Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-25291.

The British Railways Order Confirmation Act 1994 conferred powers on the British Railways Board in respect of a rail link between Anniesland and Maryhill. I understand that the parliamentary powers expire in March 2004.There are a number of complex technical and legal matters to address before work can start on the rail link. We are continuing to press both the Strategic Rail Authority and Railtrack to take this project forward. The outcome of the various discussions will determine how the project will be managed and a possible timetable for delivering this rail link.

The Scottish Executive is providing £16.75 million of Childcare Strategy funding in the current year to local authorities to deliver affordable, accessible, good quality childcare, including summer play schemes, to meet the local childcare needs of working parents. This includes £3.7 million of funding for Glasgow, with the full breakdown by local authority shown in the following table:

Local Authority	£000
Aberdeen city	465.8
Aberdeenshire	788.4
Angus	312.0
Argyll and Bute	280.3
Clackmannanshire	123.8
Dumfries and Galloway	494.4
Dundee City	368.2
East Ayrshire	318.8
East Dunbartonshire	213.1
East Lothian	228.0
East Renfrewshire	187.0
Edinburgh City	1,306.5
Eilean Siar	134.6
Falkirk	343.9
Fife	1,109.0
Glasgow City	3,714.2
Highland	762.9
Inverclyde	201.9
Midlothian	195.4
Moray	247.8
North Ayrshire	379.5
North Lanarkshire	1,079.4
Orkney Islands	102.4
Perth and Kinross	384.4
Renfrewshire	460.4
Scottish Borders	322.0
Shetland Islands	122.1
South Ayrshire	272.2
South Lanarkshire	942.7
Stirling	228.2
West Dunbartonshire	244.8
West Lothian	415.9

Tenants who have received assistance under rent guarantee/deposit schemes and meet all the eligibility criteria for the central heating programme are eligible for that programme.

Improvements to the Edinburgh to Glasgow service was one of the key strategic priorities in Scotland featured in the Strategic Rail Authority's Strategic Plan, published in January 2002. These proposed improvements will be informed by a number of major studies that are currently looking at transport in the central belt, particularly capacity issues in terms of rail, and due to report by the summer.In addition, services on this route will be considered as part of the Scottish Executive's Directions and Guidance for the new Scottish Passenger Rail Franchise, which will be issued to the Strategic Rail Authority by the summer.

Voluntary organisations will face the same 1% increase in employer National Insurance contributions as all other employers. But they will benefit from a range of budget measures, including the introduction of tax relief for gifts to charity of land or buildings, VAT relief for charity buildings including residential care homes, and changes to the rules for Gift Aid.

Information on the number of operations cancelled by NHSScotland is not available. Data is collected on the number of planned admissions to hospital for in-patient/day case treatment which are cancelled. Information is published in Scottish Health Statistics, which is available on the Scottish Health on the Web (SHOW) website at:http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/isd/Scottish_Health_Statistics/SHS2000/M1.pdf.The number of cancellations of planned admissions to hospital for in-patient/day case treatment is one of the measures in the NHS Performance Assessment Framework (PAF). Rates of cancellations which are significantly above Scottish norms or which show a sharply rising trend will be reviewed at the annual accountability review meetings between the Health Department and NHS boards.

The Executive has reached agreement with COSLA to enhance existing concessionary travel schemes on a voluntary basis, in order to provide free local off-peak bus travel within existing concessionary scheme areas from 1 October 2002. We expect the Strathclyde Concessionary Scheme Joint Committee to ratify that position later this month.

Young people aged 16 to 20, on conviction, are normally detained in a Young Offenders Institution and not in an adult establishment. Those under 16 who are sentenced by a court to detention are normally held in a secure unit of a residential childcare establishment, but where this is not possible they may, exceptionally, be placed in a Young Offenders Institution.The Executive's policy is to develop robust, non-custodial disposals to give the court a realistic alternative to custody wherever possible. This is particularly important for young people, who have a high rate of recidivism from short sentences of detention.In addition, the proposed Criminal Justice Bill will pave the way for piloting arrangements to deal with 16- and 17-year-old offenders, through the children's hearings in appropriate cases. It will also enable those aged 16 to 20 who have been remanded in custody, and those who have attained the age of 14 and who have been certified by a court to be unruly or depraved, to be detained either in a prison or a Young Offenders Institution. At present, the law does not make provision for those concerned to be held in a Young Offenders Institution.

I am pleased to announce that the Deputy First Minister and I will launch the strategy later this morning.Our core message is that all drugs can be dangerous. Through mass media campaigns, a new information line and website, all using the "Know the Score" logo, we aim to raise awareness among the public of the risks which drugs pose, to provide facts about drugs and to provide details of where help and advice can be obtained across Scotland. We are already working with Drug Action Teams to develop local communications strategies tailored to meet local needs and priorities. Part of this work is improving the quality and availability of drugs information materials.Copies of the information pack, which will be distributed to the media later today, are available from the Parliament's Reference Centre.