policies and the UK Border Agency are doing to our capacity to attract overseas students to our universities?
I am happy to provide a one-word answer to that: independence. The reality is that the actions of the UKBA and the Home Office cause deep problems for all universities. Sir Ian Diamond, the principal of Aberdeen university, has been in the forefront of taking forward these issues.
Renewables (Department of Energy and Climate Change Consultation)
The Scottish Government welcomes that important consultation. The intergovernmental group that I called for last year has helped to establish a clear evidence base for additional support for island renewables.
I am concerned that the proposals that were announced in the consultation might not go all the way towards overcoming the range and extent of the barriers that are faced by renewable energy developers on the islands. What assurances can the minister give the sector that that aspect will be considered during the consultation?
I share the member’s concerns, particularly because DECC proposed a single contracts for difference uplift for island onshore wind at £115 per megawatt, whereas the Baringa islands renewables report recognised that each of the three island groups had different needs and circumstances.
I welcome the minister’s constructive response and acknowledge the work that the islands working group has done in progressing the issue. Does he agree that establishing the principle of a separate strike price for the islands is a significant move forward that allows encouragement for developments not just in Orkney, but in the other island groups as well?
For both Mr McArthur and me, the glass is always half full. In that spirit, I welcome the fact that the principle has been accepted. Had the principle not been accepted, where would we be? However, there is more work to be done. Since the evidence report, which Mr Davey and I called for, produced the conclusion that the three islands—not surprisingly—had different needs and required different levels of support, the rational, evidence-based case has already been established to some extent. Nevertheless, more work needs to be done and I welcome the co-operation of Ed Davey and his colleagues thus far in reaching the establishment and acceptance of the principle.
Child Protection
The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that fast and effective protection is in place for children at risk of abuse and neglect. To that end, we have introduced new and strengthened guidance to ensure that all practitioners working with children are equipped to protect children who are at risk.
I have here a copy of the serious case review in respect of Daniel Pelka. Has the minister had the chance to read the review? What action is the Government taking to put in place every possible safeguard to ensure that, in Scotland, we minimise the risk of another case similar to that of Daniel Pelka?
I respect the way in which Paul Martin has raised the matter. The death of Daniel Pelka is an absolute tragedy. A significant amount of work has been done on the issue over the past couple of years, particularly in the past seven or eight months. In November last year, we published the “National Risk Framework to Support the Assessment of Children and Young People”. On 28 November last year, we published the “National Framework for Child Protection learning and development in Scotland 2013”. We have refreshed and revised the pink book for health professionals, and we republished “Getting Our Priorities Right” in April this year for professionals specifically working with children and families for whom substance misuse is a factor. As I said, we have also published the Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill, which will strengthen the support that is available for vulnerable families.
Environmental Projects (Community Benefits)
Our aim is to maximise the opportunities for community benefits from renewable energy developments, and we recognise that national guidance on good practice would be welcome. Guidance is currently being developed under our community and renewable energy scheme—CARES—in consultation with stakeholders. The aim is to publish that in the autumn.
Does the minister agree that it is imperative that local authorities consider that any community benefits from such projects should support the local community first and foremost? In Castlemilk and Carmunnock, in my constituency, the community has been informed that most of the profit from the local wind park, which was originally to be used for local community benefit, will now be made part of central funding by Glasgow City Council.
We seek to work with all local authorities on these matters. I have not had specific discussions with Glasgow City Council on the issue, so it would probably not be correct for me to make any substantive comment thereon. Generally speaking, we seek to work with local authorities to ensure that communities can benefit from renewable energy developments in their own part of Scotland.
Dementia (Under-65s)
We know that, of the 86,000 people currently living with dementia in Scotland, around 3,000 are under 65. Next month, NHS Health Scotland will publish “Younger people with dementia: living well with your diagnosis”. Developed in partnership with Alzheimer Scotland, the booklet will provide a range of insights and information from younger people with dementia and their family carers, in their own words, about what helps them to live well with the diagnosis.
As the cabinet secretary has rightly identified, in Scotland some 3,200 people under 65 have dementia. Many of those require help with personal care, such as continence management and food and diet, but are required to pay for such help because they are under 65. Will the cabinet secretary agree to review the policy so that we provide free personal care for dementia sufferers who are under 65 years old?
A range of additional support services are available to people with dementia under 65 years of age, including, in some cases, continuing healthcare. We keep such issues under constant review, because we want to ensure that the best health service support as well as the best social care support are available to people of all ages who have dementia.
Opencast Mine Restoration (East Ayrshire)
There is not now, nor has there ever been, any specific budgetary provision for restoration of opencast coal sites.
I am obliged to the minister for that reply. As he will be aware, this month East Ayrshire Council received a report on the additional costs that it may face for restoring land that was previously used for opencast facilities, which the council will be incapable of financing in the medium term. Is he able to give some indication that he will take steps to alleviate that problem?
As Mr Pearson and members from across parties will know, I have been working closely with Professor Russel Griggs in chairing a task force, on which all parties representing coaling areas are represented. We work closely with all the local authorities, with which we have productive relations. We are taking a number of steps, not least of which is the establishment of the independent Scottish Mines Restoration Trust, under the chairmanship of Russel Griggs. We have also explored, in a letter that I wrote to Mr Michael Fallon recently, the possibility of restoration to Scotland of some of the millions of pounds that have been paid from the levy of 17p per tonne from coal mined in Scotland, so that the money can be used towards restoration of the coal mines that are left in our country.
What response has the minister had from the United Kingdom energy minister to his request that the coal authority levy of 17p per tonne of coal mined should be applied to restoration purposes? Unlike the Scottish Government, the UK Treasury has benefited from a significant income stream from opencast mining and should surely assume more financial responsibility for its clear-up.
I wrote to Michael Fallon only on 17 September, so it is probably unreasonable to expect to have received a detailed reply at this stage. I should make it clear that the total aggregate moneys involved would not be sufficient to solve the total problem by any means. Nonetheless, I think that the task force recognised that such a request is a reasonable thing for us to ask. The money was paid from the coal mined in Scottish communities. Surely there is a very strong case, given that most of the money went straight into the consolidated fund, for now using it to tackle the task of restoring Scotland’s opencast mines that are coaled out.