Chamber and committees

All adult pigs, including free-rangepigs, have a livestock unit value of 0.4 for the purposes of calculating stockingdensities. Whether or not pigs are considered livestock units in the determinationof stocking densities in conjunction with other livestock depends on the reasonfor the calculation being made. Pigs are not included as livestock units when calculatingstocking densities for support schemes including the Extensification Payment Schemeand the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme.

Beechwood farm is owned byScottish ministers and is used to provide bulls and rams for the LivestockImprovement Schemes, which the Crofters Commission runs on behalf of Scottish ministers.

Twosmall pieces of land on Beechwood have been sold recently for a total of £8,676.25.

The annual Capital Budgetfor the Crofters Commission makes provision for the forecast level of relatedcapital receipts to offset related capital expenditure. The 2003-04 budgetapproved by the Parliament made provision for Crofters Commission capitalreceipts of £1,000. Any excess receipts, in the case of the commission, or anyother part of the budget, are used in the first instance to offset anyshortfall in planned receipts elsewhere and thereafter to reduce overall budgetoutturn.

Theft oflivestock is a criminal act and is treated by the police in the same manner asany other theft. How individual forces deal with specific instances oflivestock theft is an operational matter for the relevant chief constable.

The Scottish Executive is committed to equality of opportunity for all. The implementation of our Equality Strategy recognises the complexity of needs and diversity among different communities in Scotland. Work is on-going to ensure that an equality perspective is integrated into the Scottish Executive’s policy development,legislation, spending plans, and delivery.

The 2001 Census in Scotland collected statistics on the number of people with a long-term illness, health problem or disability that limits their daily activities or the work that they can do. Table 1 presents the results for all people living in households broken down by urban rural classification.

Table 1: People with Long-term Illness, Health Problem or Disability by Urban Rural Classification, Percentages, 2001 Data, All People in Households

Area	All People in Households with Disability/Long-Term Illness	All People in Households with Disability/Long-Term Illness	Base
	Number	Percentage
Large Urban Areas	408,151	21	1,936,320
Other Urban Areas	288,614	20	1,465,159
Accessible Small Towns	98,114	19	521,988
Remote Small Towns	25,759	20	131,119
Accessible Rural	108,015	17	644,303
Remote Rural	49,723	18	277,116
Urban	820,638	20	4,054,586
Rural	157,738	17	921,419
Scotland	978,376	20	4,976,005

Source: 2001 Census.

In Scotland, there are 978,376 people living in households with a long-term illness, health problem or disability. This accounts for 20% of Scotland’s population.

Of those people living in rural areas, 17% (157,738) have a long-term illness, health problem or disability.

Information at this level ofdetail is not held centrally. Information is held on various types of theft,but this does not separately distinguish theft of livestock.

The Executive’s NationalPlanning Policy Guideline 6 and Planning Advice Note 45 ensure that ourcommitment to exploiting the environmental and economic benefits of renewableenergy is pursued in tandem with natural and built heritage obligations andcommunity interests. The policyprinciple is that developments should be accommodated where the technology canoperate efficiently and environmental impacts can be addressed satisfactorily.Guidance on the Section 36consents process is available on the Scottish Executive website at www.scotland.gov.uk/enterprise/energy

From the 2002 Scottish HouseholdSurvey, it is estimated that 17% of adults with a long-standing limitingillness, health problem or disability, access the internet for their personaluse (as opposed to their work-related use).

Of those adults with along-standing limiting illness, health problem or disability who access theinternet for their personal use, 88% do so from their own home.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-6324 on 16 March 2004.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/search_wa.

Disability is just onefactor which puts people at risk of exclusion. We are taking a number ofmeasures to ensure that all those potentially at risk have access to thenecessary communication technology skills and opportunities.

For example, as part of a £1million funding programme for projects that benefit disabled people, we areproviding £200,000 to the DARE (Disability and Rehabilitation Education)Foundation to fund projects for transition into supported education andemployment, and £206,000 to LEAD (Linking Education and Disability) Scotland forthe provision of specialist ICT equipment and support to assist disabled peopleaccess distance learning courses to improve their skills and theiremployability.