Chamber and committees

The benefits to businesses of broadband connectivity are well established. Broadband gives fast access to global markets, enhances the efficiency of existing structures and supply chains while providing a means of enhancing customer service through effective online trading. In short, broadband has the capacity to enhance the competitiveness of businesses.The UK Government and other organisations have conducted studies which support these benefits. For example, the Federation of Small Businesses 2001 survey, "Small Businesses in an Electronic Age II" indicated that more than three-quarters of businesses surveyed and using broadband had enjoyed improved productivity as a result of broadband connectivity. The survey also showed that more than half of businesses with broadband had experienced reductions in their business cost base.

The Scottish Executive is committed to achieving full compliance with the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) Accessibility Initiative standards to ensure that its website is accessible to those with disabilities and a programme of enhancement work is already under way. The Scottish Executive also intends to seek "Bobby" approval - a self-certifying system which provides an indicative assessment of the site's accessibility for users with disabilities.

The proposal for a European Year of Education through Sport has been developed during the Spanish Presidency by the EU Council's Education Committee, which is attended by the European Commission. The Scottish Executive's interests are represented at all meetings of the Education Committee by the UK delegation, which has included an official from the Scottish Executive Education Department on five of the seven meetings of the committee held during the Spanish Presidency. A Proposed Decision will be discussed at the Council of EU Education Ministers on 30 May 2002.

The establishment of a European area of Lifelong Learning, as the main recommendation in the EU Memorandum on Lifelong Learning, is being driven forward here with a wide-ranging policy programme aimed at creating a culture of Lifelong Learning in Scotland.Ground breaking initiatives such as learndirect scotland, Careers Scotland, adult literacy and numeracy and individual learning accounts, have put Scotland ahead of many of our European counterparts.

I am aware that the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland wrote to the Public Petitions Committee on 28 February 2000 on this subject, but have had no correspondence from that body.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-24633 on 23 April 2002. I also wrote to the Minister for Europe, Peter Hain, on 23 April seeking close working arrangements between the UK government and the devolved administrations on the matter of representation. The Deputy Minister for Finance and Public Service was also able to raise the matter with Mr Hain in London on 25 April.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-25343.

I can today announce the publication of the second public consultation paper on the Review of Higher Education in Scotland. The first consultation paper was launched in October 2001 and focused mainly on the performance of the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council. We plan to publish a short report on the responses to that paper in June. The second consultation paper invites comment on the wider higher education context and proposes a set of underlying principles on which higher education should be developed over the next decade. Responses are requested by the end of July. I am placing copies of the consultation paper in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 20840).

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-24572 on 23 April 2002.

In addition to its general health allocations, each NHS board receives earmarked funding for drug treatment services in line with the Arbuthnott Substance Misuse Formula. This formula takes account of deprivation and need, including population, age sex structure and service delivery costs due to remoteness. It is for each NHS board, in partnership with the relevant drug action team(s) and their constituent agencies, to direct its spending of these resources in line with local needs and priorities, taking into account other local spending decisions on drug misuse issues.