Andrew Welsh: This will be one of the last speeches that I will make as an MSP, and it is my final scheduled contribution as convener of the Parliament’s Finance Committee. Therefore, I welcome the fact that I will address a topic—preventative spending—that has the potential to deliver long-lasting social and financial change, and to transform the way in which our public services are delivered. I...
Andrew Welsh: Such questions are better posed elsewhere. I am relaying to Parliament a positive report, rather than the usual negativity that is produced in debates. I say to Elaine Smith that early interventions can significantly help to prevent or reduce the likelihood that children will develop social problems that might necessitate a future intervention by the state. Such an approach could save...
Andrew Welsh: I declare an interest as a former business studies and public administration lecturer at Dundee College and senior lecturer at Angus College. I pay due tribute to Scotland’s further education colleges, which are the engine for skills in Scotland—they work locally with people, communities and businesses to improve knowledge, employability and productivity. Their strength lies in their...
Andrew Welsh: As someone who was born in Cardonald and saw Cardonald College being built, I share the member’s admiration for the work that it has done. However, I point out that Angus College has overcome a 6 per cent cut, which shows what can be achieved through the ability and talents of those run who the colleges.
Andrew Welsh: Before I turn to the detail of our report and recommendations, I will briefly outline some of the changes to this year’s budget process. The fact that the UK spending review was published only in October and that the Scottish Government’s budget was published in November meant that the time for parliamentary scrutiny was constrained. Rather than have a separate debate on the Finance...
Andrew Welsh: Forgive me, but I have a great deal to cover. The key issue of efficiency savings has exercised the Finance Committee and our predecessors in sessions 1 and 2. There are many well-rehearsed issues around efficiency savings, including the problem with having year-on-year targets, which means that the easier options were taken some time ago and therefore future efficiencies are ever harder to...
Andrew Welsh: 4. To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has for future provision of police and fire services in Angus. (S3O-12691)
Andrew Welsh: I thank the cabinet secretary for his answer and welcome the news that major reform of our outdated police and fire service structure is to take place. Even if we were not facing unprecedented financial cuts from Westminster, there would still be a strong case for reducing the number of police and fire boards. Given the financial pressures that Westminster is imposing on us, can the cabinet...
Andrew Welsh: To ask the Scottish Executive whether future Scotland Rural Development Programme mechanisms under the Common Agricultural Programme after 2013 will provide incentives for food producers who produce food for the local market, use native breeds and integrated farming systems.
Andrew Welsh: To ask the Scottish Executive how much the decision to lower the poundage rate to match that of England has saved for businesses in Angus. (S3O-12034)
Andrew Welsh: On behalf of the business community of Angus, I thank the cabinet secretary for his answer. That saving will be replicated in businesses throughout Scotland, unlike under any transitional rates relief scheme, which would have meant, in effect, that smaller businesses were subsidising larger ones. Does the cabinet secretary agree that, on top of the range of rates relief packages that the...
Andrew Welsh: To ask the Scottish Executive how and when it will respond to the findings of the Inquiry into Future Support for Agriculture and Rural Development by Brian Pack.
Andrew Welsh: To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to assist and fund further education colleges to meet the challenge of strengthening Scotland's economy during the current financial crisis. (S3O-11700)
Andrew Welsh: I will be fast. I commend to the minister the tremendous work being done by Angus College, which is the second-biggest east of Scotland provider of engineering modern apprenticeships. It is designing new, revolutionary qualifications for North Sea oil and gas industries and has increased student numbers by 6 per cent this year. In addition, its total student activity is 19 per cent above the...
Andrew Welsh: I am pleased to open the debate on the Finance Committee's budget strategy phase report. The report deals with the questions that will shape our political discourse for the foreseeable future, namely how the public sector in Scotland should be preparing for future budget cuts. I make it clear from the outset that the Finance Committee considers the current financial situation to be the most...
Andrew Welsh: To ask the Scottish Government what funding and other resources it has allocated for the teaching of Chinese language, culture and history in schools, colleges and universities in the last two years and whether it is taking action to increase educational, economic and other contacts with China. (S3O-11149)
Andrew Welsh: NÄ huì shuÅ zhongguó huà hÄo de! Russell bù zhÄng. Xiè xiè. I commend to the cabinet secretary the Open University's excellent Chinese language work and the now ever-increasing and generally available range of teaching materials that make Chinese language, history and culture more accessible than ever before at elementary and advanced levels. Will the Scottish Government do...
Andrew Welsh: I do not think that today's debate has been Parliament's finest hour. Many of the speeches have been directed to the hustings rather than parliamentary debate. Perhaps it is an end-of-term aberration, but teachers and parents will have every right to be disappointed—especially if today has been a trailer for forthcoming electoral attractions. Education has, rightly, always been a Scottish...
Andrew Welsh: Later. Prediction of future teacher demand is a very difficult procedure. If we add into the mix the length of teacher training and a four-year time span, we see that the accusations that are made in the motion point right back to the Labour Party, which held power for the relevant years. Indeed, councils in which Labour is currently in power are responsible for two thirds of this year's drop...
Andrew Welsh: To ask the Scottish Executive what the benefits will be for employment as a result of the announcement of a £3.2 million new freight facilities grant to Montrose Port Authority.
