Chamber and committees

The cost to local authorities of administering and servicing the duties of lords lieutenant and their deputies is not identified separately in the local authority expenditure returns made to the Scottish Executive.

The Scottish Further EducationFunding Council recently approved the business case made by Borders College to re-locateon a shared campus with Heriot-Watt. The business case contained alternative optionsfor the college should the co-location proposal not take place.

Ministers and the fundingcouncil continue to fully support the development of such collaborative ventures.

This information is not heldcentrally.

Every request for informationwhich the Scottish Executive receives is handled in accordance with the Freedomof Information (Scotland) Act 2002. Most requests for information are handledroutinely and are not recorded or counted centrally. However, in line with centrallyproduced guidance, some requests for information are recorded centrally. Up to 18February approximately 600 such requests have been recorded by the bodies coveredby Parts 1 and 2 of Schedule 1 to the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act2002 (excluding the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Parliamentary CorporateBody).

The Scottish Executive and eachpublic authority within its responsibility must handle all requests for informationin line with the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and respond to them within 20 days. Requestsfor information are not all centrally monitored so figures for the average timetaken to respond cannot be provided.

Every request for informationwhich the Scottish Executive receives is handled in line with the Freedom of Information(Scotland) Act 2002. As all requests are handled in the same way regardless of thesource of the request we do not generally record aggregated data on the sourcesof requests for information. However, of the approximately 600 requests recordedcentrally, as set out in the answer to question S2W-14682 on 9 March 2005, approximatelytwo-thirds originated from the media.

All answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for whichcan be found at http://www.scottish.parliament/webapp/wa.search.

The Scottish Executive has commissioned no research into the debt burden for families as a result of funeral expenses, in the last three years.

There are various powers for compulsory purchase which can be used to deal with property which is in disrepair and may appear to be abandoned, allowing it to be repaired and re-occupied, or demolished and the site redeveloped. There is, however, no specific reference to abandonment in the legislation, so it is not possible to identify how many cases might fall into this category.

There are no special powers or procedures relating to compulsory purchase of properties that appear to be abandoned. Such properties could be included in compulsory purchase orders promoted for a range of purposes.

Powers to instigate compulsory purchase are available to a wide range of bodies, including government departments, most government agencies and local authorities. In some cases these require to be confirmed by the Scottish ministers. Ministers will confirm an order if they are satisfied that it has been properly made and fits within the statutory powers used; that no other issues, such as planning considerations, prevent the local authority from achieving the purpose for which the order is made, and that the public benefit of the purchase outweighs the loss to the individual.

Although there is no overall statutory timetable for the consideration of a compulsory purchase order, various time periods do apply to distinct parts of the process. The length of the process depends on a number of factors which may include the nature of the development intended, the amount and nature of objections and whether a public local inquiry is necessary. The interval between any resolution to make a compulsory order and the Scottish ministers’ decision on that order should be kept to an absolute minimum.

If neighbours are concerned about a property which is in disrepair, they should approach the local authority to discuss what action can be taken. There may be other options to be considered before moving to compulsory purchase.

Approximately 13% of the GB railway track and 14% of GB railway stations are located in Scotland.

UK and Scottish ministers announced on 18 January 2005 a financial settlement of approximately £325 million to support the devolution of new powers in relation to railways to Scotland. Around £302 million of this financial settlement will fund Network Rail’s Operation, Maintenance and Renewal activities in Scotland.

The calculation of Scotland’s share of GB rail network funding is based on a package of measures. One element is the Scottish share of the GB Regulatory Asset Base. There are a number of allocation methodologies which could be employed. The Office of Rail Regulation will make the final determination by the end of 2005.Based on that determination, the Scottish Executive will receive funding precisely sufficient to support the rail network in Scotland.