SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE
General Questions
New Deal (Fife)
To ask the Scottish Executive how the new deal is helping young people in Fife into secure employment. (S2O-6523)
Employment policy is reserved to the United Kingdom Government, which takes the lead on funding and delivery of the new deal. The new deal for young people is delivered by Jobcentre Plus and provides training, education, work experience and job-search support to help long-term unemployed young people to move into sustained employment. Since the new deal for young people began, 5,190 young people in Fife have gone into jobs and 78 per cent of those job outcomes were sustained.
The minister may be aware of figures that were released yesterday showing that the financial services sector has grown by 6.4 per cent. Many clients who have been recipients of new deal support in my constituency have found jobs in the financial services sector. Will he outline what he fears would result from any diminution of the new deal or from its being stopped?
Indeed. Youth unemployment is down 79 per cent since January 1997 and down 57 per cent since January 1999. Such reductions are due in no small part to the impact of the new deal. The member refers to the financial services sector, which we debated only yesterday. Like other sectors, that sector makes an important contribution to the growth of the economy, which of course provides the job opportunities that have been taken up by those young people.
Given that the Government's figures show that barely a third of people who go into the new deal programme find jobs that last more than 13 weeks, is it not time to stop the appalling waste of money and use it to reduce taxation on our overburdened businesses? Of course, that is not only the Conservatives' policy but the policy of the Liberal Democrat Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning.
Doing so would consign those young people to the dole. Young people were familiar with being consigned to the dole during the Tory years and I suspect that the people of Scotland and the United Kingdom do not wish to return to that. Therefore, I do not see any prospect of a Tory Government being in a position to scrap the new deal.
Unemployment (East Lothian)
To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to reduce unemployment in East Lothian. (S2O-6514)
Scottish Enterprise is charged with pursuing the strategic priorities for economic development that are contained in the Executive's "A Smart, Successful Scotland" enterprise strategy. Those priorities include improving productivity and competitiveness to enhance the long-term growth rate of the Scottish economy—including in East Lothian—to generate greater prosperity and employment and to reduce economic inactivity.
Does the minister acknowledge that the record low unemployment rate of 2.3 per cent debunks Mr Michael Howard's assertion that the minimum wage would cost jobs? I remind the minister that more than 3,000 of my constituents were out of work when Mr Howard was last in the Cabinet back in the 1990s. On what Murdo Fraser said, is it too much to ask a Liberal Democrat to acknowledge that Gordon Brown's new deal has been a spectacular success that will help to get even more people back into work in East Lothian and elsewhere?
I am only too pleased to confirm the figures and the picture that John Home Robertson has given about low levels of unemployment in East Lothian. East Lothian has a claimant unemployment rate of 2 per cent, which is significantly down from when Mr Howard was last in the Cabinet, as John Home Robertson said. Scotland's employment rate of 75 per cent is higher than that in any other part of the United Kingdom and higher than that in any other European Union country other than Denmark. East Lothian's employment rate is even better, at 79 per cent. I am always prepared to give credit where it is due, not least to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown. Much of his economic success has been underpinned by the operational independence of the Bank of England, a policy on which I campaigned during the 1997 election, and I am sure that Mr Home Robertson, in the same spirit, will give us credit for that.
Supporting People Charges
To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with local authorities regarding sheltered housing tenants' concerns about the financial burden of supporting people charges. (S2O-6492)
We are aware of concerns about the supporting people programme charges, but it is for councils to determine charges in line with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities guidance. COSLA is consulting local authorities on revised guidance and we are in discussion with COSLA about that.
I thank the minister for her answer on an issue that is causing concern among pensioners in Scotland. I ask her to respond to the concerns of one of my constituents, Mr Henderson, who is a pensioner from Oldmeldrum in Aberdeenshire and who, with his wife, faces an additional £62 per month charge under the supporting people programme on top of his rent, council tax and warden charges. He is now so concerned about the additional burden that he is planning to move out of sheltered housing.
In any particular case, it is always helpful if the constituent writes to me with the details so that I can give the member a full and accurate response and so that I can make sure that the individual's particular circumstances can be covered.
I am rather surprised to hear the minister suggest that the charges are voluntary. I have written to the minister and her predecessor on six occasions in response to an approach from a constituent. How can she explain the fact that people in Aberdeenshire have a different regime from that in Aberdeen, which is different again from that in Dundee? How do we tell people that we are denying them services because we are introducing a charge? That is simply not acceptable.
The member misunderstands. There is a change in the way in which charges are made for the payment of rent to the landlord and for the provision of services. It is an important point because, for example, it allows voluntary sector providers to tender for work. The member knows as well as I do that the quality of the work that is done by voluntary organisations that have expertise in dealing with vulnerable groups is crucial, and we want to harness that. It is also important to understand our commitment to local decision making. We expect there to be differences in different parts of the country, given the different local authorities' priorities. We are also committed to harmonising the policy throughout Scotland and we will be considering it closely along with COSLA.
Attacks on Firefighters (Tayside)
To ask the Scottish Executive what new action it will take in light of the increase in violent attacks on firefighters in Tayside in the last six months. (S2O-6520)
Assaults on firefighters and other emergency workers are completely unacceptable. We have taken action through the Emergency Workers (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 to increase the penalties for people who are convicted of such assaults. We will continue to work closely with the fire and rescue service and other agencies to ensure that fire crews are given as much protection as possible.
Is the minister aware that there have been six attacks on firefighters in Dundee in the past six months? That compares with the one or two attacks in the same period in the previous year. Is she aware that there is under-reporting of attacks on firefighters and that what could be regarded as relatively minor attacks go unreported? Has the Scottish Executive given any thought to a national strategy to deal with the issue?
I am aware that the Fire Brigades Union has suggested that it would like a national strategy to deal with the issue. We have to take a co-ordinated approach across the public sector to try to ensure that we get protection for workers.
Is the minister aware of the concerns that the FBU raised about the impact on the safety of firefighters and the public if the number of fire control rooms is reduced, including in Tayside? Can she confirm whether that decision has already been made, given that the Executive included the reduction in its savings that were published on 31 March? If so, would that be a breach of parliamentary trust, given that we were assured that the decision would come back to the Parliament?
The member will have heard my deputy, Hugh Henry, say on a number of occasions that further information was required following the initial consultation on fire control rooms. That work was done. Ministers are considering it and no final decision has been taken. It will be made known to Parliament in the correct way in due course.
Does the minister agree that, in light of the Parliament's unanimous condemnation of the behaviour in question, the appropriate way of prosecuting all cases of it would be on indictment? Will she discuss that with her colleague the Lord Advocate?
The member will want to know that the Lord Advocate has reissued his guidelines to try to ensure that people are aware of the seriousness with which such incidents are viewed. It is not for me to decide whether it would be appropriate for them all to be dealt with on indictment. There might be some instances where that would not be appropriate. However, I assure the chamber that the Executive takes any assault very seriously. Assaults on public sector workers such as emergency crews going about their business are completely unacceptable and must end.
Strategic Rail Development Plan
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has a national strategic rail development plan for Scotland over and above the local initiatives in the partnership agreement. (S2O-6498)
Scottish ministers will develop a rail strategy for Scotland, as part of a national transport strategy, during the coming year.
As strategic cross-Scotland rail lines such as Perth to Inverness, Inverness to Thurso and Wick, and Aberdeen to Inverness can shrink distance poverty, does the minister agree with me and the Amicus union branch in Thurso that the time has come for a full and proper investigation into the benefits that the far north line brings to the Highlands and Orkney? What investment is required to provide the north with a modern rail service that meets the aspirations of travellers and the Scottish Executive?
As part of the development of the national rail strategy, we have, with the Strategic Rail Authority, commissioned a Scottish rail planning assessment. Ove Arup & Partners Scotland Ltd has been appointed as consultant for that work. It is considering future demand for the network and where the problems and further opportunities are that go beyond our current ambitious proposals for development of the network. I urge any MSP who has thoughts, ideas or proposals about this to contact me. That applies to the far north line and to rail improvements in all parts of Scotland. I will ensure that all proposals are fed into the development of the national strategy.
In light of the 2005 Scottish National Party manifesto proposals for a £5 billion bullet train and the lack of any commitment in the 2003 SNP manifesto for the Borders rail project, will the minister assure me that he will not follow any local or national rail plans of the SNP as the Executive develops its strategy?
It is important that those MSPs who are making proposals for the national strategy should feel confident that the proposals are supported by their party as well as being likely to get the Executive's support. It is important that we focus our future investment on the right proposals. I am sure that it will be for us all to ensure that when the 2007 election comes around we all put forward properly costed, affordable and deliverable policies—the sort of policies that the Executive partnership is currently putting forward with improvements such as the Airdrie to Bathgate line, the Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine line, the Larkhall to Milngavie line and the Borders rail link.
One of the frustrations for communities such as Blackford, where people desperately want a rail station to be reopened, concerns not only the lack of funding that is available for such reopenings, because of the Executive's road building programme, but the lack of clarity about what future demands on local rail routes from long-distance rail routes might be. When will we have a clear picture of the balance that needs to be struck between long-distance and short-distance rail services and of where station reopenings fit into that?
I have explained that we are developing a national rail strategy for the first time. That work is on-going. We are considering new proposals and are looking to develop the rail network. One would think that the current situation for rail was static or that we were slipping backwards, but the reverse is the case; we are now investing more in public transport than ever before. We are increasing the level of funding so that 70 per cent of our expenditure will be on public transport and the balance will go on our roads. That is a big boost for public transport. I will not repeat all the public transport projects and all the rail projects in which we are investing, but they are significant and run into hundreds of millions of pounds of investment. These are exciting times for the rail industry in Scotland and we are attracting new rail staff to work for the new national transport agency on those exciting rail developments. We will ensure that we have the widest possible consultation about future developments. The Executive is committed to providing better rail services in Scotland, which is one reason why we saw an increase in rail passenger numbers of 11 per cent over the past 12 months.
Europe Day
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to promote participation in Europe day. (S2O-6534)
Europe day is the day when we celebrate the unity of the peoples of the European Union and we have been doing so since 1985. The Scottish Executive, together with the Scottish Parliament, the European Commission and members of the European Parliament in Scotland, will host a reception in the Parliament on the evening of 9 May to mark Europe day as part of further promotion of the benefits of the European Union.
Does the minister agree that the vision that Robert Schuman had of a peaceful and prosperous Europe is more relevant today than ever and will the minister join me in congratulating local authorities throughout Scotland, including North Ayrshire Council, on the work that they do not just on Europe day but throughout the year to encourage educational exchanges that enable young people throughout Scotland to experience directly the benefits of being part of the new Europe?
I am more than happy to endorse those sentiments and the sentiments contained in the motion that the member lodged recently.
What steps is the Executive taking to ensure that Scotland and the Parliament can participate in Europe, and not just Europe day? As the minister will be aware, the Government failed on most of its objectives in negotiating the European constitution. What new steps are going to be taken to ensure that the people of Scotland and the Parliament can directly influence decisions that are made in Europe that affect our everyday lives?
One of the things that we will not be doing is encouraging people to vote against the new constitution. We will do the same as we have always done and promote the benefits of the European Union, such as the peace, prosperity and employment and social changes that it has brought. We will continue to do that today and every day in the future.
Does the minister agree that an excellent way of promoting Europe day would be to remove the uncertainties surrounding the EU? On that basis, will he press for an early referendum? In the wish for European solidarity, will he join me in hoping for sound judgment from the French people at the end of next month?
An excellent way of promoting the benefits of the European Union would be for Mr Gallie to drop his ideological blinkers and acknowledge the benefits that it has brought the people of Scotland for many years.
Before we come to First Minister's questions, members will wish to welcome in this G8 year officials of the Red Cross societies of Europe and their United Nations representative, Encho Gospodinov. [Applause.]