Plenary, 26 Jan 2006

Meeting date: Thursday, January 26, 2006

Official Report 726KB pdf

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Question Time

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SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE

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Finance and Public Services and Communities

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Public Service Reform

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it is making on delivering public service reform. (S2O-8755)

Significant progress continues to be made in developing options for continued public service reform. The reform will deliver corresponding improvements to the lives of the people of Scotland. We value public services and our belief in and commitment to public services are underpinned by our continuing investment in public services.

I thank the minister for his response, but my question was about progress in delivering public service reform rather than plans to introduce it in future. Is the Executive still committed to going further than Gershon, as the First Minister indicated some time ago?

The member asks in one breath about public service reform and in the next about efficient Government initiatives. There may be a correlation, but they are two separate questions. I have already made clear my point about public service reform: we will produce a discussion document in the very near future. In the interests of the people of Scotland, we also intend to pursue a rigorous programme of reform, in which not just those who work in the service but end users will see a difference. Of course we are determined to seek out efficiencies where they can be sought.

The minister has responded to the concerns raised in the Finance Committee's report on stage 1 of the budget process by saying that the efficiency targets for local government are 3.4 per cent. However, the efficiency targets for numerous Scottish Executive departments, including the Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department, are only 0.22 per cent. He says in his response that the Executive is making efficiency savings where it has been identified that efficiency savings can be made. Does that mean that the departments with responsibility for enterprise and lifelong learning, the environment and rural development, communities and transport cannot do better?

First and foremost, the percentage that Mr Swinney quotes for local government may be accurate, but, in percentage terms, the contribution from the Health Department is now higher. The figures that he quotes also indicate that not every portfolio in the Scottish Executive starts from the same position, and we recognise that. The programme of public service reform is one of continuous improvement in which dialogue between individual portfolios continues. I assure the chamber that that dialogue and the challenge process are vigorous and continuing and that they will produce further savings in future.

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Planning (Rights of Appeal)

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to reduce community rights of appeal through its proposed reform of the planning system. (S2O-8832)

The Planning etc (Scotland) Bill contains a range of measures that will enhance community participation in the planning system. Current planning law does not include community rights of appeal, and that will not change.

Is the minister aware that, under section 13 of the Zetland County Council Act 1974, a right of appeal has operated in Shetland for more than 30 years? Will he ensure that the planning proposals that he is bringing forward will not reduce that community right of appeal? Does he agree that that right of appeal has operated well, that appeals have been few and far between and reasonable and that, far from hampering Shetland's aquaculture industry, that system has led to the very successful development of that industry in the Shetland islands?

Mark Ruskell is quite right. Last year, there were three appeals under the Zetland County Council Act 1974 in relation to marine fish farming, which does not come under planning legislation at the moment, although it will be brought under it. In that sense, therefore, the same rights would not have applied in the three cases in question. However, given the scale of all the other reforms that we are introducing to enhance community participation, that system, with all due respect to Orkney and Shetland, pales into insignificance.

I hear what the minister says, but if he went out to communities, he would find that they do not feel that the Planning etc (Scotland) Bill will enhance their right of appeal; instead, it is filling them with real dread and frustration. Is he aware of that frustration that communities feel on planning matters? For example, in Hyndland in the west end of Glasgow, 800 objections to a proposed development were lodged through a petition, as well as 100 individual letters, yet no site visit took place and the reporter refused to take the objections into account in the decision. Does he agree that that is absolutely unacceptable? Will he look into the application and meet the residents concerned?

I will not get involved in any particular planning application given that we might ultimately have to consider it. However, I am the first to accept that the current planning system has problems, which is precisely why we have introduced the most radical package of reforms to it since 1947. We accept that community engagement in the planning system is not adequate, which is why we have introduced a raft of proposals to enhance communities' rights. I recognise that people have genuine concerns, but I believe that our proposals will go a long way towards addressing them.

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Efficient Government Fund

To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the reduction by 98 per cent of the planned spend on the efficient government fund in 2005-06 will have on the achievement of efficient government targets and where the residual £200,000 will be allocated. (S2O-8772)

The efficient government fund received an agreed three-year budget from the spending review process, which runs until 2006-07. There has been no reduction in the planned spend on the programme.

We have a situation in which efficiency claims are not measured against outcomes, no meaningful measurement mechanisms or baselines are in place and there is now slippage in the spend to save. What is efficient about not getting resources in place and utilised? Can we expect a corresponding slippage in the savings?

As Mr Mather follows such matters, I thought that he would be aware that the bulk of the planned expenditure of £10 million for 2005-06 was parked temporarily in the central unallocated provision. A further £1 million was used to assist in the delivery of the wider efficient government agenda and a residual £200,000 was available for the administration of the efficient government fund. Of the temporarily relocated funds, £4.484 million was allocated during the spring budget revision, which leaves in excess of £51 million for future efficient government fund use.

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Regeneration

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will make its regeneration statement. (S2O-8812)

The Executive's regeneration policy statement will be published shortly.

Does the minister agree that, if we are to take advantage of the opportunity to regenerate my constituency, there is no time to lose? Will he assure me that, when the statement is made, it will underline the Executive's commitment to areas such as Inverclyde, include the long-awaited announcement of an urban regeneration company for the area and designate industrial zones, as well as residential, leisure and retail developments, on our waterfront?

I acknowledge Duncan McNeil's consistent lobbying on the issues, particularly that of an urban regeneration company. I can make only limited comments in advance of the statement, but I underline the Executive's commitment to give priority to areas of clear need and economic opportunity. The areas will be announced in the regeneration policy statement. As I said, I cannot pre-empt that, but we are well aware of the situation in Inverclyde and we are reflecting on it in the context of the statement. We are in discussion with partners in Inverclyde about the challenge of regenerating that area.

In the absence of John Farquhar Munro, who was to ask question 5, we will proceed to question 6.

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Planning (Inquiries)

To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to changing the format of public planning inquiries by giving reporters an inquisitorial role and excluding paid advocates. (S2O-8778)

Our proposed reforms are based on the consultation paper "Modernising Public Local Inquiries". Although many of the proposals should reduce the adversarial nature of inquiries, we do not propose to prevent anybody who is involved in an inquiry from having paid representation.

That is a pity. In the Planning etc (Scotland) Bill, there are provisions for greater use of hearings conducted by councils before a planning decision is made. Will the minister consider making a rule for the hearings that people should make their own case and not have paid advocates? Otherwise, the time and cost of those hearings will be extended, as happens with public inquiries.

We do not expect people to have paid advocates but if they were to do so, that would still be within the framework of hearings and not the adversarial system that Donald Gorrie has concerns about. There will be two kinds of hearing. There will be far more hearings before council planning committees but there will also be far more use of an informal hearing process involving reporters. One of the key changes that we will make is that people will not have an automatic right to a full inquiry. There will be more informal proceedings before inquiries take place. In general terms, even in a full inquiry there will be more use of the informal hearing procedure for bits of that inquiry. People tend to think of highly-paid advocates but, as any community group can ask someone to speak on their behalf, we think that it would be difficult in principle to exclude people from having advocates within the inquiry framework.

The minister is considering proposed changes to the format of public planning inquiries and giving reporters inquisitorial powers. Does he agree that those powers should extend to enabling reporters to consider issues such as whether a local monopoly may be established by the likes of Tesco, which has three stores in Inverness and is applying for a fourth? The reporter's role in such inquiries should extend to considering whether a local monopoly would be created that would be extremely damaging to smaller independent retailers. In Inverness, their future seems to me to be under serious threat.

In any such situation, the reporter would have to follow planning guidance. I cannot talk about any particular planning application, but the general issue to which Fergus Ewing refers may be to do with out-of-town shopping centres. The new planning policy guidance on town centres and retailing would be the fundamental benchmark when decisions are taken in relation to that issue.

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Argyll and Bute Council (Meetings)

To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met the leader of Argyll and Bute Council. (S2O-8766)

Scottish Executive officials and I hold regular meetings with local councils in Scotland on a wide range of issues. I am aware that the Minister for Health and Community Care met the leader of Argyll and Bute Council on 14 December 2005. I met the council's leader on 12 December in Oban.

I am sure that the minister will be aware that Argyll and Bute's population of 91,306 is spread over the second-largest council area in Scotland. Argyll and Bute is the third most sparsely populated council area in Scotland and has 25 inhabited islands. Around 16 per cent of the area's population live on islands, from which access to the mainland is dependent on a ferry or a personal vessel. What discussions has he held with Argyll and Bute Council about whether the area should qualify for special islands needs allowance? What is the Executive's position on that at the moment?

I would have thought that the member would have been aware that, following a review of SINA by the Executive, £1.2 million was allocated to Argyll and Bute Council in respect of SINA payments, because it was recognised that there was a case that had to be addressed. Money has been forthcoming since that settlement. I remind the member that, since 1999, aggregate external finance support, including the SINA payment, for Argyll and Bute Council has risen by £66 million to £176 million for the year 2006-07, which is a 60 per cent rise in central support.

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Central Heating Programme

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will meet its target of completing all parts of its central heating programme by March 2006. (S2O-8786)

The promised public sector targets for local authorities and housing associations were met in 2004. The target that was agreed with Glasgow Housing Association is that the programme will be completed during 2007. The private sector targets have been met or exceeded each year since the start of the programme. By the end of March 2006, we expect to have installed about 46,000 systems.

The target number of installations for the over-80s was 4,000—that target was set in May 2004—but the estimated outturn by March 2006 is 6,000 systems, which represents an increase of 50 per cent.

Is the minister content with the steps that the Executive has taken to ensure that as many eligible people as possible are aware that they can apply for the central heating programme? Those who live in the poorest areas are often the least aware of what they are entitled to receive. What steps have been taken to ensure that people are aware of their entitlement?

We continue to advertise the programme and we will make an announcement soon about its next phase, which will begin later this year. All the evidence that we have suggests that the programme has been of particular benefit to people in low-income households. For example, nine out of 10 of those who lived in fuel poverty but have had central heating installed have been lifted out of fuel poverty by the programme. Without being in any way complacent, we think that the programme has been successful. In the next phase, we will focus particularly on poorer pensioners. An announcement about that will be made fairly soon.

In Adam Ingram's absence, I move to question 10.

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Public Sector Job Relocations

To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of public sector jobs it intends to relocate outwith Edinburgh. (S2O-8796)

The Scottish Executive has no prescribed target for relocating a proportion of public sector jobs outwith Edinburgh.

The minister will be aware that the world has changed dramatically since the relocation policy was introduced. We have moved from a situation in which the majority of public sector jobs were located in the capital towards a situation in which the minority of those jobs are located here. Does he agree that it is important to consider how the appropriate critical mass of public sector jobs can be retained in the capital, which is also the seat of Scottish Government? Does he agree that, logically, there must come a point at which the presumption in favour of relocating jobs to areas outside the capital comes to an end? Will he give some thought to the matter and consider when that point might be reached?

First, I reassure the member that public sector employment accounts for 25 per cent of jobs in Scotland and 22 per cent of jobs in Edinburgh, so there is still a pretty big critical mass of such jobs in Edinburgh. The policy is clear. Its objective is to spread the benefits of devolution and Government jobs by targeting areas of social or economic need throughout Scotland. That process should not be limited by the setting of targets.

Moray has one of the lowest average wage rates in Scotland. When the minister considers further relocations, will he consider relocating jobs to Moray to give people who live there more career choice and opportunities?

As the member might be aware, we asked local authorities and enterprise companies to propose areas that are suitable for relocations. I am sure that Moray Council will have responded to that request. Any areas that have been identified by Moray Council will be considered when opportunities for relocation arise.

I thank the minister for saying that the point at which the policy should be re-examined has certainly not been reached. The number of jobs that have been relocated to Dumfries and Galloway is tiny and it is exceeded by the number of jobs that have moved out of the area due to changes at the Department for Work and Pensions. The minister is not prepared to set targets, but is he happy with the situation in Dumfries and Galloway?

As I said, our new approach, which has involved asking councils throughout Scotland to propose locations—500 have been identified for job relocations—provides us with the benefit of seeing where each part of the country has sites that are available and ready. In turn, that gives us a much better opportunity of ensuring that every part of Scotland benefits from the policy.

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Education and Young People, Tourism, Culture and Sport

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Sport Strategy

To ask the Scottish Executive whether its strategy to improve Scotland's sporting achievements is directed towards achieving successful performances at the European championships rather than the Commonwealth games. (S2O-8759)

The Executive is committed to working with its partners to achieve target 7 of sport 21, which aims to have more than 250 Scots as medallists on the world stage by 2007. Success is measured in a number of ways, including performance in the European championships, the Commonwealth games, the Olympic games and the paralympic games.

I support almost every syllable of the minister's reply. I ask the question because of my surprise and disappointment at, and disapproval of, the advice given to athletes by Dave Collins, the United Kingdom athletics performance director, that they should gear their training towards the European championships rather than the Commonwealth games. If the current performance director's views are supported by ministers with responsibility for sport, the implication for all athletes in Scotland who hope to compete internationally is that they may do what Andrew Lemoncello has done and withdraw from the Commonwealth games. It should be remembered that the performance director decides which athletes should receive financial support. Will the minister disassociate herself from his remarks and assure me that she will apply whatever pressure she can to ensure that the application of such pressure on athletes does not become standard practice?

Athletes occasionally have difficulties in balancing their various commitments. I understand that that is what happened in the case of Andrew Lemoncello, whose educational situation had to be taken into account. I want as many competitors as possible to compete for Scotland in the Commonwealth games and am pleased that between 170 and 175 Scots will go to Melbourne in a week or two. The importance of the Commonwealth games cannot be underestimated. However, for many athletes, they occur outwith the normal cycle of events, which means that some of them will make decisions with which Margo MacDonald and I will perhaps not agree. They will make their decisions in the light of their commitment to their career and of their particular situation.

If many of our people win medals—which we hope they will—will the minister try to ensure that there is a proper follow-up? When we achieved great success in curling, there was a blip of enthusiasm, but resources were not available and there has been no lasting improvement in curling. Will the minister try to ensure that any successes that we achieve will create a lasting improvement in the sports in which they have been achieved?

We want to capitalise on any successes that we achieve. The success of our curlers at the previous winter Olympics has led to an upsurge of interest in winter sports more generally, rather than curling specifically, which is interesting. We are considering ways of capitalising on our successes and I have been encouraged not least by the work that the members of our winning Olympic women's curling team have undertaken as sporting ambassadors. They have visited our schools and worked with active schools co-ordinators to encourage young people to become involved in sport.

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Tourism (Ayrshire)

To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with VisitScotland in respect of promoting Ayrshire as a tourist destination. (S2O-8819)

VisitScotland promotes Ayrshire as a tourist destination using a wide range of marketing campaigns and activities to highlight specific tourism products, themes and events in the area, in other areas of Scotland and further afield.

The minister will be aware of the importance of the year of homecoming in 2009 to the communities of Ayrshire, and particularly to the communities that I represent. How will the minister work with national and local agencies to ensure that the Ayrshire tourism economy is prepared for that year and will derive maximum benefit from its associations with Robert Burns?

As I think the member is aware, I have been very interested in the development of that project. We have now established an advisory committee that works to ensure a range of events and other opportunities to encourage tourists to come to Scotland and, specifically, to those areas associated with Robert Burns. Some of the members of the advisory committee are drawn from EventScotland and VisitScotland. By developing their work, which is at an early stage, with the full co-operation of local authorities and other agencies in Ayrshire and in other parts of the country that are associated with Burns, we can make 2009 a success.

The minister will be aware of the new airline that operates between Prestwick airport and three Polish destinations. Has she had or does she intend to have any discussions with the Ayrshire and Arran Tourist Board about how she might help to develop that opportunity for in-bound tourism?

I work closely with my colleague Tavish Scott to consider how we can support airlines coming into this country. We are aware of the benefits that accrue from direct European flights that come into particular parts of the country. It has been reassuring to see the benefits that have come from direct flights from Sweden, for example, which have increased by 200 per cent the number of golf tourists who come to our country, usually but not exclusively through Ayrshire. I am always happy to work with my colleagues in tourism as well as my colleague in transport to ensure that we maximise all those opportunities.

I see that Jamie McGrigor wants to ask a question. Is it about Ayrshire, Mr McGrigor?

It is about tourism, Presiding Officer.

Is it specifically about tourism in Ayrshire?

Not in Ayrshire—or possibly in Ayrshire. Yes, in fact it is.

No. I am afraid that that was the wrong answer. I move to question 3.

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Arts (Fife)

To ask the Scottish Executive what implications the ministerial statement on the Cultural Commission will have for the arts in Fife. (S2O-8765)

"Scotland's Culture", the Executive's response to the cultural review, sets out a new vision for cultural policy that will deliver more and better cultural opportunities throughout Scotland. We are committed to providing additional support to the arts at local as well as national level. I have no doubt that Fife Council and local arts organisations in the area will want to take full advantage of the opportunities that my statement presents.

I declare an interest as a member of the board of the Byre Theatre in St Andrews.

Fife has 7 per cent of the population of Scotland but, I remind the minister, receives less than 2 per cent of arts funding. Will she tell us what comfort struggling regional theatres, such as the Byre, can look for in the proposed restructuring of drama funding in Scotland?

As Mr Brocklebank no doubt knows, the Byre Theatre in St Andrews has been in deficit for several years. In 2005-06, it received £443,000 from the Scottish Arts Council and I understand that the SAC has committed to giving it a further £454,000 in 2006-07. It is not for me to pre-empt the decisions of the Scottish Arts Council or its successor body, but I hope that it will work with local authorities and other agencies in the area to try to safeguard as far as possible facilities that are of that kind of importance.

Last week, the minister stated that she intends to make legislative provision for cultural entitlements at a local level. I am sure that the minister appreciates that, often, local authorities' cultural budgets are viewed as a soft target when budget settlements are tight. How does the minister intend to ensure that local authorities provide good-quality cultural programmes at a local level to ensure that residents in Fife communities, for example, are able to take up their new entitlements?

If I may say so, that was a very creative question from Mr Matheson.

A number of points are important for local arts provision. I hope that with my statement last week and the central place that it now occupies in Executive policy, we send out a signal to the rest of Scotland and to our local authorities that culture and the arts must be at the heart of everything that they do. I said that explicitly in my statement last week and we intend to develop it.

I will work with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and the Voice of Chief Officers for Cultural, Community and Leisure Services to ensure that we are able to put in place a range of entitlements that will respond best to particular local circumstances.

We will also make a point of ensuring that minimum standards apply to ensure that provision throughout the country is as equitable as possible, although we realise that different localities will require and be able to support different activities. In addition, I will consider ways in which to fund pilot schemes for local authorities to implement the agenda. I will also consider how to incentivise local authorities to keep up with the agenda.

If the question is about Fife, the next questioner will be Susan Deacon.

Does the minister agree that the poorest communities in Fife and elsewhere in Scotland have a great deal to offer to, and gain from, her work on implementing last week's statement on culture? I seek an assurance that the minister is working with her colleague, the Minister for Communities, to ensure that, in his work on regeneration, the poorest communities in Fife and elsewhere in the country are given the support that they need and deserve?

The answer to that question is yes, and I expect that the Minister for Communities will make a tangible contribution to that debate when he releases his statement on regeneration in the near future.

Question 4 has been withdrawn.

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Arts (Funding)

To ask the Scottish Executive whether major events in the Scottish artistic calendar such as Celtic connections can be assured of development funding from the Executive in order to build an innovative, artistic and financially secure future. (S2O-8787)

The Scottish Executive fully recognises the importance of staging major sporting and cultural events, as witnessed by the publication of "Scotland's Major Events Strategy 2003-2015: ‘Competing on an international stage'" in 2002. As members know, that strategy led to the formation of EventScotland in May 2003. EventScotland's role is to attract, develop and create events that generate economic benefit to Scotland. In carrying out that role, EventScotland works in partnership with others to provide significant investment in events.

I am mindful of the minister's statement to Parliament last week on her plans for the arts and culture. I recognise that EventScotland has a specific role. Events and festivals, such as Celtic connections, that started in local centres and have now become national and international showcases, require the support that has not been made explicit by the Executive. I note the recent remarks of the director of the British Council Scotland, Roy Cross, on the vitality of our national music. Will the minister make a specific budget line for events such as Celtic connections, to ensure that their success is built upon? We should attract not just people from abroad but people in Scotland who have not yet heard about these events.

EventScotland has a role in working with festivals such as Celtic connections, and will continue to do so, as too will the proposed new body creative Scotland. The Scottish Arts Council already funds Celtic connections, and that will continue if the festival meets the criteria that the council has in place. The same arrangement will continue with creative Scotland. I want to ensure that organisations such as EventScotland and creative Scotland work together more closely in supporting organisations and events that are of cultural significance to our country.

Does the minister agree with me about the importance for Scottish tourism of events such as Celtic connections having exposure on film and television abroad? Why do some foreign film companies choose Ireland as a film location instead of Scotland, even when the film's stories are by Scottish authors and are set in Scotland?

That was another rather creative question, but I am sure that the minister is equal to it.

However, I do not think that I will qualify for a grant.

Film makers have all sorts of reasons for choosing one location over another. In any event, if a film is about a Scottish subject, people presume that it has been filmed in Scotland and the resulting impact on our tourism economy is good rather than negative. We want to encourage as much film making in Scotland as possible, as with all the creative arts. We hope that the proposed new body creative Scotland will have responsibility for elements of work that are undertaken by Scottish Screen, with an extra emphasis on development to make inroads in this area.

Alasdair Morrison is not here to ask question 6. He is the third missing member this afternoon.

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Child Protection

To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it is taking to improve child protection. (S2O-8806)

Under our child protection reform programme we have introduced a wide range of measures to improve child protection. For example, we have introduced the children's charter, the framework for standards and multi-agency inspections of children's services. Among other things, we have legislated on the management of offenders, protection from grooming, sexual harm orders and new powers for joint inspection of child protection. In response to the Bichard inquiry recommendations, I will also introduce a bill to establish a new vetting and barring scheme for those who want to work with children and vulnerable adults. I will give more information to Parliament on our plans in due course.

Will the minister assure me that he will use the forthcoming bill on the Bichard recommendations to close any loopholes in current legislation and to streamline bureaucracy? Will such legislation enable private employers, such as parents who want to employ tutors for their children, to access relevant information on child protection issues?

The simple answer to Maureen Macmillan's first question is yes. We want to use the opportunity afforded by the proposed bill that will implement the Bichard recommendations to address not just the specific questions that he raised but any other questions that have come to our attention in the intervening period. The purpose of the bill will be to strengthen child protection, to streamline the bureaucracy that surrounds it and to ensure that we have a manageable system that will improve child protection.

On Maureen Macmillan's last point, we intend that our response to the Bichard report will address and highlight issues surrounding private employers and their ability to strengthen protection as part of the widening and strengthening of overall child protection provisions.

In addition to the proposed legislation that the minister mentioned, what is the Executive doing to provide training, support and assistance to prevent people who have such sexual problems from getting worse and interfering with children? What sort of educational and training programmes are there? Similarly, what programmes are there to help organisations to stay vigilant about the subject and not to feel that they are okay once they have ticked all the right boxes? It is essential that employers and volunteers in an organisation look after this issue.

Donald Gorrie is right to raise the point about personal vigilance and the vigilance of individual organisations. The true guarantee comes when we all conduct ourselves in a way that looks out for such problems and when we have in place all the provisions that we already have and will strengthen further to give organisations information about people they might be about to employ.

On training for organisations, part of the child protection reform programme has been about improving training, setting standards in the system, making it clear what those are and then providing the resources, the back-up and the expertise to widen training substantially.

Donald Gorrie asked about training for perpetrators of offences. One of the features of the reforms is that we get to know when a person offends for the first time. By definition, it is not possible to have intervened before they get to that point. Thereafter, if individuals are convicted and end up in prison for certain sexual offences, there are programmes that will assist them by addressing their offending behaviour.

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Special Educational Needs (Mainstreaming)

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to implement the recommendations of the recent report, "Mainstreaming pupils with special educational needs". (S2O-8761)

I welcome the report, which will assist the Executive in continuing to ensure that children's needs are met appropriately regardless of where they are educated. The report indicates that the balance between mainstream and special provision is broadly right.

The minister will be aware that the report found that almost half of all local authorities have failed to produce guidelines on how to deal with parental complaints and concerns about the implementation of mainstreaming. Is the Executive's mainstreaming agenda going ahead regardless of whether councils are able to provide adequate and appropriate support for children with additional support needs?

Because of local government reorganisation, among other things, the mainstreaming agenda was operative before the formal introduction of the policy in 2003, following the Standards in Scotland's Schools etc Act 2000. As we have said on many occasions in the chamber, the basis of our approach is that provision should be made for an education that is suited to the needs of the individual child. Mainstreaming is a presumption, and it is within the powers of local authorities, and indeed of parents, to look for alternatives—in special needs accommodation or the like—to meet children's specific needs. There is certainly no desire to impose on the structure, or on individual children, an education that is unsuited to children's needs or that would disrupt the education of other children.

Question 9 was not lodged and question 10 was withdrawn. Therefore, that concludes question time.