 We have general questions. Question 1, Adam Ingram. To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made with the restoration of abandoned opencast coal sites in East Ayrshire. Minister Fergus Ewing. Progressive restoration of active sites in East Ayrshire is under way. An industry-led CPS restoration proposal designed to provide funding for restoration of legacy surface mining sites is with the UK Government for consideration. The proposal has the potential to provide a funding stream for restoration projects to preserve industry jobs and retain restoration capacity. I wrote to Treasury ministers on 18 May urging the UK Government to act swiftly in their consideration of the proposal and to engage promptly with Scottish Government officials. Adam Ingram. I thank the Minister for his response. He will be aware from recent announcements by Hargreaves that they have had no feedback from the UK Government regarding their case for carbon price support exemption. One consequence of this is the closing down of operations at a site in East Ayrshire at a cost of 57 jobs. Could the minister engage with Her Majesty's Government on this issue as a matter of urgency? Yes, I am aware of the decision by Hargreaves. I have spoken to Ian Coburn of Hargreaves. I have, as mentioned, already taken this up post the election with the UK Treasury Minister, Damian Hynes. As Mr Ingram rightly highlights, this matter is made more urgent because of the commercial pressures facing the sector because of the falling world coal price. The UK Government undertook in the course of the last budget in March to work with the Scottish Government to find a solution. I welcome that and I welcome the cross-party working on the coal task force, including contributions from Sandra Osborne and Kathy Jamieson, which was appreciated. There is a budget statement, I believe, on 8 July. The proposals put forward by Coal Pro based on the Coal Burn proposal must have action from HMT. We are urging them to include that in the budget statement. Lastly, I know that David Mundell, the Secretary of State for Scotland, before the election, has been active in his own personal support for the CPS exemption. I trust that he will now use his position as Secretary for Scotland to ensure that this solution is contained in the budget statement in July. Otherwise, we are very seriously concerned for the future of the opencast sector in Scotland and the several thousand jobs that it supports. To ask the Scottish Government what assessment has been made of the recent safety checks on the 4th Road bridge. The responsibility for the 4th Road bridge lies with the 4th Estuary Transport Authority FETA. On 1 June 2015, responsibility passes to Scottish ministers. Transport Scotland has a close working relationship with FETA and has been consulted on and is content with the actions taken and proposed regarding the recently announced further wire breaks to the main cable of the bridge. Given the scare stories that have surfaced in the past relating to the integrity of the cables on the 4th bridge, can the minister assure me that the safety check system for cables is robust and for those using or living beside the 4th bridge, the structure is safe and has many years of life ahead? Yes, I can absolutely give that reassurance. I have done so in Parliament previously and FETA have done so through their press release. We have been transparent around the wire breaks that have to be put into context. They are limited, they are localised and the action that has been taken by way of remedy seems to be effective around the dehumidification process. There are very sophisticated measures in place to assess corrosion, including the acoustic mechanism. There are also more in-depth assessments and inspections that are under way. When the bridge transfers to the responsibility of ministers, that level of inspection will continue. There are no immediate safety concerns. The cable is certainly strong enough to do its job and to continue to do its job. The condition of the bridge certainly vindicates Government's decision around the replacement crossing, whilst absolutely guaranteeing a future going forward. I am sure that the member, like the rest of the chamber, can be satisfied with the arrangements in place to continue the assessment of the bridge and on-going works. To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to increase the number of doctors in training for general practice. The Scottish Government is committed to supporting and sustaining Scottish general practice. Under this Government, the number of GPs has increased by 7 per cent. We recognise attracting trainee doctors to careers in general practices becoming more challenging and we are pursuing a wide range of initiatives to improve matters. The GP out of hours review will address issues such as recruitment and retention of GPs as part of its wide remit. We are also developing proposals to enhance the skills of GPs, exploring ways to better manage gaps in training programmes. We have expanded the number of foundation training posts with GP experience and also revised the GP returners programme. I thank the cabinet secretary for her response. The training of doctors for general practice is an incredibly important issue. I am sure that we can all agree. On top of what she has just said, what further support can be given to those in training to become doctors to help them to reach their full potential? As outlined in my earlier answer, the Scottish Government is already contributing to a number of new approaches for trainee doctors. It is important that we have the opportunity to fully assess the success of those initiatives. I am always open to new ideas and initiatives that will help individuals to reach their full career potential. That is why we continue to work with the Royal College of General Practitioners. The British Medical Association and others to review the curricular and to find innovative solutions to recruitment and retention challenges. The Government is also fully involved in taking forward the implementation of policy proposals from the shape of training review, offering the potential for a new approach to how we train doctors in the future. The cabinet secretary will be aware of the BMA review, which showed that we could be between 550 and 950 GP short by the end of the next Parliament. A few months ago, I did a freedom of information inquiry, which found that already 50 Scottish practices have restricted patient registration to their list, and that was three months ago, there are many more now. In 4th valley, there are now no partners in Drummond, no partners in Bannockburn, that is 10,000 patients, two out of ten, five previous partners in Grangemouth, and there are multiple vacancies for partners. What is the Government doing now, not in terms of a new negotiated contract, but what are they doing now to arrest this deteriorating situation, which is frankly the worst since the 1960s for general practice? I say to Richard Simpson that I am more than aware of the issue in 4th valley. The NHS 4th valley has taken action. It has developed a plan, which includes a team of salaried GPs to provide support to local practices. I very much support the action taken by NHS 4th valley to ensure that patients are supported. He will be aware of course that there have been some very recent issues that has accelerated the retirement of GPs such as the pension changes. That has been a significant issue in accelerating early retirement. One thing that I am very clear about is that we absolutely need to make general practice more attractive to young doctors making their decision, in fact, medical undergraduates making their decision about which area of medicine to go into. At the moment, general practice struggles to recruit enough doctors going into that specialism, and that is why the discussions that we are having with the Royal College, the BMA and others is so important to make general practice a more attractive proposition going forward. Meantime, I will certainly make sure that the action that we take to sustain general practice is robust and delivers for patients. Question 4, Annabelle Goldie. The Scottish Government, whether it considers that the alcohol licensing regime for public houses and clubs is operating satisfactorily. Cabinet Secretary, Michael Matheson. Yes, I believe that the alcohol licensing regime is operating satisfactorily. However, there are aspects of it that could work better. This is why we are taking forward improvements within the Air Weapons and Licensing Scotland bill, which is currently before Parliament. The Scottish Government is committed to working with the public and stakeholders to ensure that the alcohol licensing regime is as effective as possible. Annabelle Goldie. There has been a widely publicised decision by the City of Glasgow licensing board to curtail the activities of a nightclub. That decision is quite properly the responsibility of the licensing board. It followed concerns about the premises from Police Scotland. However, lawyers on behalf of the nightclub maintained that almost all of the complaints on which Police Scotland founded their objections had arisen from incidents of which Police Scotland had been alerted by the nightclub itself. If that is so, does the cabinet secretary agree that such an approach by Police Scotland calls into question the spirit of community partnership and co-operation essential to effective policing and the control of crime? Cabinet Secretary. As I'm sure the member will recognise, the issue around this particular nightclub is a matter for the City of Glasgow licensing board and for Police Scotland, and it wouldn't be appropriate for the Scottish Government to get drawn into commenting on an individual case in this way. John Scott. The cabinet secretary is aware of the problems with personal licence holders under current legislation and the disproportionate penalties incurred by failure to reapply timidly for a personal licence. Can the cabinet secretary inform Parliament how he intends to address this problem in forthcoming legislation and the timings around this remedial action? I'm aware that this is an issue that the member has pursued on behalf of his constituents over a period now. As I've outlined to the local government regeneration committee just yesterday, we intend to make sure that the provisions within the licensing and air weapons legislation will address this particular issue. That will then allow those who have lost their personal licences as a result of not submitting their refresher training certificate to licensing boards that they will then be in a position to reapply for a personal licence. The provisions within the bill, as the member will recognise, is that very often, once a bill receives royal assent, several months pass before any of its provisions then come into force. However, I've made specific amendment to this piece of legislation in order to allow this provision to come into force as soon as it receives royal assent with immediate effect. That then means that those who have lost their personal licence will be able to reapply for a personal licence to their local licensing board immediately. 5. George Adam Thank you, Presiding Officer. To ask the Scottish Government whether all 16 and 17-year-olds will be eligible to vote in the 2016 Scottish parliamentary elections. Cabinet Secretary, John Swinney The Scottish elections reduction of voting age bill was introduced on 2 April. The bill lowers the voting age to 16 at Scottish Parliament and local authority elections and any other elections using the local government franchise. All 16 and 17-year-olds who are otherwise eligible to be included on the local government register will be eligible to vote in those elections from the 2016 Scottish parliamentary election onwards. 4. George Adam Thank you, cabinet secretary, for his answer. Does he agree with me that young people engaging in the democratic process early adds to our nation's politics? Is Paisley's own, Mary Black, recently elected to the Westminster seat of Paisley and Reventure South, not proof that age is but a number, and what really matters is your ability and drive to deliver for a better future for our nation? I was interested, as Mr Adam made his question, that Christine Grahame was heartily endorsing the idea that age was but a number. I suspect that that remark speaks for itself, Presiding Officer. Mr Adam might choose where he sits later in the parliamentary session. The participation of 16 and 17-year-olds in the referendum has been remarked on as one of the great strengths of the democratic process and the successes of the referendum initiative. We have seen in the recent parliamentary election young people exercising their votes significantly and participating in the democratic process, which I think will be welcomed across the board. I take this opportunity to endorse the remarks that Mr Adam made that Mary Black certainly represents the achievements of young people who can effectively participate in the democratic process. 6. John Lamont I ask the Scottish Government how many single application forms for rural payments and services have been fully processed under the new information technology system. As of 7 am this morning, a total of 9,084 single application forms have been submitted, 5,232 online and 3,852 by paper. With four weeks to go to the close of the extended application window, the rate of submission of the applications is ahead of the comparable point in 2014. If applications continue to be submitted at the current rate, we are on track to receive around the estimated 22,000 forms by the closing date of 15 June. However, we continue to monitor the situation very closely. John Lamont I thank the cabinet secretary for his response, but there remains a very serious risk that farmers are going to miss out. With just over three weeks left, we are in a situation where 41% of businesses, sorry, 60%, have still to complete the process. I accept the complexity of the process that is causing difficulties across Europe, but the Scottish Government's response has been complacent to put it mildly. Looking forward, what is the Scottish Government going to do to ensure that those delays, which are not the fault of farmers, will not affect the schedule of 2015 payments, which are due this December? Cabinet Secretary? As the member will be aware, I have just said that we are ahead of the comparable position last year with four weeks to go before the close of the window. We are taking every step to make sure that all farmers can submit their application forms. On Tuesday this week, I had the pleasure of attending the Borders Union Agricultural Society Schools Day in Kelso, where I bumped into Councillor Jim Fullerton, one of John Lamont's Conservative colleagues, who shook my hand and thanked me for all the hard work that the Scottish Government officials have put into place to make sure that farmers can complete their forms in time, given that it is one of the most complex farming policies ever. He said that he had completed his form and submitted it in under one hour. I think that his generous spirit and understanding of the hard work that has been put into place contrasts well with John Lamont's grumpy spirit, given that, once again, he was defeated in his attempts to leave this place at the general election. James Kelly To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support college students. The further education student support budget is at a record level of over £104 million this academic year. That means that college students can now receive bursaries of up to £93 per week, the best level anywhere in the UK. In addition, we made inflationary increases to college bursary and childcare support in 2014-15, and we will do so again in 2015-16. In higher education, we are increasing the level of bursary support available in 2015-16, with the poorest students being entitled to a minimum income of £7,625 through a combination of loans and bursaries. From 2016-17, we will increase the eligibility threshold for the maximum bursary, so that students with a household income of less than £19,000 will be eligible for the maximum bursary. For 16 to 19-year-olds, unlike the UK Government, we committed to maintain the education maintenance allowance scheme, investing £29.6 million in the current financial year, and in line with the First Minister's commitment to help more young people access and stay on in education, we are currently considering how we will extend the scheme. I draw the minister's attention to the case of Abbey Johnson and Hannah Lenox, two constituents of mine, who were unable to progress to the degree level at Glasgow Kelvin College in their course of dancing and acting, because the college discontinued the course. Does the minister not agree that this example of instability in the college sector results from the fact that there are 140,000 less college places and a reduction in staff in the 9.3 per cent and shows a shocking lack of leadership from this SNP Government? I am sure that the member will quite rightly pursue individual constituency cases. He does have to accept, I hope, that the figures prove and show that we are investing more in colleges than Labour ever did. Most importantly of all, we have delivered on our commitment to maintain 116,000 full-time educational college places and that we are concentrating our efforts. I believe, quite rightly, on providing college educational courses that will lead into qualifications and lead into work, which I think is what our young people deserve. To ask the Scottish Government what the current status is of the proposed ALRAI bypass. Minister Derek Mackay for planning and environmental appeals held a public local inquiry for the A737 ALRAI bypass in December 2014. The Scottish ministers are awaiting the reporter's findings and recommendations before deciding how to proceed with this much-needed infrastructure improvement. I thank the minister for that answer. When the finance sector announced funding for the bypass, it was warmly welcomed by constituents, but construction has been delayed by the public local inquiry, which ended on 31 January. Surely it is completely unacceptable that a reporter can take months to come to a conclusion, inevitably delaying a decision by ministers and, I would hope, progress in building this much-needed, much-anticipated road. The reporter requires sufficient time to consider all aspects of the complex scheme, but I assure the member that as soon as we receive the recommendations, I will look upon the next steps as quickly as I possibly can.