Chamber and committees

Scotland’s creative industries are a real success, and atribute to the nation’s long-established talent for innovation andentrepreneurial skill. They also contribute strongly to the economy.

The Executive wants tomaximise the sector’s long term potential. We plan to assess the extent towhich there are gaps in current enterprise network support for the creativeindustries; which agencies should provide those services, and whether theservices could be provided in a more effective manner. It would not be appropriateto consider any change in responsibilities before this assessment is complete.

The Deputy Minister for Enterprise andLifelong Learning announced decisions on Careers Scotland on 21 December 2006 inanswer to oral question S2O-11503. That answer indicated that there will be a fulloptions appraisal on the future structure of Careers Scotland, that the outcomesof the options appraisal will be implemented from summer 2007 and that in the meantimeScottish Enterprise (SEn) will make Careers Scotland a more distinct entity withinits structure.

In addition, the work of CareersScotland (in both the SEn and Highlands and Islands Enterpirse areas) will be refocusedon the provision of career guidance to those in transition – young people at school,those who are or are in danger of becoming NEET (Not in education, employmentor training) and adults who need specialhelp e.g. offenders or older people wanting to remain in the workplace.

I have ensured that the staffof Careers Scotland have been fully informed of developments at every stage. Theyhave remained dedicated and committed to carrying out their important work in themidst of this time of change and I am confident that they will continue to do so.

The asset management strandof the Efficient Government programme is actively targeting the issue ofefficient use of public resources; including vacant and derelict land in theownership of the wider Executive. The property records of the Executive and itsagencies show the ownership of land, not the use to which it is put and doesnot permit a direct answer to be readily given to the question. The underlyingprinciple is that the Executive should hold assets where there is a good reasonfor doing so and that other assets should be disposed of. Work is ongoing toestablish the opportunities for rationalisation to ensure that our portfolio istaut and meets the needs of our organisation. As this work develops we willkeep the member updated.

Glasgow Housing Association (GHA) has spent the SecuredRepayable Grant funding it has claimed so far on delivery of itsbusiness objectives as set out in its Business Plan. GHA is currentlyconsulting on its draft 30-year Business Plan for 2007-08 (available on the GHAwebsite at http://www.gha.org.uk in whichit states that this funding, along with annual rental income, is committed to:home and neighbourhood improvements, providing housing services, communityregeneration and running the local housing organisation network and supportservices.

Glasgow Housing Association (GHA) has spent the ContingentEfficiencies Grant funding it has claimed so far on delivery of itsbusiness objectives as set out in its Business Plan. GHA is currentlyconsulting on its draft 30-year Business Plan for 2007-08 (available on the GHAwebsite at http://www.gha.org.uk in whichit states that this funding, along with annual rental income, is committed to:home and neighbourhood improvements, providing housing services, communityregeneration and running the local housing organisation network and supportservices.

The following table presentsthe median annual household income estimates for Scotland based on the FamilyResources Survey.

Table: Median annual household income for Scotland,2004-05

£ per year

Equivalised Net Disposable Household Income, Before Housing Costs)	Equivalised Net Disposable Household Income, After Housing Costs
18,169	16,294

Source: Households BelowAverage Income, DWP.

Further information can befound in the latest Scottish Households Below Average Income 2004-05 publicationhttp://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/95793/0023203.pdf.

Notes:

Net disposablehousehold income: Totalincome after deductions for income tax, National Insurance Contributions,council tax, pension contributions and maintenance payments.

Housing costs: Net disposable income but withrent/mortgage payments, water charges, structural insurance premiums, groundrent and service charges deducted.

Equivalised netdisposable household income:'Equivalised' Income is used to allow comparisons of living standards betweendifferent household types. Income is adjusted to take into account variationsin the size and composition of the household. This adjustment reflects the factthat a family of several people requires a higher income than a single personin order for both households to enjoy a comparable standard of living. The keyassumption is that all individuals in the household benefit equally from thecombined (equivalised) income of the household. There are distinct equivalencescales used for income before housing costs (BHC) and income after housingcosts (AHC).

Median: The income valuewhich divides a population, when ranked by income, into two equal-sized groups.The measure is most commonly used to represent average income due to the highlyskewed nature of the income distribution, which leads to the very high incomesof a few having a disproportionate impact on the mean.

The number of new dwellings startedand completed since 1996 is published in the Housing trends in Scotland: quarterending 30 June 2006 bulletin (tables 6 and 7). This is available on-line in the publications sectionof the housing statistics branch reference site:http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Housing-Regeneration/PubHousingTrend.

I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-30466 on 19 December 2006. Information on waiting lists is collectedon an annual basis and there have been no updates since the most recent informationfor 2005-06 was published.All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website the search facilityfor which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

The latest figures on homelessnessare published in the statistical bulletin Operation of the Homeless Persons legislationin Scotland: National and Local Authority Analysis 2005-06. Thisgives a full breakdown of the characteristics of applicant households and assessmentsmade (tables 11 and 12), and is available on-line in the publications section of the housing statistics branch reference site:http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Housing-Regeneration/PubHomeless.

We do not hold estimates of the total additional cost of providingall nursery pupils with free school meals.

The additional annual costof providing all primary school pupils and all secondary school pupils with afree school meal is estimated at between £51 million to £97 million and £46 millionto £82 million respectively.