Chamber and committees

The Scottish Executive has provided support in the form of grant-funding to the ASCC over the past three financial years as follows: £29,000 in 1999-2000, £30,000 in 2000-01 and £27,000 in 2001-02.

No. Under the terms of the election pilot run at the Teith by-election, the poll was conducted by an all-postal ballot and every registered voter was issued with a ballot paper. Election rules prevent the use of completed ballot papers to mark a register.

A programme of junction improvements is currently underway covering the Balfarg Junction, the Preston Roundabout and construction of a new roundabout at the Markinch/Tullis Russell Junction. In addition the Executive intends to commission a Route Study Report during 2002 which will examine the section of the A92 between New Inn Roundabout and the Tay Bridge. This study will look at the operational characteristics of the route and recommend measures primarily aimed at improving road safety. Implementation will depend on the availability of funding in future spending programmes.

The estimated total costs to date are £6,560.

I will meet with COSLA in the next few weeks to discuss its Spending Review submission. Other ministers are also arranging meetings with COSLA to discuss their portfolio interests.

The seasonal closure of the sprat fishery in the inner waters of the Firth of Forth is currently set out in Article 21 of Council Regulation (EC) No. 850/98 for the conservation of fishery resources through technical measures for the protection of juveniles of marine organisms. This closure was originally introduced in the 1970s. It was introduced specifically to protect herring. There was evidence that a very high proportion of juvenile herring were caught in the sprat fishery in that area.Herring stocks collapsed during the 1970s and the herring fishery in the North Sea and to the west of Scotland was closed for a number of years.

The North Atlantic drift is part of the oceanic current system that is responsible for the temperate climate of the UK, and northwestern Europe. It influences the temperature of the North Sea, and is also likely to have an influence on cod stocks in the North Sea. However, the precise mechanisms are not yet understood.

A marked register is used to show that ballot papers have been issued to a voter in person at the polling station. The by-election in the Teith ward was conducted as an election pilot under section 5 of the Scottish Local Government (Elections) Act 2002, and was conducted by an all-postal ballot. All registered voters were issued with a ballot paper by post and therefore a marked register was not used. The pilot resulted in a 63.2% turnout, an increase of 20% over the previous by-election. Evaluation studies are being carried out by both Stirling Council and the Electoral Commission.

Details of the full costs of publishing the document and summary are not yet available but the final cost is expected to be around £6,500. I will write to the member with this information once it is available and place a copy in the Parliament's Reference Centre.

Outturn information on the additional direct costs associated with the abolition of Crown Exemption for police properties in 2001-02 is not yet available.The total additional amount estimated for non-domestic rates for police properties in 2002-03, based on figures provided by forces, is £10.4 million. This amount was included in the distribution of GAE for that year. The breakdown by force is shown in the following table.

Force	Additional estimated costs 2002-03(£ million)
Central	0.4
Dumfries and Galloway	0.3
Fife	0.8
Grampian	1.1
Lothian & Borders	1.7
Northern	0.7
Strathclyde	4.5
Tayside	0.9
Total	10.4