Help to Buy (Scotland) Scheme
Since it launched in September last year, help to buy (Scotland) has helped more than 1,200 households into home ownership. With over 160 house builders participating, the scheme is supporting Scotland’s housing industry and is contributing to sustainable economic growth.
The scheme is funded via the financial transactions moneys. Are there currently any unallocated financial transactions moneys for this financial year?
The scheme is indeed funded through financial transactions money. I will get the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth to respond to Mr Brown regarding the allocated funding for this year. I assure him that the Scottish Government is absolutely committed to the help to buy (Scotland) scheme and to helping people on to the housing ladder. We will continue that commitment to the scheme.
For buyers to get on the property ladder, there must be enough housing stock. The housing statistics that were published by the Scottish Government this week show that the number of houses built has gone down again and is at its lowest level since 1947. What is the Scottish Government doing to ensure that there are enough houses for our growing population?
The Scottish Government has a commitment to build 30,000 affordable homes during this session. I remind the member that, since 2007, when this Government came into power, there have been more houses built across the whole sector and more houses built in the social sector in particular. Per head of population, there are still more houses being built in the private sector.
Marine Protected Areas (Designation)
Marine Scotland is reviewing the 14,703 consultation responses, almost all of which, I am pleased to say, were supportive of the work that we and our project partners have been undertaking to develop the network of marine protected areas, including the 10 sites that were mentioned by the member.
Does the cabinet secretary agree with me that understanding how best to protect Scotland’s seabirds and to address their decline is of vital importance as we seek to develop Scotland’s offshore renewable resource while respecting our natural environment?
I agree with that. Offshore renewables already take account of potential impacts on seabirds. The new plans and designations that are currently being considered will ensure further protection for Scotland’s rich seabird heritage.
Regarding Colin Beattie’s specific question on designating black guillemot and sand eel MPAs, could the cabinet secretary reassure us that he is taking into consideration the possibility of not just protecting but enhancing the features in those MPAs?
I am aware that a big campaign is under way to persuade the Government to designate sites that cover the breeding and feeding areas of important seabird colonies as part of our MPA network. That is why we are considering whether the MPA network should take into account the black guillemot and species that support seabirds, including sand eels—four sand eel sites are being considered—which are an important food source for seabirds. We are actively considering those designations.
What further action is being considered to turn around the worrying trend of the dwindling number of sand eels, which are a very important source of food for seabirds?
As I just indicated, as part of our current consideration of the MPA network, we will consider four sites where sand eels are present. Sand eels are, of course, an important food source for seabirds.
Working Group on Supporter Involvement in Football Clubs (Membership)
The recently established working group on supporter involvement in football clubs, which is chaired by Stephen Morrow, who is a senior lecturer at the University of Stirling, includes representatives of the Scottish Football Association, the Scottish Professional Football League, Supporters Direct Scotland and sportscotland. The group is scheduled to meet for the first time on Friday 30 May. As part of its early considerations, it will be able to review its membership to ensure that it has appropriate representation from clubs, supporters and the football authorities.
Does the minister agree that one possible solution in moving Scottish football towards fan ownership would be for the sport’s governing bodies to require clubs to give fans the first right to buy when clubs come up for sale and that, if clubs are unwilling to do that, the Parliament could consider introducing legislation on the issue?
I acknowledge Alison Johnstone’s long-standing interest in supporter involvement in football clubs, on which I am sure that we will continue to have discussions.
Accident and Emergency Treatment Target (Royal Alexandra Hospital)
The Scottish Government is working closely with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to ensure that the four-hour target for accident and emergency treatment is met across all its sites, including the Royal Alexandra hospital.
I am disappointed that the cabinet secretary will not give an indication of when his target will be met.
The Royal Alexandra hospital achieved a level of 92 per cent in March, which is the latest official figure that is available. No patients had to wait more than 12 hours and there was a 57 per cent reduction in the number of patients who had to wait for more than eight hours. That represents a substantial improvement on the performance when Mr Henry was a minister, when the overall level in Scotland was 86 per cent. The then health secretary, Andy Kerr, described that as a very, very good performance.
Projected Population Decline (Argyll and Bute)
The Scottish Government continues to support healthy population growth through working closely with a range of organisations, including Argyll and Bute Council and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, to promote sustainable economic growth in Argyll and Bute. That helps to ensure strong and thriving communities across the area that will retain and attract people. Population growth is a key driver of sustainable economic growth, as our Government economic strategy makes clear.
Does the cabinet secretary share my concern that recently published National Records of Scotland projections suggest that Argyll and Bute’s population will fall by 13.5 per cent by 2037, which is the second-largest projected decline in all Scotland, and that the working-age population is predicted to fall by almost 22 per cent? Does he agree that attracting new jobs and investment to boost economic growth in Argyll and Bute is vital to reversing the decline? That means that the Scottish Government must redouble efforts to improve the area’s infrastructure by improving roads such as the A83 and ensuring that proper broadband is available to all areas, including small rural communities.
I have a lot of sympathy with the points that Mr McGrigor raises. I made it clear in my first answer that improving economic opportunities is critical to boosting the population. In a range of areas in the Highlands and Islands, the roll-out of digital connectivity—that is an on-going priority for the Government—has boosted business prospects significantly, as have other measures that we have taken, such as the small business bonus scheme, which is used extensively across Argyll and Bute.
Management Information and Dental Accounting System (Duplicate Registrations)
MIDAS payments for dentists are a matter for the practitioner services division, which I confirm has put in place a number of measures to resolve issues that cause duplicate registrations, so that overpayments do not occur in the future.
The Scottish Government’s figures estimate that, since 2006, £3.4 million has been overpaid to national health service dentists. That has happened mainly because of a series of flaws in MIDAS, which dentists are forced to use, and is not the dentists’ fault. Does the minister agree that the priority should be sorting out the problem rather than punishing dentists for an error that was generated by a faulty computer system? What action will he take to ensure that the system is fixed, so that dentists do not suffer in the future?
It is important to understand that information that is held on MIDAS is based on information that dentists supply. Errors have occurred as a result of the information that dentists supplied and which was included on the system. To reduce the number of errors in the future, the community health index number is now attached to records, which reduces the risk of duplicate registrations on the system.
I call Dr Simpson—make it brief.
The problem is that one dentist does not know that another dentist has made a duplicate registration of a patient, so the error is not the dentists’ fault. The information technology problem existed for four years, but the system is requiring dentists to repay the sums within six weeks. That is really not good when someone is running a business. I suggest that the Government should get the problem sorted properly and not punish dentists.
I am sure that the member will recognise that it is important that overpayments to dentists are recovered. There is a legal responsibility to recover that money.
The period is six weeks.
No. The period of time can be longer, as required. A process is in place to allow that to happen. The practitioner services division will allow that to happen where that is appropriate.
Police Scotland (Meetings)
I last met representatives of Police Scotland at the public launch of the national code of ethics for policing in Scotland, which was held yesterday at the Scottish Police College. I was delighted to support that important development, which sees Police Scotland’s values of integrity, fairness and respect firmly placed at the heart of our nation’s policing.
As the cabinet secretary is aware, a young woman from my constituency—Regane MacColl—died in February after taking an illegal substance in a nightclub. Will the cabinet secretary outline the measures that Police Scotland and the Scottish Government can take to ensure that that tragic incident is not repeated?
I think that the sympathy of everybody in the chamber goes to the family of young Regane MacColl. It is a tragedy for anyone so young to lose their life, especially in that manner.
Porterfield Prison (Replacement)
Discussions between Highland Council and the Scottish Prison Service on an appropriate location for HMP Highland are under way. Until those discussions are satisfactorily concluded, a date and location for the construction of the prison cannot be confirmed. However, as noted in the Scottish Government’s “Infrastructure Investment Plan 2011”, it remains SPS’s ambition to deliver HMP Highland as a replacement for HMP Inverness during 2019.
In 2003, the SNP’s depute justice minister criticised the Labour Minister for Justice of burying her head in the sand and not addressing the consistent overcrowding in Inverness prison. In 2009—
Can we get a question, Ms Scanlon?
In 2009, we were promised a jail with a price tag of £40 million. When will it be built? How many prisoners will it hold?
The number of prisoners that it will hold will be a matter for the Scottish Prison Service. I can confirm that it is budgeted for 2019, and the Scottish Prison Service is working actively with Highland Council to ensure that an appropriate site can be discovered. It will certainly not cost in the region of the near £1 billion that the taxpayer is paying for Addiewell prison. Its construction costs are budgeted to be approximately £60 million, which follows the £80 million construction costs for HMP Grampian. The Scottish taxpayers will not have the huge expense that they have to pay for the burden of the private finance initiative/public-private partnership prisons.
Does the cabinet secretary agree that an integrated justice centre on one site that encompasses all the elements of the justice system would be a good idea in planning a new prison for the Highlands?
We strongly support measures that enable justice organisations to work together and ensure modern and efficient facilities. The member has made a good point, and I have no doubt that it will be borne in mind by not only the Scottish Prison Service but the Scottish Court Service, which would ultimately have to engage and deal with matters.