Chamber and committees

Under the terms of the pay agreement between the trade unions and local authority employers in 2001, chief officers will receive an increase of 2% and manual workers 4% with effect from 1 April 2003.

All of the recommendations from the Final Report of the School Drug Safety Team, published in January 2001 are being implemented. £3 million over the three years from 2001-02 is being provided to support this. The recommendations cover all aspects of drug education in schools impacting on the curriculum, management and co-ordination within schools, quality assurance, teacher education and multi-agency training.Guidelines for the Management of Incidents of Drugs Misuse was issued to all schools in June 2000. These guidelines contain clear advice on the procedures which should be in place within school, not only to deal with any incidents but also for protecting the welfare of the young person after an incident. All schools are expected to have policies and procedures in place in line with this national advice by the end of academic year 2002-03.The funding of £3 million includes £900,000 over 2002-03 and 2003-04 on drug-related training for teachers being provided by Scotland Against Drugs and the Scottish Training Agency for Drug and Alcohol.

The Budget (Scotland) (No. 4) Bill includes a cash budget for HM Inspectorate of Education for 2003-04 of £8.2 million.

Scottish Executive Childcare Strategy funding is provided to local authorities to meet local child care needs including out-of-school care.Funding has been allocated as follows:Financial year 1999-2000: £5.75 million2000-01: £13.75 million2001-02: £15.75 millionCurrent year 2002-03: £16.75 million We do not hold centrally information on how much of this funding has been spent by local authorities on out-of-school care, or on how many places have been created.The New Opportunities Fund (NOF) provides funding for the creation and expansion of out-of-school clubs through the Out-of-School Hours Childcare Programme. Since 1999, the programme has to date allocated over £15 million and created over 32,000 child care places.

Scottish Executive Childcare Strategy funding is provided to local authorities to meet local child care needs, including out-of-school care. Allocations for the years 2003-06 are as follows:Financial year 2003-04: £19.25 million2004-05: £29.75 million2005-06: £40.65 millionIt is for the local authorities, with their Childcare Partnerships, to determine how these funds will be used to create and sustain child care provision, including out of school care.The New Opportunity Fund (NOF) Out-of-School Hours Childcare Programme has been extended until June 2003. £10.25 million is still available under the current programme for the creation of new child care places. Approximately £6 million is also available to provide extended two- or three-year funding to help sustain places. In addition, the NOF has made available a further £14.5 million under a new programme, New Opportunities for Quality Childcare, which could include out of school provision. The programme will run until June 2005.

This information is not held centrally.

I have asked Graham Donaldson, Chief Executive of HM Inspectorate of Education, to respond. His response is as follows:We are aiming to complete the delivery of the first generational cycle by 2008 for secondary schools and 2009 for primary schools. In 2002, we inspected 370 primary schools (223 initial inspections and 147 follow-up inspections) and 97 secondary schools (36 initial inspections and 61 follow-up inspections).

The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) is keen to encourage the work of the SYP. SPCB staff have met with the SYP to discuss how this might be progressed. Hosting debates in the Chamber, whilst the Parliament is at the Mound, is an option that is still under discussion and it is hoped to stage a joint event later in 2003.

The Scottish Youth Parliament has booked a venue in Glasgow for their meeting on 29 and 30 March 2003 so the SPCB is not required to ensure access to the Chamber.

Scottish Abstract of Statistics was published annually up to 1996 and then in 1998. Following consultation with users, there are no plans to publish future volumes. Updated versions of information which appeared in the 1998 Abstract have already been published in a variety of ways, for example, on the Scottish Executive website.The Social Focus and Scottish Economic Statistics publications have replaced the Scottish Abstract of Statistics. Social Focus is an annual compendium that concentrates on a particular topic each year. The first edition of Social Focus concentrated on gender issues including health, education and the labour market. The 2003 edition will compare a range of statistics across urban and rural Scotland.Scottish Economic Statistics provides a range of data on the Scottish economy, as well as outlining the programme for economic statistics work in the Scottish Executive. In addition, it contains articles discussing current issues in economic statistics.