Chamber and committees

East Dunbartonshire, City of Edinburgh and Fife Councils are in the process of undertaking partialtransfers which are being supported by the New Housing Partnerships programme. Financialsupport is also being provided to Western Isles and Argyll and Bute Councils todevelop whole transfer proposals. A number of other councils are undertaking optionappraisals on the future of their housing.

Following publication of theHMIC's Primary Inspection of the SDEA, a working group was established under theauspices of the Standing Committee of Chief Constables. The terms of reference of the group is to review each of the recommendations made and present proposals forthe way forward.

The work of the group is nearingconclusion. A report will be presented to the Standing Committee of Chief Constableswhich, in turn, will inform the Scottish Executive of how the recommendations canbest be implemented.

Thecapital allocation provided to local authorities specifically for flood preventionand coast protection projects for each of the last five years is as follows:

	£ Million
Year 2003-04	11.8
Year 2002-03	9
Year 2001-02	8.5
Year 2000-01	4
Year 1999-2000	4

 

Additionally, within theExecutive's annual provisions to support local authorities’ revenueexpenditure, over £3 million is included to fund their duty to maintainwatercourses, where this will reduce the likelihood of flooding ofnon-agricultural areas.

This recommendation, arisingfrom the HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) Primary Inspection of the ScottishDrug Enforcement Agency, is currently being considered by the working group establishedby the Standing Committee of Chief Constables to review the HMIC Inspection report’srecommendations.

Improved arrangements for budgetmonitoring and accountability of the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency (SDEA) arebeing considered by the working group established by the Standing Committee of ChiefConstables to review the recommendations arising from the HMIC Inspection.

These issues will also be consideredin an audit of the SDEA, to be carried out by the Scottish Executive Audit Services in the spring of 2004. This audit will examine financialcontrol and management arrangements within the agency.

The revenue grant provided tolocal authorities is largely unhypothecated and it is up to each authority how itallocates these resources to meet its local needs and priorities. Details of howmuch each authority has received can be found in the local government finance circular1-2003 (Bib. number 26534). A copy of this circular can be obtained in the Parliament’sReference Centre.

Additionally, £95 million ofQuality of Life resources was provided in 2002-03 to improve the local environmentand to provide additional services for children and young people. Local authoritiesallocated £2.4 million of this to initiatives on graffiti and vandalism. Furtherresources of £180 million for Quality of Life funding was provided for 2003-04 to2005-06 as part of the recent local government settlement (local authority allocationsare provided in the above mentioned circular). Local authorities’ plans includespending approximately £2.7 million over 2003-06 to tackle graffiti and vandalism.

In 2002-03 local authoritieswere provided with funding of £2.2 million in recognition of the additional coststhat the implementation of the End of Life Vehicles Directive will place on clearingabandoned cars. We have advised COSLA that £2.202 million will be available in thisfinancial year, and are consulting on its distribution. Further funding for nextyear is under consideration. Local authorities have also had the opportunity tocommit additional funds towards dealing with abandoned cars through the Qualityof Life Initiative, which offered £95 million in 2002-03 and £180 million in 2003-04and the subsequent two financial years.

In January 2003, revised regulationswere introduced which reduced the statutory notice periods which local authoritiesmust observe before dealing with abandoned cars, thus enabling them to react morequickly in removing these dangerous eyesores from our streets.

Through its consultation paper,Putting our communities first: A Strategy for tackling Anti-social Behaviour,the Scottish Executive sought comments on the level of charges which would coverlocal authorities' costs for removing, storing and disposing of abandoned vehicles.The paper also asked whether the present regulations governing the removal of vehiclesare sufficient. The consultation period has now been completed and the responsesare currently being considered.

The target of 25% recycling andcomposting of municipal waste by 2006 applies to Scotland as a whole, rather thanto individual local authorities. Fourteen local authorities have so far submittedplans estimating that they will achieve a rate of 25% or over by 2005-06.

The principle of Good NeighbourDeclarations has been woven into the funding requirements of the “Building strong,safe and attractive communities funding programme”, where they are referred to asneighbourhood compacts. Local authorities are required to underpin bids with neighbourhoodcompacts, which set out the standards of behaviour expected of local residents andthe support and services delivered by relevant agencies. All local authorities areexpected to identify where these neighbourhood compacts will apply. They will beevaluated as part of the funding programme evaluation.

Our Partnership Agreement confirms we will evaluate the local pilot projects in order to assess the desirabilityof creating a national voluntary citizen’s entitlement card for appropriatepublic services in Scotland. The Smartcard consortium partners, consisting of 11local authorities, have been allocated over £5.8 million funding from thesecond round of the Executive’s Modernising Government Fund. Under the DialogueYouth programme, further funding has been allocated to develop a young person’sversion of the card.

The consortium have appointeda programme manager and put in place a governance structure which will ensurethey can assess and report the business case and strategic framework for publicsector smartcard applications by June 2004. In addition, the consortiumpartners are pursuing specific smartcard applications with groups of citizens.Applications include cashless catering in schools, school registration,concessionary fares and access to leisure and library services among others.

Aberdeen City Council is thefirst council to roll out the card - initially for concessionary travel and toall students and staff at the council's secondary schools - and around 35,0000cards have been issued. Similarly, under the national Dialogue Youth Programme fivecouncils, including Aberdeen, have begun to issue cards to young people; todate some 79,000 cards have been issued.