Chamber and committees

This is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise. However, I understand that the position of all staff on temporary contracts was clarified in the week commencing 24 June.

Pay for speech and language therapists is not determined by the pay review bodies, but through the appropriate functional Whitley Council.As far as occupational therapists and physiotherapists are concerned, the Scottish Executive submits evidence to the review bodies annually. Copies of the evidence submitted for 2001-02 can be found on the following website:http://www.doh.gov.uk/reviewbodies/.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:No decisions have been taken. Options will be evaluated near the end of the contract period which ends in 2024.

Our timetable for the introduction of the new principles and processes is that we expect to pilot some of them in 2002-03, rolling out their introduction across the Executive in 2003-04. The timetable for the introduction of a generic funding power will be dependent on the Scottish Parliamentary timetable, but is not likely to be introduced in the current term.

The Executive has no plans to change the procedures for repaying student loans or for the payment of the graduate endowment. All liable graduates can choose to meet their graduate endowment liability by taking out a student loan or adding to their existing loan. Student loans are repayable, at a fixed rate, only when the student's annual earnings exceed the income threshold, currently set at £10,000. Those who remain in full-time education are, therefore, unlikely to have to make loan repayments. The interest charged on student loans is linked to the rate of inflation and is applied merely to maintain the value of the amount borrowed in real terms.

The Executive's Plan for Action on alcohol problems, which was published on 18 January, acknowledges that there are gaps in current alcohol problems support and treatment services across Scotland. It requires local Alcohol Action Teams to assess needs in their areas and produce strategies to address these by April 2003. The Executive is currently developing a framework for support and treatment services to act as a guide for local strategies.

The Scottish Executive sponsors Scottish Screen to encourage the development of the Scottish film, television, and related media as an industry and to promote film culture. Scottish Screen receives £2.6 million in grant from the Scottish Executive and is also the Lottery Distributor for film activity in Scotland, distributing a further £3 million through Lottery funded schemes.

We have no plans for community support officers with police powers to undertake neighbourhood patrols along the lines recently proposed south of the Border. However, the Executive has provided funding under the Better Neighbourhood Services Fund for a pilot to explore the use of neighbourhood wardens in part of Paisley. The role of these wardens, who will be employed by Renfrewshire Council and work closely with Strathclyde Police, will be to observe and report incidents with the aim of reducing vandalism and anti-social behaviour.

There are over 3,800 Justices of the Peace in Scotland. The pro forma used to recommend someone for appointment as a justice asks for a statement of that individual's political views, if known, so that the local Justice of the Peace Advisory Committee may avoid making recommendations for appointment to ministers that would result in a disproportionate number of justices of any one party in that commission. It would not be appropriate to publish the information provided in response to this question since the individuals concerned have not been asked for permission to do so. Some justices are members of local Justice of the Peace Advisory Committees and, since these are non-departmental public bodies, the appointment procedures must comply with the UK Commissioner for Public Appointments' Code of Practice. The code requires that all non-executive appointees to public bodies must be asked to declare whether they have been politically active in the five years prior to their appointment. Details of those members who have declared political activity are included in the list published recently in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 20841).Some justices are local authority councillors appointed ex officio by their council. However, an effect of the Bail, Judicial Appointments etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 is that councillors may be appointed only as signing justices, that is, they may not sit on the bench of the district court.

Scientific evidence that might lead to the withdrawal of a consent and thereby the termination of a current farm scale evaluation of genetically modified crops may be presented to the Scottish Executive from any source. The Scottish Executive would take expert advice on the credibility and relevance of any such evidence which would have to demonstrate that the release of these crops on their respective sites would represent a threat to the safety of human health or the environment. Scottish ministers have consistently stated that if they were satisfied that scientific evidence demonstrated such a threat to either human health or the environment they would withdraw consent.