Policy Achievements (Hansard, 11 May 1984)

§ Mr. Younger

The following are among the more important achievements within the responsibilities of my Departments.

1. Industry and Economic Development: the establishment of Locate in Scotland, whose efforts to attract inward investment into Scotland have proved highly successful; promulgation of guidelines to encourage the Scottish Development Agency to seek a greater degree of private sector participation in its activities and stimulate private sector investment; legislation to create a national network of area tourist boards; legislation to extend the Scottish Tourist Board's powers to include promotional activity overseas; the very successful Better Business Services Scheme which has now received 1,200 applications; extension to the eligible areas for European Coal and Steel Community loans; establishment of a case surgery programme for businesses; construction proceeding on the South of Scotland Electricity's Board's nuclear power station at Torness; and further progress with Civil Servive job dispersal, with over 780 jobs being moved to West Central Scotland.

Assistance of £7m made available through LEG-UP (Local Enterprise Grants for Urban Projects) towards 47 projects worth £39m; reconstruction of the A9 north of Perth substantially completed and Perth Western Bypass started; dualling of the Perth—aberdeen trunk road being carried forward with steady improvement of other roads; extension of M74 started; measures for modernisation of Scottish roads law presented to Parliament; financial support to shipping services increased in real terms and a major new investment programme in ships and terminals begun.

2. Local Government: rationalisation of functions between regions and districts in the light of the Stodard Report; modernisation of legislation relating to Civic Government; the setting up of the Montgomery Committee to review the functions and powers of the Islands Councils; estimating and accounting disciplines imposed on direct labour organisations and a requirement that these organisations must seek a significant proportion of their work in competition; improvements in the Government's powers to protect business and domestic ratepayers from the burden of high rates.

3. Law and Order: reform of criminal justice procedure; maintenance of support for the police service and provision of additional resources for more police; approval of a £8m project to computerise the Scottish Criminal Record Office; introduction of improved and extended police training; completed review of procedure for complaints against police; reforms relating to 467W rights of occupancy of matrimonial homes, court fees and legal aid fees; preparations for the introduction of actions of divorce in the Sheriff Courts with effect from May 1984; control of alcohol at sporting events.

4. Education: the introduction of a new right for parents to choose their children's school; a requirement on education authorities to make widely available information about schools under their management; publication of HMI reports and inspections of schools and colleges of further education; an assisted places scheme; an improved and individual approach to the education of handicapped and other pupils with special educational needs; new curriculum and assessment arrangements and standard grade of the Scottish Certificate of Education for 14–16 year old pupils; implementation of an action plan for reforming education for 16–18 year olds to provide modular courses and a new certificate for non—advanced vocational education linked with the Youth Training Scheme; the introduction of the Technical and Vocational Education Initiative for 14–18 year olds; establishment of the Scottish Community Education Council; introduction of all—graduate entry to the primary teaching profession; development and co-ordination of the use of computers in education.

5. Social Work: a review of powers and procedures of Children's Hearings; substantial progress with the remaining sections of the Childrens Act 1975; new arrangemets to regulate the use of secure accommodation for children; guidance on the assumption of parental rights by local authorities and arrangements for access by parents to children in care.

6. Health: additional resources have been provided which have enabled services to expand by some 7 per cent. overall, with more doctors and nurses employed than under any previous administration; proportion of resources devoted to administration of the service progressively reduced; reform of mental health legislation; grant support for facilities for drug misusers.

7. Civil Defence: Civil Defence functions of local authorities strengthened and extended; Civil Defence grant improved.

8. Electoral: new Parliamentary and European Assembly constituencies created, as recommended by the Boundary commission for Scotland.

9. Housing: public sector tenants given the right to buy their homes—over 89,000 tenants have applied to purchase and some 48,000 sales have been completed—and the Tenants Charter, which extends the rights of those tenants who remain renting, introduced; special arrangements for repair grant operated over the past two years are likely to secure the repair of some 100,000 private houses, representing one in six of the eligible stock; the programme of the housing association movement in Scotland sustained at above £100 million in each of the last three years.

10. Physical Planning: measures to streamline and improve the efficiency in operation of the planning system; provision of guidance on (a) planning for the release of enterprise by private housebuilders, high technology industries and small businesses: and (b) other national priorities for development and conservation planning.

11. Agriculture and Fisheries: the successful negotiation of a common fisheries policy which has provided good fishing opportunities on a long—term basis; maintenance of the hill fanning sector, through substantially increased aids for livestock producers; with the encouragement of a scheme introduced in April 1980, tenant purchase of 720 holdings on Department's estates by end 1983; introduction of the integrated development programme for the Western Isles.

12. Parliamentary Procedure: following the report of interparty talks on the Government of Scotland, improvements made in procedures and arrangements for debates in the Scottish Grand Committee, including provision for regular sittings in Edinburgh.

13. Administration Costs: the number of staff employed in the Scottish Office—including the Prison Service, which has substantially increased in line with the Government's Law and Order Policies—reduced by 1,382 or 12 per cent.; a further reduction of 232 staff planned by 1988; the Financial Management Initiative being implemented vigorously in the Scottish Office, with annual management plans revised to give greater emphasis to objectives and performance; an improved information system for Scottish Office running costs inaugurated; a budgetary system for the Scottish Prison Service 468W developed; and improvements being made in financial management in the National Health Service and non-Departmental public bodies.