Cabinet reshuffles to Glasgow's East End

We asked for your questions to put to the cabinet as they meet in the city. Your responses covered a variety of topics which we have edited and put to the Scottish Government.

Here are the full detailed responses to the issues raised by Evening Times readers and answered by government ministers.

1. Why, when health care is supposed to be free, do families have to pay a nursing home for residential care for elderly relatives?

Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said: "Anyone who's assessed by a clinician as needing NHS nursing care will always receive that free of charge. Anyone over 65 who's assessed as needing personal care, like help with showering or getting dressed, will also receive that free of charge - no matter how much they may have in savings.

"Nursing homes and residential homes are entitled to charge for residential care, the accommodation and "room and board" expenses that a person would have to pay even if they were living in their own home. This is on a sliding scale - someone who has assets worth more than £22,500 will be expected to meet their own care costs and where someone's capital is worth between £13,750 and £22,500 they will be expected to pay a portion of their costs.

"Care home residents who have assets worth less than £13,750 don't contribute to the cost of their care and are known as "publicly-funded" clients. Publicly-funded clients' fees are paid by the local council - nationally, the agreed levels are currently £464.86 per week and £540.10 for residents who need nursing care.

"It's a matter for residents who pay their own fees to negotiate a fair rate with the care home provider, as part of the contract they agree at the outset. It's not for government to intervene directly in these matters - but what we can do and what we do very stringently is to enforce the highest standards in care homes, and the vast majority of homes do provide very good quality care."

2. Why when I live and work in Glasgow do I have to put up with second class transport links, while my taxes go towards big improvement schemes in other parts of the country?

Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson said: "The reality is that we are delivering the biggest construction programme seen in Scotland in a generation and Glasgow is certainly feeling the benefits.

"The M74 Completion project is the largest infrastructure scheme currently on the ground in Scotland, with work due to be completed by 2011. In addition to providing hundreds of jobs for the hard-pressed construction industry, it will reduce congestion in and around Scotland's largest city, capturing the long term economic benefits that the Commonwealth Games will bring in 2014. The Scottish Government is also committed to delivering the new Glasgow Airport Rail Link in time for the Commonwealth Games in 2014.

"The Strategic Transport Projects Review is the biggest and most ambitious Scottish transport plan ever published, and sets out the future investment programme for transport throughout Scotland over the next 20 years. Under these plans we are fast-tracking the £1 billion Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme, enhancements including electrification of the Edinburgh-Glasgow line will reduce the fastest time to around 35 minutes, helping increase services to around 13 per hour from the current five-six.

"As Scotland's largest city, Glasgow is a major driving force behind the Scottish economy and good transport infrastructure plays a vital role in securing sustainable economic growth."

3. Given it is the largest city and has the most social problems, should Glasgow not merit extra cash like Edinburgh's Capital City Supplement?

Finance Secretary John Swinney said: "The capital city supplement provided to the City of Edinburgh Council is in recognition of factors that are unique to Edinburgh as Scotland's capital city. These include the marshalling and hosting of events, such as marches and parades and also ceremonial and royal visits that take place in Edinburgh because it is the capital city.

"We are providing local government with record levels of funding, and we have reduced ring fencing, bureaucracy and allowed councils to keep their own efficiency savings to re-invest in front-line services. In 2009-10 Glasgow City Council will receive total support from the Scottish Government of £1,671 million, which is an increase of 4.6% on the previous financial year to spend on agreed national outcomes and local priorities.

"Funding to local authorities is agreed with COSLA through a needs-based formula, which we are reviewing jointly with COSLA."

4. How can Mr. Salmond justify to me and the unemployed, his expenditure of £400 per week on food alone when parliament is not in session?

A spokesperson for the First Minister said: "Mr Salmond donates his entire Holyrood salary to an independent charitable trust, now worth over £40,000, and which has benefited over 40 youth and community groups.

"He must be first parliamentarian ever to establish a Trust Fund and give income away to charity, quite a contrast with the Westminster expenses scandal."

5. Do we really need 32 councils, 59 MPs, 129 MSPs, 6 MEPs and all the other quangos in a country the size of Scotland?

Finance Secretary, John Swinney, said: "The number of MSPs, MPs and MEPs is not something the Scottish Government has responsibility for. An independent Scotland would have no need for Scottish MPs and their associated costs, meaning a whole tier of government would be removed.

"The Scottish Government is changing the way we deliver public services and we are already simplifying the public sector, making public services better co-ordinated and more responsive. The Public Services Reform Bill will streamline and shrink the number of public bodies and we will exceed our target to cut the number of bodies by 25 per cent by 2011, from 199 to around 120, subject to Parliamentary approval.

"Every pound spent must deliver maximum value and the best outcomes. Reforming the way we buy goods and services across the public sector, by collaborating and innovating, is saving of over £300 million since 2006.

"We have put in place a more productive relationship with councils which has freed them from wasteful amounts of bureaucracy and allowed them to focus on local priorities without being micro-managed. I do not believe it is the time for a costly, bureaucratic exercise like council re-organisation, which could divert focus from the vital delivery of services just at a time when we all feel the effects of difficult economic conditions and people need services the most. I do support moves amongst councils to work closely together and share common services.

"We all need to focus our efforts on getting the best value for money and helping businesses and households out of recession and that is exactly what we are doing."

6. Was the decision to free the Lockerbie bomber debated in cabinet and was there any discussion on trade implications between UK/Scotland and Libya?

Justice Secretary, Kenny MacAskill, said: "The decision to release Mr Al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds was my decision and mine alone. There was no Cabinet discussion. I reached my conclusions on the basis of Scotland's due process, clear medical evidence, and the recommendations from the Parole Board and Prison Governor."

7. When will policy makers come up with a new plan for student finances? Debts are getting worse every year.

Education Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: "We recognised that the student support system was inadequately funded by previous administrations and that is why funding totalling more than £84m has been set aside to address this. This includes the £38m to introduce grants to up to 20,000 part-time students from last autumn, the £30m we have set aside to improve student support as part of our consultation for which we are currently considering the responses and the £16.44m we are allocating for discretionary funds in 2009-10, up 17 per cent from the £14.04m we inherited from the last administration.

"We have also recently announced a number of changes to Individual Learning Accounts (ILAs) which will open up access to fee grants for part-time courses to an additional 250,000 people on low incomes and an extension ILA500 funding for taught postgraduate courses for academic session 2009-10. This is in addition to creating a pilot scheme to help cover the fee costs of up to 150 part-time postgraduate students in key priority areas subjects in next two academic years.

"Meanwhile, our abolition of the GEF has restored the principal of free education in Scotland a move which is benefiting up to 50,000 students and graduates and saving them £2,300."

8. Why is the Scottish government opposed to nuclear power, when so many other developed nations see it as part of their energy strategy?

Finance Secretary John Swinney said: "The Scottish Government is focusing on developing Scotland's real strengths in harnessing our vast, clean, green and renewable energy potential. We enjoy a vast array of potentially cheap, renewable energy sources, estimated at more than 60 Gigawatts, ten times Scotland's peak electricity consumption.

"We are generating more energy from renewables than ever before and technologies including wind, water, biomass, wave and tidal, backed up by clean fossil fuels, can meet our future energy needs many times over and create thousands of new jobs in a sustainable low carbon economy.

"We currently export electricity and Scotland's potential has been recognised across Europe, with the EC identifying a North Sea Offshore Grid, to export the future marine energy surplus, as an infrastructure priority.

"In contrast, Scotland doesn't want or need dangerous and unnecessary new nuclear power stations - a view backed by Parliament and Scots across the country.

"The risks and soaring costs of decommissioning and the unresolved problem of storage of radioactive waste will burden future generations for thousands of years. For instance, the decommissioning process at the Chapelcross site near Annan will cost £800 million - staggering for a facility already closed for five years.

"And nuclear isn't reliable. Electricity generated from nuclear power fell by 13 per cent in 2007 and is now at its lowest level in the 21st Century, mainly due to unplanned outages.

"Every pound spent on new nuclear power in other parts of the UK is one pound less on developing renewable and clean energy technology."

9. How much are you going to spend on social housing and how many houses are you going to build. When do you hope to eradicate homelessness?

Housing Minister Alex Neil said: "£644 million is being invested in social housing this year to help build over 8,100 new affordable homes. In Glasgow, housing associations will start construction on 2,000 new low-cost homes this year.

"We've also invested millions to kick start the first major council house building programme for thirty years and this year, 1,343 new council houses have been given the green light across Scotland. Tackling and preventing homelessness is a key priority. Our aim is that all unintentionally homeless people will be entitled to settled accommodation by 2012 and good progress is being made to achieve this."

10. When will you hold the promised referendum on Independence for Scotland, to the people of Scotland, which Independence will directly affect?

Constitution Minister, Mike Russell, said: "The Scottish Government is committed to bring forward a bill to enable the people of Scotland to express their view on Scotland's constitutional future.

"We will introduce a Referendum Bill in 2010 and then move on to a referendum on Scotland's future.

"The Scottish Government has made clear its position that the people of Scotland should not be denied the right to have their say in a referendum and we will introduce a Bill to parliament next year to give them that right."

11. Recently, Jim Murphy stated that the answer to Scotland's demographic timebomb was more immigration. Could the Cabinet clarify their view on this solution?

Minister for External Affairs, Mike Russell said: "Migrant workers have given many of Scotland's communities an economic boost. Some key sectors, such as tourism and agriculture, now depend heavily on migrant workers.

"We must continue to attract skills and talent from overseas, to help us weather the current economic storm and to flourish over the longer term. We need to press home a competitive advantage when the global economy begins to recover, and we need both new and existing Scots to help us achieve that aim.

"Scotland's distinct demographic challenges require a flexible immigration policy that takes those challenges into account. It is clear that a UK-wide 'one size fits all' immigration system does not work. It makes economic sense for Scotland to have a competitive edge over the rest of the UK and, with more powers, we believe we can do much more to help us achieve our aims of population growth and associated economic prosperity."

12. Why is the Scottish education system in such disarray with exams being dumbed down to let many kids leave school with meaningless qualifications?

Education Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: "Pupil exam results clearly demonstrate that our young people have high ambitions and are achieving success. Pass rates remain strong and consistent, demonstrating the strengths of a broad-based education and the robust nature of the Scottish qualifications system.

"We are committed to retaining the key strengths of our national qualifications system, while long-standing issues - such as over assessment and unnecessary complexity in the system - can be dealt with. That's why we are bringing forward a new generation of national qualifications that will equip our young people with the skills and knowledge they need to rise to the challenges of 21st Century society.

"Curriculum for Excellence puts the individual learner at the heart of everything we do and gives opportunities for young people to develop skills for learning, skills for life and skills for work. Our new approach gives teachers more freedom and provides a seamless education from age three to 18.

"We are providing local authorities with record funding - £23 billion for the period 2008-10 - which is enabling them to increase education budgets. The latest figures show that expenditure per pupil hit an all time high for 2007/08, at £4,638 per primary pupil and £6,326 per secondary pupil."