Chamber and committees

The Government Expenditure and Revenue in Scotland 2003-04 publication is planned to be published in mid-December. A definitive date has not been set yet.

The Scottish Executive has completed bilingual signing on the A87, A887, A830 and the A835.

Bilingual signing projects on the A828 and A85 are programmed for completion in 2006-07. The A83 between Tarbet and Kennacraig and the A82 between Tarbet and Inverness are still to be programmed and progressing these projects will be subject to the availability of funding.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-19819 answered on 3 November 2005. 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.

Sectoral emissions trends are reported in Greenhouse Gas Inventories for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland 1990-2003 (Bib. number 37621). Manufacturing and engineering is not a sector defined in the inventory, and it is therefore not possible to comment on emissions associated with these industries.

However, combustion related emissions from Manufacturing Industry and Construction (IPCC Sector 1A2) are reported, and over the period 1990-2003 carbon dioxide emissions from this sector declined by 46%. The explanation offered in the inventory indicates that this is “mainly due to the closure of the Ravenscraig Steel Plant.”

Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Development International continue to work with the industry to maximise opportunities for Scotland.

The Scottish Executive will also continue to participate in PILOT, the joint industry and government programme, to secure a long-term future for the sector in the UK as a whole.

Chapter 3 of Greenhouse Gas Inventories for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland 1990-2003, (Bib. number 37621) copies of which are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre, provides a commentary on emission trends in Scotland and changes in emissions from key source sectors.

Table ES1 in Greenhouse Gas Inventories for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland 1990-2003 (Bib. number 37621) provides a summary of greenhouse gas emission trends for the UK and its constituent countries.

The Executive has a range of policies, in conjunction with the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), aimed at increasing employment opportunities for nationals of all countries in Scotland.

In Scotland the DWP through Jobcentre Plus offers a range of services to help unemployed people into work. The Scottish Executive remains committed to equality of opportunity for all, in all aspects of life, including labour market activity. The Executive is developing an employability framework which will help the most disadvantaged in the labour market move towards and into sustained work.

I answered this questionlast week during my discussion with the Finance Committee on EfficientGovernment, but I am happy to restate my answer for Parliament. As Audit Scotland saidin their letter of 10 August to Peter Russell, Head of Efficient GovernmentDelivery Group:

“It is important torecognise, however, that the relationships between inputs and outputs in thepublic sector can be complex; in particular it is often difficult to identifyand measure outputs from public goods. In these circumstances the costsassociated with the development and maintenance of detailed measurement andmonitoring systems can outweigh any associated benefit.”

I have told the committeethat I will not take us along the road of developing measuring and monitoringsystems that outweigh the benefits of the efficiency programme. We are indialogue with Audit Scotland to work out a means by which we can assert (withappropriate evidence) what we believe has been achieved in a year in terms thatwill allow Audit Scotland to review that assertion. We do not want unnecessarybureaucracy, but we do want to try to demonstrate as far as we can wheresavings have been generated and what they have effected in terms of service toindividuals in the community.

The Youth Pact aims to improve the education and training of young Europeans and to integrate policies aimed at young people fully into the Lisbon process. The pact acknowledges that it can only succeed with the involvement of regional and local authorities and others and proposes actions in three areas: Employment, integration and social advancement; Education, training and mobility; Reconciliation of working life and family life. The Executive fully supports the Communication from the Commission to the Council published on 30 May 2005 that proposes measures for implementation of the Youth Pact. In Scotland, our priorities already reflect these measures well. Examples include democratic citizenship where “Values and Citizenship” are embedded across the entire school curriculum via the fourth of our five National Priorities in Education and our strategies for enterprise and lifelong learning, which have expanded the opportunities on offer to young people beyond school age. Supporting young people into education, training and employment are pivotal in achieving the Lisbon goals.