Donald Dewar: It is as though I had never been away. The Cabinet discussed several matters of significance to the Executive and to the people of Scotland.
Donald Dewar: The advice that I received is that ministers could not use their power of direction in any way that would have the effect of the Executive taking over any of the Scottish Qualifications Authority's functions. The power of direction refers to the SQA's substantive functions as conferred by statute; devising, accrediting and awarding qualifications and assessment. It does not apply to...
Donald Dewar: I have made that clear. Mr Salmond will appreciate the distinction between a departmental agency and a non-departmental public body. Of course we have a right in statute to lay down the terms and conditions in the terms of the— [Interruption.] It would help if Nicola Sturgeon would stop shouting. At times, the Scot Nat benches sound like a cliff of seagulls, which does not help the standard...
Donald Dewar: No, I absolutely reject the charge of dissembling to Parliament and I hope that Alex Salmond will regret it when he starts to think in retrospect about this particular exchange. I repeat: the job of the chamber and of everyone in it is to ensure that we get the matter right and that we achieve a secure future for the pupils, teachers and parents in the Scottish educational system. I want the...
Donald Dewar: No.
Donald Dewar: That is not the information and advice that I have been given. I put it in those terms because I do not pretend to be a constitutional lawyer. I repeat to Mr McLetchie the point that I made to him earlier: that there is clearly a power to lay down in statute the aims, objectives and remit of the SQA. The point of the authority is that it is an arm's-length organisation. That is the point of a...
Donald Dewar: If Mr McLetchie follows closely—as I am sure he will—the investigations of the committee of inquiry, he will discover that a great deal of action was taken in terms of the advice that was offered, continuous contact and the efforts that were made to unscramble an increasingly difficult situation. It would be sensible to wait until the story has been told—until it has unfolded and has...
Donald Dewar: I thank Margaret Curran for her welcome. It is with mixed feelings that I find myself standing here, but I am looking forward to the future. There is an enormous amount of co-operation across and between the agencies north and south of the border. The Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency is well placed to co-ordinate its activities with those of the UK law enforcement agencies, including the...
Donald Dewar: Drug dealers do not respect national or administrative boundaries—it is important to remember that. I do not want to end with a flurry of statistics, but there is no doubt that the work of the police has been impressive. Between 1990 and 1998, seizures of drugs rose from 5,900 to 27,000 cases. That reflects increasing efficiency, but sadly, it also probably charts the increasing...
Donald Dewar: I understand that local people will often feel that way. However, I believe that the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency has an important role to play. It will bring in 100 new police officers, who will develop special expertise in dealing with sophisticated drug dealers. It has been regarded widely as a helpful and progressive development in the enforcement field. Keith Raffan will know that in...
Donald Dewar: The immediate priority is to secure early European Commission agreement to Scotland's rural development plan. That will enable LFA payments to be made to Scotland's farmers and crofters next March. Where the switch from headage to area payments results in claimants receiving less than they will this year, individuals are guaranteed payments that are equal to at least 90 per cent of the...
Donald Dewar: As George Lyon of all people knows—with his background and the offices he has held—we cannot alter arbitrarily payments that are made under the auspices of the European Union, even if we were so minded. It is important that we have a Government that has shown, during the past two or three years of crisis, that it is prepared to release substantial sums of money to help agriculture. It has...
Donald Dewar: I do not know where Mr McGrigor farms or how he farms—
Donald Dewar: Perhaps fortunately, I did not catch that agricultural remark from another farmer. Of course we understand that it has been bad, that it has been tough and that there has been a substantial drop in farm incomes. I am glad to say that conditions seem to have improved in the beef sector. There has undoubtedly been a revival in lamb prices. I think it is also fair to say, although I look to...
Donald Dewar: Local authority pay is, of course, a matter for the local authorities and the unions to resolve. That is undoubtedly true. The Executive is not represented in the negotiations. Obviously, we have an interest in those negotiations—everyone has—but we will have to wait until a negotiated settlement emerges.
Donald Dewar: Demanding direct answers or shouting, in a rather ludicrous fashion, "Yes or no!" never leads to a great advantage. Mr Gibson is guilty of both on occasions. This is a matter for negotiation. I have no doubt that Mr Gibson has been looking, as I have, at the Unison material that has been issued in connection with the dispute. He will have seen that Unison is making the point—very...
Donald Dewar: I thought that Mr Sheridan was going to tell me what my views were seven years ago and I was going to be very flattered that he had followed my career in such detail. I believe strongly that the settlement of pay disputes is a matter for negotiation between the employers and those who represent the workers. That is the simple way and the best way of doing it. There are, of course,...
Donald Dewar: I will not swap insults with Dorothy-Grace Elder about megalomania. I think that she has me well beaten on the Richter scale. Last year the local government settlement was higher in Scotland than in England. No doubt we would have been rather annoyed if there had been protests about that. Of course I want good wage rates in Scotland and I want negotiations conducted speedily to produce...
Donald Dewar: The Executive recognises that the semiconductor industry is extremely important to the Scottish economy. Our comprehensive programme for promoting the industry has resulted in Scotland enjoying the largest concentration of semiconductor plants in Europe. Scottish Enterprise has identified semiconductors as one of its key clusters and has, for example, provided £25 million of support to the...
Donald Dewar: There are Joint Ministerial Committees on three subjects: poverty and the knowledge economy, which have met twice, and health, which has met three times. Each committee has provided a useful forum for the exchange of information, ideas and best practice on issues of mutual concern.
