General Questions
Victims of Crime (Support)
A central objective of the Scottish Government’s making justice work programme is to improve the experience of both victims and witnesses of crime, and I have made a commitment to bring forward a victims and witnesses bill during this session of Parliament to do just that. Details of our proposals are set out in the consultation paper, “Making Justice Work for Victims and Witnesses”, which was published on 22 May and is available on the Scottish Government consultation website.
I welcome the launch of the Scottish Government’s consultation on a victims and witnesses bill and look forward to the improvements that it will bring to the criminal justice system.
I thank Stewart Maxwell for raising that constituency matter with me. If an offender has been sentenced to 18 months or more in prison, the victim can sign up to the victim notification scheme. Once a victim has signed up to the scheme, they are entitled to be informed of the date on which the offender will be released, when the offender is transferred, or when the Parole Board for Scotland has recommended release. The Scottish Government publishes information leaflets about the scheme for victims, and further information is available online.
The cabinet secretary will be aware of the proposed changes to the criminal injury compensation scheme. He will also be aware that, in written questions, I have asked him to detail what discussions the Scottish Government has had with the Ministry of Justice about criminal injury compensation. Is he supportive of the reforms that have been proposed to what is a key part of the support that we offer victims?
We accept that there are difficulties with the current scheme, which has been salami sliced on numerous occasions by Governments of various political shades south of the border ever since it was first introduced. The present scheme is vastly different from the one that I first experienced as a law apprentice back in the early 1980s.
General Practitioner Surgeries (Remote Areas) (Support)
The Scottish Government recognises the particular challenges of providing healthcare in remote areas. Accordingly, a range of financial and practical support is available for GP surgeries in such areas.
Is the cabinet secretary aware that, on the island of Cumbrae, three of the current general practitioners are due to retire in April next year, and that four of the six surgery staff are likely to be made redundant? I pay tribute to the excellent service that they have all provided for many years.
I thank Margaret McDougall for her question and I acknowledge her close interest in the issue. I am well aware of the circumstances surrounding the Cumbrae medical practice and NHS Ayrshire and Arran’s decision—which was taken in the context of local healthcare provision—to cease the practice’s dispensing service next April. It is important to note that remuneration for dispensing activity is over and above the funding that a practice receives for delivering primary medical services.
The cabinet secretary might be aware that I met Ayrshire and Arran NHS Board and discussed the matter only last Friday. I have been involved with this issue and the island’s community for three years. Is the cabinet secretary aware that the health board is now fully committed to ensuring that a new GP practice will be established on the island, and that all the health resources that are currently underused will be fully used to ensure that the predominantly elderly community has the service that it deserves?
I am well aware of Kenneth Gibson’s active interest in the issue. He always pursues such matters vigorously. I am glad that, as would be expected of a constituency MSP, Kenneth Gibson has met the health board and it has given him the assurances that I mentioned in my previous answer. My offer to Margaret McDougall also applies to Kenny Gibson as the constituency member. I stand ready for further discussions and correspondence should they prove to be necessary.
Land Reform
The Scottish Government is committed to supporting communities to purchase land and land assets. That is why I was delighted to be able to visit Machrihanish on Monday, where the community has just taken over the former Royal Air Force Machrihanish airbase by using community right-to-buy provisions, with sustained support from the Scottish Government and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. It is also why the Scottish Government has committed £6 million to the Scottish land fund for the next three years. That will provide communities with the opportunity to take control of their future.
I thank the minister for his response. I think that I asked about land reform, but that might be for another day. What can the minister say about applications to the Scottish land fund?
The Big Lottery Fund Scotland and Highlands and Islands Enterprise are already building up contacts with potential applicants to the Scottish land fund. They will ensure that groups are fully aware of the new programme and the application process at the time of the launch. It is an integral part of our wide-ranging approach to land reform.
The minister referred to the interest that has been shown in the Scottish land fund, but we are now entering the third month of the first year of funding and there are still no details available about the precise criteria for use of the fund. When does the minister expect to announce those criteria, and when will the fund be open for business?
The Scottish land fund will be open for business before the summer recess.
What assessment have Scottish ministers made of the effectiveness of the Scottish outdoor access code?
As Jamie McGrigor will recall, the Scottish outdoor access code engaged all the parties in Parliament. It has provided good guidance to people who make use of the access rights under Parliament’s legislation. We are still working our way through the core paths activity, but all the indications are that it is successful legislation, which we were happy to support in its passage through Parliament.
Unemployment
We are taking a range of measures to stimulate growth and increase good-quality employment opportunities across Scotland. They include a focus on capital investment projects, such as the new south Glasgow hospital, and on creating and safeguarding jobs through regional selective assistance.
Three out of the four Scottish constituencies with the highest rate of people on jobseekers allowance—Maryhill and Springburn, Pollok, and Provan—are in Glasgow. Although there was a small and welcome fall in the claimant count last year, the number of people without a job for a year or more, including women and the youth workforce, rose by 11 per cent in Glasgow in the last year. What is the Scottish Executive doing to address that extremely concerning trend in Glasgow?
I assure Mr Malik that the Government is implementing a range of measures—some of which I set out in my earlier answer—to support individuals directly in their journey back into employment. We work in a complementary fashion alongside the Department for Work and Pensions, to ensure that there is no duplication of effort and so that individuals who are trying to enter the labour market are fully supported.
International Trade Forums
Although Scotland is at liberty to lobby international organisations such as the European Union or the World Trade Organization, trade policy is a reserved matter.
During a recent visit to Hawick by the Minister for Youth Employment, local employers in textiles raised concerns with me about punitively high import tariffs of 16 per cent on all lambswool products to the United States, compared with just 4 per cent for cashmere. I understand that the matter has been raised with the Secretary of State for Scotland but that, as yet, no action has been taken by the UK Government.
As I said, trade policy is the responsibility of the UK Government. However, I will closely consider Paul Wheelhouse’s request and any evidence that he wishes to provide subsequently to me.
Concessionary Travel Scheme
Since 2006, Transport Scotland has progressively rolled out smart technology across all Scotland’s buses. That has streamlined and greatly improved the reimbursement process for the concessionary travel scheme and facilitated the management of potential fraud.
Does the minister share my concern that many older people in my constituency are worried about bus operators abusing the concessionary travel scheme? Many passengers have different destinations printed on their tickets for journeys that they regularly undertake. I have forwarded some of those tickets to Transport Scotland, which has highlighted a number of abuses. Can the minister assure me and my constituents that he will do everything in his power to stop that practice?
I am happy to provide that reassurance. Transport Scotland receives a number of complaints of that type, every single one of which is investigated. Investigations have found that some complaints involve an element of overstaging. However, it has been found that, even though a ticket might show a longer journey than was undertaken, the value of the reimbursement was correct—so sometimes it is not fraud at all.
Scotland-Norway Interconnector
Can we have Mr MacDonald’s microphone on, please? [Interruption.] Do you have your card in?
Yes, my card is in. I will just use another console.
I notice that there are two mikes further along. Could you use one of them?
That was a great start.
That was worth waiting for, Presiding Officer.
I am pleased to hear that co-operation with our Nordic cousins is helping to move forward the NorthConnect interconnector project. I am sure that we all wish it to be operational as soon as possible. Although the imperative is to install interconnectors to our northern isles and the Western Isles, there have been discussions regarding the possibility of an interconnector that would link Scotland with Iceland. That is again receiving attention from Icelandic state-owned renewable energy company, Landsvirkjun. Is such a project still feasible and, if so, will the Scottish Government do all that it can to move the project forward?
We believe that it might be feasible. We very much welcome today’s news that progress has been made, in that a memorandum of understanding has been entered into between the United Kingdom Government and Iceland. If there is to be a connection to Iceland, geographically, Scotland is the logical place for it to connect to. Therefore, we will work with the UK Government to advance NorthConnect to Norway and a connection to Iceland. We want Scotland to be well connected with the world, not least in the development of renewable energy, which represents one of the foremost conceivable opportunities that this country could possess. It involves harnessing our unparalleled maritime renewable energy resources. We want Scotland to be connected to Iceland, Norway and many other countries.
Planning Applications
The minister needs to be as brief as possible with his response.
Scottish ministers consider a range of indicators when determining applications, including dated correspondence that has a legible name and return address, is received within the appropriate timescale and, crucially, gives the reasons for supporting or objecting to a development.
Is the minister aware that developers of the Harburnhead wind farm, which is near West Calder, have allegedly set themselves up as a pro-wind farm alliance, which is gathering positive signatures in the local shopping centre? Will the minister make it clear to developers that such misleading and dodgy practices undermine the planning process and that such practices will not be tolerated?
I cannot, of course, refer to any individual live application, but the Scottish Government expects clarity so that people know what they are supporting—or, indeed, opposing—and that the rules apply equally to both sides.