Chamber and committees

This is a matter for Scottish Natural Heritage. The Information requested is not held centrally.

None. The functions of the Traffic Commissioners for the Scottish Traffic Area in relation to freight are reserved.

The Scottish Executive has no such powers.

The Children (Scotland) Act 1995 does not form part of the law of the USA. However, the Scottish Executive shares the concerns expressed about the effect of this appeal judgement having regard to the terms of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, to which both the UK and US are parties.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-240 today. 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.

The Scottish Executive is aware of this appeal decision. The case arose following an abduction to the USA from Scotland following which the Scottish child was ordered to be returned to Scotland under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction 1980. An appeal against this was allowed on grounds which have given rise to concern. The appeal court has since denied an application from the Scottish mother against this appeal judgment.The Scottish Executive shares the concerns about the terms of this appeal judgment and, as Central Authority in Scotland under the Hague Convention, is doing all it properly can to support the efforts of the Scottish mother and her attorney in the USA.Normally, when an application is submitted under the Hague Convention, the requested state will arrange for the applicant to receive cost free legal and administrative advice and assistance. The United States has, however, made a reservation to this and so when an application is submitted to the USA the Central Authority in the USA will arrange for pro bono representation for the applicant. I understand it can become more difficult to secure pro bono assistance when appeals are made. Scottish Legal Aid can only be made available for proceedings in the Scottish courts and does not cover proceedings raised in the USA or other countries.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-00240. 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.

The Scottish Executive will not lose decision-making powers or responsibilities In respect of environmental services with regard to the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).The regulation of international trade is a reserved matter and as such the UK Government takes the lead. However, the Scottish Executive maintains close contact with DTI and other UK Government Departments on trade issues, including GATS, and how they may impact on the Executive's responsibilities.

The number of optical vouchers with supplements for prisms paid in respect of Ayrshire and Arran NHS Board area for the financial years 1997 to 2003 is shown in table 1. A robust estimate is not available for 1996. The number of optical voucher with supplements for prisms paid in respect of each ophthalmic dispenser in the board's area for the year 2003 is shown in table 2. Information for previous years is not available.Table 1

Year	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
Number of Prism Supplements Paid	590	537	563	515	563	611	477

Note:For year ending 31 March.Table 2

Ophthalmic Dispenser	Number of Prism Supplements Paid
1	Nil
2	10
3	11
4	6
5	13
6	7
7	7
8	1
9	1
10	2
11	1
12	2
13	16
14	6
15	Nil
16	2
17	Nil
18	6
19	5
20	4
21	7
22	5
23	3
24	11
25	16
26	2
27	8
28	5
29	6
30	5
31	7
32	7
33	48
34	7
35	9
36	Nil
37	7
38	3
39	33
40	48
41	14
42	22
43	6
44	8
45	3
46	14
47	1
48	5
49	Nil
50	Nil
51	Nil
52	4
53	6
54	Nil
55	1
56	49
57	2
58	5
59	Nil
60	Nil
61	Nil
Total	477

Notes:For year ending 31 March 2003.In line with data protection principles, the data have been anonymised.

The number of optical vouchers with supplements for small glasses paid in respect of Ayrshire and Arran NHS Board area for the financial years 1997 to 2003 is shown in table 1. A robust estimate is not available for 1996. The number of optical vouchers with supplements for small glasses paid in respect of each ophthalmic dispenser in the board's area is shown in table 2. Information for previous years is not available.Table 1

Year	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
Number of Small Glasses Supplements Paid	105	99	118	53	44	24	24

Note:For year ending 31 March.Table 2

Ophthalmic Dispenser	Number of Small Glasses Supplements Paid
1	Nil
2	1
3	2
4	1
5	1
6	Nil
7	1
8	Nil
9	Nil
10	Nil
11	Nil
12	Nil
13	1
14	Nil
15	1
16	Nil
17	Nil
18	Nil
19	Nil
20	Nil
21	1
22	1
23	1
24	Nil
25	Nil
26	Nil
27	4
28	Nil
29	1
30	Nil
31	Nil
32	Nil
33	Nil
34	Nil
35	4
36	Nil
37	Nil
38	2
39	Nil
40	Nil
41	Nil
42	Nil
43	Nil
44	Nil
45	Nil
46	1
47	Nil
48	Nil
49	Nil
50	Nil
51	Nil
52	Nil
53	Nil
54	Nil
55	Nil
56	Nil
57	Nil
58	Nil
59	1
60	Nil
61	Nil
Total	24

Notes:For year ending 31 March 2003.In line with data protection principles, the data have been anonymised.