Contents
- General Question Time
- First Minister’s Question Time
- National Cycle Network
- Business Motion
- Point of Order
- Renewable Energy
- British Sign Language (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3
- British Sign Language (Scotland) Bill
- Parliamentary Bureau Motion
- Decision Time
General Question Time
Capital Projects (Central Scotland)
To ask the Scottish Government what the impact is of European Union rule changes on capital projects in Central Scotland. (S4O-04598)
I advised Parliament last week that the Office for National Statistics is seeking opinion from Eurostat on some points of clarification relating to its July decision about the classification of the Aberdeen western peripheral route non-profit distribution project. That is likely to take some weeks.
In parallel, the Scottish Futures Trust has submitted proposals to the ONS in relation to the hub model, through which we are delivering a programme of schools and health projects. The ONS is likely to be in a position to respond by late October or November. As a result, I do not expect it to be possible for a number of hub projects in the current pipeline to reach financial close over the coming weeks.
The SFT will continue to engage closely with project partners to consider the implications for them. The Scottish Government will, of course, keep the position under close review.
The Scottish Government approved the merger of Abronhill high school and Cumbernauld high school, with the following condition on the local authority:
“To provide the Scottish Government and the Parent Councils of all the schools affected by this proposal, confirmation that funding has been secured for the new school along with a detailed timetable for development and construction of the new school.”
Given that part of the confirmed funding for the new Cumbernauld academy was provided by the Scottish Government, that it was a Government condition of the merger proceeding, and that the timetable is now in doubt due to issues with the Scottish Government funding share, does the cabinet secretary not feel that the Government has a moral obligation to provide conventional capital funding for this particular project?
Where I can agree with Mr Griffin is that I think that the utilisation of traditional capital funding is a more straightforward route for the development of capital infrastructure. It is a much more reliable way to fund public expenditure, which is why I regret so much the fact that we have had such substantial reductions in our capital budget since the 2010 United Kingdom general election. We are, on average, operating with about £1 billion less traditional capital expenditure than we had historically.
To mitigate the effect of that, we have moved to the NPD and hub models. What we are encountering are the very issues that Mr Griffin fairly raises in his question about the advice on the European system of accounts rules. The Government is working its way through those rules and we are working as diligently as we can with the Scottish Futures Trust to resolve those issues. However, they are complex matters that have now been referred by the ONS to Eurostat. I can assure Parliament that I will maintain a very open dialogue with Parliament and with stakeholders about how we resolve these issues.
The cabinet secretary has just referred to the AWPR. Does the delay in revising the contract have any impact at all on the start date for any of the sections of work on the AWPR?
None whatsoever.
Barrhead High School (Construction Contracts)
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reported uncertainty caused by the transition to the European system of accounts 2010, whether it will instruct that work should start immediately on the construction of the new Barrhead high school, with the Scottish Government bearing any risk and additional contracts, and with contracts amended as necessary. (S4O-04599)
As I advised Parliament last week and again in my response today to Mark Griffin, I do not expect it to be possible for a number of hub projects in the current pipeline, including Barrhead high school, to reach financial close over the coming weeks, while necessary engagement with the Office for National Statistics continues. The Scottish Futures Trust will engage closely with all affected project partners over the coming weeks.
The pupils, teachers and parents of Barrhead high school are having to cope with a building that is, frankly, not fit for purpose. That is impacting on the future of those young people. Although I understand the dilemma that the cabinet secretary has and the difficulties caused by that decision, there is an old phrase, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” Will the cabinet secretary show some will and say that the Scottish Government would underwrite any additional costs that will come as a result of that decision and instruct the SFT that it should engage in getting that work started immediately?
I assure Mr Henry that there is no absence of will on the part of the Government to undertake new school developments, given that more than 500 schools have been either refurbished or rebuilt during our term in office. The will is there to take projects forward, but I have to live within the resources that are available to the Scottish Government. If I had lived within only the capital allocations that were available to us, a whole range of projects in Scotland would not have taken their course, because we would not have used the NPD model, which has helped to boost construction activity in Scotland—so much so that there has been a 21 per cent increase in such activity. That is a fantastic contribution to our economic growth.
I assure Mr Henry that resolving the issue is at the top of my list of priorities. A huge amount of effort is being made to try to resolve it as quickly as we possibly can. I will advise Parliament of the progress that we make in that respect.
The cabinet secretary previously told Parliament that eight projects were delayed as a result of ESA10. That list did not include Barrhead high school, Our Lady and St Patrick’s high school in my constituency or Cumbernauld high school, about which we have just heard, yet they are all clearly caught up in the delay. On the basis of the open dialogue that the cabinet secretary just promised, will he publish the full list of projects that are affected, given that he believes that the delay will last until October or even November?
I have already given comprehensive information to Parliament in the answers that I gave last week. I have also promised Parliament that I will make a full statement once I have more of the information to hand to give Parliament more clarity about the steps that we could take. The provision of that clarity is not all in my hands, but is largely in the hands of the Office for National Statistics and Eurostat.
I reaffirm what I said to Parliament last week: I will come to Parliament and fully update members on the progress of the projects that are affected once we have a clearer sense of the way in which the issue will be resolved.
Maternity Services (NHS Fife)
To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with NHS Fife regarding maternity services. (S4O-04600)
Ministers and Government officials regularly meet representatives of NHS Fife to discuss matters of importance to local people, including maternity services.
The baby boom in Dunfermline has clearly caught national health service planners by surprise. At a recent NHS Fife board meeting, Scott McLean, director of acute services, warned:
“This has added significant pressure to maternity services and there is a risk that the safety and effectiveness of the service could be compromised if these pressures are not addressed.”
Despite that real risk, NHS Fife has said that it will not review maternity services in Dunfermline until a national review has been completed.
Given that we are talking about the safety of mums and babies potentially being compromised unless action is taken swiftly, will the cabinet secretary support my call for an urgent root-and-branch review of NHS Fife maternity services, to ensure that they meet the needs of the people of Dunfermline and west Fife?
I assure the people of Fife that NHS Fife maternity services are safe for them to use. As Cara Hilton rightly said, NHS Fife has discussed the matter and is looking to refresh the strategy around maternity services, taking into account the increase in the Fife birth rate—to which Cara Hilton referred—as well as the outcome of the review of maternity and neonatal services in Scotland that is currently taking place. It will also consider the views of local service users prior to taking any further action. In the meantime, NHS Fife is getting on with engaging with the local community on plans to augment antenatal and postnatal services on the Queen Margaret hospital site.
I will make sure that NHS Fife continues to look at how it develops its maternity services, but it is right and proper that it also considers the recommendations that are made from the national review of maternity and neonatal services that is currently taking place.
Child Poverty
To ask the Scottish Government when the ministerial advisory group on child poverty last met and what matters were discussed. (S4O-04601)
The ministerial advisory group on child poverty met with officials on Tuesday of this week and discussed a number of issues related to child poverty in Scotland, including the on-going fairer Scotland conversation, and a draft annual report on child poverty, which will be published later this year. The advisory group also held constructive discussions about the future approach to tackling child poverty in Scotland.
The cabinet secretary will be aware that the United Kingdom Government has abolished child poverty targets and plans to redefine the remit of the social mobility and child poverty commission. Does he agree that those are retrograde steps that are designed to mask the fact that the UK Government will push even more children and families into poverty as a result of its austerity-driven policies, such as cutting tax credits and the employment and support allowance and imposing the benefit cap and the benefit freeze?
As members will be aware, the Scottish Government does not support the changes that are currently being proposed to child poverty legislation under the UK Government’s Welfare Reform and Work Bill. Last week, I wrote to Iain Duncan Smith to request that he amend the bill to repeal all parts of the Child Poverty Act 2010 that impose any duty on the Scottish ministers, including the duty to appoint a commissioner to the new social mobility commission.
Scotland already has in place an innovative measurement framework that was developed in collaboration with the advisory group and set out in “Child Poverty Strategy for Scotland—Our Approach 2014-2017”. That addresses the wide range of drivers of poverty, as well as the impacts that poverty has on the lives of children and their families. We will continue to report against that framework, but we will work with stakeholders to build on and improve it.
The advisory group’s advice and input on Tuesday was a welcome start to those discussions, and that will continue to be important as we develop a Scottish approach to tackling child poverty.
Emergency Life Support Training (Schools)
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to promote emergency life support training in schools. (S4O-04602)
As part of the implementation of the out-of-hospital cardiac arrest strategy, the Government is working with stakeholder organisations to develop ideas and initiatives to increase cardiopulmonary resuscitation—CPR—training. I am pleased that the British Heart Foundation has committed to working with all secondary schools in Scotland by 2020 so that they are equipped to teach CPR and public access defibrillator awareness.
It is important that, as well as learning CPR, young people know where to locate an automated external defibrillator. Many communities in Scotland have fundraised to purchase AEDs. What is the Scottish Government doing to identify the locations of all AEDs and ensure that they are all maintained? Given young people’s use of modern technology, will the Scottish Government work with Crowdsav, which has an app that people can download to their mobile phone that will lead them to the nearest AED?
I will certainly look into Rhoda Grant’s suggestion. The Minister for Public Health, Maureen Watt, is taking forward work on the location issue, because it is important to know where the kit is. It is also important that those who are nearest to those locations and who want to be trained are trained and that the kit is kept in good order. I am happy to keep Rhoda Grant informed on that and to give her a bit more detail. I will ask Maureen Watt to do that and to write to her with an update.
I pay tribute to the communities that have fundraised. That fundraising is an important addition to the life-saving services that we have. Communities have gone out of their way to add to the number of defibrillators that are publicly available, and I pay tribute to their actions.
Scottish Business Development Bank
To ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made with the Scottish business development bank. (S4O-04603)
Good progress is being made on the establishment of a business development bank. We will set out the options for how it will operate and a timetable for its establishment by the end of this year.
As part of the preparations for establishing the bank, the programme for government contained a series of new announcements on continuing support for small and medium-sized enterprises, which includes launching a new £40 million SME holding fund this autumn to provide investment to SMEs; expanding the provision of specialist financial readiness advice for SMEs; and working with our enterprise agency and local authority partners to simplify how SMEs access finance, advice and support.
The bank was first announced by the Government well over two years ago, so the cabinet secretary has an interesting definition of good progress. Will the bank be open for business before the dissolution of Parliament?
That will depend on the announcements that the Government makes towards the end of this year. We will set out all the detail at that stage.
I thought that this might have been an opportunity for Mr Brown to welcome the launch of the £40 million SME holding fund, which will give SMEs practical assistance. That is part of the preparations for the delivery of the Scottish business development bank.
Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (Public Transport)
To ask the Scottish Government what the recommended routes are for people travelling on public transport from East Renfrewshire to the Queen Elizabeth university hospital and how long, on average, it is anticipated that these routes should take. (S4O-04604)
Traveline Scotland provides tailored journey planning for anyone who is travelling to the Queen Elizabeth university hospital. Traveline information takes account of the individual’s departure point and the time of day when they wish to travel. The information that is provided to travellers includes available alternatives, along with an estimate of how long any journey will take. In addition, Strathclyde partnership for transport and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde have a great deal of information on their respective websites on how to get to the new hospital.
There has been a breakthrough of sorts: parts of Eastwood, where I live, have finally appeared in the umpteenth version of the transport access plan, if only in a series of disembodied boxes in the nether regions of the map. Does the minister appreciate that the primary concern of many about the consolidated Glasgow hospital campus related to access to its location and that many in East Renfrewshire—despite all the years of talking about an integrated transport pathway—feel utterly overlooked? What more can he insist be done to offer practical access for patients and visitors alike?
Mr Carlaw will be aware that there is a range of options and routes. It is right to say that there is no direct route but, with some bus changes and other interchanges, it is possible to get to the hospital in times that range—I acknowledge that this is the case—from 40 minutes to over an hour. As I described, there is a personalised service to support individual passengers, in addition to the patient transport service and a range of information to support people to make the right public transport connections.
General Practitioners
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address the reported shortage in the number of GPs. (S4O-04605)
Under this Government, the number of general practitioners who are employed in Scotland has risen by 7 per cent to nearly 5,000—the highest figure ever on record. We have increased investment in primary medical services by more than £88.7 million, and there are more GPs per head of population in Scotland than in England.
However, I recognise that demand is increasing, which is why I have recently announced that over the next three years an additional £50 million will be invested to address immediate workload and recruitment issues. That work will include putting in place long-term, sustainable change in primary care.
I hope that the cabinet secretary is aware of some of the pressures that GPs are working under. Last week, one GP in Rutherglen told me that local GPs were under so much pressure that his colleagues were ruling out working in the out-of-hours service. With local GPs working under so much pressure and strain, particularly in Rutherglen, Cambuslang and Blantyre, what practical measures is the Government taking to support them?
As I said in my initial answer, the practical measure that we are taking is an investment of £50 million over the next three years. That will do a number of things to address immediate workload and recruitment issues. Specifically, the fund will increase the number of medical students who choose to train as GPs and give encouragement to those who want to work in deprived areas. In addition, we will continue the enhanced returners programme to support GPs who wish to return to the profession, and we will develop a programme for local GP leadership and networking. I assure James Kelly that we are taking all the action that we can to address the issues that he highlighted.
The cabinet secretary mentioned medical students who train in Scotland. Is she aware that 30 per cent of those students leave Scotland once they have finished their professional training? Will she consider a requirement that they should stay in Scotland once that training has concluded?
Yes—we are looking at all those matters.
Before we move to First Minister’s questions, I am sure that members will wish to join me in welcoming to the gallery His Excellency Mr Patrick Engelberg, the ambassador of Luxembourg to the United Kingdom. [Applause.]