Chamber and committees

Details of EuropeanStructural Funds received by Stirling Council in each year between 2000 and 2006can be found in the following attached.

Figures from 1997-99are only available for the period as a whole, not individual years, the Grant Awardedin total was £4,241,145 and the Grant Allocated was £3,699,454. The figures from1997 to 1999 do not include LEADERII Programme information. This programme was delivered through enterprise networksand no figures are available at local authority level.

Year	Grant Awarded	Grant Allocated
2006	£1,943,970	£1,696,586
2005	£10,909,140	£1,447,530
2004	£1,905,495	£1,474,601
2003	£656,017	£521,028
2002	£447,013	£462,690
2001	£2,082,093	£1,873,062
2000	£860,308	£765,938

 

The available informationon convictions for causing death by careless driving when under the influence ofdrink or drugs was given in reply to answer to question S3W-3738 on 11 September2007 which is available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for whichcan be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.The new offence of causing death by careless driving was introduced on 8 November2006 by the Road Safety Act 2006. Convictions data for 2006-07 are not yet available.

The available informationis given in the following table. The figures cannot be split into alcohol and drugs.

Persons with aCharge Proved in Scottish Courts for Causing Death by Careless Driving whenUnder the Influence when Under the Influence of Drink or Drugs¹, 1996-97to 2005-06.

Year	Number
1996-97	1
1997-98	6
1998-99	1
1999-2000	2
2000-01	2
2001-02	2
2002-03	-
2003-04	3
2004-05	5
2005-06	3

Note: 1. Where mainoffence is under section 3A of the Road Transport Act 1988.

I intend to meet every chiefconstable, the leadership of the Scottish Police Services Authority, and representativesof staff associations over the coming weeks and months.

A Scottish Framework for Nursing in Schools was launched by Cathy Jamieson and myself on Monday 3 March in Prestonpans Primary School. This framework sets out clearly the future role that school nurses will play. The focus on:an assessment of the health needs of each school and the development of school health plans;working with schools, children and parents to address identified needs;promoting healthy lifestyles and health schools;supporting children with chronic and complex health needs, andsupporting vulnerable children and young people.The framework will be implemented alongside the roll out of New Community Schools approach.

We have made good progress. The Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Department is wholly located in Glasgow, the Food Standards Agency Scotland has been set up in Aberdeen and the Public Guardian's Office has been set up in Falkirk. The National Office of the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care and the offices of the Scottish Social Services Council has been set up in Dundee. The Scottish Public Pensions Agency is now located in Galashiels, and Scottish Water Headquarters has been set up in Dunfermline.Decisions are expected on the location of the Health Education Board for Scotland, sportscotland, and the Common Services Agency of the National Health Service in Scotland and Scottish Natural Heritage and the Scottish Arts Council before the end of this financial year, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education by mid 2003 and Registers of Scotland in 2004.Rolling this programme forward, I can announce today that we will examine relocation options for the following bodies, with reviews taking place in 2003.

NHS Education in Scotland	Decision, early 2003
Inquiry Reporters Unit	Decision, mid 2003
Accountant in Bankruptcy	Decision, end 2003
VisitScotland	Decision, end 2003
Mental Welfare Commission	Decision, early 2005

Consideration is being given to setting up the following new bodies.

Scottish Building Standards Agency	Decision, early 2003
NHS Quality Improvement	Decision, early 2003
Mental Health Tribunal Service	Decision, mid 2003
Forest Enterprise Scotland	Decision, end 2003

If the Executive decides to set up these new bodies, in the case of the Mental Health Tribunal Service and the Scottish Building Standards Agency subject to parliamentary approval, they will be determined in accordance with the relocation policy with a presumption against an Edinburgh location. For organisations being considered following lease breaks, options outwith Edinburgh must be considered.It is also the intention of the Executive to provide further guidance on social issues to the bodies covered by the announcement. Currently, unemployment is one of the factors which is taken into account in location reviews. The guidance will make it clear that there is a case for giving greater weight to economic factors such as unemployment and other indicators of deprivation in conducting location reviews.These organisations will be examined on a case-by-case basis, with the aim of finding the best location for each organisation, within the context of relocation policy. The position of staff will be a consideration, as will the costs and benefits of the moves. As part of the process, the organisations concerned will continue to consider how most efficiently to conduct their work in line with the most up to date practices and use of technology. There will be opportunities for representations to be made about different locations and full consultation with the organisations concerned and the relevant trade unions. In addition, and as an extension to the policy, Mr Kerr announced on 25 October and the First Minister set out on 28 October that the Executive would undertake a review across the organisations covered by the relocation policy to identify small units of work which could be successfully carried out in more remote areas where other opportunities to promote economic activity can be harder to find.

A number of the recommendations, outlined in the Action Plan for Dental Services in Scotland which was published in August 2000, have been implemented and work continues to address the others.I am pleased to say that this morning the Health Minister announced that an additional £3.8 million was being made available to improve NHS dental surgeries.

Following the announcement of the climate change levy, the Scottish Executive Health Department decided against duplicating a cost comparison study to be undertaken by NHS Estates in England to estimate the effect of the increase in energy costs to the NHS as offset by the reduction in National Insurance Contributions. However, the NHSScotland Property and Environment Forum intends to address this issue as part of its annual commitment to monitor and report NHSScotland energy and environmental performance indicators.

Legislation has been made to introduce a statutory obligation on cattle keepers to inform Scottish ministers when an animal aged 30 months or more dies on-farm. A freephone helpline service has been set up for this purpose. Collection, sample testing and disposal will be met from central funds. The operational date for these new procedures is 1 July 2001.

The agreement, A Teaching Profession for the 21^st Century, reached in February this year paves the way for a far reaching framework of modernisation which puts teachers at the heart of education.Today I was pleased to launch the first ever national recruitment campaign in Scotland. The first stage of this two-stage campaign is aimed at raising the profile and standing of teachers in our communities. The second phase will be aimed at encouraging talented people to choose teaching as a profession. The campaign is unique both in its national coverage and also in the strength of support it has received from parents, teacher organisations, employers and all those in the profession. It will undoubtedly increase the numbers of Scotland's brightest and best entering the teaching profession and I am grateful to all those who have worked with us in putting the first steps in place.