Chamber and committees

The Scottish Executive holds information on the number of new dwellings which are completed each quarter for local authority, housing association and private sector landlords. The information is available for each local authority area.Information is currently available up to the end of September 2001. Figures for the latest quarter July-September 2001 were published in Table 8 of the Scottish Executive Quarterly Housing Trends Bulletin HSG/2002/1. Figures for the first two quarters of 2001, and for the full 12 months of 2000 were set out in Table 8 of earlier bulletins. All bulletins are available in the Parliament's Reference Centre.

Period	Bulletin Number	Publication Date	Bib. Number
July-Sep 2001	HSG/2002/1	26 March 2002	20348
Apr-June 2001	HSG/2001/6	18 December 2001	18220
Jan-Mar 2001	HSG/2001/4	27September 2001	16396
Jan-Dec 2000	HSG/2001/2	26 June 2001	20891

Today we are announcing our response to schools modernisation proposals that we have received from 15 councils. We are also setting out how work will be taken forward on modernising the whole school estate across Scotland. This announcement builds on the joint statement agreed with COSLA at Balfron High School last October, and marks the beginning of the biggest ever school building programme in Scotland with a step change in the level of investment that will deliver an ultra-modern learning environment for the future:

• We will support PPP projects across 15 bidding authorities which will see the replacement or substantial refurbishment of around 300 schools. Details are set out in Table 1.
• We are supporting investment of £1.15 billion to deliver this programme.

• We have invited further PPP bids later in the year and will make up to £150,000 funding available to councils to assist them in preparing their Outline Business Case.
• We have established a joint School Estate Strategy Group with COSLA to progress work on local authorities' school estate plans, a survey of the condition of the school estate, and the development of a national strategy for improvement beyond that announced today.

• £26.7 million will be allocated through the School Buildings Improvement Fund to fund immediate improvement and maintenance work in 2002-03; details are set out in Table 2, in addition to authorities' own spending on school buildings of around £120 million.

Table 1 shows the indicative level of PPP investment for which the Executive will provide revenue support in each council area:Table 1

Council	PPP Capital Investment (£ million)
Aberdeenshire	45
Argyll and Bute	80
Dumfries and Galloway	100
Dundee	80
East Ayrshire	60
East Lothian	37
East Renfrewshire	50
Fife	53
Highland	100
Inverclyde	60
North Lanarkshire	125
Renfrewshire	100
South Ayrshire	60
South Lanarkshire	150
West Lothian	50
Total	1,150

Table 2 shows the allocation to local authorities of £26.7 million through the School Buildings Improvement Fund which is a grant for general capital expenditure on school buildings. Table 2

Aberdeen City	£828,000
Aberdeenshire	£1,175,000
Angus	£614,000
Argyll and Bute	£576,000
Clackmannanshire	£254,000
Dumfries and Galloway	£750,000
Dundee City	£715,000
East Ayrshire	£659,000
East Dunbartonshire	£679,000
East Lothian	£467,000
East Renfrewshire	£529,000
Edinburgh, City of	£1,745,000
Eilean Siar	£237,000
Falkirk	£715,000
Fife	£1,840,000
Glasgow City	£2,784,000
Highland	£1,204,000
Inverclyde	£500,000
Midlothian	£476,000
Moray	£459,000
North Ayrshire	£742,000
North Lanarkshire	£1,935,000
Orkney Islands	£174,000
Perth and Kinross	£664,000
Renfrewshire	£923,000
Scottish Borders	£566,000
Shetland Islands	£191,000
South Ayrshire	£614,000
South Lanarkshire	£1,769,000
Stirling	£475,000
West Dunbartonshire	£550,000
West Lothian	£891,000
Total	£26,700,000

A summary of the interim findings of the National Evaluation of New Community Schools, including breakfast clubs, will be published by the Scottish Executive in the summer. The Evaluation will use quantitative data to examine the relationship between New Community School status and pupil performance, and will explore the views of pupils, teachers and parents on the value of initiatives supported by New Community Schools. While it will not be possible to isolate quantitative data on the specific benefits of breakfast clubs from that of other initiatives, there is a clearly established link between health, nutrition and educational achievement and there is evidence to suggest that breakfast clubs are helpful in this respect.

Implementation guidance on the classroom assistants programme was issued in April 1999. The guidance indicates that assistants are expected to work under the direction of teachers in a variety of roles to reduce administrative workloads and, after appropriate training, to provide support to learning. A copy of the guidance is available in the Parliament's Reference Centre.

Since 1998 the Scottish Executive has produced an annual survey on the number of temporary and permanent exclusions from schools in Scotland. The figures are broken down between education authorities and between primary, secondary and special schools. A copy of each survey is available in the Parliament's Reference Centre and can be accessed under the following reference numbers:

1998-99	21835
1999-2000	11531
2000-01	21836

It is too early to assess the effectiveness of the Neighbourhood Warden pilot project in Paisley, because the project has only just started. Renfrewshire Council is putting in place systems for monitoring and evaluation which should allow assessments of the effectiveness of the project to be made in due course.HM Inspectors of Constabulary assess the effectiveness of special constables within their regular inspections of all Scottish police forces; but there has been no specific assessment of their effect on anti-social behaviour.

It is too early to assess the effectiveness of the Neighbourhood Warden pilot project because the project has only just started. The council is putting in place systems for monitoring and evaluation which should allow assessments of the effectiveness of the project to be made in due course.

The Review of the Planning, Allocation and Management of Resources in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, published on 4 March, made recommendations which are intended to improve the quality of the service delivered to the public across the board. Implementation of these recommendations has begun under the direction of the recently appointed Chief Executive and Crown Agent Designate and has reached the stage at which appointments to the new post of Area Procurator Fiscal are presently being made. Additional prosecutors and administrative staff are being recruited and technology which will permit more effective management of work is being introduced.

Details of weightings are set out in Grant Aided Expenditure (the "Green Book") 2001-02, which is available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 12261). The weightings also apply to 2002-03 and 2003-04.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-25637.