Chamber and committees

NHS Lanarkshire commissioned a review of its primary care out-of-hours services in September 2013 with a view to enabling improvements in service delivery. Phase 1 of the review concluded in April 2014 and included extensive communication and engagement with staff, service users and the public.

NHS Lanarkshire reported the service being under significant pressure, due to a range of resourcing and other difficulties including securing commitment from GPs, particularly in the busier out-of-hours centres and during peak holiday time such as Christmas and Easter. This difficulty in resource planning led to low morale and service instability. Furthermore, the service was reported as being delivered from inadequate facilities.

NHS Lanarkshire health board approved the current interim service model, which will remain interim until the national review of primary care out-of-hours services has reported its findings and recommendations, which the health board will be required to align with and further, I will be required to approve.

The national unscheduled care team continues to work closely with the local teams across Scotland, including NHS Lanarkshire, to progress the six essential actions that aim to minimise long waits in A&E and assessment units, by improving patient flow throughout all areas of the hospital and in the community. These actions have already underpinned improvements in NHS boards across Scotland and will ensure best practice is installed throughout the hospital system.

The Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 sets out that the reporter must make their decision in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. The reporter will consider the status of the plan, any emerging policies that may be relevant, and all the evidence submitted by parties involved in an appeal, and make their decision on the planning merits of the case. The reporter gave full consideration to all representations made by parties involved in this appeal and his decision notice gave detailed consideration to the issues raised in these representations.

The Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 sets out that the reporter must make their decision in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. The reporter will consider all the evidence submitted by parties involved in an appeal and make their decision on the planning merits of the case.

Transport Scotland is currently undertaking a widespread review as part of work to refresh the rail freight strategy and will launch a public consultation on this in the autumn. The strategy will set out our approach to supporting a sustainable rail freight industry in Scotland and will consider how best to work with industry and business to maximise opportunities to do so.

The Scottish Government recognises that the rail freight industry has a vital role to play in delivering economic and environmental benefits for Scotland. Through our refreshed rail freight strategy, due for public consultation in the autumn, we are working with the industry and partners to ensure it can maximise its future potential. This Government already has a strong record of investment in rail with the £3.5 billion capital investment programme 2014 to 2019, and freight services will benefit from major improvements such as the Edinburgh to Glasgow Improvement Programme and the Aberdeen to Inverness and Highland Main Line projects. In addition to the freight mode shift grant schemes which help offset any extra costs incurred through moving from road to more sustainable transport modes, there is also a dedicated £30 million Scottish Strategic Rail Freight Investment Fund which is supporting opportunity-led investment in infrastructure to encourage growth.

It is in Scotland’s interests that the Scottish Government is able to consider the full range of options for structuring our railways, within the boundaries of what is permissible under European law, including models of public ownership. However, this is not possible under the current framework for UK railways, which remains a reserved matter. As proposed by this Government, there is provision within the draft Scotland bill which will enable public sector bodies to bid for future Scottish franchises. This is a step in the right direction, but falls short of the full transfer of railway powers to the Scottish Parliament which we have requested on numerous occasions, including in our submission to the Smith Commission.

Responsibility for operating train services in North Lanarkshire rests with Abellio ScotRail.Officials from Transport Scotland meet regularly with the ScotRail alliance, to ensure that the improvement in performance remains in line with the targets set in the Franchise Agreement. Over the year-to-date, some 199,000 of the 211,800 trains run in the Suburban West service group, of which North Lanarkshire is part, have arrived at their destination within five minutes of the scheduled arrival times 93.8%. The overall target of the ScotRail alliance for reliability, is to achieve a public-performance-measure of 92% by 31 March 2016.

The Scottish SPCA receives no Government funding. I understand that all of its funding - £14.4 millon in 2014 comes from bequests, memberships and donations. However, the Scottish Government strongly supports the work of the SPCA in dealing with animal abuse. SPCA inspectors are appointed as inspectors by Scottish Ministers under the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 to safeguard the welfare of domestic and captive animals. This allows inspectors to enter premises, to take possession of suffering animals and and to search for, or seize, evidence. The Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform is currently considering whether to grant SPCA inspectors similar powers in relation to offences involving wild animals.

The question of penalties for animal cruelty offences was the subject of a recent petition to the Scottish Parliament. In my response to the Public Petitions Committee I explained that the maximum penalty available is 12 months imprisonment and/or a £20,000 fine. This is in line with the rest of Great Britain, and the Scottish Courts have not yet used the maximum penalties available to them. The Scottish Government therefore believes that the maximum sentences available are currently proportionate. Sentencing decisions in individual cases are however a matter for the Courts, who will consider the relative seriousness of the offence and the full surrounding circumstances when deciding on an appropriate sentence.

The Scottish Government is working in partnership to ensure intensive support and training for modern apprenticeship applicants on the autistic spectrum and training for our managers. This is aimed at creating more employment opportunities for those on the autistic spectrum and widening the skills, knowledge and understanding of our staff with regard to recruiting and employing these young people.

We aim to provide a suite of training programmes for Scottish Government modern apprenticeship managers, designed to provide them with interviewing skills and techniques that will allow those on the autistic spectrum to express themselves clearly and fairly at interview, in what is a competitive and sometimes stressful situation.

We aim to redress the disproportionate unemployment rates experienced by young people on the autistic spectrum, while reflecting the society we serve and appreciating the different perspectives and skills sets those on the spectrum bring to our work.