Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-1824 on 27 August 2003. All answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility forcan be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.

NHS boards and local authorities were allocated resources for drug addiction services for the period2001-02 to 2003-04. This gave Drug Action Teams and their local planningpartners, for the first time, security of three-year funding to plan anddeliver services for their areas. We have undertaken to take local prevalenceinformation from the report into account in future allocations to NHS boardsfrom 2004-05.

Glasgow benefitssignificantly from Executive resources to tackle drug addiction. GreaterGlasgow NHS Board receives nearly £4.5 million per annum for drug treatmentservices and Glasgow City Council receives £0.812 million per annum forrehabilitation within its Grant Aided Expenditure.

Since 2001, Greater GlasgowNHS Board has also been allocated an additional £1.25 million to fund thetreatment costs of the Glasgow Drug Court and £0.25 million to helpsupport additional addiction services for the homeless, funded from recoveredcriminal assets. Glasgow also benefits from a number of other funding streamswhich impact on the drugs problem.

Through the Children andYoung people’s Group grant scheme, we provide grant of £1,175,569 to supportthe work of the HQs of 31 national voluntary youth work organisations.

Education Department hasalso allocated £500,000 in the current year to YouthLink Scotland totake forward an agreed work plan on youth work issues which covers support toboth the voluntary and statutory sectors.

Support for local authorityyouth work provision is provided through community education Grant AidedExpenditure.

As part of the inspection ofcommunity learning and development, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education(HMIE) report on aspects of youth work provision, including support fromvoluntary agencies where they are working in partnership with localauthorities. HMIE reports comment on the quality of youth work provision and,where necessary, make recommendations on action required to be undertaken forimprovement.

Assistance and encouragement for the establishment of owners’ associations is the subject of recommendations by the Housing Improvement Task Force.

The task force favours the establishment of owners’ associations whether as a requirement for new developments of more than eight units, possibly by amendment to the draft Tenements (Scotland) Bill, or on a voluntary basis in othercircumstances. It proposes that local authorities should actively promote theformation of associations particularly where they instigate action on repairsor maintenance. It recommends that local authorities should have power toprovide modest grants to assist the establishment of associations. It alsorecommends that the Scottish Executive should seek to provide advice to developers on good practice and advice and information to owners on taking part in associations.

We will consider all the recommendations of the Housing Improvement Task Force including those I have outlined.

Targets for improving the energy efficiency of residential accommodation under the Home Energy Conservation Act (HECA) are not set by the Scottish Executive; they are agreed with local authorities. The HECA is intended to promote a significant improvement in home energy efficiency over a period of 10 to 15 years from 1 April 1997. Scottish Office Circular 40/1996 defines the term “significant improvement” as being a 30% improvement in the energy efficiency of residential accommodation, but the circular recognises that a figure of that magnitude may not be practicable or cost-effective for all parts of the stock or for all localauthority areas. Authorities are therefore given the facility to set a different figure for their area or for parts of their stock. A number of local authorities have set a different figure. As local authorities purse their HECA strategies they may decide that the figure should be revised, or further revised, either upward or downwards.

A report on further improvements in energy efficiency as reported by local authorities in their returns under the HECA will be published later this year and copies will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Refrence Centre.

The Scottish Executive is committed to contributing £2,041,463 to the Economic and Social Research Council’s (ESRC) Teaching and Learning Research Programme (TLRP) between 1999 and 2008. So far, the Scottish Executive has spent £1 million on Phases 1 and 2 (1999-2003). Phase 3 (2003-07) has recently started and thefirst instalment of £200,000 has been allocated for 2003-04, leaving £800,000to be paid from Phase 3 and a further £41,463 to be paid from Phases 1 and 2between 2004-08.

The ESRC has awarded £1,194,566 worth of contracts to Scottish projects in Phases 1 and 2. The Scottish Executive has been contractually guaranteed by the ESRC that at least all of its contribution will be ring fenced to be spent in Scotland.

The Scottish Executive is supporting educational research in a number of ways. On 23 June 2003, the Executive announced a new Applied Education Research Scheme. This is a £2 million five-year programme, jointly funded by the Executive and the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council, which aims to improve practice in schools and develop a clear strategy for the long-term growth of Scottish educational research. It is being run by a partnership between the universities of Edinburgh, Stirling and Strathclyde but will involve collaboration with all Scottish universities carrying out education-related research.

The Executive’s Education Department has an annual research budget of £1.684 million used to commission research to support its policies on schools, children and young people and tourism, culture and sport. Just over half is currently spent on education research. In addition, some education research is funded directly from programme monies e.g. the evaluation of Future Learning and Teaching projects. Within the main research budget £100,000 has been set aside for a sponsored programme designed to provide a flexible source of funding for small-scale projects in the education and young people fields. This is a responsive programme intended to encourage ideas from researchers working in any type of organisation or who are self-employed.

The Executive’s Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department has an annual research budget of £316,000 used to commission research principally in the area of Lifelong Learning (including higher education and further education research). Research is also commissioned in the area of enterprise. In addition, some research activity is funded by divisional programme budgets. The Executive is also contributing £2.041 million to the Economic and Social Research Council’sTeaching and Learning Research Programme between 1999 and 2007. This contribution is ring fenced to be spent in Scotland.

The Housing Improvement Task Force (HITF) report included a recommendation that the Scottish Executive should, through Communities Scotland, establish a single national voluntary accreditation scheme for property managers in Scotland in partnership with the industry, local authorities and consumer interests.

The Executive is considering this recommendation along with others contained in the HITF report in the light of its recent consultation on the report and will bring forward proposals to implement appropriate elements of the report.

The Scottish Executive has no plans to encourage pilot schemes in connection with reserve or sinking funds for the owners of tenement buildings.

Local authorities’ reports under the Home Energy Conservation Act show that a number of them do have dedicated home energy conservation officers. Others incorporate energy conservation with relevant functions such as control of council stock or housing improvements. It is for local authorities to decide what works best for their areas and the Executive will not be giving them directions on how to deploy their staff.

The Scottish Executive does not plan to direct local authorities to employ dedicated home energy conservation officers.