SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE
Schools (Examinations)
To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are in place to ensure the smooth running of all examinations taken by secondary pupils this year. (S1O-3198)
Ministers have acted to strengthen the Scottish Qualifications Authority's board and its senior management team. We monitor closely progress towards the 2001 examinations and I will continue to provide regular reports to Parliament on that progress. Neither the SQA nor I are complacent. It is inevitable that some problems have been identified, but the SQA has taken action to deal with them. From now until August, it is vital that everyone who is concerned about Scottish education puts the interest of those young people first and works constructively to deliver results.
I do not disagree with anything that the minister has said so far.
As I have probably said in the chamber before, I do not believe that we should take any steps this year that could detract from the key aims of completing last year's diet of examinations and ensuring that this year's diet runs accurately and on time. Returning the marked scripts could have affected not only the SQA's administrative procedures, but the recruitment of markers for the coming summer.
Does the minister agree with the Educational Institute of Scotland that while a close watch must be kept on the progress of arrangements for this year's exams and, in particular, on the provision of markers, those who run scare stories that have no real basis in fact cause unnecessary anxiety to teachers, parents and pupils and do no service to Scottish education?
A number of incidents have taken place in the past two or three weeks in which individual facts and figures have been either distorted or misrepresented. That does no service to the young people who are preparing for their examinations. Everyone in the chamber will agree that we want those criticisms or concerns to be reported to the Parliament and to the SQA, so that we can act upon them. However, they should not be exaggerated in public in a way that scares pupils in our schools.
As the minister knows, most of the student records and portfolios at Morgan Academy in my constituency were destroyed in the recent fire that engulfed that school. I thank him for his swift response in sending an SQA official to Dundee last week, to reassure staff and students that no candidate from Morgan Academy will be disadvantaged in the forthcoming exams as a result of that fire.
I am happy to comply with that request.
Fishing Industry (Decommissioning)
To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance it will make available to crew members of fishing vessels in any decommissioning scheme. (S1O-3194)
The proposals for decommissioning are being worked up. The intention is that the decommissioning grant will compensate for removal of the fishing vessel and its licence. How recipients disburse that compensation and any funds from the disposal of fixed-quota allocations is a matter for the owners and crews involved and will depend on the structure of that ownership.
Does the minister accept that share fishermen, who share the responsibilities and hardships of fishing vessels, should have the right to a fair share of the decommissioning redundancy package? I strongly support the Executive's £25 million decommissioning scheme. However, I put it to the minister that it is imperative that the scheme includes specific conditions to require fair redundancy terms for crew members who lose their jobs.
I share the view that it would be inequitable if that did not happen, but it is difficult for the scheme to intervene in redundancy provisions, which will depend on the contracts of employment that crew members entered into.
Will the minister confirm that during the recent tie-up campaign, Executive sources, in particular at the Labour conference, briefed journalists that one problem with a tie-up scheme was that it would not allow payments to crews? Will the minister further confirm that the Belgian tie-up scheme includes provision for crews and that the campaign in Scotland argued specifically for payments for crews, because the objective was to keep the industry together? How can the minister and Executive sources say that there is a problem with a tie-up scheme because it does not contain payments for crews, when he has just admitted that his policy of decommissioning offers nothing for crews, except the loss of their jobs?
I do not think that even Mr Salmond would expect me to answer questions about a briefing of which I am unaware and about matters that took place at a Labour party conference—he will excuse me from that.
If the minister examines the history of what happened after the closure of the Icelandic fisheries, he will learn that there are men who were employed as crewmen, for example in the pool scheme in Aberdeen, who still await any possibility of compensation. That example should be very much in his mind at this time.
I am familiar with the regulations that applied at the time of the extension of the Icelandic waters. However, I do not think that that is a parallel to the way in which we are embarking on the decommissioning scheme.
Child Protection
To ask the Scottish Executive when the multidisciplinary review of child protection announced on 20 March 2001 is expected to reach a conclusion. (S1O-3222)
No child in Scotland should fall through the child protection net due to poor communication or co-ordination between the staff and agencies responsible for their care. The multidisciplinary review will focus on improving systems right across Scotland with that objective. The review will start in June 2001 and the report will be published within 12 months.
The minister will be aware of the concerns about child protection surrounding children's residential institutions in my constituency. Does he agree that staff in such homes have a demanding job, often facing violent outbursts from children from disturbed and abused backgrounds? What steps are being taken to improve the service for children who need to be removed from the family home and for the staff who work with them?
In the light of recent experience, I am considering how best we can use the provisions of the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Bill to lever up standards. When the bill is enacted later this year, we should examine the training of social workers and other staff who work in such homes and how that is integrated with the training of other staff, so that there is a multidisciplinary approach. At all times, we must not fail to remember that children in such homes are among the most vulnerable in our society. Whatever we do for them should be at least as good as what we do for the rest.
What progress is being made on the consultation paper on the index of adults who are unsuitable to work with children? When does the minister expect to announce the outcome of that consultation?
The results of the consultation will be available soon. It is our intention, later this year, to legislate for that index so as to ensure that adults who are unsuitable to work with children are properly identified and restricted from so doing.
Bail (Murder Indictments)
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are presently on bail awaiting the service of a murder indictment and what the average length of time is since the appearance of any such accused person on petition. (S1O-3191)
Fifteen people are presently on bail having appeared on petition charged with murder. In each case, Crown counsel will consider what charges should be included in any indictment that may be served in due course. The average length of time since the appearance of such accused persons on petition is 111 days.
A significant number indeed. I am obliged to the Lord Advocate for his response. Does he agree that, notwithstanding the European convention on human rights requirement that accused persons be admitted to bail unless under exceptional circumstances, the Crown Office should indict cases of homicide within four months and not use the absence of the 110-day rule to fail to proceed within a reasonable period?
When a court admits somebody to bail, it does so in the knowledge that the Crown then has to bring the person to trial within one year of their first appearance. The Crown is required to give priority to custody cases, no matter what offence the accused is charged with, be it a violent offence or one of a less serious nature. At present, I have no proposals to bring those who are charged with murder to trial any more quickly than would be the case in any other non-custody case, except where there may be vulnerable witnesses, in which case we would give those cases priority.
Foot-and-mouth Disease (Tourism)
To ask the Scottish Executive what its estimate is of the impact on tourism of the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak and what plans it has to promote tourism from overseas particularly in low risk areas unaffected by the outbreak so far. (S1O-3208)
Visitscotland estimates that the cost to the tourism industry in Scotland is currently around £10 million per week. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the British Tourist Authority are putting over the key message that the United Kingdom is open for business. Information about Scotland is a key part of that message. Visitscotland is considering urgently how to get the maximum possible impact from its marketing campaigns, using both its existing resources and the additional funding that we announced yesterday.
Will the minister indicate how much of the additional £5 million that has been allocated to visitscotland will be spent on marketing? Will he encourage visitscotland to use part of the resources that it earmarks for marketing to promote Scotland overseas independently of, as well as through, the BTA, as it is entitled to do?
A fair proportion of the money that was given to visitscotland yesterday will, of course, be spent on marketing. Any marketing that visitscotland does overseas will be done in close conjunction with the BTA. Everyone recognises that that is the eminently sensible way to proceed.
Yesterday, the Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning said in the chamber that there was a possibility that, from the £5 million that has been allocated to visitscotland to try to improve the current situation, area tourist boards might receive a rebate of their subscriptions. That would alleviate conditions, but informed estimates suggest that the cost of doing that could amount to £4 million. Is the minister suggesting that only £1 million from the package will remain for the purposes to which Mr Raffan alluded?
I am happy to advise Annabel Goldie that her figure is not correct. We understand that the subscription rate that is currently paid by ATBs amounts to in the region of £2 million. That leaves visitscotland with about £3 million to be used for other matters. Visitscotland has additional resources that it has yet to allocate. For reasons that we all appreciate, it had to pull a spring marketing campaign, which leaves about another £2.2 million on the table. Visitscotland will use some of that resource in the UK to market Scotland as a holiday destination.
Will the minister consider setting aside some of the £5 million, which is being made available to Scottish Enterprise, to provide for an emergency overseas marketing grants scheme for individual companies, so that they can be helped with marketing themselves on the web and elsewhere?
Alex Neil raises a fair point. I will be happy to discuss it with the enterprise networks.
I welcome the suggestion that normal public access should now be restored to the countryside north of the Forth and the Clyde, but does the minister agree that the drawing of such an arbitrary line is not enough? In many areas south of the Forth and the Clyde, public access would create no significant risk of the spread of foot-and-mouth disease. Will the Executive therefore encourage landowners to permit such access? That would help hillwalkers, climbers and ramblers, as well as the tourist trade.
Again, that is a fair point. It is important that we get across the message that Scotland is open for business. Large swathes of Scotland are open. We must recognise that and market parts of Scotland as being open.
Roads (Borders)
To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to improve the safety of trunk road links into the central Borders. (S1O-3197)
Road safety on all trunk roads, including the trunk road links into the central Borders, is continually monitored. Where localised sites are shown to have accidents arising from a common cause, accident reduction measures are implemented to address the particular problems identified.
I hope that the minister recognises the importance of the trunk road network in the Borders—while we wait for the railway. Does she accept the road safety worries over the A68, the A7 and the A701? The A7 includes a stretch that has recently been detrunked and which is difficult for the local council to maintain. Can the minister offer any help in that regard?
Two elements are important. First, we have allocated £70 million over the next three years to local authorities to enable them to do more repair and maintenance work on local roads and bridges. Secondly, later this year, additional work—to the value of £1.2 million—will be done on the A68 at Soutra hill. We expect that work to take between four and six months from start of construction to finish.
Is the minister aware of several improvements in the route action plan programme for the A7 that are strongly supported on safety grounds by the A7 action group? Will she give a commitment that those schemes will remain in the revised route action plan, which is due shortly, and that they will be considered for implementation before 2004 in the event of any slippage in the major schemes that she is committed to in her programme?
I cannot give the member a guarantee that those schemes will automatically move up into our roads programme should there be any slippage. We are considering the medium-term and long-term improvements that were identified on the A7 Auchenrivoch scheme and other schemes, with a view to incorporating them in the trunk roads programme.
Does the minister agree that one way of improving safety on the Borders road network would be by reopening the Edinburgh to Carlisle railway line via Galashiels?
I suppose that the question is just about in order.
We have provided the Scottish Borders Council with the resources to consider the parliamentary preparation that will be required for that railway scheme and—critically—to consider the funding issues. As members know, the scheme is not cheap. We want the council to have the opportunity to consider ways of bringing in money, whether from private or public resources.
Modern Apprenticeships
To ask the Scottish Executive how many modern apprentices are employed in the construction industry and what proportion of the total number of modern apprentices that represents. (S1O-3207)
There are currently 4,300 modern apprentices who are training within the Construction Industry Training Board framework. That represents one in four of all modern apprentices in training in Scotland.
The minister is obviously well aware of the expected expansion in the construction industry as a result of the proposals in the Housing (Scotland) Bill. She will also be aware that the effect of the chronic failure of many construction employers over the past 10 years to take on apprentices is now being felt. Will she consider making it a requirement that employers tendering for such work must take on a certain number of apprentices, to make use of the talented young people in the construction trades?
We must increasingly link Government assistance to a willingness to be involved in training. I have indicated that, in future, we want to tie regional selective assistance—and access to it at a higher rate—to the willingness of employers to provide modern apprenticeships.
What proportion of all apprenticeships in the construction industry are held by modern apprentices? Does the minister believe that there is a place in that industry for traditional apprenticeships?
Many current apprenticeships count as traditional apprenticeships, in the sense that the modern apprenticeship framework is nested within the Construction Industry Training Board framework. I recall that when the member's party was in power, 24 modern apprentices graduated in 1997 in the whole of Scotland. In excess of 700 will graduate this year and more than 5,000 are in training.
Does the minister agree that lifting the age barrier for apprenticeships might help? Apprenticeships are still traditionally confined to the teenage years. Does the minister also agree that the education system has become too elitist? We have a glut of lawyers and economists, but too few plumbers who can unblock drains. Should the education system show more respect for tradesmen and tradeswomen?
I am happy to inform the member that we lifted the age limit to over 25 less than a month ago. That was part of our effort not just to see youth unemployment in Scotland go down by three quarters over the past four years, but to ensure that the missing generation between the ages of 25 and 35, who were left on the scrap heap for more than 20 years—which led to some of the problems of drug abuse, which in turn will lead to many of us marching in Glasgow this weekend to ensure that we do not have a lost generation again—have the opportunity to participate in the modern apprenticeship programme.
Is the minister aware that the most successful apprenticeship scheme in Scotland is Glasgow direct labour organisation's apprentice scheme? Is she aware that the DLO in Glasgow is worried that the wholesale housing stock transfer will lead to the destruction of that apprenticeship scheme?
I have had the opportunity to visit the construction industry training school at Queenslie, which provides outstanding training. One of its most outstanding features is its willingness to participate in helping us to create 3,000 new jobs through the investment programme in housing that we are planning in Glasgow.
Hearing Aids (Information)
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-3114 by Susan Deacon on 15 March 2001, why it has no plans to collect centrally information on which health boards have issued digital hearing aids. (S1O-3217)
That information forms part of the individual patient data that is recorded by, and available from, the respective health boards and national health service trusts. Central collection of the information is not considered necessary.
My question revolves around the Executive's press release on 5 March, which said:
It is at the core of our approach to the NHS in Scotland that we establish clear national standards, which are developed across the country. Significant progress has been made in that respect. We issued national best practice guidance, to which Mike Rumbles referred, which was developed by a wide range of individuals who are involved in this area, in March this year. We have set the standards and we have put traditional investment into the system. We expect the service to work towards the attainment of the national standards, but it is important that we allow the service to get on with the job of improving the system and not simply to perform a data collection and measurement process, which takes time and resources.
Data collection is important. Is the minister aware of the concerns of many people who work with the deaf, who say that because no data is collected, there are postcode prescriptions for digital hearing aids? Will she address that problem? Probably not. Will she continue to fail the health service on that issue in exactly the same way as the Government has failed the service on many other issues?
After 20 years during which the national health service in Scotland and all over the UK suffered from underinvestment and a failure to modernise and develop services, it is striking that we have set out for the NHS in Scotland a programme of investment and reform that is delivering improvements for patients around Scotland and will continue to do so. We have yet to see what the SNP has to offer.
Council Tax Relief
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to review its policy on council tax relief for second homes. (S1O-3196)
We have no plans to change our policy at present. However, we will keep in touch with arrangements in other parts of the UK and consider any recommendations that arise from the Local Government Committee's inquiry into local government finance.
Will the minister consider making up his mind in time for a section to be included in the local government reform bill that is promised for the autumn, to give councils the power—if they so wish—to charge a higher council tax for second homes? That is a matter for local consideration. Councils should be able to decide what best benefits their local economies. Will the minister give that idea favourable consideration?
As I said, we have no plans to change our policy at present. We will take account of whatever views the Local Government Committee reaches on a range of local government finance issues. At this particularly sensitive time for rural areas, the discussion of how we do or do not tax second homes, which are predominantly in rural Scotland, should not be entered into lightly. We want to be sure of the consequences for local housing markets.
It was nice to hear Donald Gorrie espousing SNP policy. Does the minister agree that, to alleviate the situation regarding rural homes, he should consider bringing legislation to the Parliament to make it necessary to apply to a planning authority to change the use of a home to a holiday home?
I would be happy to discuss that issue with Linda Fabiani after question time or in writing. Notwithstanding her description of Donald Gorrie's position in relation to SNP policy, I undertake that we will take account of the results of the Local Government Committee's inquiry.
Farming
To ask the Scottish Executive what medium-term investment is being considered to assist farming communities in view of current difficulties. (S1O-3185)
The medium to long-term needs of farming communities will be considered in due course, as will the requirements of other rural businesses. The immediate priorities are to contain and eradicate the disease.
I think that the minister would agree that the spread of foot and mouth has been compounded by the convoluted journeys of livestock to centralised abattoirs, which are a direct consequence of meeting rightly stringent European Community hygiene regulations. Will the minister consider making representations to appropriate authorities so that the costs of complying with those regulations are met by central Government, as they are elsewhere in Europe, and not by the producers, as in Scotland? That would allow more localised abattoirs to flourish.
Christine Grahame makes a good point about local abattoirs. There are two elements to the issue. The cost of the hygiene service is not the only factor. We must examine the structure of the industry in Scotland and the size that is required for some of the larger plants to produce high-quality meat to a set standard.
There is a degree of nervousness about the movement restrictions that are being applied to areas provisionally free of foot-and-mouth disease. Many sheep from the west coast are over-wintered on the east coast. There is difficulty in moving that stock back from the east to the west coast, and there is now neither feed nor provisions to look after the sheep on the east coast. Through the Scottish Executive rural affairs department, will the minister introduce a revised movement scheme that will take account of the diverse movement needs of farming in the Highlands, which is currently considered a low-risk area?
I hope that John Farquhar Munro will agree that one of the reasons that we have been able to keep the area north of the Forth and the Clyde provisionally free is that we have imposed movement restrictions.
Care Leavers (Funding)
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made by the working group examining the transfer to local authorities of Department of Social Security funding for care leavers. (S1O-3193)
I am told that the working group is making good progress and is due to report in the autumn.
As the minister is aware, there is some concern about the proposals. Leaving that aside, organisations such as the Scottish Throughcare and Aftercare Forum are concerned that something that they thought would happen in April 2001 does not appear to be going to happen then. There does not appear to be any time scale.
Around 1,000 young people aged 16 or over leave care each year. The issue is therefore important.
I welcome the information that the minister has given. Does he accept that there are concerns among young people, who do not wish a system to be put in place that stigmatises care leavers by treating them differently from other young people? Will the minister assure me that continued consultations with young people will take place on that issue?
I fully understand those concerns. The policy can be supported if it is done well. That is our emphasis in Scotland and the reason for the working group. We will consider the recommendations of the working group carefully to improve the position.
Speed Reduction Schemes
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it intends to take as a result of the findings of the recent evaluation of trial speed reduction schemes in residential areas. (S1O-3224)
The Scottish Executive will be considering with the Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland how best to take forward the findings from the initiative. In the meantime, I have announced total funding of £13 million for walking, cycling and safer streets projects in the two years from next April. Local authorities will be able to use those resources to introduce measures such as 20mph zones.
I welcome the additional resources that the minister has indicated will be made available for road safety measures. Will the minister expand on the benefits of introducing 20 mph zones and the evidence for that?
There are two key issues. First, we know from research that 19 out of 20 pedestrians who are struck by a car moving at 40mph are killed. At 20mph, one pedestrian in 20 is killed and there are small injuries. We know that 20mph zones are critical. In the 20mph areas in the 75 pilot schemes that we have considered for the research there are fewer accidents and—because of the 20mph tag—drivers are more aware. The co-operation and involvement of communities is central to making the schemes work. We have that information—the challenge is to identify the next schemes throughout Scotland that are the best use of the new resources.
Central Heating
To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to publicise its leaflet "Central Heating Programme—A Guide for the Private Sector" to ensure that homeowners and the tenants of private landlords can benefit from the scheme. (S1O-3221)
The guide to the grant scheme has been widely distributed to citizens advice bureaux, energy efficiency advice centres and a range of bodies in the public, private and voluntary sectors with a connection to those who are eligible for the scheme.
Is the minister aware that the Equal Opportunities Committee heard evidence that a far higher percentage of black and ethnic minority Scots live in the private rented sector than in the public rented sector. In the light of that, will the minister outline what measures will be taken to ensure that information on the scheme is available in accessible format to people for whom English is not their first language and to people who are blind and visually impaired?
Kate MacLean is right to point out the needs of the visually impaired and the black and ethnic minority community. She is equally right that proportionately more black and ethnic minority people live in the private rented sector. We have quickly distributed the interim leaflet to the agencies I mentioned. However, the more substantial publicity will follow once we have appointed a managing agent. We will ensure that the material is in an appropriate and accessible format.
Will the minister explain what use the leaflets will be to the many thousands of families with outdated, inadequate and unaffordable heating systems, who will be excluded from the scheme? The minister's written answers to me have been inadequate, so will she now take steps to identify and quantify how many families will be excluded from the central heating scheme?
I indicate to Tricia Marwick that the £350 million programme will start in the next week or so and will target people who have no central heating. It is appropriate that we start with the most vulnerable. Starting next week, 141,000 households in Scotland will benefit.
Lothian University Hospitals NHS Trust (Funding)
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review the financial position of the Lothian University Hospitals NHS Trust in light of the statement by the trust that it does not have the resources to use its additional magnetic resonance imaging scanner. (S1O-3226)
The financial position of all NHS trusts and health boards is constantly reviewed as part of our normal monitoring work. Lothian University Hospitals NHS Trust forecasts that it will meet its financial targets. I have already announced that Lothian will receive an additional £32 million in 2001-02 to pursue national and local priorities, including improved cancer services.
I thank the minister for her reply, but will she bear in mind the urgency attached to the provision of scanners throughout Scotland? Lothian University Hospitals NHS Trust has said that it does not have the £375,000 it needs to service a magnetic resonance imaging scanner. Will she therefore say that she is willing to allow the trust to install a computed tomography scanner, which is cheaper to run and is more urgently needed by the Western general? Will she promise me that, in future, whenever she wants to give the impression of an NHS that is not under pressure she will sit down and plan strategic objectives with the hospital boards, patients' representatives and the trusts?
The investment decisions and the priorities that we have set out are the result of the fact that we are planning the future of the NHS jointly with the service. Cancer is a clear and stated priority for the NHS in Scotland. It has also been made a priority for investment, including £30 million specifically for the capital costs of equipment. Lothian has not yet taken a final decision on which equipment it wishes to purchase. We continue to work with Lothian and other parts of the country to ensure that those resources are invested in cancer equipment that will best meet the needs of patients in those areas.
Epilepsy (Guidance)
To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance is in place to raise teachers' awareness of epilepsy. (S1O-3200)
Best practice guidance on meeting the health care needs of children in education settings is under preparation. It recommends that general awareness training should take place for all school staff, including teachers, on common conditions affecting children, including epilepsy.
Is the minister aware of a publication by the Joint Epilepsy Council, launched by the Minister for Health and Community Care, Susan Deacon, in 1999, which said that substantial numbers of children with epilepsy are attaining only 50 per cent of what their IQ would suggest was possible? Does not that suggest the need for specific guidelines and measures?
I certainly understand those concerns. I have a close relative who is a teacher and has an epileptic child in her class, and she has explained some of the difficulties directly to me. I hope that the guidelines are taken forward. It will, of course, be a matter for the education authorities and the health boards, working jointly, but I certainly expect progress in that area following the publication of the guidelines. They have been published in draft form, we have had a consultation process, and we hope to make progress with them soon.
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