Chamber and committees

The Scottish Executive is keen to enhance the community leadership role of councils through the continuing development of community planning. Our commitment to the community planning process will be further demonstrated by the establishment of our Community Planning Task Force and by the wider package of post-McIntosh measures which we are progressing.

Openness, transparency and accountability are among the key criteria on which the Leadership Advisory Panel are assessing councils self-reviews of their policy development and decision-making processes. The panel and individual councils, working together, will ensure more open and accountable processes are developed across the country.

It is the responsibility of each of the local authorities, as employers, to ensure that they motivate and manage staff and manage the process of change in the best way possible. The Leadership Advisory Panel, which the Executive appointed to oversee the modernisation of council structures, is working with councils to help them prepare effectively for the effects of changes on staff.

No action is planned as a result of the report. With the exception of local government elections in Scotland, elections are a reserved issue under the Scotland Act. The Renewing Local Democracy working group, which the Executive appointed last summer, is looking at a range of issues relating to local government democracy including the electoral system. We look forward to receiving the group's report and considering its recommendations.

In a recent study (Gilchrist and Hooke, 1997) conducted in Greenock prison 29% of prisoners reported that they were drinking over the safe limit for men as advised by the Inter-Departmental Working Group. In Cornton Vale Prison (Loucks, 1997) an estimated 10-15 % of women were found to be addicted to alcohol.

Around three quarters of prisoners are estimated by the SPS to have been on illicit drugs just before entering prison. Various elements the SPS drugs strategy together succeeded in reducing this so that interim results for 1999-2000 show that only 15% tested positive for drug misuse within the prison setting.

The extent and degree of mental illness or psychological disturbance is not known with any precision. Studies have ranged from 3% to 82% of the prison population.

In July 1999, the Office for National Statistics claimant count system shows there were around 1,500 people claiming unemployment-related benefits in the Glasgow travel to work area who were seeking work in construction trades. At this time, the usual occupation of around 1,400 unemployed claimants was in the construction industry. Latest figures, from April 2000, show that there are now 1,400 claimants in the Glasgow travel to work area seeking work in construction trades, and 1,200 with previous experience in construction. All people claiming unemployment related benefits must be currently available for work.

No information is held centrally on all Glaswegians looking for work in construction, the type and level of skills these people have.

Scottish Enterprise Glasgow, Glasgow City Council, and the Greater Pollok Social Inclusion Partnership are already taking a number of specific measures to reduce unemployment in Greater Pollok. These measures include: the development of strategic sites for both indigenous companies and inward investors to create new jobs for local residents; facilitating access to employment for Pollok residents through a variety of training, counselling, and work experience schemes including the Glasgow Mentoring Network, Glasgow Works, the Glasgow Employment Zone, the New Deal, Skillseekers and Training for Work; removing barriers to employment through improving childcare provision; supporting the development of the Social Economy as a provider of services and employment; promoting a culture of lifelong learning through initiatives such as the the creation of a Real Learning Centre in Pollok Library; and the establishment of a local economic development company "Invest in Greater Pollok" which will manage the delivery of a wide range of economic development services.

RSG is one element of aggregate external finance (AEF), the total central government grant available to local authorities. AEF allocations will increase for 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 from £5,331.557 million to £5,344.734 million, also in real terms.RSG is the balancing factor that makes up each council's share of AEF after specific grants and non-domestic rate income have been allocated. Non-domestic rate income is forecast to increase by up to £190 million in 2000-01 causing a corresponding drop in RSG. Revenue support grant (RSG) for these two years, expressed in real terms using the March 2000 GDP Deflators with base year 1998-99, is therefore £3,443.140 million and £3,252.191 million respectively. Such savings in RSG will remain in the Departmental Expenditure Limit as a provision to cover requirements for additional RSG arising from the impact of NDR appeals, and for other adjustments.

Local authorities provide match funding from within their overall section 94 resources to access capital grants from the European Union. On receipt, the grants automatically enhance a local authority's section 94 capital allocation.

Based on the most recent information available, it is estimated that around £1,500.163 million will be raised in non-domestic rates for 1999-2000. We estimate that £1,550 million will be raised in 2000-01, the same in real terms as 1999-2000 after taking into account expected losses from appeals and transitional relief.

Tenants will be fully involved in the preparation of any proposal for transfer of Glasgow's housing into community ownership, including decisions about future investment and demolition programmes. A transfer will take place only if a majority of tenants vote for it.