 is fully informed of our debate, our concerns and our commitment to the vulnerable people of the Mediterranean. Johann Lamont Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to assess and sustain the levels of support staff in schools. Minister Alasdair Allan This is a matter for education authorities as the employment of teachers and support staff, along with recruitment practices, are ultimately a matter for individual local authorities who have the statutory duty for education expenditure and are responsible for providing a complement of staff, which meets the needs of each of their schools and their pupils in light of the resources available. Johann Lamont Thank you. I am sure that the minister appreciates that access to education is about more than teachers, books and buildings. Will he acknowledge the importance of learning support, behaviour support, classroom assistance, personal assistance, admin staff, attendant staff, all those support staff who are ensuring that children have a real opportunity to learn and to allow teachers to focus on their teaching? Although I hear what the minister says about the local authorities responsibility, he shares my concern of anecdotal evidence that there are now fewer support staff with heavier burdens with a consequence for real equality of opportunity within our schools. Will he commit to at least taking a proper view of what is happening around support staff and work with local authorities to ensure that those supports are there so that all our children can learn to their potential? Johann Lamont The Government has commitment to ensuring that our schools are staffed well. That lies behind some of the circumstances that the Government has taken around the number of teaching staff across Scotland. We recognise the importance of support staff, not least for those with additional needs and learning needs. In the face of the statistics that show an increase in the requirements there, the Scottish Government works hard with local authorities to ensure that those needs are met. Margaret Mitchell The Scottish Government has set clear expectations of all public bodies that community engagement is a key part of its function. Local policing and local accountability are fundamental to policing in Scotland. Police Scotland's annual policing plan, which was launched just last week, set out clear examples of the real and vital role that they play in our local communities. That includes examples of where our police service works closely with local communities and partners, not only in solving crime but, importantly, in preventing it taking place. Police reform has seen an almost 150 per cent increase in the number of local elected members scrutinising the police service across Scotland and shaping local delivery. Across Scotland, around 360 local councils now attend local policing committees compared to 146 local councils prior to the creation of Police Scotland. Local policing and local accountability remain fundamental to policing in Scotland. Each of the 14 Police Scotland command divisions have a local commander who works with the council, communities and local partners to help shape and deliver policing through 353 world-level policing plans covering every local community in Scotland. Margaret Mitchell I thank the cabinet secretary for that very comprehensive answer, but does he recognise and value the excellent prevention work and local intelligence provided by crime prevention panels and does he agree that the proposal to cut their budgets and remove police officers' support at their meetings is a retrograde step? As I have said out to the member, the national annual policing plan sets out a range of measures that the Police Scotland intent to take followed over the course of the next year in working with local partners in making sure that they deliver effective policing. As I have mentioned, a key part of that is around prevention action as well. I have no doubt that, if the member has concerns about the way in which Police Scotland is operating in partnership with some of the local crime prevention bodies, she will be more than willing to engage with them directly and how she feels that that could be further improved. Likewise, I am always open to suggestions from members on how they feel that those matters can be better addressed, but she can be assured that Police Scotland recognises the importance of local engagement and working with other partners in the local community to deliver effective policing within those local communities. Patricia Ferguson I thank the minister for the answer that he has just given. In the course of correspondence recently with the chief constable, I ascertained that the chief constable himself will conduct a review of the opening times of police stations following on from the closure and curtailment of many of those last year. I wonder if the minister would join me in urging the chief constable to ensure that community councils and other community groups are not just able to take part in that consultation but are positively encouraged to take part in that consultation and to understand that their views are critical in understanding the effect that those changes have had in local communities. Michael Russell Local engagement is an important part of policing at a local community level. I would expect Police Scotland to engage with a range of stakeholders who have an interest in how they operate at a local level. As the member has stated, she is already engaged with the chief constable on that matter. It may be that the member will also wish to pursue the issue with the Scottish Police Authority, who has the oversight function of how our police go about those particular matters and how the chief constable handles those particular matters. However, I would recognise the points that the member has raised that it is extremely important that all of those stakeholders who may be viewed on those particular issues are given the opportunity to participate in that discussion. I would encourage the member to continue to support those organisations who may wish to express her view on those matters. Graham Dey To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it provides local authorities and the purposes for which self-directed support may be used. Maureen Watt Self-directed support is a rights-based approach that enables eligible individuals, their families and carers, flexibility, choice and control of their care and support in order to meet their health and social care outcomes. The Social Care Self-Directed Support Scotland Act 2013 is accompanied by statutory guidance, which was launched in April 2014. That guidance supports local authorities to take an approach where personal needs are assessed as part of a collaborative conversation. If eligibility for support by the local authority is agreed, a care and support plan will be developed that is based on what the person wants to achieve their personal outcomes. The person also has choice and control over how the care and support is delivered. Graham Dey Can I ask the minister what common sense flexibility can be deployed in this regard? I do so in relation to a situation that a constituent of mine finds themselves in, where they want to use SDS to fund a course in applied behaviour analysis therapy in the hope that that will help their child communicate thereby easing the considerable difficulties that the family face, providing respite from those challenges and, in turn, ensuring that the child perhaps has a more productive educational experience than at present. Could such a use of SDS be permissible? Minister, while flexibility and creativity are essential to making the best use of support within available budgets, local authorities provide social care and support to children and families as part of a wider policy and practice framework of getting it right for every child. The local authority has a duty under the social care act 2013 to offer flexibility and choices in relation to a child's care and support. However, the member may wish to direct his constituent, if they have not already done so, to contact the Angus or Dundee carer centres for information and support regarding access to self-directed support. Jointly, those organisations have been awarded 143,000 for 2015-16 from the Scottish Government's support in the right direction fund to ensure that people of Scotland have access to high-quality information support and advocacy services. To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made with the implementation of the disclosure scheme for domestic abuse Scotland, which was piloted in Aberdeen and Ayrshire. Cabinet Secretary, Michael Matheson? The disclosure scheme for domestic abuse Scotland is currently still being piloted. The six-month pilots in Aberdeen and Ayrshire will formally end on Sunday 31 May and will be independently evaluated by the University of Glasgow. I can confirm that the schemes will continue to operate in Aberdeen and Ayrshire pending the outcome of the evaluation. I am optimistic that the learning from those pilots will support a roll-out across Scotland, while the practical implementation of the scheme is for Police Scotland to determine and taking forward. The Scottish Government will of course continue to work with them and to support this work going forward. Presiding Officer, those two pilots are very welcome, but in the rest of the United Kingdom, this scheme was rolled out on International Women's Day 2014, bringing huge help and support to potentially vulnerable partners. How soon can we provide the same degree of protection to potential victims across the whole of Scotland? I am sure that the member would recognise that it was important to make sure that we had a scheme that was fit for purpose and suitable to the Scottish justice system, which is why the two pilots were established in the first place and why the independent evaluation is also going to be taking place to assess their effectiveness. As I said, I am optimistic about being able to take it forward on a national basis, and the chief constable has also stated that he is optimistic that he can be able to do that once he has the findings from the independent evaluation and for that to be taken forward on a quick basis. I can assure the member that we are keen to see the project and the pilots being taken forward on a national basis, but once we have the evaluation, we will then be able to determine the final timescale for that to be taken forward. Question 5, Shir Stevenson. Do we ask the Scottish Government what progress is being made with North Connect's £2 billion power scheme between Aberdeenshire and Scandinavia? An application for planning permission has been made by North Connect KS to Aberdeenshire Council, which relates to a converter station for the proposed link to Norway. The application was received by the council on 14 April, and a public consultation will run until 21 May. It would not be appropriate to comment on a live planning application. I thank the cabinet secretary for his answer. Within the limitations of a live planning application, does the minister welcome that that will draw significantly on green energy developments, both in Scotland and Norway, and that we will need to see similar cross-country initiatives if we are going to meet electricity demand in Scotland and we should be encouraging more investment in renewable energy projects? On the policy questions that Mr Stevenson raises, I agree wholeheartedly. There is a necessity for us to increase interconnection and transmission upgrade activity. There is a generic process that is inherent in changing the sources of power generation upon which we rely. The Government has taken forward a number of sustained investments in the renewable energy sector and taken the policy initiatives to enable the renewable energy sector to thrive within Scotland, and we look forward to taking policy decisions that enable us to continue that activity in the years to come. To ask the Scottish Government how many complaints Police Scotland has received from five residents regarding police response and call-out times since services were moved from the five control centre to Bilston Glen. As the member is aware, the Police Scotland review of contact command and control across the country has been on-going since early last year. That has been a phased approach with the latest stage being the transfer of operation from Gunrothys to Bilston Glen in March. Police Scotland has been engaged with local authorities, local partnerships and unions on the impact of the change. Issues surrounding performance at the Bilston Glen control centre have been raised previously in this chamber, and the First Minister committed to looking into those matters. That has been done, and Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority have taken direct action to address any issues surrounding the operation at Bilston Glen. I have also met Police Scotland and I have been given assurance that the situation at Bilston Glen is now much improved and that appropriate steps have been taken to ensure that the public continue to receive a high-quality service. Alex Rowley. I thank the minister for his answer. Some three weeks ago, in my constituency in the town of Cowanbyth, a group of pensioners were terrified in their own homes as a result of the antisocial behaviour when they called the Bilston Glen centre and reported that, among other things that were happening, a wheelie bin had been set on fire. They were told to police do not put out fires. It turned out, and it is now being confirmed, that it was regrettable that the chief of superintendences that calls received at police control room had not been logged correctly and local officers were not dispatched. The police never came. Is that acceptable? In short, no, it is not acceptable. Police Scotland recognises that there have been some challenges around Bilston Glen. That is why they have taken robust action in order to address those particular issues. That is why I am receiving reports on a weekly basis now from Police Scotland around the performance at Bilston Glen. I want to make sure that the public can be reassured that when they make a call to 101 that they get the type of response and service that they should expect to receive from Police Scotland and the measures that Police Scotland is now putting in place will help to ensure that. From the recent information that I have received from Police Scotland, there is a clear level of improvement being achieved in that, but I can assure the member that robust measures are being taken in order to address any of the types of issues that his constituents have experienced. I ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making in ensuring that the ambulance and health services on the island of Mull meet the needs and expectations of the local community, as expressed to the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Well-being and Sport at a meeting in March 2015. The Scottish Government is facilitating engagement between NHS Highland and the Scottish Ambulance Service to ensure that the healthcare needs of the Mull community are met. Both boards were encouraged during the meeting to work together in designing a multidisciplinary approach and in designing a sustainable solution for the community. I thank the Cabinet Secretary for that response. She is aware, as her predecessor was at a previous meeting in October, that there is deeply satisfaction on Mull with the Scottish Ambulance Service and that the fact that there have been commitments that have not been met is immensely regrettable. Will the minister agree to meet me and the community again to make sure that, while the progress that the Highland Health Board has made and the encouragement that she has given for further progress to both boards is extremely valuable, that the Scottish Ambulance Service has not yet come up to the mark? First, I recognise the concerns that Mike Russell outlines. The Scottish Ambulance Service is currently working on an options appraisal and is working with the community council to develop this. The Ambulance Service is planning for community engagements to be carried out at the end of this month to discuss the options. They are currently in the process of finalising dates but anticipate that the options appraisal should take place in July. Officials are being kept up to date on this process, who are in turn keeping me up to date and are in regular communication with the Ambulance Service to ensure that the work is progressing. In answer to Mike Russell directly, I am happy to meet him and others, as he sees fit, to discuss the outcomes of the option appraisal process. To ask the Scottish Government when its review of out-of-hours primary care services will be published. A national review of primary care out-of-hours services was announced on 30 January by myself. Professor Sir Lewis Ritchie is leading the review and has been asked to report recommendations to me by the end of September. I would like to thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. Can I ask her her view of how local health boards own consultations on out-of-hours services will complement the national strategy and place concern in East Cobride, Scotland's largest town, on the record that the local health board is considering taking any out-of-hours services away from East Cobride? The national review for primary care out-of-hours services will report recommendations designed to reflect the findings of the review and recognise that responsibility for design, implementation and management of out-of-hours services ultimately remains the responsibility of NHS health boards. Recommendations will be in the form of guidance. However, I would expect any proposals for redesign of out-of-hours services from any board to be in line with that guidance. To ask the Scottish Government whether Barnett consequentials arising from a mansion tax could help the NHS in Scotland meet its waiting-time guarantee. The Government has passed on health resource consequentials in full since 2010-11 and allocates funding in line with its priorities. Additional consequentials would be dealt with in that way. We have committed to increasing the revenue budget of our NHS in real terms for the remainder of this Parliament and for each and every year of the next Parliament, too. Thank you to the cabinet secretary for that response. Of course, the Scottish Government's central policy at this election is to end the provision of consequentials due to its policy of full fiscal autonomy, ending the pooling and sharing of resources and scrapping. The Barnett formula is the most aggressive example of nationalism. Mr Smith, can I get a question? It is the most aggressive example of nationalism in this campaign, the SNP's policy to call our nosies to spite our face. I say to Drew Smith in the gentlest of terms that that is quote the IFS, because I know that Drew Smith and the Labour Party like to quote the IFS. So listen to what the IFS analysis of the manifestos have concluded. They have concluded that real spending on the NHS in England in 2019-20, compared to 2014-50, would be £8.7 billion higher under the SNP plans. It is very clear, Presiding Officer, that if Scots want the NHS to have the money that they need for the NHS, they have to vote SNP tomorrow to deliver it.