Chamber and committees

Scottish University for Industry (SUfI) administers the Capital Modernisation Fund (CMF) support for learning centre development on behalf of the Executive. SUfI and New Opportunities Fund (who offer funding to meet revenue costs) share information on applicants who have been offered/are being considered for funding. In addition, CMF applicants are asked to provide details of all other project funding that has been applied for or approved, enabling SUfI to build an overall picture of the funding position for every project.I have asked the organisations responsible for approving funding for the New Futures Fund and The National Lottery to write to you directly.

The Scottish University for Industry administers the Capital Modernisation Fund (CMF) support for learning centre development on behalf of the Executive. CMF applicants who are unsuccessful are advised in writing and given specific reasons. The scheme, which closed to new applicants last October, ends on 31 March 2002 and all remaining unsuccessful applicants will be given feedback by mid-April.The New Futures Fund is managed by Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Scottish Enterprise and feedback to unsuccessful applicants is an operational matter for them. I understand, however, that feedback will be given on request.Decisions on funding from the New Opportunity Fund and the National Lottery Fund are a matter for these organisations. I have asked them to write to you directly.

The number of planning applications referred to the Scottish ministers since 1 May 1999 totals 830. A breakdown by monthly receipt is given in the following table:Cases Notified to the Scottish Ministers since May 1999:

	1999	2000	2001	2002
January	-	15	19	12
February	-	34	28	25
March	-	25	27	-
April	-	31	32	-
May	8	34	25	-
June	22	35	25	-
July	26	40	18	-
August	25	22	19	-
September	25	24	17	-
October	29	22	23	-
November	16	20	19	-
December	25	31	32	-
Total	176	333	284	37

None of Scottish Homes houses at any time transferred to Communities Scotland. All Scottish Homes tenants were supplied with a newsletter in September 2001, which explained the future for Scottish Homes and its remaining tenants. A copy of the newsletter has been put in the Parliament's Reference Centre.

The caries prevention scheme is open to all registered six- and seven-year-olds in Scotland. In the period April 2001 to January 2002 payments under the scheme amounted to £1.15 million; and it estimated that a further £250,000 will be paid in the remainder of the financial year. In the financial year 2002-03, the scheme is expected to cost around £1.5 million. The financial resources for the scheme are allocated through the General Dental Services budget.

The number of patients admitted to hospital in each of the last three years with a diagnosis related to a firearms¹ incident are shown in the table

	Year ending 31 Dec:
Treated in:	1999	2000	2001P
NHS Glasgow	30	36	42
NHS Scotland	140	138	136

^P Provisional.Notes:1. includes incidents involving handguns, rifles, air guns and unspecified.

Funding for the police, which is currently at record levels, is allocated in total to each force. It is for police authorities, in consultation with chief constables, to set budgets for individual forces. Once a budget has been agreed, the use of that budget to meet the operational needs of each force is a matter for individual chief constables.

Planning applications, notified to the Scottish ministers, are recorded by planning authority area. Since 1 May 1999, 830 have been referred, but it is not possible to accurately identify these by parliamentary constituency. This is because the information on the planning application form is not always sufficiently precise to do so.

The available information is given in the table. Other crime categories, such as possession of an offensive weapon and robbery, may also involve firearms. However, the numbers of such cases cannot, from the information held centrally, be separately identified from the total numbers of prosecutions and convictions for these crime categories. Data for the year 2001 are not yet available.Persons proceeded against in Scottish courts for specified firearms offences, 1999-2000

Main crime and result	Year
	1999	2000
Possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life or commit crime
Persons proceeded against	19	20
Of which had a charge proved	12	12
Reckless conduct with firearms
Persons proceeded against	56	50
Of which had a charge proved	39	42
Miscellaneous firearm offences1
Persons proceeded against	213	161
Of which had a charge proved	170	143
Total
Persons proceeded against	288	231
Of which had a charge proved	221	197

Note:1. Includes other offences under the Firearms Act 1968 (as amended) and section 50(5) of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982.

The information requested is not held centrally.