Chamber and committees

It is a matter for local consideration and agreement, as to whether council-owned refuges and supported housing schemes for victims of domestic abuse, are included as part of a council housing transfer to community ownership. Where residents of refuges are assessed as homeless, the homelessness provisions of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 will continue to apply after transfer. In addition, regulations to be made under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 will strengthen the rights of people living in hostels.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-23716.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-23716.

Validated figures on numbers, causes and duration of delayed discharges are contained in Information and Statistics Division's quarterly census, Patients Ready for Discharge in NHSScotland. There are no monthly figures which are validated and quality assured in the same way. Latest figures relate to Information and Statistics Division's census of 15 October 2001 (a copy is available in the Parliament's Reference Centre: Bib. number 19993). These figures show that, at the census point, a total of 235 people were delayed in Renfrewshire Council area and a total of 109 people were delayed in Inverclyde Council area.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-22220 on 6 February 2002. Our Delayed Discharge Action Plan, which was launched on 5 March 2002, will require all local authority and NHS partnerships to produce joint action plans to deliver specific, targeted reductions in their areas. A copy of our action plan is available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 20007).

All NHS boards have been asked to report on progress towards the Executive's target of eliminating mixed sex accommodation by 1 April 2002. A copy of the report of this review will be placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre.

On 21 January, the Deputy First Minister had a short briefing from the Chief Constable of Grampian Police on the incidents of disorder that occurred at the Aberdeen versus Rangers Scottish Premier League match the previous Saturday. Also, a Scottish Executive official attended a meeting on 11 February between representatives of the Scottish football authorities and the Association of Chief Police Officers Scotland where a range of issues relating to the policing of football matches was discussed.

A report on the first year of a Great Britain speed camera pilot scheme, published by the UK Government in August 2001, can be found at:http://www.roads.dtlr.gov.uk/roadsafety/costrec/index.htm. This confirms that cameras are playing a significant role in reducing accidents and the severity of injuries. The report shows that, compared with the average over the previous three years, the number of injury collisions at the camera pilot sites fell by an average of 35% and the number of people killed or seriously injured fell by an average of 47%.

The Executive is in regular contact with VisitScotland and the area tourist boards on this issue. VisitScotland have stated that Scotland's tourism businesses should be receptive to the needs of their customers. They therefore encourage businesses to accept the euro as a method of payment, although it is not legal tender in the UK, and are distributing suitable material and information, on request. In conjunction with the Treasury, Scotland Europa have implemented a detailed programme to provide advice and raise awareness of the need by all businesses - including in the tourist industry - to make appropriate preparations for the introduction of the currency. This includes the Trading in euro symbol which indicates that an organisation is willing and able to deal with the euro currency.

The latest information we have available indicates that concessionary travel schemes operated by the following local authorities include provision for children under 16 and 16- to 18-year-olds in full-time education:

Local Authority	Concessionary travel schemes which include provision for under 16-year-olds
Clackmannanshire Council	14- to 15-year-olds only
Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar	Children under 16 only
Falkirk Council	14- to 15-year-olds only
Midlothian Council	Under 16 year olds (registered disabled)
Orkney Council	5- to 16-year-olds only
Shetland Islands Council	5- to 16-year-olds only
Strathclyde Passenger Transport*	5- to 15-years-old (if receipt of DLA)
Stirling Council	14- to 15-year-olds only

Note:* The scheme administered by SPT covers the whole of the following local authority areas:

Argyll and Bute	North Ayrshire
East Ayrshire	North Lanarkshire
East Dunbartonshire	Renfrewshire
East Renfrewshire	South Ayrshire
City of Glasgow	South Lanarkshire
Inverclyde	West Dunbartonshire

Local Authority	Concessionary travel schemes which include provision for 16- to 18-year-olds
Fife Council	16 to 18 (in full time education)
Dundee Council	16 to 18 (in full time education)