In assessing whether an applicant(landlord or agent) is a fit and proper person, local authorities must take accountof the information prescribed in section 85 of the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act2004.

Paraphrased, section 85 covers:

any material which shows thatthe individual has:

committed any offence involvingfraud, dishonesty, violence or drugs;

practised unlawful discriminationin any business activity;

contravened any provision of the law relating to housing or landlord and tenant relations;

any material relating to anyaction (or failure to act) in relation to antisocial behaviour affecting a housewhich the person lets or manages;

any material relating to an arrangementfor an agent to act for the landlord in relation to the lease or occupancy arrangement,and

any other material relevant tothe question of whether the person is fit and proper.

The local authority can takeinto account all convictions – spent or unspent – in considering whether an applicantis fit and proper to be letting houses.

The Scottish government willcontinue to work closely with local authorities to implement landlord registration.This includes providing funding, training events and regular meetings to discussimplementation issues.

The registration of private landlordsand agents is a matter for local authorities.

The Scottish government is disappointedwith the overall progress so far and is determined to see faster progress in someareas. We are working with local authorities to improve the situation and the numberof landlords being registered is increasing all the time.

The Tribunal’s best current estimatefor period 5 October 2005 to 3 July 2007 for proportion of Compulsory Treatment Order applicationsprocessed to completion by way of:

(a) first hearing is 51%;

(b) second hearing is 35%;

(c) third hearing is 13%,and

(d) fourth hearing is 1%.

We have been monitoring implementationof the act in conjunction with the Mental Welfare Commission, the Mental HealthTribunal for Scotland and others. I recognise that there are concerns in respectof the processes required under the act and the degree to which they result in multiplehearings, a tendency towards a greater focus on legal process rather than qualityof care and the range of participants who may be engaged in each hearing. I am thereforeplanning to initiate a limited review of the act focussing on the efficiency andquality of the processes in respect of the making of civil orders in the contextof the Millan principles. My letter of 17 July 2007 to the Convener of the Healthand Sport Committee and placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib.number 43178) provides draft terms of referencefor this limited review.

The Scottish Legal Aid Board(SLAB) collect data about mental health costs under the generic category of “MentalHealth”. Accordingly, the levels of expenditure provided by SLAB cover all mentalhealth issues, although a significant amount of that cost will cover Advice andAssistance (A&A) and/or Assistance by Way of Representation (ABWOR) for compulsorytreatment orders or their precursors under the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1984(1984 Act). SLAB do not hold separate figures for compulsory treatment orders anddo not split legal costs by NHS boards.

The following is the A&Aand ABWOR legal costs for “Mental Health” provided by the Scottish Legal Aid Board.Legal costs for compulsory treatment orders are covered from date the Mental Health(Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 came into effect (5 October 2005) to 31 March2006. The period prior to 5 October 2005 provides mental health legal costs that occurred underthe 1984 act.

In 2005-06:

Advice and Assistance - MentalHealth - £783,000.

ABWOR - Mental Health - £807,000.

In 2004-05:

Advice and Assistance - MentalHealth - £604,000.

ABWOR - Mental Health - £805,000.

In 2003-04:

Advice and Assistance - MentalHealth - £329,000.

ABWOR - Mental Health - £737,000.

The Framework forMaternity Services in Scotland and the NHS Quality Improvement Scotland healthtechnology assessment report recommend two ultrasound scans for all pregnant women.

This service is nowavailable in most NHS boards, and is a good example of innovative ways of workingwhich provide faster and better access to physiotherapy services in local communities.

The NHS Quality ImprovementScotland publication National Overview – January 2007 Maternity Services reportedthat following their review of their Clinical Standards for Maternity Services (carriedout between November 2005 and June 2006), 10 out of the then 15 NHS healthboards routinely carried out fetal anomaly scans at 18 to 22 weeks.

We are working closelywith NHSScotland to ensure that developments in screening during pregnancy, includingthe introduction of routine fetal anomaly scanning in those boards which do notcurrently offer this service, are introduced efficiently and effectively as soonas possible.

I refer the memberto the answer to question S3W-673 on 14 June 2007. Allanswers 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/wa.search.