Chamber and committees

Under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, local road authorities have powers to make Traffic Regulation Orders for a variety of reasons including the provision of legally enforceable disabled parking bays in residential areas.

Responsibility for the operation of the Forth Road Bridge is a matter for the Forth Estuary Transport Authority (FETA) in the first instance. The Executive is working closely with FETA and other stakeholders to address access and congestion issues associated with the bridge. The Executive has made contributions to initiatives such as the expansion of Ferry Toll Park and Ride, and the improvement of rail services across the Forth.

The Scottish Executive is committed to increasing the capacity within the medical staff group.

Between September 1999 and September 2003, the total medical staffing establishment within NHS Scotland has increased by 14%.

Provision of incubator units is a matter for the Enterprise Networks. Historically, they have provided incubator space for start up companies where private sector developers have failed to do so. The Enterprise Networks have no remit to develop property on a speculative basis where this would cut across potential private sector investment, however, they do work with the private sector if opportunities to do so arise. There are a number of incubators available across Scotland specifically targeting the start up market but information on numbers, location, etc. is not held centrally.

Coastal path networks are local authority led initiatives. Recent years haveseen growing efforts by many local authorities and partners to improve and providelocal path networks where they are most required, partly in response to ScottishNatural Heritage’s Paths for All initiative. This has included the establishment of regional routes, such as the Fife Coastal Path, which has been actively promoted by the Fife Coast and Countryside Trust with maps, leaflets, distinctive way marking, guided walks, a newsletter and a dedicated website.

Today I am publishing the findings of the Police Grant Aided Expenditure (GAE) Working Group which was set up to consider how best to distribute police funding between Scottish forces. The working group has produced a new formula which aims to ensure that the way we distribute funding is linked much more directly to the cost of policing each force and recommends a target share for each force. The formula takes into account a range of factors including the population in each area, deprivation and the demands on forces.

An interim report from the working group, submitted in late 2002, had indicated that the allocations at that time merited adjustment and additional resources. As a result, an additional £4.5 million was added to the GAE allocations for Grampian Police, Fife Constabulary, Central Scotland Police and Northern Constabulary in 2005-06.

The group’s final report now makes clear that further adjustment is needed and recommends this continues to be achieved by “levelling up” the funding allocations for forces rather than by redistributing existing funding between forces. I have accepted this recommendation which means that no force will have its allocation cut as a result of the model. The overall extra amounts allocated for levelling-up are £5.5 million in 2005‑06, rising to £8.5 million in 2006-07 and £15.5 million in 2007‑08.  We intend to find the balance needed to complete levelling-up by 2009-10. Once the levelling up process is complete, subsequent allocations will then be made using the new formula.

We intend tointroduce the bill in the current session. The bill creates new offences connectedwith the grooming of children and strengthens the legal framework for dealing withsex offenders and those thought to pose a risk to children and the public in general.These measures will be implemented when the bill receives Royal Assent, which wehope to achieve in the spring of 2005.

The bill ispart of a programme of measures for increasing the protection of children whichincludes advice for children and parents on the safer use of the internet.

The Scottish Executive maintains a regular dialogue with the royal colleges.Officials from the Health Department met representatives from the royal colleges on Tuesday 21 September to discuss issues of service change.

National roll-out of the education maintenance allowance (EMA) programme does not commence until August 2004. Local authority education departments and further education colleges are currently handling early applications.

Information on EMA take-up will be available quarterly, commencing in November 2004.

The Scottish Executive is committed to reducing the number of women offenders needlessly sent to prison. We are taking forward a number of initiatives which follow up the conclusions made by the Ministerial Group on Women Offenders contained in its report, A Better Way.

These include pilots in Glasgow and Ayrshire for the mandatory use of supervised attendance orders to help reduce the numbers imprisoned for fine default; arrest referral scheme pilots which offer access to drug treatment facilities at the point of entry to the criminal justice system; an investment of £1 million per annum in bail supervision and information schemes to provide an alternative to custodial remand; plans to pilot structured deferred sentences to provide the courts with a lower tariff disposal to help avoid escalating women offenders quickly towards short custodial sentences; the development of a women offenders programme for accreditation, and the establishment of the 218 Time Out Centre in Glasgow. The centre opened in December 2003 and offers residential and detox facilities alongside drop-in day services plus programmes to reduce reoffending and access to a range of community and health services.

For drug misusing offenders, the broad framework of community disposals which is now in place, provides alternatives to custody and access to drug treatment at different stages in the sentencing process. Criminal justice social work services give special attention to the needs of women for these and other services.