Chamber and committees

Details of the membership and remit of the working group are currently being finalised and will be announced shortly. The amended cremation regulations are now in place.

The Scottish Executive has had no such discussions.

Responsibility for the management, regulation and control of burial grounds rests with local authorities, which also have responsibility for taking reasonable precautions where there is a foreseeable risk to either persons at work or members of the public. The Scottish Executive has no plans to intervene in this matter.

The Scottish Executive has not any such discussions.

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

We plan to introduce new arrangementsfor addiction services from July 2005.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

The Invitation to Tender forEnhanced Addictions Casework Service is currently out to tender. The contract willcommence in July 2005.  The aims of an Enhanced Addiction Casework Service are to:

Encourage current and formersubstance misusing prisoners to access addictions treatment in prison;

Provide addictions assessmentrelevant to the needs of the population and the substance of misuse;

Include prisoners in devisingand agreeing their individualised care plan;

Give prisoners access to a relevantrange of interventions (treatment and care activities) dependent on their sentencelength;

Emphasis the importance of consistencyand continuity of care, both in and out of prison setting including the transitionalcare period, and

To minimise the dangers of reducedtolerance levels on release from prison.

An intervention monitoring systemis in the process of being developed. This will enable reporting of key performanceoutcomes on a monthly basis. This will be monitored locally by addictionsco-ordinators at establishment level and nationally by a contracts manager basedwithin the Rehabilitation & Care Directorate at SPS HQ. The views of serviceusers will also be evidenced through qualitative audit systems.

There is not a shortage ofteachers at the national level. Wherever we see the possibility of nationalshortages or surpluses in teachers for particular subjects we adjust ourworkforce planning assumptions accordingly.

There are no implications as the Regulations governing the Local Government Pension Scheme already provide for issues relating to the inclusion of new admissions, either as a result of Public Private Partnership outsourcing of work to private contractors, or following transfers of housing stock to housing associations. In the former case, the Regulations governing the Local Government Pension Scheme require the contractor to provide an indemnity or bond so that in the event of the contract being prematurely terminated, e.g., if the contractor became insolvent, the fund is protected from having to pick up any unfunded costs.

In the case of an admission agreement between the pension fund and a housing association, if the association were to cease to exist, any unfunded pensions liabilities remaining would pass to its successor body, not to the local government fund.

Responsibility for the management of the local government pension funds lies with the fund administering authorities, who administer the funds in accordance with the Local Government Pension Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 1998. The Regulations provide that the administering authorities may enter into admission agreements with certain types of body and in certain circumstances.

Essentially, there are three possible scenarios for admission agreements.

Where there is a transfer of undertakings, with the work being outsourced to the private sector, the authority may decide, following a risk assessment by the fund’s actuary, that it is necessary for the contractor to provide a bond or indemnity to protect the fund in the event of the contractor becoming insolvent.

Where an admission agreement is with a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB), no risk attaches to the fund itself because, if the body ceases to exist, the pensions liabilities would fall to the successor body. Administering authorities would not normally require a guarantor in the case of an NDPB.

Where a body which is neither a private contractor nor an NDPB applies for admission to a fund, the administering authority may decide to ask the body to provide a guarantor before entering into an admission agreement with it. The fund actuary would then determine an appropriate level of employer contribution. The administering authority may agree to the admission of such a body without a guarantor, but in that situation the actuary it is likely to set an employer contribution rate substantially in excess of that for a body with a guarantor, to reflect the increased risk to the fund. It is a matter for the administering authority, taking into account advice from the fund actuary, to decide whether or not to accept a request for admission where there is no guarantor, or to insist that the body provides a guarantor.

Draft guidance was published for consultation on measures in parts 1 to 6 of the act on 9 July. Documents were issued to local authorities and other stakeholders on:

Antisocial Behaviour Strategies

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Dispersal of Groups

Closure of Premises

Noise Nuisance

Graffiti Removal

These documents will be amended in the light of the consultation responses and published in time for commencement of the relevant provisions of the act.

Draft guidance has also been issued to local authorities taking forward the pilot on Community Reparation Orders.

Further guidance will be issued in relation to other provisions of the act in accordance with plans for implementation of these measures.