Chamber and committees

The role of the reporter is one aspect of the Children's Hearings system being challenged in the case at present before the Inner House of the Court of Session. The Scottish Children's Reporter Administration has already reviewed practice and issued Guidance for Reporters.

None, Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) has only been available to companies in the Scottish Borders since July this year, when the new Assisted Areas map was announced. The new map covers much of Hawick, Galashiels and Kelso, where a number of textiles companies are located. Under the RSA scheme, grants are typically paid in instalments linked to implementation of projects across a number of years. Accordingly, while discussions about RSA have recently taken place with several such firms, no grant has yet been paid out.

Children and their relevant persons involved in the hearings system may be entitled to advice and assistance under legal aid. The Children's Hearing itself is a non-adversarial forum to discuss what is best for the child. The precise status of a hearing and whether there is an entitlement under the terms of the European Convention on Human Rights to legal aid for representation is one aspect of the case currently before the Court of Session. The Scottish Executive is challenging the case and will await the judgement before reviewing arrangements for legal aid.

Under the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, the child's interests are paramount. A case currently before the Inner House of the Court of Session challenges various aspects of the Children's Hearing System and will help determine the system's compatibility with the Convention.

The extent of new financial support for the textile industry since the Scottish Textile Forum was established on 12 June 2000 depends on the demand from industry to initiate new projects eligible for support, rather than the availability of funds. A variety of projects, including those to support exports, training, marketing, innovation and e-commerce are currently being developed by the Enterprise Network and the textile industry, but it is too early to report on how many of these will proceed and how much public support they will attract.

Payment of remuneration to the Chair of Forth Valley Primary Care NHS Trust commenced on 1 February 2000 when she was no longer President of Employment Tribunals (Scotland).

The time commitment on board business expected of Chairs of Health Boards and NHS Trusts is on average, around three days per week, some of which may be in the evenings or at weekends. This applied to the Chair of Forth Valley Primary Care NHS Trust from 1 February 2000.

The Scottish Executive does not maintain comprehensive records on company closures. However, the Executive is aware of two textile companies that have closed since the establishment of the forum on 12 June 2000. Two other companies have closed down one of their sites.

The public local inquiry report was submitted to the Scottish Executive on 2 August. Planning applications can be complex matters and Ministers have a responsibility to give them due consideration. I will write to the member with my decision as soon as it is available.

It is for the Lord Advocate and the court in each individual case to determine whether or not an error in a search warrant renders court proceedings inappropriate or unsafe. The courts have discretion to excuse irregularities which are not fundamental to the validity of the warrant. The Lord Advocate has already reviewed the procedures governing the preparation of search warrants. Under new procedures which came into effect in October 1999, the Procurator Fiscal is involved in the preparation of requests for search warrants in all but the most exceptional cases, and almost all applications are now dealt with by sheriffs rather than justices. These procedures are designed to ensure that applications are properly scrutinised before they are granted.

No.