 Aigner, you're done, we have questions. Question 1 is. To ask the Scottish Government what is its response to the fostering networks Scotland's survey that found children to be moving too many times while in care. Minister, Fiona McLeod. Thank you, Presiding Officer. The Scottish Government recognises the need for all children and young people, including those in care, to live in a safe, secure, permanent and nurturing home. Regrettably, we know that too many children and young people in care are experiencing and drift and delay, leading to multiple placements. The Scottish Government is working with Celsus, the Centre for Looked-After Children, to deliver our Permanence and Care Excellence PACE programme, which brings together partners, including local authorities, children's hearings, health, education and the courts, to look at how they can improve systems and practice to deliver permanence more quickly for looked-after children and young people. Felly, maesaf, mae'n gweithio ymlaen o'r Foster Network Scotland ysgolffyn ymwneud rwyf yn gyflaenol. Mae'r perthynau 8% o'r ddweudio'n ddweudio'n gweithio'n gweithio'n ddweudio'n gweithio'n gweithio'n gweithio'n gweithio'n gweithio'n gweithio. Rwyf wedi'n gweithio'r ffoster-cares o bryddoedd o gweithio'r ffoster-cares o gwblig gyda'r cyfnodau ystodol i ymwneud. Mae'r genffordd ei ddim yn cael ei gwaith o'r ffrostrach sydd yn canais i gweithredu ffostrach ond yw'r grifwmau i tanthinol y cyfnodau a'r ystafell ar gyffredinol i gael ffrostrach sy'n cefnodol i gael ei gael o'r rhaid. Mae'r fungr hyn o'w'r £280,363 i beth i ddweud £214,216 i ddweud i ddweud i ddweud Fy底en aquelladol gyfไม ar gyllidau gyns dijadoletaethau bwysigol iawn i golyb amwelordd i gyrfa, a'r fuselwydd i'r fusewyddiol been, yn ddull bod ngaing y temmналu eu lawrhe puigol i g eatingde i ei spoilers online o taelwyddiol pleidog weithio. yr adrodd feddwl cyfr freakedig sydd o gwipfriedd neu newyddiol angpered Kimchi nob yn ei pethau fel ar gyfer lauredd. Fodd genais cael tyd i gyd ddavant o amlre победd i'r syth 로ed rymill bwysigol of kinship carers. In that debate, Ms Graham will recall that I talked about the Scottish Government and our commitment to support kinship carers. That's why we have legislated through the looked-after children regulations of 2009 and the Children and Young People Act of 2014 to recognise and support kinship carers of both looked-after and non-looked-after children, and in legislation that is for the first time. We also recognise that more can be done to support kinship carers and those in care, and that there is a need for greater fairness in the provision of allowances, so we are currently reviewing the financial support available to kinship carers with a view to tailoring support and tackling inconsistencies across Scotland. 2. Model Fraser To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve care services for adults with cerebral palsy. Minister, Jamie Hepburn. Access to care services for adults with cerebral palsy is based on an individual assessment of need. Care services fall within core local authority social service. Social work service functions, generally supported by the Scottish Government, physiotherapy services, can also offer assessment and advice, which may be fall by treatment and or equipment provision it is for NHS boards to determine the level of service that they provide based on local priorities and need. Personalised and integrated service for adults with cerebral palsy will be strengthened further with the implementation of the social care self-directed support Scotland Act 2013 and the public body's joint working Scotland Act 2014. 2. Model Fraser I thank the minister for his response. It is the experience of some of my constituents who are young adults with cerebral palsy that, while the services for those under 18 can be very good, when they reach the age and majority, the services for adults are patchy at best. Does the minister not think that there is need for a more joined-up approach for those who are 18 and above who have made that transition and are simply finding that the services that they enjoyed while they were children are not there when they are adults? I thank Murdo Fraser for his question. He will be aware of Bobath Scotland. I am sure that he will be aware of the chief executive of Bobath Scotland, Stephanie Fraser, who has raised some of the issues with me before, so I am aware that it is an issue of being able to correspond with her. Directly, I would go back to the initial answer. Of course, it is for each NHS board to deliver services locally. Serubal palsy presents very differently on each individual and can allow for other conditions to manifest. It is important that each person's clinical pathway should take a person's approach in relation to their individual needs, and I recognise that that is as important in adult age as it is in childhood. If Mr Fraser wants to correspond with me directly in this matter and raise any specific concerns, I will be very happy to get back to him. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the number of people who are homeless in Glasgow. Minister, Margaret Burgess. During 2013-14, there were 4,974 homeless or threatened with homelessness assessments in Glasgow. That was a 16 per cent reduction on the 5,921 homeless or threatened with homelessness assessments during 2012-13. The next homelessness statistics covering 2014-15 will be published at 9.30 a.m. on 30 June 2015. Those can be accessed on the Scottish Government website. James Gorman. I thank the minister for that answer. As much as I am delighted to hear about the drop in the homeless figures, they clearly are far too high. The minister will be aware of the on-going dispute between the homeless caseworkers in Glasgow City Council, which has led to these important members of staff being in strike for the past 12 weeks. They have also been claimed by Glasgow City Labour councillor that the fault for non-referals to housing associations lay with the housing associations, a claim quite vigorously denied and condemned by the housing associations. Does the minister agree with me that it is time for Glasgow City Council to be less intransigent with the striking homeless workers, less strident their tone with housing associations and work together to put in place a plan to ensure that vulnerable homeless people across Glasgow are getting the help and support that they need and desire? As I indicated last week in response to a question, the dispute in Glasgow is a matter for the council and its employees, but I very much hope that it is a dispute that can be brought to a satisfactory conclusion very soon. Ensuring homeless people receive the service that they need is vital and is a statutory duty of the council. I do think that housing associations and the council should work together to look at the housing options approach and to ensure that they can work together to provide the best services for homeless people in Glasgow. 4. Kenneth Gibson To ask the Scottish Government what the impact will be on jobs, investment and services of the additional £107 million reduction in the Scottish budget recently announced by the Chancellor. The Scottish Government believes that the Chancellor's decision to reduce the budget already agreed by this Parliament is utterly unacceptable and falls a long way short of the Prime Minister's promise to govern with respect. I took the opportunity when I met the Chancellor on 8 June to set out an alternative to the UK Government's austerity programme that would allow us to continue to invest in our public services whilst ensuring the sustainability of the public finances. We will see if the Chancellor has heeded my advice on his 8 July emergency budget and we will reflect on the £107 million reduction in the light of that announcement. In the meantime, I can assure the member that I will continue to strive to minimise the impact of the UK Government's austerity agenda on jobs, investment and services in Scotland. 4. Kenneth Gibson I thank the cabinet secretary for that reply. Does he agree that, as long as this Parliament remains at the mercy of budgetary decisions taken elsewhere, jobs, services and the communities that rely on them, we will be at the whim of a Chancellor that Scotland did not elect? The sooner Scotland has a full range of powers to make its own decisions both to raise and spend the resources, the sooner Scotland can become a fairer and more prosperous country. I agree with Mr Gibson's point and I would set out to him that clearly the ability of the Scottish Government to intervene to address some of the challenging issues that we face as a country is limited by the powers that we have. We use them to the full in every respect, but there will be other measures that we would want to take that we cannot take because of the limitations of devolution, but there is also the added factor that Mr Gibson highlights in his question, which is off in-year budget reductions that are applied by the Chancellor when we have already set our budget. That raises implications for the Scottish Government that we have to deal with, and those are unwelcome implications for the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament. Mark Ruskell I congratulate the Deputy First Minister for taking a robust line with the Chancellor in opposing those counterproductive cuts and also trying to persuade him that they are not required by the Charter for Budget Responsibility. At what point did he realise that all that he said during the election campaign about the Charter for Budget Responsibility requiring £30 billion worth of cuts, and at what point did he realise that that was a load of rubbish? The issue for Malcolm Chisholm is the fact that his colleagues in the House of Commons trooped into the lobbies with the Conservatives to vote for the Charter for Budget Responsibility, which involved the reduction in public spending by £30 billion over a two-year period, and that was what the Labour Party supported. The issue with the Chancellor is that the Chancellor is going even further in trying to reduce public expenditure beyond the Charter for Budget Responsibility, and that is the issue that I have raised in my submission. I would have thought that the Labour Party, having pursued such an ineffective strategy in the United Kingdom general election, would be trying to do what Mr Chisholm started off trying to do in the question, but regrettably deviated from his original thrust. That was to stand shoulder to shoulder with this Government in resisting austerity. Alex Johnson Can the Deputy First Minister give me a guarantee that when he announces the figures later this week, I believe, or next week, the underspend for last year will be a figure less than £107 million? Otherwise, many of his remarks today are going to look a bit silly. Alex Johnson Will Mr Johnson will not have to wait until next week, because I would have thought that such an informed commentator as Mr Johnson would have known that the statement about the provisional outturn is in fact this afternoon. If Mr Johnson has woken up sufficiently for the parliamentary business, he will be able to interrogate me on that question in just a few hours' time. Question 5, in the name of Ian Gray, has been withdrawn for understandable reasons, because the Scottish Government's question is a wee bit later on. Question 6, Jim Eadie. To ask the Scottish Government when the commission on local tax reform last met and what matters were discussed. Minister, Mark O'Biadge. The commission on local tax reform is an independent commission, which I jointly convene as the Scottish Government nominee alongside David O'Neill, the president of COSLA. The commission last met on 9 June at its seventh full meeting when we heard the preliminary findings of commission research on international examples of local tax reforms. The commission also held a public round table on 15 June with representatives of SIPFA, IRRV, SOLIS, the SAA and the improvement service to take oral evidence. This is the fifth of 10 such evidence sessions. The commission remains on schedule to report in the autumn. Jim Eadie. Given that the research by Professor David Bell and David Iser of Stirling University reported in Today's Herald shows that the income gap between rich and poor has widened since 1997, to what extent has the commission not only considered international evidence on local taxation but wealth distribution? Will the minister give an assurance that in bringing forward proposals to replace the council tax, the principles of fairness, progressive taxation and ability to pay will be at the heart of those proposals? The remit of the commission states that we are to identify and examine alternatives that would deliver a fairer system of local taxation. The first consideration listed is impacts on inequalities, income and wealth. I would encourage any member to promote the five-minute survey at localtaxcommission.scot to get a better understanding of public priorities around that. No technical knowledge is required, and I would welcome the member's contribution to that, along with all others, too. To ask the Scottish Government how much land and forest has been bought and sold by Forestry Commission Scotland since 2010 and at what cost. Forestry Commission Scotland buys and sells land as part of its repositioning programme. That involves selling parts of the national forest estate, which deliver a few public benefits and investing the proceeds in new land and forests that deliver more for the people of Scotland. Since 2010, Forestry Commission Scotland has bought 11,514 hectares at a cost of £39,646,541. It has sold 25,109 hectares, totalling £58,150,784. The balance of the money is used to invest in the properties that have been bought, for example, in establishing starter farms or planting new woodlands. Further details of all the land that is bought and sold by Forestry Commission Scotland since 1999 are available on the Forestry Commission Scotland website. I thank the minister for that answer. I have constituents who are concerned about transfers of land and sales of land. I want to know if possible at what size of acreage of land can the Forestry Commission sell that plot without consulting the local community? There is no specific limit to the area of land or woodland that Forestry Commission Scotland can sell without community involvement consultation. However, I can assure Mr Gibson that the majority of sales carried out by the Forestry Commission Scotland are part of their repositioning programme, whereby they are first offered to communities or environmental NGOs to acquire or lease under the terms of the national forest land scheme. There are occasions where Forest Commission Scotland will consider direct requests from neighbours and other private interests to acquire part of the national forest estate. That is usually in situations where the land in question is not contentious and could, for example, include sales of houses or other development sites to the sitting tenants, exchange of forest or open land to rationalise boundaries of landholdings or sales of small areas of land to adjoining owners. In the above cases, Forestry Commission Scotland does not notify communities or environmental NGOs unless there is a known community interest. Will the coffee? To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take to prevent taxi drivers from obtaining a taxi driver's licence in another area. License authorities are obliged by the Civic Government Scotland Act 1982 to refuse an application where, in their view, the applicant is not a fit and proper person to be the holder of the licence. The legislation also requires them to make such reasonable inquiries as they see fit when considering an application. We would therefore expect licensing authorities to exercise their discretion in fulfilling that obligation and making inquiries with adjacent authorities where appropriate. In addition, Police Scotland is a statutory consultee and is able to provide relevant information from across Scotland and beyond the licensing authority. We shall further encourage sharing of information when the best practice guidance is updated after the passage of the Air Weapons and Licensing Bill. Will the coffee? I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. As he will know, there have been cases reported in the media where this has happened. I would ask the Scottish Government what further measures it might be able to take through legislation or guidance for the local authorities to tighten this up and make the experience of travelling in a taxi as safe as possible, particularly for young women. I agree with the member in the need to make sure that we have proper and effective enforcement in this area. That is one of the reasons why, in the Air Weapons and Licensing Bill, which is currently before Parliament, we have created the role of the civic licensing standard officer who will have a specific responsibility to look at areas around guidance at a localised level, supervising compliance with that and also mediation. I hope that that will also add to the way in which we can apply the national best practice guidance that is issued alongside the legislation to ensure that that has been properly and effectively implemented at a localised level. On the subject of protecting consumers' interests in the taxi market, does the Scottish Government consider that this should remain the principal aim in any provisions or regulations relating to licensing? Licensing at a localised level is taken forward by licensing boards within local authorities, and there are no plans to change that. To ask the Scottish Government what initiatives it is introduced to increase the supply of social housing. The Scottish Government has set a five-year target to deliver 30,000 affordable homes, 20,000 of which are for social rent and 5,000 of those being through our Council House new-build programme. We are well in track to meet the target as recent official statistics have demonstrated. We are achieving that through a range of initiatives using both traditional grant funding but also working creatively with partners on innovative financing routes. Thank you minister. I noticed recently that Falkirk Council are putting funds from the pension scheme by investing £30 million in social and affordable housing. It seems that that kind of sound investment with a good return enabling you to build affordable homes in your area is an excellent use of resources. I gather that local government pension schemes across Scotland hold investments worth more than £30 billion in a range of assets. Does the minister believe that councils such as South Lanarkshire could be using their pension funds to help build affordable housing in social homes in their council area? Pension fund managers have to make sound investment decisions to ensure suitable returns. However, this Government is working to enable and support pension funds to invest in housing, and the recent Falkirk scheme is a trailblazer that shows investment as possible, and I would encourage all pension funds to consider the opportunities that exist for investment in housing.