Chamber and committees

Work carried out by Care and Repair projects reflects locally identified needs. In many instances this will include equipment and adaptations. However, information on the number of equipment and adaptations carried out by Care and Repair projects is not held centrally.

There are no plans to establish such a convention. The Executive recognises that the debate on the future of the European Union is of great importance to the people of Scotland and it has already participated in a number of events focusing on this issue. We welcome the recent announcement by the Northern Ireland Executive of its intention to develop the debate there. We indicated in our response to the European Committee's 9th Report of 2001: Governance of the European Union and the Future of Europe: what role for Scotland? that we intend to encourage and facilitate full participation by civil society in Scotland in the Future of Europe debate. We, however, think it sensible to establish precisely how the forum and the structured network will operate and how the views of civil society can most effectively be conveyed to the Future of Europe Convention before embarking on that process and details of these arrangements are still not available.

Work carried out by Care and Repair projects reflects locally identified needs. Care and Repair is one way in which local needs in respect of equipment and adaptations may be met. It is for local authorities to assess needs in their area and decide how demand should be met.Communities Scotland publish 15 National Indicators in their annual report: Care and Repair in Scotland - National Indicators. The report presents information on the operation of the Care and Repair service in Scotland. Copies of the latest publication (2000-01) are available from the Parliament's Reference Centre.

The Chartered Institute of Housing in Scotland is commissioned by the Scottish Executive to undertake an annual exercise to determine the use being made of evictions for anti-social behaviour and Anti-Social Behaviour Orders. The 2000 survey was published in May 2001. The institute has been instructed, in line with the previous answer, to undertake the 2001 survey but changes in personnel have delayed progress and the survey will not now be published until August 2002.

Our National Health required NHS boards, working with their planning partners, to prepare and implement plans for ensuring independent advocacy is available to all who need it. The Department's Advocacy Facilitator will continue to support boards and their planning partners, in developing and implementing these rolling three-year plans as part of the new Advocacy Safeguards Agency, as referred to in the answer given to question today.

Based on the information contained within NHS boards' advocacy plans, investment in independent advocacy will have increased from £2,722,026 per annum in March 2001 to £4,327,212 per annum in March 2004. This is an increased investment of £1,605,186 per annum, and represents an increase from an average 53p per head of population to an average of 87p.The following NHS boards have however not increased funding to independent advocacy for the financial year 2002-03:Argyll and Clyde; Ayrshire and Arran; Borders; Dumfries and Galloway; Forth Valley;Grampian;Greater Glasgow, and Tayside.In Greater Glasgow there was a very significant increase in investment in 2001-02 and this level is to be maintained during 2002-03 and 2003-04. In Ayrshire and Arran, Borders, and Dumfries and Galloway there has been increased investment from the local authority partners.

The UK supports the principle of regional advisory committees, comprising of fishing industry representatives, scientists and other stakeholders. Careful consideration would need to be given to the means by which this can best be done, including the powers available to them. The UK delegation has discussed the creation of regional bodies on many occasions and will continue to do so where appropriate. The position of other member states should become clearer following the publication of the European Commission's proposals on the Common Fisheries Policy shortly.

I announced funding for the establishment of an Advocacy Safeguards Agency when I attended the Advocacy 2000's conference in February. This new agency will have a key role in ensuring compliance with the commitment in Our National Health that integrated, independent advocacy is available to all who need it. The agency will advise the Executive on the adequacy and appropriateness of NHS boards' rolling three-year plans for the provision of these services. The agency's assessment of progress on NHS board's implementation will form part of the Performance Assessment Framework, which informs the annual accountability review process.

Chief Constables are responsible for the recruitment of police personnel. Police officer numbers in Scotland are at record levels. The Scottish Executive is committed to maintaining high police numbers and has provided an extra £24 million over the last three years specifically to boost recruitment.

I set up the Clyde Shipyards Task Force at short notice following BAE SYSTEMS' announcement in July 2001 of 1,000 redundancies. Given the need to report back within a short timescale, the remit of the task force focussed solely on the upper Clyde and did not extend as far as Port Glasgow. However, in the longer term, the work of the task force should have a positive impact on the shipbuilding industry as a whole in Scotland.