(S4O-02086) NHS Grampian (Dentistry)

12. Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Government what its plans are for the provision of dentistry in NHS Grampian. (S4O-02086)

The Minister for Public Health (Michael Matheson):

The responsibility for the overall provision of national health service general dental services in the area rests with NHS Grampian.

Richard Baker: I welcome the fact that increased numbers of patients in Grampian are registered with a dentist. What reassurance can the minister give me that there is proper monitoring of the practices that have received NHS grants to establish new surgeries to ensure that they fulfil the requirement that 80 per cent of their work is NHS treatment, and to ensure that patients who are registered with the practices are receiving check-ups and treatment at appropriate intervals? I know that those issues have already been raised with the Scottish Government.

Michael Matheson: The member referred to the Scottish dental access initiative that was developed to increase the number of dental practices that will register NHS patients, particularly in areas in which there is a lack of service. He rightly recognises that there has been a significant increase in the level of NHS dentistry that is being made available within the NHS Grampian area. It is part of the condition of that grant that a significant number of the dental practice patients are registered as NHS patients and individual boards are responsible for monitoring that.

There have been some issues with a practice in Grampian that NHS Grampian took appropriate action to address. I understand that NHS Grampian has also written to all the practices that have received support through the Scottish dental access initiative to ensure that their status remains the same and that they are delivering the services that are agreed on as part of the grant conditions.

The point about check-up rates is very important. It may be helpful if I inform the member that 83.6 per cent of patients who are registered in Grampian presented for treatment in the previous two years. That figure is higher than the Scottish average of 79.3 per cent, so it is clear that a significant number of patients in Grampian are making use of NHS dentistry services, the provision of which has significantly increased under this Government. I have no doubt that patients will continue to benefit from the increasing level of access that has been made available to them.

Stewart Stevenson (Banffshire and Buchan Coast) (SNP): Is the minister aware that, 10 years ago, there were areas of Grampian in which it was impossible to register even for private dental treatment and that some of my constituents used to travel twice a year to Budapest, Amsterdam and other European cities for their treatment? Can he assure us that we will continue to see improvements in the provision of NHS dental care in the NHS Grampian area?

Michael Matheson: The member makes a good point because there were significant difficulties for patients in the NHS Grampian area who wanted to access NHS dentistry. For example, in 2007 only 59.2 per cent of children in NHS Grampian were registered with a dentist under NHS arrangements; as at 30 September 2012, that figure had reached 77.1 per cent. In 2007 only 28.9 per cent of adults in NHS Grampian were registered with a dentist under NHS arrangements; as at 30 September, 2012, that figure had reached 56 per cent.

We continue to make provision under the Scottish dental access initiative, which is available in Grampian—particularly in Aberdeenshire and in Morayshire—to target areas where there continues to be limited access so that we can ensure that those patients in NHS Grampian who wish to have access to an NHS dentist are able to do so.

(S4O-02039) Cod Recovery Plan

5. Stewart Stevenson (Banffshire and Buchan Coast) (SNP):

To ask the Scottish Government what recent representations it has made to the European Commission regarding the cod recovery plan. (S4O-02039)

The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment (Richard Lochhead): The Scottish Government met the European Commission as recently as 15 April to press our case for changes to the cod recovery plan and, in particular, for Scottish vessels that catch very little cod to be made exempt from limits on their days at sea. My officials will continue to discuss that issue with the Commission at every opportunity. I hope to discuss it with the commissioner when I attend the next Council of Ministers meeting in May.

Stewart Stevenson: Is the minister aware that, once again, we are likely to see the unnecessary and early closure of a number of valuable fisheries, which will threaten livelihoods in communities across Scotland? Can the minister tell the chamber what action might stem from the European Commission, in particular in delivering greater control that we might exercise over our fisheries stocks?

Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government’s intention is to ensure that our fisheries remain open for as long as possible throughout the next year—indeed, we achieved that in 2012. However, the cod recovery plan is dysfunctional; it is made in Brussels and it is inappropriate for Scottish circumstances and Scottish waters. That is why more of these decisions have to be taken closer to home. In the meantime, we are arguing for the cod recovery plan to be much more appropriate for our circumstances and for it to be flexible. At the moment, it encourages vessels to target cod, not to avoid cod, which is counterproductive to the aims of the plan.

Tavish Scott (Shetland Islands) (LD): The cabinet secretary will be aware that the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea scientific figures for 2012 show that the spawning stock biomass of cod in the North Sea is two and a half times larger now than it was in 2006. In the light of that, is he prepared to say that the cod recovery plan has come to the end of its useful life and that it should be abolished?

Also, when will regional management take over in the North Sea?

Richard Lochhead: I have just said that the cod recovery plan is not fit for purpose; the huge sacrifices that have been made by the Scottish fleet over the past decade or so are paying dividends, as illustrated by the statistics that Tavish Scott just read out. We have to have conservation policies in place, but the cod recovery plan is not fit for purpose. The sooner we have regionalisation, which I hope will happen as soon as possible, the sooner we will be able to have appropriate policies in place in Scottish waters.

(S4O-01991) Education Systems

7. Stewart Stevenson (Banffshire and Buchan Coast) (SNP):

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with other Administrations regarding their education systems and the lessons that can be learned. (S4O-01991)

The Minister for Children and Young People (Aileen Campbell): We are always pleased to learn from other countries’ experience in delivering education services. Stewart Stevenson may recall that in May of last year Dr Pasi Sahlberg, the director general for the Centre for International Mobility and Co-operation in Helsinki, spoke to the Scottish Parliament on lessons from Finland on its approach to education. In December of last year, the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning met Leighton Andrews, the Welsh education minister, and discussed delivery of education services in Wales. That was followed by a meeting between officials to look at the Welsh approach to delivering education.

Stewart Stevenson: I welcome the interaction with Finland, Wales and, I am sure, a number of other countries. Will the minister comment on the improvement partnership programme in particular and how it will improve attainment? Can she provide a guarantee that we will not see the introduction of league tables in Scotland as we have seen elsewhere in the United Kingdom?

Aileen Campbell: The improvement partnership programme is designed to facilitate schools working together either within local authorities or across local authority boundaries. The schools that are involved will learn from each other techniques and approaches that have been successful in raising attainment.

We will work closely with key stakeholders, including the Association of Directors of Education in Scot land and School Leaders Scotland, to devise the details of the scheme, including the criteria for schools that are partnering with each other. However, it is clear that crude data comparisons will not be suitable for the purpose. Each relationship will be a long-term one and it will be of mutual benefit to all the schools and departments that are involved.

Partnership will be voluntary. In direct reply to Stewart Stevenson’s point about league tables, in his speech at the University of Glasgow in March the cabinet secretary indicated that the right decision was made not to publish league tables in Scotland, and I can guarantee that that will continue.