The information requested isnot held centrally.However, the Executive StatisticalBulletin Pupils in Scotland, 2005 providesinformation on the number of pupils with a Record of Needs and/or an IndividualisedEducational Programme in primary, secondary and special schools and their main difficultyin learning. This publication is available from http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00487.

In response to decisions madeat Children’s Hearings, local authorities purchase placements for young people whorequire secure accommodation.

The number of secure accommodationplacements made by Scottish Local Authorities in England and Wales is notgathered centrally. The average cost of placement within a secure children’s homein England and Wales is currently £3,560 per week.

In terms of service levels, asecure children’s home is the best comparator for Scottish secure care accommodation,where the average cost per bed per week was£3,458 in 2004-05. The information on secure accommodation in Scotland is detailedin the 2004-05 Scottish secure accommodation census which can be found at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/10/2791127/11278.

The Scottish Executive launchedA Vision for the Voluntary Sector – the Next Phase of Our Relationship in December2005. To help implement the Vision the Scottish Executive has committed to the settingup of a new Cross Department Group, which is currently being established. It islikely that the group will be tasked with a range of activities including, but notsolely focusing on, enhancement of the sector’s role in the delivery of services.Once the group is established (it is due to meet for the time in spring 2006) itwill identify the priority areas on which it will focus.

Scottish Executive funding supportfor the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations over the last five years isdetailed in the table below. This does not include resources which SCVO distributeto other agencies on behalf of the Scottish Executive.

Year	Amount
2005-06	£988,583
2004-05	£2,751,054
2003-04	£1,080,379
2002-03	£609,726
2001-02	£531,313

 

The Scottish Executive provideslocal voluntary organisations with support through a wide range of initiatives,including in the area covered by Highland Council. However, the majority of grantfunding for local voluntary organisations is provided by local agencies, notablylocal authorities.Details of Scottish Executivegrant funding to voluntary organisations in 2005-06 are shown in the answer I providedto the answer to question S2W 23342 on 28 February 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’swebsite, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Funding decisions at the locallevel must primarily be for local funders, taking account of local priorities, localneeds and the level of resources local authorities and others are prepared to release.

The programme referred to bythe member is Project Scotland. As of  24 February 2006 there were 400 Project Scotland Volunteers, an increase of 76 since my answerto Linda Fabiani’s question S2W-22379 on 24 January 2006,which also contains further information on Project Scotland. 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/search_wa.

This information is not gathered centrally. Local authorities make decisions regarding the placement of young people. If it is the case that a child’s needs are best met by a placement outwith Scotland then we would expect local authorities to act on this.

The Secure Accommodation Advisory Group published their recommendations and audit of need in 2003. These can be found at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/justice/secureaccom.pdf.http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/justice/secureaccomint.pdf.

On the basis of this report and based on objective measurement criteria, there was decision that we extend the secure estate by 29 places.

The Scottish Executive, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) and the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) are working together to implement findings from the Strategic Review of Voluntary Sector Funding. The review has led to a wide-ranging programme of activity to support the sustainable growth of the voluntary sector in Scotland.

This includes the development of an action plan with actions for each of the strategic partners. Specific changes that have been made towards ensuring stability in the relationship between funders and the voluntary sector include the development of three year funding packages, payments in advance, and reduced bureaucracy in our systems and processes through common application packs and the lead funder model. In addition a full cost recovery impact assessment is underway, which will make recommendations for a realistic and manageable way of moving towards full cost recovery implementation across the public and voluntary sectors.

Further detail about the Action Plan can be found at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/People/Voluntary-Issues/15300/sfrap.

The SCVO is the national body representing the voluntary sector in Scotland and seeks to advance the values and shared interests of the sector by fostering co-operation, promoting best practice and delivering sustainable services.

The SCVO organises its work around nine activity areas. These are:

Research about and on behalf of the voluntary sector;

Voluntary sector representation;

Communication with, about and on behalf of the voluntary sector;

Organisational development and support for the voluntary sector;

Resource development for the voluntary sector;

Voluntary sector workforce development;

The design and delivery of services tailored to the needs of the voluntary sector;

The development of voluntary sector networking and co-operation, and

The development of SCVO’s own effectiveness.