Chamber and committees

The percentages are as follows:

1994: 38.28

1995: 37.79

1996: 37.42

1997: 35.46

1998: 37.07

1999: 37.21

2000: 37.

We have paid additional fuel supplements totalling £2.5 million to NorthLink Ferries Ltd since the Northern Isles contract started in July 2006 and £3.4 million to CalMac Ferries Ltd since the Clyde and Hebrides contract started in October 2007.

The Scottish Government recognises that farmers and crofters in the Highlands and Islands face extra input costs. These are reflected in the current Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (LFASS) which includes higher payment rates for the Highlands (classed as fragile areas) and Islands (classed as very fragile areas). To help develop policy about how LFASS should operate in the future, the Scottish Government is working closely with members of the LFA Stakeholder Group; this work has included detailed consideration of options for the basis of future payments. The Scottish Government will be consulting on LFASS 2010-13 during this autumn.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of Vestas and the facility at Machrihanish to the people of Campbeltown and to the economy of Kintyre. Vestas is currently in consultation regarding the future of the facility and we are in dialogue with the company to understand its intentions.

Every effort will be made to encourage and support Vestas to retain manufacturing and production facilities at the Campbeltown facility. However, we are also seeking to identify other potential occupiers for the facility from the energy sector and other engineering related uses that are able to utilise the highly skilled local staff should Vestas decide to end production. The Scottish Government is working alongside Scottish Development International, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and others to ensure the best possible outcome for the people of Kintyre.

Vestas procured the buildings at its Machrihanish facility with Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) funding the construction to a capped sum of £9.54 million. The buildings belonged to HIE on their completion and were leased to Vestas for the period 28 March 2002 until 31 December 2012, at full market rent. Subsequently various improvements were undertaken to the facility funded by HIE at a cost of £678,000 in return for an increase in the rent to be paid by the company. The total construction cost was £10,218,000 and the annual rent paid by Vestas is £546,585.

In addition to the property spend, funding support was granted to Vestas on five occasions from 2002 to 2005 totalling £668,500.

The Scottish Government is currently giving careful consideration to its response to the recommendations in the report of the Committee of Inquiry on Crofting. We aim to publish our response in September 2008.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-15353 on 29 August 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

I have asked Transport Scotland to place copies of appropriate papers on the Transport Scotland website as they become available.

The higher proportion of male than female school leavers not in employment, reflects the gender split in both underachievement in school and unemployment in the adult population.

We recognise that staying in learning post-16 is a priority for both males and females. The importance that we place on this is reflected in the following:

(i) The National Performance Framework indicator To increase the proportion of school leavers in positive and sustained destinations.

(ii) Both the strategy to help young people who need More Choices and More Chances and Curriculum for Excellence are firmly focused on identifying the needs of each young person individually and targeting the relevant support where it is needed. This support must deliver equally well for all young people of both genders.

(iii) Skills for Scotland, the skills strategy, aims to encourage all young people to stay in learning post-16 as this is the best way for ensuring their long-term employability and contribution to a more prosperous Scotland.

(iv) Building the Curriculum 3 makes it clear that the success of the education system will be judged on the extent to which it contributes to the national indicator on positive and sustained destinations.

Systems for the management and maintenance of core paths should be set up at the local, not the national level. We expect access authorities to take a lead in this, working with others in the local area, especially local access forums.

Access authorities have been provided with powers under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, to do anything they consider appropriate for the purposes of maintaining a core path. They should be making provision to use these powers for the effective management and maintenance of their core path network.