Chamber and committees

The numbers of Modern Apprentices (MAs) in training as at end March for each of the years 1999-2000, 2000-01, 2001-02 and 2002-03 (to date) are:City of Edinburgh Council: 541, 654, 1,213, 1,463East Lothian Council: 188, 264, 387, 409Edinburgh East and Musselburgh parliamentary constituency: 117, 152, 294, 343MAs can take more than a year to complete: some individuals will be included in the figures for more than one year.The breakdown by gender, race and disability is given in the table Modern Apprenticeships in Edinburgh and East Lothian, a copy of which has been placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 27115).

Services related to autistic spectrum disorders within Edinburgh, and consultation upon them, are matters for the Lothian NHS Board, Edinburgh City Council and other local agencies.

Services related to autistic spectrum disorders within Edinburgh, and the distribution of resources to them, are matters for the Lothian NHS Board, Edinburgh City Council and other local agencies.

Changing Children's Services Fund resources have been distributed to local authorities and their partners for the financial year 2002-03. Where it has not been possible to spend those resources fully in that financial year, the Scottish Executive has on application allowed for those resources not to be recouped but to be available for the following financial year.

The importance of better integrated services for children and their parents, including those affected by autistic spectrum disorder, has been emphasised in a range of publications including the report For Scotland's Children: better integrated services for children, published in October 2001. The Cabinet Sub-Committee on Children's Services, chaired by the First Minister, is driving this agenda forward within the Scottish Executive. At local level a range of organisations, including local authorities, the NHS and the voluntary sector are contributing to this agenda.

A range of agencies could contribute to addressing the needs of pre-school children diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder, including the NHS and local authority social work departments.

I have set the Registers of Scotland the following key targets for 2003-04:To achieve a return of 15% on net capital employed over the three-year period ending 31 March 2004.To reduce the standard production cost index by 2% by 31 March 2004 from its base at 31 March 2003.To continue to operate at Service First Charter Mark standards measured through market research; to increase accuracy, speed of response and value for money performance by a further 5% measured through the annual customer survey, and to process 97% of all other enquiries in compliance with the agency's customer service standard.To achieve recording and registration turnaround times:- averaging 15, but not exceeding 25 working days for Sasine Writs;- averaging 25, but not exceeding 30 working days for Dealings with Whole;- averaging 105, but not exceeding 125 working days in any quarter for domestic First Registrations, with 70% of all such applications being completed within 125 working days, and- to reduce the average age of the backlog of domestic First Registrations from 30 weeks to 26 weeks.To increase the income from the agency's information services by 5% more than income in 2002-03.To achieve a registration accuracy of at least 97% during 2003-04.Achievement of these targets will ensure that homebuyers receive an improved and more efficient service over the coming year. The transfer to the Land Register of Banff, Moray, Ross and Cromarty, Caithness, Sutherland, Orkney and Zetland on 1 April 2003 will complete the transfer of counties from the Register of Sasines to the Land Register. From that date the Land Register will be in operation across the whole of Scotland.

In response to the National Debate on Education, hundreds of events were held across Scotland ranging from small group discussions to large conferences. About one quarter of debate responses indicated that parents were present at an event or discussion, including feedback from 176 school boards and a further 73 responses predominantly from parents or parent organisations. We believe that parents were involved in many more responses.

The Scottish Executive is ensuring the development of good quality affordable housing primarily through Communities Scotland Capital Development Programme. In the current financial year, it is estimated that 76 units of affordable housing will be delivered in Edinburgh East and Musselburgh. This equates to £1.187 million capital expenditure. This is broken down as follows.

	Tender Unit Approvals	Capital Spend(£ Million)
Edinburgh East	72	1.081
Musselburgh	4	0.106
Total	76	1.187

I have recently confirmed the Development Programme for 2003-04. Investment both in Edinburgh and East Lothian will increase significantly, 26.6% and 18% respectively, against the approved programme for the current financial year. Consultation with partners is on-going, particularly with local authorities, to agree how these additional resources will be used. Local Housing Strategies are currently being developed by both the City of Edinburgh Council and East Lothian Council and this will inform investment priorities within local authority areas.

Neither the City of Edinburgh Council nor East Lothian Council were allocated funding under the Better Neighbourhood Services Fund. Funding through similar initiatives since 1999-2000, for each of these council areas, is detailed in the following tables: Edinburgh

	1999-2000(£)	2000-01(£)	2001-02(£)	2002-03(£)
SIP	6,723,000	6,453,298	6,900,650	7,450,683
Working for Communities Pathfinders		149,987	270,065	21,401
Community Budgeting				192,000
People's Juries			16,000
Total	6,723,000	6,603,285	7,186,715	7,664,084

East Lothian

	1999-00(£)	2000-01(£)	2001-02(£)	2002-03(£)
SIP	94,000	128,000	216,000	223,898
People's Juries			16,000
Total	94,000	128,000	232,000	223,898