Chamber and committees

I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to reply. Her response is as follows:

All 32 local authorities have submitted a local housing strategy to Communities Scotland for assessment. All have been assessed and Communities Scotland has provided feedback to each local authority.

There are a number of different exemptions and reliefs from Stamp Duty and Stamp Duty Land Tax. The Scottish Executive has carried out no analysis of the impact of these reliefs as taxation is a reserved matter. Scottish ministers do however continue to ensure that Scotland’s interests on the issue of taxation, as on other matters, are placed firmly on the agenda in Whitehall.

I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to reply. Her response is as follows.

Glasgow City and the City of Edinburgh have had their business cases approved and now manage the development funding programmes in their areas. The transfer of programme management was implemented in Glasgow City on 1 September 2003 and in the City of Edinburgh on 12 July 2004.

East Lothian, North Lanarkshire, South Ayrshire and West Lothian have also submitted business cases to transfer the management of development funding in their respective local authority areas.

Scottish ministers set an annual target for Registers of Scotland in respect of the accuracy of land certificates that are issued when an application for registration is complete.

The target for the current financial year, 2004-05, requires the Land Register to achieve a registration accuracy rate of at least 98% for land certificates despatched during the previous 12 months. In the 12 months up to 31 December 2004, the Land Register achieved an accuracy rate of 98.60%. 321,918 land certificates were issued from the Land Register during that period, of which 4,503 have required subsequent amendment.

Though most are minor and readily remedied, the occurrence of inaccuracies in land certificates is a matter that the Keeper of the Registers and his staff treat very seriously. In order to deliver and maintain improvements in accuracy, a number of measures have been put in place, including the creation of a Data and Information Unit and a Quality Steering Group in Registers of Scotland.

Where a Land Certificate contains an inaccuracy, a party affected may apply to the Keeper to have this rectified in the register. The Land Registration (Scotland) Act 1979 provides for the payment of indemnity to those who have suffered loss as a result of such inaccuracies. Last year, payments were necessary in less than 0.05% of applications.

The information requested is not held centrally. The Scottish Court Service does not have information which identifies the number of repossessions either for Scotland as a whole or by sheriff court district.

The guidance on procurement strategies will be published as part of a construction procurement manual which substantially amends and supersedes the existing construction client pack. It is expected that this will be available by May 2005.

No guidance has currently been issued to NHS staff. Draft guidance has however been prepared by NHS Education Scotland (NES) on the education and trainingstandards for violence and aggression for those in the mental health setting andit has been to place a copy of the guidance in the Scottish Parliament InformationCentre when finalised. That guidance will be adapted to apply to NHSScotland ingeneral.

The law concerning physical restraint centres around the use of reasonable force. Draft guidance has however been prepared by NHS Education Scotland (NES) on the education and training standards for violence and aggression for those in the mental health setting and it has been to place a copy of the guidance in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre when finalised. That guidance will be adapted to apply to NHSScotland in general.

The Scottish Executive has regular contact with the UK Government and HM Customs and Excise on a range of issues. At an operational level, the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency and Scottish police forces work closely with a number of UK law enforcement agencies, including HM Customs and Excise, in order to provide a co-ordinated partnership approach. However, the deployment of resources by each such agency is an operational matter for that agency.

The level and mix of services at any new health facility are determined by NHS managers and clinicians before and independent of a decision being taken on whether it should be built using public capital or private finance. The capacity of hospital services is based on a wider assessment of overall service delivery requirements, including treatment in community based settings. In the case of Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, bed numbers have increased whereas in both Wishaw General and Hairmyres Hospitals, the bed numbers have decreased slightly, but have been complimented by more day care and out-patient treatment. Medical and technological advances and changes in the way health care professionals work means that more services are now delivered on a day case and in out-patient and community settings. This is due to normal development of the planning of health services and not as a result of the PFI process.