Chamber and committees

This is an operational matter for Scottish Water so I have asked the Chief Executive of Scottish Water to respond. The Chief Executive's response is as follows:The timescale for carrying out repairs at Scotstoun, Glasgow is not related to Scottish Water's efforts to reduce operating costs. Complications associated with the planning of the remedial work resulted in an exceptional length of time being lost. Scottish Water does regret the delay and would like to give assurances that services to customers were not adversely disrupted.

There is no statutory requirement for local consultation to determine the frequency and location of bus services. The provision of local bus services is generally a matter for individual bus operators who use their own commercial judgement as to the level and frequency of services to be provided. Beyond the commercial decisions of bus operators, it is the responsibility of the local transport authority to identify where there is a social need for a particular bus service and to make subsidy available, if it so chooses, so that appropriate additional services are provided.

As I announced on 7 November 2002, funding for improvement of housing conditions in the private sector is being transferred from local authorities' general borrowing to a specific private sector housing grant. £50 million is available in the current financial year, and £60 million in each of the next two years. This compares to reported expenditure, funded through the single capital allocation by local authorities on equivalent activities of approximately £45 million in 2000-01, the last year for which figures are available. The majority of this expenditure is on housing improvement and repair grants.

I intend that the new system will come into operation from 1 October 2003 subject to Parliament's approval to the necessary regulations which are being laid shortly.

An announcement will be made shortly.

The Transport Act 1985 gives local transport authorities wide powers to secure the provision of subsidised public transport services.

There are no statutory obligations on bus operators to plan bus routes to serve key public services. The Transport (Scotland) Act 2001 provides a framework, which allows local transport authorities to enhance the provision of bus services. The act provides a "toolkit" of options including Quality Partnerships and Quality Contracts. Transport authorities also have powers under the Transport Act 1985 to provide socially necessary services.

The Executive's vision for maternity services, set out in the report of the Expert Group on Acute Maternity Services, is of a woman and baby centred service, with a range of provision for care in childbirth including midwife-led care in local community maternity units and consultant-led units. The EGAMS report recommended that consultant-led units dealing with low- to medium-risk pregnancies and labour should have onsite paediatric facilities. It further recommended that tertiary referral centres dealing with more than 3,000 deliveries per annum should have access to onsite neonatal intensive care and access to neonatal surgery, and onsite adult intensive care facilities to ensure effective management of risk for both mother and baby.

I have met with Charles Clarke MP, Secretary of State for Education and Skills, and agreed to regular meetings at ministerial level to ensure that Scottish interests are taken into account as DfES Ministers take forward their proposals for England. I have also had two constructive meetings with representative bodies of further and higher education in Scotland.Today I am publishing the outcome of the 18-month review of higher education in Scotland, A Framework for Higher Education in Scotland. Higher Education Review: Phase 2, which sets out how we believe the HE sector in Scotland needs to develop over the next 10 years. Part of the context for taking this forward are the long-term implications for Scotland of the proposed changes in the funding regime in England and other issues. It has been agreed a further phase of review will be undertaken to address these. The next stage will be for the Executive, working closely with representative bodies, to consider the remit for this work.

The Consultation Paper on the proposed Tenements (Scotland) Bill is published today. The bill is based upon the recommendations of the Scottish Law Commission in their 1998 Report on the Law of the Tenement (Scot Law Com No 162). The draft bill included in the paper is an updated version of the commission's draft bill. It has been revised to take account of the provisions of the Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 and the Title Conditions (Scotland) Bill which passed Stage 3 on 26 February. I would like to thank the Scottish Law Commission for all their exhaustive and meticulous work in reviewing the current law of tenements and in proposing modernising reforms.The bill will modernise and re-state the law of the tenement in modern statutory language. It sets out a framework for the management and maintenance of tenements which should make it easier for owners in a tenement to reach agreement on matters of mutual interest and concern and to ensure that their homes are well maintained. Any decision on the introduction of the Tenements Bill will be for the incoming administration after the election.Copies of the Consultation Paper will be sent to the relevant Parliamentary Committees and will be available in the Parliament's Reference Centre. Further copies will be available from Deirdre Duffy, Scottish Executive Justice Department, 2nd floor West Rear, St Andrews House, Regent Road, Edinburgh, EH1 3DG.A 12-week consultation period will follow, with the closing date for responses being Friday, 13 June 2003.