Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-28577 on 4 October 2006. All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facilityfor which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-28568 on 4 October 2006. All answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for whichcan be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Scottish Executive ministershave not written to the Home Office regarding the impact of immigration and asylumlegislation and Home Office practice on their responsibilities under the MentalHealth (Care and Treatment) (Scotland)Act 2003.

The Scottish Executive, throughits trade and investment arm Scottish Development International (SDI), has had part-timerepresentation in Australia since 2003.

In January 2006 SDI appointeda full-time country manager for Australia and New Zealand to increase Scotland’s involvement in the Australian market and to encourageAustralian companies to do business in and with Scotland.

SDI is currently engaging withmajor Australian companies at executive level to explore opportunities for investmentin Scotland.

Local authorities generally havethe same powers to assist asylum seekers under the 2003 act as they do to assistany other person under the act. Local authorities have a number of functions inrelation to persons who are not in hospital and who have or have had a mental disorder.These are outlined in chapter 2 of part 4 to the 2003 act and include functionsfor making or securing provision for care and support services (section 25), providingor securing the provision of services designed to promote well-being and socialdevelopment (section 26) and providing or securing the provision of facilities for,or assistance with, travel (section 27) for such persons. Local authorities alsohave a duty under the act to inquire into individual cases in certain circumstanceswhere they believe that a person in their area who is aged 16 years or over hasa mental disorder (section 33).

No. Section 115 of the Immigrationand Asylum Act 1999 provides that certain persons who are subject to immigrationcontrol are not entitled to specified benefits. Provision is made in regulation14 of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 (ConsequentialProvisions) Order 2005 that no services shall be provided by local authorities undersections 25 to 27 of the 2003 act to a person to whom section 115 of the Immigrationand Asylum Act 1999 applies solely because he is destitute or because of the physicaleffects, or anticipated physical effects, of his being destitute. However, thoseprovisions do not disapply the local authorities’ powers to provide services tosuch a person under the 2003 act.

Assessment of the barriers tobusiness start-up, and the mechanisms to addressing these constraints, is an operationalmatter for the Enterprise Networks.

I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-28565 on 4 October 2006. All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facilityfor which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Telecommunications regulationis reserved and this matter is under the remit of Ofcom, the independent UK-wide telecoms regulator. I canadvise however, that Directive 92/44/EEC was repealed by Article 26 of the FrameworkDirective (Directive 2002/21/EC) and now the Universal Service Directive, implementedvia the UK Communications Act 2003, currently governs leased lines.

The Scottish Executive, throughits trade and investment arm Scottish Development International (SDI), has beeninvolved in a number of marketing activities to promote business links. These includeattendance at AusBiotech 2005, the main conference and exhibition for the biotechnologyand life sciences industry, and at CeBIT Australia 2006, Australia’s leading informationand communications technology event. SDI also sponsored an Australian British Chamberof Commerce networking lunch in August 2006, at which the British High Commissionerto Australia, the Rt Hon Helen Liddell, spoke about trade and culturallinks between the UK and Australia. SDI will continue to actively promote Scotland as aplace to do business in and with.

The Scottish Executive signeda sister state agreement in March 2006 with the Australian State of Victoria whichwill promote collaboration in the areas of health, education, trade tourism andsocial policy.