Chamber and committees

We propose to revise the regulationsIntensive Support and Monitoring (Scotland) Regulations 2006 to allow all local authorities to useMovement Restriction Conditions with an electronic tag through the Children’s Hearingssystem for young people under 16-year-olds from April 2008.

Where and when a Movement RestrictionCondition with an electronic tag is to be used, the appropriate support must bein place to support the young person, in line with regulations. In many cases itis the view of many of those working with youngsters that it is the intensive supportthat is the cause of changed behaviour.

To be eligible for a MovementRestriction Condition, young people will still have to meet the conditions set outin section 70 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, the same criteria that must be met for a youngperson to be authorised for secure accommodation. In effect, a Movement RestrictionCondition would only be used where other interventions have not succeeded.

Allocations of capital resourcesreferred to in the answer to question S3W-6763 are set out in Annex I of FinanceCircular 6/2007, which can be found on the Scottish Government website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/local-government/17999/11203.

The £115 million increase incapital funding available to local authorities in 2008-09 which is included withinthe total of £975 million for that year is not the subject of a separate allocation.Authorities can deploy this funding increase on schools, or other infrastructure,according to their local priorities.

Other sources of funding thatauthorities might access to contribute to a schools capital investment programmewill vary according to local circumstances. However, they could include, for example,contributions from developers, capital receipts from the disposal of assets, orextra monies raised through self‑financed borrowing.

Funding arrangements forlocal authorities over the next three years have been set out in the LocalGovernment Settlement announced last month in the context of the concordat signedwith COSLA on 14 November.

The government has alreadysignalled an intention to consult on introducing a legislative presumptionagainst the closure of rural schools. A consultation paper containing specificproposal will be published this spring.

We will look to involve organisationsand public bodies with an interest in the compulsory purchase order process, includinglocal authorities, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and the Society ofLocal Authorities Lawyers and Administrators.

Transport Scotland does not hold separate records for complaints bymembers of the public or representative organisations regarding the use ofadvertising and fresh produce displays broken down by route.

Transport Scotland enforces the provisions of Section 59 of the Roads (Scotland) Act, which seeks to maintain safety for road users and pedestrians whilst reflecting local circumstances.

No specific guidance isissued to Trunk Road Operating Companies in relation to Section 59 of the Roads(Scotland) Act 1984, or Section 87 (powers of removal). The 3rd Generation TermContract for Management and Maintenance of the Scottish Trunk Road Network,imposes a general obligation to carry out routine safety inspections andpatrols at specified intervals to identify and remedy defects and hazards. Acopy of the contract is on the Transport Scotland website, the section relatingto unauthorised signs can be found at the following link;http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/uploads/documents/NorthWestUnit/Schedule8/C-S8P5-NW_Unit.pdf.

Ministers have asked officialsto look at a range of issues regarding compulsory purchase orders. Officials arein the process of scoping out this work and no timescale has been set for its completion.

My private office hascontacted SAS International and a date for the meeting has been set for 19 February 2008.