Chamber and committees

The number of senior civil serviceheads of division who have changed post each year since May 1999 is:

Year	Count
May 1999 – March 2000	6
April 2000 – March 2001	17
April 2001 – March 2002	10
April 2002 – March 2003	12

I have asked Tony Cameron,Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is asfollows:

Records of visitors held aresubject to the terms of the Data Protection Act (1998). For operational andsecurity reasons, the data maintained on visitors is:

Name

Address

Relationship to Prisoner

Records have historicallybeen kept in manual format but the use of electronic storage is increasing. Asthe information held is subject to extant Data Protection legislation, its useis strictly controlled.

Since 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003, thenumber of successful candidates for posts in the Senior Civil Service in the Executivewere appointed from:

(a) within the former Scottish Office	0
(b) within the Executive	2
(c) elsewhere within the civil service	0
(d) public sector employment other than the civil service	3
(e) private sector	2
(f) unemployed	1

Below SCS level this information is not held centrally. The Scottish Executive does however fully comply with the requirements of the Civil Service Commissioners Recruitment Code which is founded on the principle of fair and open competition for externally advertised posts.

Since 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003, thepercentage of candidates for Senior Civil Service posts have been:

(a)	women	29%
(b)	ethnic minorities	4%
(c)	disabled	1%

The Scottish Executive has never set a target of each school class having exclusive access tofour modern computers. Information is collected in the School Census each yearthat allows the calculation of pupil:modern computer ratios in schools. The latestinformation, from the 2002 School Census (available online at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00272-00.asp)shows pupil:modern computer ratios of 3:1 in special schools, 5:1 in secondaryschools and 9:1 in primary schools. Decisions about the actual deployment of the computers are taken locally in the light of teaching practice andaccommodation requirements.

The Scottish ministers haveno statutory power to form or participate in the forming of companies inconnection with the discharge of their functions under the National HealthService (Scotland) Act 1978. It follows from this that they cannot, inthe absence of such a power, confer such a power on a health board set up undersection 2 of the 1978 Act.

Our commitment to extend neighbourhoodwarden schemes across Scotland remains on track. I will be making an announcement onthis very soon.

The Scottish Executive has never set a target of a classroom computer for every teacher.Information on the number of teachers with a classroom computer is notcollected centrally.

The appointment of officers in Scottish Police Forces is the responsibility of chief constables or, at themost senior levels, the police authority. Further advancement is determined onmerit under internal procedures which take account of qualifications andexperience. However, as an equal opportunities employer, the Scottish PoliceService is committed to the principles of equality and diversity in relation toemployment. Under the Scottish Police Service People Strategy, each force willbe taking forward the Gender Equality Action Plan prepared by the Women’s Development Forum, which was formed last year by the Scottish police forces andcommon services to raise the profile of women in the police service.

I have asked Angiolina Foster, the Acting Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Herresponse is as follows:

As at December 2003, 28,672central heating systems had been installed. Under the current eligibilitycriteria, it is estimated that approximately 41,300 homes will be eligible to havefree central heating systems installed by the completion of the Programme.