Chamber and committees

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

There are no proposals atpresent to review the procedure for the assessment of housing need.  It is ourintention to review the local housing strategies process later this year, onceall strategies have been submitted and assessed. If, following this review, itis decided that changes are necessary, then, as with the original local housingstrategies guidance, the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations and COSLAwill be consulted.

The First Ministeris currently President of the Group of Regions with Legislative Powers (REGLEG);he has attended annual conferences of the Group since its inception in 2001. Scottish Executive officials are active in – and, during the First Minister’sPresidency, chair – the Co-ordination Committee which is remitted by Minister-Presidentsto take forward the work of the Group between conferences. Through itsparticipation in REGLEG, Scotland has gained an increased profile in Europe andwith other influential regions with legislative powers which has led to thesignature of four co-operation agreements for sharing information and bestpractice in areas of mutual interest and other informal links. We have alsobeen well placed to influence the work of REGLEG towards an enhanced role forregions with legislative powers in European decision-making, ensuring that thepolicies adopted by REGLEG reflect Scottish interests.

In addition to retail impactassessments, a transport assessment, environmental impact assessment, floodrisk assessment, contaminated land statement and master plan report were allprepared on behalf of the applicant. It is for North Lanarkshire Council, asplanning authority, to decide whether any further assessments are necessary.

The 31st Annual GeneralAssembly of the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions of Europe (CPMR),held in Saint-Malo, France on 11 and 12 September 2003, adopted a finaldeclaration calling for the organisation to help find positive solutions “ensuringthe success of a Union which is both continent-wide and deeper”, and “making asuccess of the global governance issue for a sustainable development of theplanet”.

The General Assembly alsoadopted four resolutions dealing with reform of the Common Agricultural Policy,fisheries, local management of inshore fisheries and fisheries in the Mediterranean.

The text of the finaldeclaration and the resolutions can be found on the CPMR’s website at www.cpmr.org.

The Scottish Executive representative on the UK delegation to the Congress of Local and RegionalAuthorities of Europe (CLRAE) is Peter Peacock MSP, Minister for Education andYoung People. The Parliamentary Bureau agreed at its meeting on 18 November 2003that Mr Peacock’s substitute on CLRAE should be Phil Gallie MSP.

The Congress of Local andRegional Authorities of Europe (CLRAE) is a consultative body of the Council ofEurope which, among other things, provides a forum where local and regionalelected representatives can discuss common problems, pool their experience andexpress their views to governments of member states.

The Scottish Executive believes that its membership of the UK delegation to CLRAE providesclear, long-term potential for building alliances with European regional andlocal authorities, in particular through CLRAE’s Working Group on Regions withLegislative Powers, where the Scottish delegate represents the UK.

I hope to be in a positionto announce decisions shortly on those South Lanarkshire school reorganisationproposals for which the council have applied for the consent of the Scottish ministers.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-4961 on 26 January 2004.All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.

Neither Scottish ministersnor bodies appointed by them currently have the statutory powers to form orparticipate in forming companies for the provision of health services.

Any proposals for theimplementation of the NHS LIFT model, or variants thereof, would be subject toconsultation prior to seeking legislative powers to facilitate the formation ofjoint ventures. There is no presumption at this stage for or against the use ofa not-for profit model.

Officials have monitored thedevelopment and implementation of NHS LIFT over the past three years. NeitherScottish Ministers nor bodies appointed by them currently have the statutory powersto form or participate in forming companies for the provision of healthservices.

A report by the Short LifeWorking Group on Joint Premises Development, which included representatives fromthe Scottish Executive, NHSScotland and COSLA, was issued on 10 July 2003. Thereport recommended that statutory powers should be sought to allow the formingof joint ventures and that any proposals would be subject to furtherconsultation. The report specifically recommended that any resultingconsultation would include specific consideration of the NHS LIFT model and itspossible application in Scotland. This matter is currently being assessed.