National Care Service
The Scottish National Party’s plan for a national care service has already wasted £28 million of taxpayers’ money. Four parliamentary committees have warned about its flaws, national health service bosses have serious concerns and Scotland’s council leaders and unions have pulled their support, so why is the First Minister pushing ahead with a plan that no one seems to want?
Before I answer the substance of Russell Findlay’s question, I welcome him to his post as leader of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party. I look forward to our exchanges, which will take their course over the coming weeks, months and years.
The national care service is a product of consultation and dialogue with members of the public. It follows the Feeley review of adult social care, which concluded that across the country there was such variation in the quality and effectiveness of social care that there was an argument, and a necessity, for a national care service to ensure that, wherever in the country an individual is in the social care service, they are able to receive the highest-quality support. That is the foundation of the national care service and it is on that basis that the Government will pursue the proposition that have we put to Parliament.
I thank the First Minister for his kind words and look forward to our exchanges: I have counted 60 until election day.
I really hope for some answers from the First Minister. One in five care homes has closed in the past decade and the NHS is paying the price, with almost 2,000 people trapped in hospitals—the highest number on record. Scotland’s care sector is collapsing today. People need action today. Every penny should be spent helping them today, rather than wasting years on yet another SNP pet project that is doomed to failure. Why can the First Minister not see that?
It is for many of the reasons that Mr Findlay puts to me that I support having a national care service. I am very concerned about the level of delayed discharge in our hospitals today. That has been the focus of significant attention from me as First Minister, from the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care and his team and from those who act on our behalf.
I will give Mr Findlay an illustration of the problem in the country. Almost 2,000 people are delayed in leaving hospital at the moment. We have been putting in a sustained effort, and I think that the situation would have been significantly worse had we not done so. However, per 100,000 of population, the number of delayed discharges in each area ranges today from 9.3 in one local authority area to 108 in another, which is 10 times as many. If one local authority area can secure a delayed discharge level of 9.3 per 100,000 of population, I ask myself why the position is 10 times worse at the other end of the spectrum. That is unfair, it must be addressed and that is what a national care service will deliver.
The First Minister’s own figures reveal that this is a today problem, and it is classic SNP—wasting time and money and neglecting what people really need. Government ministers are yet again grabbing power from local communities. The national care service will cost billions of pounds, and that is just to set it up. How will another expensive, bloated and wasteful quango help anyone?
One of the factors that Mr Findlay will be calculating in the cost assessment that he has just put on the record is the fact that, as part of this exercise, we intend to increase the pay and remuneration of social care workers around the country. No wonder he objects to that, because the Conservatives have objected to every attempt on our part to improve pay for social care workers the length and breadth of the country.
I assure Mr Findlay that, at the present moment, significant pressure is being applied to improve the delayed discharge position in local authority areas where it is poor. We maintain that pressure on a constant basis and it occupies a huge amount of my attention as First Minister and that of the health secretary. Some areas are improving, but not nearly fast enough. If we have a situation in which, in one local authority area, it is possible for there to be only 9.3 members of the public in delayed discharge per 100,000, how is it justifiable for there to be 10 times that number in any other part of the country? That is why we need a national care service.
This really does sum up what is wrong with politics in Scotland. There are plans for a national care service that are costing a fortune but not caring for anyone, just like the ferries that do not carry passengers and prisons that free criminals early. This Government needs a reality check. It has become disconnected from the people that it is supposed to represent, like the thousands who are in need of care today. Surely it is basic common sense to ditch the SNP’s national care service plan and just put the money directly into front-line care.
This Government is investing in our social care system and investing in the provision of care services throughout this country in a more significant way than is provided for by the financial allocations made to Scotland by the United Kingdom Government. Mr Findlay, of course, was a supporter of Liz Truss. We can—[Interruption.]
Carry on, First Minister. [Interruption.] Members!
The Conservatives obviously do not like being reminded that Mr Findlay—[Interruption.]
We will hear the First Minister. Many members wish to put questions today. I would like us to continue.
The Conservatives obviously do not like hearing that Mr Findlay was a supporter of Liz Truss, whose economic and fiscal policies have undermined the public finances of Scotland. That is the reality that I point out to Mr Findlay.
This Government has taken the hard decisions to invest more in our public services and more in our health and social care services than would have been the case if we had followed the United Kingdom Government’s budget allocations to Scotland—£1.5 billion more invested in our public services.
If Mr Findlay wants a lesson in reality, I will tell him that I will not follow the discredited and failed policies of the Conservative Party. We will make our choices here in Scotland to invest in our public services and to protect the people of our country.
Delayed Discharge
We have known for years that delayed discharge is exacerbating the crisis in our national health service. Delayed discharge is when someone is medically cleared to leave hospital but is unable to do so due to the lack of a care package. Almost a decade and countless health ministers ago, the SNP promised to eradicate this dangerous practice, but new figures show that, on average, 2,000 patients were needlessly stuck in hospital every day in August—the highest number on record. That is the equivalent of every bed in NHS Lothian or every bed in Ninewells, Raigmore, Wishaw and Inverclyde hospitals combined.
More than £1.3 billion has been lost to delayed discharge since the Scottish National Party promised in February 2005 to eradicate it. Why has the SNP Government spectacularly failed to tackle the crisis?
As Mr Sarwar will know, there has been a significant increase in demand on our health and care services as a consequence of the Covid pandemic. That is the reality of what we are wrestling with.
In addressing that reality, the Government has delivered on our commitment in the programme for government to increase social care spending by 25 per cent over this session of Parliament—two years ahead of our original target. We have put in those extra resources because we were prepared to take the hard decision on tax in order to increase public investment and public expenditure.
I do not in any way diminish or dismiss the significance of the problem of delayed discharge. I have recounted and put on the record the disparity in the performance of health and social care partnerships around the country, which is a source of great concern to me.
The Government has invested in the system to ensure that we can support it and deliver on expectations. However, we face higher demand as a consequence of Covid.
The First Minister fails to measure the outcomes of what is happening in our health and social care system. The Government has a track record of failure on outcomes, with devastating consequences. There are record levels of delayed discharge on its watch.
Scottish Labour has called for a national care service for more than a decade. When the Government finally agreed to support one, we welcomed that, but we also warned that it had to be more than a slogan. Half a decade later, the SNP’s plans are in disarray. The fact is that its plans are for a national care service in name only, which will do nothing to fix the problem and will not fund a single extra care worker or improve services. That is why care unions, councils and national health service leaders are now withdrawing support and raising concerns.
The SNP’s plans could now cost £2.2 billion. Surely, that money should be spent on care packages, additional workers, better pay and conditions and reducing delayed discharge.
That is precisely what the Government is doing. I have just put on the public record the fact that the Government has increased social care spending by 25 per cent—which was our target—and has delivered that early.
Members of the Parliament must accept that we have to operate within a budget that is agreed by this Parliament. Within the commitments that we have made, we have increased social care expenditure so that care workers are paid more, which they are, and so that more care workers are employed, as they are being, to make sure that we can deliver that care.
However, there is a challenge from rising demand, which is why the delayed discharge figure is so high, and we have variations in performance among the different areas of the country. Those are the realities that we are wrestling with.
Reducing public expenditure or not continuing to invest in that service will not help us. Mr Sarwar now represents the position of wanting to change what we have done on tax. He does not support the extra investment that we have generated from tax decisions; he supports a United Kingdom Government that is carrying on with austerity. We have to break out of the austerity cycle—we need investment. This Government is committed to that, but I do not think that Mr Sarwar is.
The First Minister does not live in reality and does not accept that, on the Government’s watch, outcomes are getting worse for people in Scotland. He can try to spin the facts and blame others all he wants, but the truth is that his plan is an absolute disaster. Workers do not want it, experts do not want it and warnings have been ignored for years. The Government’s botched plans are just a power grab. They will waste money, will not improve care and will not address delayed discharge, which is a key factor in the NHS crisis.
We support a proper national care service, but no good idea ever survives the incompetence of the Government. Will the First Minister wake up to the reality in our NHS and care service, ditch the costly and unworkable National Care Service (Scotland) Bill, and bring forward a credible alternative plan to fix the crisis that the Government has created?
I am interested in all that Mr Sarwar has said today. Unless I misheard him, I do not think that he spoke at any stage about service users. They are the people who want a national care service, because they are deeply concerned by the issues that we are wrestling with.
The Government will engage constructively with all interested parties about the establishment of a national care service, because we want to improve outcomes for members of the public. We are committed to doing exactly that. We will engage constructively with the Labour Party, and anyone else, on their ideas for establishing such a service. However, members must be aware that when they come here to demand investment in our public services, they have to be prepared to support the means to make that happen. That does not happen if they oppose what we are doing on tax. Neither does it happen if members of Parliament say that there will be no austerity, as Mr Sarwar told me during the election campaign, but then deliver austerity when they are in power in the United Kingdom Government. That does not add up. It will not meet the needs of patients in our country, and it will not deliver better outcomes for our people.
Middle East (Ceasefire)
The world’s failure to address Israel’s impunity, to protect civilians or to prevent war crimes has made the escalation of violence in the middle east inevitable. Through devolved funding decisions, the Scottish Government has a role to play here. There have been far too many deaths: there were the brutal killings that occurred on 7 October 2023; genocide has been inflicted on the people of Gaza; we have seen the bombardment and invasion of Lebanon; and now the world faces the imminent threat of full-scale regional war. We need an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and de-escalation in the wider region. However, the Prime Minister continues to provide arms and political support to Israel regardless of the consequences.
Given that devolved funding decisions are involved, what is the First Minister’s response to the crisis? Will he join the Scottish Greens in calling for de-escalation and for the United Kingdom Government to end its complicity in the war crimes that are being inflicted on Palestinians and others?
I share the deep concern that Patrick Harvie has expressed to Parliament about the situation in the middle east. The calls that my predecessor and I have made for a ceasefire in Gaza—which we have done for some considerable time, dating back to late October last year—have highlighted the danger of escalation of the conflict, which is exactly what is now happening. If there had been intervention to deliver a ceasefire a long time ago, we could have avoided being on the very dangerous course that we are now on.
I reiterate my call for there to be an immediate ceasefire and for all parties of good will to exercise their influence and responsibility to ensure that that is brought about and that there is de-escalation of the conflict in the middle east. All of this, of course, goes back to the atrocities that were committed by Hamas in early October 2023. All hostages should be returned, a ceasefire should be applied to resolve the issues, and a two-state solution should be developed to ensure that Palestinians can live in safety in their own sovereign, independent nation.
Mr Harvie raises with me issues of devolved responsibility. He and I had an exchange about that on 30 May 2024. This morning, I reread that exchange to satisfy myself that all steps that we can take within our legal responsibility are being taken, to ensure that the concerns that Mr Harvie puts to me are properly pursued.
There is a responsibility on all Governments to act in the face of so much violence and destruction, and I welcome the fact that the First Minister has repeated his calls for a ceasefire and de-escalation and for statehood for Palestine, and I hope that he continues to oppose the sale of arms to Israel.
However, the Greens have repeatedly raised the Scottish Government’s track record in giving grants to the companies that are producing those weapons and are profiting from the killings. Tens of thousands of people have been killed, yet companies that are arming Israel have received hundreds of thousands of pounds from Scottish Enterprise. The First Minister has repeatedly defended that by saying that his Government does not fund the manufacture of munitions, but that is not the point. The Government is funding the companies that profit from those atrocities. Will the First Minister finally send a clear signal today by immediately banning those companies from receiving grants and support from the Scottish Government?
I understand why Patrick Harvie put that question to me, and I understand the basis and substance of his point.
What I said back on 30 May 2024 was:
“we have to have a legal basis for saying, for matters that are not related to the Israel-Gaza conflict, that we are not providing a grant.”—[Official Report, 30 May 2024; c 18.]
That is the key legal test that the Government must satisfy. Whatever else is happening in the world, the Government has to act within the law, and, under my leadership, it will do so, because I believe fundamentally in the rule of law in all circumstances—it would help if many other people believed in the rule of law as well with regard to resolving some of these issues.
I do not in any way dismiss the points that Patrick Harvie put to me, but I simply say that I have to act within the law, and that, as I have assured him, I will explore once again whether there are any actions that we can take that will properly address our legal responsibilities and the moral and ethical issues that he fairly put to me this afternoon, and I will keep the matter under review.
Question 4 has been withdrawn.
Excessive Drinking
To ask the First Minister, in light of the recent reports of an increase in alcohol-related deaths in Scotland, what steps the Scottish Government is taking to reduce excessive drinking. (S6F-03420)
The recent statistics are a stark reminder of the challenge that our nation faces in tackling alcohol harm. The increase in minimum unit pricing of alcohol to 65p per unit this week is an example of concrete action taken by this Government to prevent alcohol harm.
Research has estimated that our policy has saved hundreds of lives and has likely averted hundreds of alcohol-attributable hospital admissions, compared with what would have happened without minimum unit pricing in place.
To support people who are already drinking at hazardous and harmful levels, the Scottish Government provided a sustained record investment of £112 million to alcohol and drug partnerships this year.
Whether we agree with the effectiveness of minimum unit pricing or not, we will agree that it will certainly not be a silver bullet. Many people who are caught in excessive drinking or addiction are self-medicating to counter other traumas. If we are to effectively tackle the scourge of that addiction in Scotland, we need to not only recognise the right to recovery that is advocated by the Scottish Conservatives but work to prevent others from falling into addiction.
Does the First Minister recognise that community activities such as music and drama, and activities provided by youth clubs, sports clubs, the scouts, the guides and all the similar great organisations can also be positive alternative forms of self-medication? If he does, does he further recognise that reducing access to such activities in schools and the community, closing facilities and squeezing third sector funding makes preventing addiction that much more difficult?
There is a lot in Mr Whittle’s question with which I agree. The opportunity to have a fulfilling life that does not require any resort to alcohol or drug dependency can often be delivered by participation in many of the organisations and activities that he mentions. I assure him that I strongly support the work of the third sector and many of the organisations that he talks about—I very much practise that in my parliamentary and ministerial activities.
The only note of discord that I would sound is that we have to find the money from somewhere. I keep coming back to the point that it is all very well for members of Parliament to come here and ask us to fund things and make other provision—which I think is totally valuable—but they must say where they would find the resources for that if they are not going to support us with regard to having the means to do so.
Mr Whittle’s party was responsible for the chaos in our public finances with which we wrestle, and the Government is working our way through those challenges. I simply appeal to Mr Whittle to follow through on his commitment to encourage me to support those organisations and activities by supporting us in having the means to invest in them through the budget process.
Does the First Minister agree that the minimum unit pricing of alcohol has already proven itself, given that analysis by Public Health Scotland and the University of Glasgow estimates that the policy
“has reduced alcohol deaths by 13.4 per cent and hospital admissions caused by alcohol by 4.1 per cent”?
Will he outline the actions that the Scottish Government has taken, in addition to innovative policies such as minimum unit pricing, to support people seeking treatment for alcohol-related issues?
I very much agree with Collette Stevenson that minimum unit pricing has been effective. Recent commentary in The Lancet—in a contribution by internationally renowned public health experts—stated:
“Policy makers can be confident that there are several hundred people ... who are alive today as a result of minimum unit pricing.”
That is something that I think we should all welcome as showing the effectiveness of the policy. However, minimum unit pricing is not the only instrument of policy that we have. On alcohol treatment, the Government has made available £112 million to alcohol and drug partnerships, and we have made £100 million available—or will do so over the course of this parliamentary session—to increase access to residential rehabilitation. We will work with stakeholders to create a new national service specification, alongside guidance for alcohol treatment, to address these issues.
The World Health Organization estimates that more than half of children in Scotland have tried alcohol before they turn 13. What progress is the Government making on the issue? Will the First Minister commit to pursuing policies, with some urgency, that deliver an alcohol-free childhood?
I agree fundamentally with the point that Carol Mochan put to me. The Government is of course pursuing a number of measures under consultation in relation to alcohol marketing, so as to achieve the objective that she understandably put to me. I reassure her that it is part of the Government’s programme to put in place measures that avoid children having exposure to alcohol in their childhood and enable us to achieve more positive outcomes for young people.
Educational Attainment
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s position is regarding whether teachers are essential to raising educational attainment and closing the poverty-related attainment gap. (S6F-03413)
Scotland’s teachers are vital to driving improvements in our schools, raising attainment and closing the poverty-related attainment gap. That is the reason why we are providing local authorities with £145.5 million in this year’s budget to protect teacher numbers and why the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills and I are committed to working with our local authority partners to ensure the best possible education for every child in Scotland.
The First Minister will know that not a single local authority has agreed to receive that funding. The First Minister says that he believes that teachers are essential, and his education secretary says that she cannot raise attainment with fewer teachers, yet 450 of them in Glasgow have begun to lose their jobs. As the First Minister himself just said, those jobs are essential. Teachers are working 11 hours extra unpaid every week, on average, and new teachers cannot get jobs on the present Government’s watch.
Enough is surely enough, and Parliament therefore voted for my motion for the Government to intervene, save jobs and produce a proper plan. Once again, however, the Government has ignored the will of the Parliament. I therefore ask the First Minister today: when will teachers have the stability that they deserve?
The teaching profession is fundamental to our education system in Scotland. I saw that first hand when I was education secretary, and I reiterate what I have put on the record today, which is that teachers play a critical role in the achievement of the Government’s objectives on education. It is for that reason that we are making available the resources to protect teacher numbers. Pam Duncan-Glancy has said to me that local authorities have not yet agreed to accept that money. A way of stabilising the teaching profession would be for local authorities to agree to accept the money that the Government has put on the table. That would be the simplest way to take things forward. I think that it would help local authority financing to have certainty from the Government about investment in the teaching profession, which has always been our priority.
I am very pleased that we have reached a situation in which the teaching profession has accepted the pay offer that has been made through the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers. That provides further stability for the teaching profession, and it means that teachers in Scotland continue to be the best paid in the United Kingdom.
Time and again, Labour members come to the chamber to demand more spending, while at the same time standing behind Keir Starmer’s and Rachel Reeves’s austerity agenda. Does the First Minister agree that it is vital that the United Kingdom budget commits to investment rather than austerity and that it is for all parties to join the Scottish National Party in making that case to the UK Government?
I am not entirely clear that that question relates to the substantive question on the paper. Therefore, I will call Liam Kerr.
Instability with teaching jobs extends to supply teacher posts. Recent figures from the Scottish teachers for permanence campaign suggest that 80 per cent of supply teachers have had little or no supply work this year and, in some councils, more than 60 per cent of those teachers have had less than a month’s work. Taken with Pam Duncan-Glancy’s statistics, that paints a picture of job insecurity, negative impact on pupil experience, financial uncertainty and little encouragement for those who are seeking to join the profession. Can the First Minister provide the Parliament with a published strategy to address the teacher recruitment and retention crisis, or is his Government making it up as it goes along?
As Mr Kerr will know, teachers are employed by individual local authorities. [Interruption.] If we have got to the point that Conservative Party members groan when statements of fact are put on the record, the Conservative Party is in a pretty dismal position. [Interruption.]
Let us hear one another.
Local authorities employ teachers, and the Government works with local authorities on workforce planning. All those factors are taken into account when admission levels for initial teacher education are set, which is a collaboration between the Government and local authorities. That is the point that I was going to make before the groaning started from Conservative members. Workforce planning is undertaken in Scotland to ensure that we have a sufficient supply of qualified teachers to contribute to the education profession. I will ask the education secretary to reflect on whether further refinements are required in the light of Mr Kerr’s question. We undertake workforce planning because it informs the admission to initial teacher education, which is critical to ensuring that we have all the skills that are necessary for our teaching profession in Scotland.
We move to constituency and general supplementaries.
Scottish Government Land (Granton)
During recent weeks, a number of constituents have contacted me regarding concerning incidents that have taken place on Scottish Government-owned land in Granton. Most worryingly, a fire was started that damaged a substation and left local residents without an electricity supply for many hours. The land is designated for an exciting new development by the National Galleries of Scotland, which I hope will proceed soon. In the meantime, however, my constituents and I would be grateful if the First Minister and colleagues could quickly consider how the Scottish Government can take more action to secure the land to reduce risk, criminality and antisocial behaviour in the area.
I understand the concerns that Mr Macpherson raises on behalf of his constituents. I assure him that we will do all that we can to encourage the site to be secured. We will work closely with the City of Edinburgh Council and Police Scotland to identify solutions to the challenges that are faced in the Granton area. As Mr Macpherson knows, the project for National Galleries of Scotland is an important Government commitment. We look forward to taking the necessary steps to secure the site in advance of its development.
Dyslexia (Assessments)
As part of dyslexia awareness week, Dyslexia Scotland and the University of Glasgow yesterday published a hard-hitting research project report, “Towards a dyslexia-friendly Scotland?”, which looks at the experience of 1,400 adults with dyslexia. The report highlights a number of areas of concern, including challenges in obtaining an adult assessment outwith formal education. A total of 80 per cent of participants said that the cost of getting an assessment was preventing them from having their dyslexia identified, and three quarters said that it was negatively impacting them in the workplace. Those concerns have been raised numerous times, with little progress being made. Will the First Minister therefore agree to meet Dyslexia Scotland and a cross-party group of MSPs to discuss the findings, and will he finally agree that the Scottish Government should fund those important assessments for all adults?
I am familiar with the research that Mr Mundell puts to me, and I acknowledge the significance of the issue arising where dyslexia is not identified and, as a consequence, not supported. I am very happy to agree to meet Mr Mundell and Dyslexia Scotland; I have engaged with the organisation in the past, and I would welcome a continuation of that dialogue. There are obviously financial implications of meeting the costs of the assessments that Mr Mundell highlighted to me, but we will have those discussions and identify what further actions the Government can take to support the legitimate aspirations that Mr Mundell has outlined.
Death Certification
The First Minister will be aware of the case of my constituent who died last week in an industrial accident in Southampton. His death will be subject to a coroner’s inquest, which will be months away. An interim death certificate is issued by the coroner as a matter of course, but legislation that was passed in Scotland in 2015 allows only full death certificates to be accepted for burials and cremations in Scotland. That means that my constituent cannot be brought home for burial or cremation, which obviously compounds his family’s distress.
I thank the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care for his positive engagement on the issue. However, what can the First Minister himself do to resolve the matter urgently? Will he consider specifically whether Health Improvement Scotland, which provides a death certification review service, can act in this case?
I am familiar with the case—I sympathise very much with the family involved, and I understand that this circumstance will add to the distress that they are suffering.
Jackie Baillie received a reply on that question from the health secretary last night, and I assure her that we are in touch with the relevant authorities to try to find a way through the situation to resolve the issue. I do not have a solution as yet, but I assure her that we are actively working to try to ensure that that is the case, and to do so as swiftly as we possibly can.
Afghan Embassy (Closure)
On 27 September, the Afghan embassy in the United Kingdom closed, leaving the 280,000-strong Afghan diaspora in the UK, including constituents of mine and families across Scotland, without consular services such as passport facilities, which enable travel.
For the avoidance of doubt, I note that the consular services were provided by a small and committed staff team who remained loyal to the now-toppled democratically elected Government of Afghanistan and who rejected the Taliban completely.
The closure of the embassy will have a detrimental impact on many families who have made their lives and homes in Scotland. Will the First Minister make direct representations to the UK Government to see how it might be able to support the reopening of the embassy and, with it, the restoration of consular services?
I appreciate the difficulty that Mr Doris puts to me, and I am happy to confirm that we will make representations to the United Kingdom Government on that basis to see what can be achieved. It is a deeply regrettable situation that the Afghan embassy faced closure following the dismissal of staff by the Taliban Government. Individuals should have access to representation by their Government, and they should be supported in ensuring that their needs are met. I give Mr Doris an assurance that we will make those representations to the United Kingdom Government to determine how those issues can be resolved.
As Mr Doris raised with me the issue of the Afghan population in Scotland, I make the point that their contribution to our country is deeply valued and that they are citizens who are welcome here. We want to do everything that we can to ensure that they can contribute to our society and can be well supported in so doing.
Police Officers (Pay)
This morning, police officers from across Scotland have been holding a silent demonstration in front of the Parliament, and many officers are currently in the public gallery. Years of brutal cuts from the Scottish Government have left hard-working police officers doing their jobs with one hand tied behind their back. As a consequence, police officer numbers are at their lowest since 2007. Will the First Minister recognise, therefore, that police officers feel undervalued and overworked, and will he commit to a fair pay deal in line with pay deals for other public sector workers?
I am happy to put it on the record that I value enormously the contribution that police officers make to our lives in Scotland. They are essential contributors to the safety of members of the public, and they provide a pivotal and essential role that is highly valued by me, as First Minister, and by the Scottish Government.
Police pay is negotiated through two separate processes—the Police Negotiating Board for Scotland for police officers’ pay, and the joint national consultative committee for police staff pay. Pay claims have now been submitted for both officers and staff and will be progressed through the relevant negotiating processes. That process will resolve the issues that Pam Gosal put to me.
Our police officers in Scotland have consistently been the best paid in the United Kingdom, at the minimum and the maximum of each rank. That recognises their hard work and the valuable contribution that they make daily, as well as our commitment to investing in policing.
With regard to police numbers, recruitment is under way, which is designed to boost police numbers. The statistics on that will be published in due course.
Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion (Closure)
To ask the First Minister, in the light of the disruption that will arise from the closure of the Princess Alexandra eye pavilion for the next six months, what financial support the Scottish Government has committed to providing to NHS Lothian, to ensure that no patient loses out now or in the future.
I understand the significance of the issue that Sarah Boyack puts to me. The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care has been actively engaged on the issue, and there will be a briefing on it to members of Parliament tomorrow.
We are in discussion with NHS Lothian about the arrangements to ensure continuity of service to individuals who will be affected by the closure because of the structural issues that we have to confront. The health secretary will keep members of Parliament updated about the steps that are being taken to ensure that the concerns that Sarah Boyack puts to me are properly and fully addressed.
Schools (Behaviour)
Almost two thirds of teachers who were surveyed in Fife are considering leaving the profession, as a result of violence in schools. What can the First Minister say to those teachers to keep them teaching? What, precisely, has changed as a result of the recently published Government guidance on behaviour?
I understand the concerns of members of the teaching profession, and those concerns are taken seriously by the Government. That is why we brought forward the proposals and mechanisms that were made available to the teaching profession at the start of the school year. The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills announced all those changes. There are now a greater range of responsibilities and opportunities for the teaching profession to exercise, to ensure that schools remain safe places for all, which they should be in all circumstances. The local authorities have been part of the process of formulating those proposals and, as the employers of teachers, they are available to support teachers in exercising the responsibilities that they need to exercise to keep schools safe.
Housing Emergency (Financial Transactions Funding)
It is vital that we continue to take action to tackle the housing emergency, and the £22 million investment this week into the charitable bond programme to increase investment in affordable homes will play an important role in that. Can the First Minister outline the impact of the UK Government’s savage cut to the availability of the type of funding that is known as financial transactions on the Scottish Government’s wider ability to invest in housing under the limited powers of devolution?
The specific point on financial transactions is very important for the affordable housing supply programme budget, because we experienced a 62 per cent cut to financial transactions by the previous United Kingdom Government. That financial mechanism was crucial in enabling the affordable housing programme to be sustained at the previous level, and it has largely accounted for the falls in available investment. We have made representations to the UK Government—I have raised the issue with the chancellor and the Deputy Prime Minister—to secure a change to that approach. We will get the answer to that point in the budget on 30 October.
I say to Emma Roddick that those investment streams are absolutely crucial in enabling us to sustain our investment in affordable housing, but the Government is also deploying innovation with other mechanisms that we have developed, such as charitable bonds and the work on negotiation around providing financial support to bring void properties back into use, which demonstrate some of the flexibility that we are putting in place to address the housing challenges that we face around Scotland.
A96 (Dualling)
It is now more than three years since the Scottish National Party Government announced a review into the dualling of the A96. The review is nearly two years late and the Government’s delaying tactic has cost taxpayers almost £6 million. On Friday, an air ambulance had to be called to yet another harrowing collision just outside Huntly. Will the First Minister stop playing political games with people’s lives and tell us when the review will finally be published?
The Government has made clear our commitments in relation to the A96, including dualling the A96 between Inverness and Nairn and in relation to the Nairn bypass. A review is under way in relation to the remainder of the route. That will be concluded in due course, and Parliament will be advised of its implications.
The Government is committed to ensuring that we take measures to address road safety in all parts of the country. The transport secretary is focused on those measures and has put in place a range of practical steps to ensure that that is the case.
That concludes First Minister’s question time. There will be a short suspension to allow those leaving the chamber and the public gallery to do so.
12:46 Meeting suspended.Previous
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