Chamber and committees

The following table provides the detail requested for complete years 1999, 2000 and 2001 and to date for 2002:

	1999 (£)	2000 (£)	2001 (£)	2002 (£)
Glasgow City	19,399,236	17,194,480	17,840,244	19,785,798
Renfrewshire	4,500,779	909,280	1,210,302	630,575
North Lanarkshire	4,614,528	2,589,247	2,448,522	1,665,383
South Lanarkshire	5,928,908	2,303,383	1,893,071	576,041
South Ayrshire	1,192,659	1,409,531	976,007	187,290
Dundee City	1,866,273	1,837,720	6,033,514	1,643,568
East Dunbartonshire	1,053,565	916,671	1,438,012	171,118
West Dunbartonshire	1,115,963	750,811	1,522,760	1,073,549

The above information has been collated from data received from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Information on lottery awards may be obtained directly from the department's website at:www.culture.org.uk.

The total spend on the bioAdventures business incubator in Clydebank from April 1997 to June 2002 by Scottish Enterprise has been £1,631,884, with an additional £218,851 from the European Regional Development Fund. The number of jobs created currently stands at 38 and is expected to rise to 106 over the next two years.

Employment policy is reserved to the UK Government which takes the lead on funding and delivery of the New Deal. In Scotland it does this in partnership with the Scottish Executive and contributing organisations.A number of changes are being piloted under the New Deal Next Phase. No decisions have been taken about extending these but experience gained will inform any future development of New Deal.Progress2work is part of the New Deal Next Phase development and is already operating in West Dunbartonshire.

The structure and extent of the strategic road network was last reviewed in 1994-96, as part of the reorganisation of local government. There are no plans to extend the trunk road network.

In November 2001, my predecessor established the River Clyde Working Group (RCWG) to progress an ambitious strategy to maximise economic development along the River Clyde (from Glasgow Green to the Erskine Bridge) and to bring together, and add value to, the many development and regeneration initiatives currently under way.Ms Margaret Curran, Minister for Social Justice, and I hosted a Working Summit on 24 June which provided a useful forum for discussion of the key issues involved. It was recognised that this is a major opportunity for the Greater Glasgow area, with the potential for significant economic and social gain. It was agreed that the River Clyde Working Group would continue to work together to identify a vision for the river and a development framework to make this vision a reality.

The level of funding provided to police forces is now at record levels as are police numbers.It is an operational matter for the Chief Constable of Strathclyde Police to determine how to use the funding at his disposal to meet local needs and priorities within the Strathclyde area. I understand that initiatives are planned in both East and West Dunbartonshire during the summer months to provide an enhanced visible police presence in order to deter youth disorder and other aspects of criminal behaviour.In addition, under the previous challenge funding arrangements for CCTV and community safety we have partially funded CCTV projects in Clydebank Town Centre, Dumbarton Town Centre, New Bonhill, Bishopbriggs and a system covering Bearsden, Kirkintilloch, Lenzie and Milngavie, as well as youth shelters in West Dunbartonshire.On 31 October 2001 we announced details of a new Community Safety Partnership Award programme to supersede both the CCTV and Community Safety Challenge Competitions. The Programme will allow Community Safety Partnerships to secure, for the first time, sustained mainstream funding to be used solely for the purposes of taking forward their community safety agendas and to identify and address local priorities. For 2002-03 West Dunbartonshire Community Safety Partnership has been allocated a total community safety award of £118,491.54 and East Dunbartonshire Community Safety Partnership have been allocated £94,530.47.Substantial additional resources have also been allocated to the Dunbartonshire area to tackle drug misuse.

Dunbartonshire Export Partnership is one of the 13 local export partnerships that cover the whole of Scotland, each of which plays an important role in focussing the trade development activities of the local enterprise company, local authority and Chamber of Commerce. They are responsible for enabling companies to reach a stage where they are ready to compete overseas and in financial year 2001-02 Dunbartonshire Export Partnership assisted six companies to trade overseas for the first time and 35 existing exporters to enter new markets.The assistance provided by Dunbartonshire Export Partnership is further augmented by Scottish Development International which leads the network of export partnerships and is able to offer additional support and services to companies including assistance through its network of overseas offices.One of a range of initiatives undertaken by Dunbartonshire Export Partnership is the establishment of an International Trade Forum in partnership with Scottish Enterprise Renfrewshire to make companies aware of the opportunities available in overseas markets. Meetings are held at six-weekly intervals alternately in Dunbartonshire and Renfrewshire. Each event provides an overview of market conditions and business practices they are likely to encounter in particular geographic areas.

The Scottish Executive is working directly with Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise to improve the quality and consistency of support for business start-ups and small businesses throughout Scotland. A number of measures have been introduced including the Small Business Gateway (SBG) which covers the Dunbartonshire area. The SBG provides consistent support and advice on all aspects of running a business, including on taking on more staff.Although employment is a reserved matter, the Executive also works with Jobcentre Plus at a national level to encourage employers throughout Scotland to participate in the range of New Deal programmes available locally.

In the five years to March 2001, Scottish Development International and its partners helped attract 15 projects to Dunbartonshire involving planned investment of over £51 million and the planned creation or safeguarding of almost 1,500 jobs.Scottish Development International continues to work closely with Scottish Enterprise Dunbartonshire to develop appropriate inward investment opportunities for the area.

Under the Standards in Scotland's Schools etc Act, 2000, local authorities have a duty to secure pre-school education provision for all three- and four-year-old children whose parents wish it. Information relating to participation rates for the spring term 2001-02 is currently being collected and we expect to announce the final figures next month. Indications are that the rate for three-year-olds will be around 85% of the eligible population or 51,368 children. It is envisaged that the participation rate for three-year-olds will level off at this rate.