Chamber and committees

The introduction of interim Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBO) through the current Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill will provide more immediate protection from anti-social neighbours. Breach of an interim ASBO will be a criminal offence punishable by up to five years imprisonment on indictment.This reinforces measures such as the "probationary tenancy" introduced by the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001, new grounds for eviction for anti-social behaviour and additional powers for the police to seize noise-making equipment introduced by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.As well as promoting best practice in tackling anti-social behaviour, the Executive has allocated £20 million over two years from 2004 on community wardens who will work with local people to build safe, strong communities and support enforcement by the police, local authorities and other agencies.

The Prime Minister's initiative, launched in June 1999, aims to attract more overseas students to the UK. The Scottish Executive is involved with the funding and development of the strategy in partnership with other devolved administrations, UK government departments, British Council and Trade Partners UK. Measures to enhance overseas student recruitment as part of PMI include a three-year branded global marketing campaign, expansion of the Chevening scholarship scheme and streamlining visa and work regulations. A Scottish version of the brand logo and marketing materials has been developed for use by Scottish institutions and EducationUKScotland as part of the PMI strategy.In addition, EducationUKScotland (formerly Scottish Education and Training) is a sector-led body supported and funded by institutions in four sectors, including the higher education sector, and also by the British Council Scotland. The Scottish Executive maintains close links with EducationUKScotland. The organisation's main objective is to add value in the area of international student recruitment by promoting Scotland overseas and providing generic support for the work of Scottish institutions.The area of international student recruitment is also being considered as part of the Scottish Higher Education Review.

It is not possible to project how much of the available resources will be spent in the Renfrewshire area between 2003-06. But funding in the two years 2003-04 and 2004-05 will ensure that, by March 2004, all tenants of East Renfrewshire Council and Renfrewshire Council who want it will have a central heating system and all housing associations tenants in the area who also want it will have central heating during 2004. By March 2006 all over 60s in the private sector in the Renfrewshire postcode area who apply for a grant and are found to be eligible for the programme will have a central heating system installed.

The First Minister recently announced the creation of an Interim Route Development Fund aimed at investing in new air routes which provide the maximum return for Scotland as a whole in terms of business links, foreign direct investment and in-bound tourism. Around £6 million has been allocated to this initiative.Scottish Executive and Scottish Enterprise officials are progressing the detail of the scheme with specialist consultants and these consultants are currently having detailed discussions with airport operators and airlines.

The Warm Deal was introduced on 1 July 1999 and the central heating programme was introduced on 1 April 2001.The information at (a) cannot be provided because the Warm Deal is not exclusively for pensioners. However, over 4,700 households in all sectors of the stock in the Renfrewshire postcode area have benefited from the Warm Deal as administered by Eaga to date. Local authorities were also given cash resources to provide the Warm Deal package for their own tenants and 2,445 tenants of East Renfrewshire Council and Renfrewshire Council benefited from the scheme between 1999-2000 and 2001-02.Two hundred and ninety-two householders aged 60 or over in the private sector in the Renfrewshire postcode area benefited from the central heating programme in 2001-02, and a further 203 have so far benefited this year. There is no age criterion for the programme in the social rented sector and so a breakdown of the number of pensioner tenants who benefited is not available. However, a total of 182 tenants of East Renfrewshire Council and Renfrewshire Council benefited in 2001-02. Over 580 council tenants and 40 tenants of housing associations in the area are set to benefit this year (2002-03). For the reasons given in the answer to S1W-31646 today, we cannot estimate the number who will benefit from either programme in future years. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.

We are making progress to increase the secure estate by around 25 extra places. We have now assessed the geographical spread of need by looking at the numbers of young people, the numbers of deprived young people and the numbers of secure authorisations in different parts of the country. This shows that the greatest need for additional secure accommodation is in the west of the country. We will, however, keep the situation across Scotland under review.The Executive has been in discussion with providers and potential providers of secure accommodation about their proposals to meet the needs identified in the Executive Action Plan on youth crime to provide some girl-only accommodation and improve the range and provision of secure care. Of the initial proposals, I have agreed that officials should have further discussion with five organisations about how their plans might be adapted to meet the geographical spread of places we require. A number of issues still need to be resolved prior to final decisions being taken. The five organisations are:Rossie SchoolKerelaw SchoolSt. Philip's SchoolKibble Education and Care CentreThe Good Shepherd Centre.

The Executive is committed to bridging the digital divide and achieving universal access to the internet by 2005. The Digital Inclusion strategy, Connecting Scotland's People, published in September 2001 sets out how we aim to achieve this.A range of activities is increasing internet access for everyone in Renfrewshire:The New Opportunities Fund is providing free internet access in all libraries in Scotland - including 17 libraries in Renfrewshire.The Executive's Public Internet Access Points initiative is creating additional access in the Renfrewshire area - in places such as community centres, pubs, garages, shops and leisure centres. Details of their locations can be found by calling UK Online (0800 771234) or by visiting the website: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/digitalscotland/webaccess/default.asp.Using the Better Neighbourhood Services Fund, Renfrewshire Council are providing around 300 households in West Johnstone with PCs and access to the internet.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-32162 on 13 December 2002. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.

There are complex issues involved and the Executive is still considering what can be done within devolved powers to address concerns about the inappropriate sale and use of fireworks.

I have asked Mr Bob Millar, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. His response is as follows:Under the New Life for Urban Scotland Initiative, Ferguslie Park received (a) £81.6 million of public expenditure (b) £2.5 million of expenditure on enterprise employment and training of residents. One thousand and sixty new houses, 932 improved or rehabilitated houses and 533 positive training outcomes were located in Ferguslie Park.