Chamber and committees

Figures on the number of residential childcare places was published in Children’s social work statistics 2003-04 on 26 October 2004. Full details can be found at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00369-00.asp. Figures on the number of residential respite care places cannot be identified separately.

Pay of workers in these sectors is a matter for employers and there are no plans for the Scottish Executive to become involved.

Whatever the UK regulatory framework, the position of this devolved government is that new casinos in Scotland will only be agreed if they are licensed by Scottishlicensing boards and regulated by conditions set by Scottish ministers.

In addition, the UK Government announced on 16 November that the number of regional casinos in the first phase of development will be limited to eight. Scottish ministers will be consulted about the location of any regional casino in Scotland.

The Review of Funding of Learners was published on the 22 September 2004. Copies of the Report are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre and it is also available on the Funding of Learners Review website:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/about/ELLD/FoL/00017431/page677853067.aspx.

The report presents the findings of the Review of Funding of Learners, the commitment to which was made in the Lifelong Learning Strategy for Scotland published by the Scottish Executive in February 2003. The review’s terms of reference focused on identifying gaps and anomalies in the provision of funding to post-16 individual learners and recommending changes that will improve the coherence, equity and effectiveness of overall provision. The review has covered further education student support, higher education student support, education maintenance allowances and individual learning accounts.

The outputs of the review take the form of a series of action points, the timetables for which are phased from immediate (already undertaken in advance of academic year 2004-05) actions to those to be undertaken in the period through to 2006.

Further to the answer given to question S2W-1390, Scottish ministers announced in May 2004 that the income threshold for the repayment of student loans would increase to £15,000 (from £10,000) from April 2005.

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/wa.search.

I have asked Angiolina Foster, the Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

The Third Home Energy Conservation Act Progress Report for Scotland, covering the period April 2001 March 2003 is being compiled at present. While publication of the Third Progress Report relies on information being supplied by other organisation, it is hoped that the report will be available later this year.

The Scottish Executive is in regular discussions with Her Majesty’s Government on a variety of matters including the introduction of child trust funds and the implications for the Executive.

The civil service is a reserved matter. We have been consulted in detail by the UK Government over its commitment to consult on a draft Civil Service Bill which would put the current arrangements for the civil service on a statutory footing.

A consultation paper on whether to proceed with a bill and on draft legislative proposals is being published by the UK Government today, and copies are being placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 34433).

The civil service in Scotland is directly accountable to Scottish ministers for its actions, the direction in which it works, and delivering the priorities which are set for it. As the consultation paper makes clear, the draft bill would maintain this position and in particular the flexibility and responsiveness with which the civil service is managed in Scotland. It would not interfere with our responsibilities for pay, grading and management, nor would it inhibit the different ways of working which we have been developing to meet the needs of devolved government.

The draft legislative proposals include provision for Scottish ministers to be consulted on the appointment of the First Civil Service Commissioner and involved in the appointment of a Commissioner to take a particular interest in Scotland; for the Civil Service Commission’s annual report to be presented to the First Minister and laid before the Scottish Parliament, and for an annual report to be made to the Scottish Parliament on special advisers.

The Executiveis in regular contact with the UK Government and has been kept informed about theevolution of proposals to establish assemblies in English regions. However, we havenot specifically discussed the outcome of the North East Assembly referendum.

The Care in Scotland campaign, launched in 2002, continues to address the issue of recruitment and retention in all sectors of social care, public, private and voluntary. The latest drive in January and February involved significant press and radio advertising and enhancement of the campaign website. These advertising bursts are very effective. Career calls to the Scottish Social Service Council (SSSC) between 5 January and 31 March numbered 2,760; 1,500 of which were directly attributable to the campaign. During the same period, SSSC received 522 e-mail career enquiries and monthly downloads of career packs from their website rose from 750 in December-January to 5,490 in February-March. Hits on the campaign website in February alone were 888,000 from 22,985 visits.

In 2004-05, the campaign will focus mainly on the recruitment of social carers. The TV, press and radio campaign will roll out on a regional basis from mid-November 2004 to mid March 2005 and will direct attention towards the nine regional open days being organised by the Scottish Social Services Council to provide information on local training and employment opportunities in the sector. Open days will take place in: Perth, Dundee, Irvine, Falkirk, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Galashiels, Aberdeen and Inverness. The November 2004 - March 2005 phase of the campaign will be of significant help to the independent (voluntary and private) sector, as the SSSC is taking particular care to ensure the interests of this part of the sector are highlighted. The independent sector is well represented in the planning of the campaign and continues to assist the Executive’s efforts through significant representation on the National Workforce Group and its three sub-groups.

Many of the Executive’s initiatives are also helping the independent sector. These include the new Framework for Social Work Education; a new four-yearhonours degree-level qualification; an Incentive scheme for some newly qualifiedsocial workers worth £9,000 to each recipient (one-tenth of funds have been reserved for the independent sector); commitment to fund the Community Care Providers Scotland’s Workforce Unit to support recruitment and retention planning for the independent sector, and a Leading to Deliver initiative investingin a postgraduate certificate in social services leadership for local authorityand independent sector social work managers. Significant financial support is also being provided through training grants under Section 9 of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 and via a Voluntary Sector Development Fund. Section 9 funding was £1.006 million in 2003-04 increasing to £1.5 million in 2004-05. The Voluntary Sector Development Fund (VSDF) provided £1 million in 2003-04, to be repeated in 2004-05 and 2005-06.

The Executive is helping significantly in all care sectors and we have confirmed on a number of occasions our commitment to continuing support. That includes the longer term workforce planning required. We recognise the important contribution of the independent sector and will continue to consider ways in which it can be supported.

I have asked Angiolina Foster, the Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:

In Scotland, local authorities report on their percentage improvement in energy efficiency every two years. In England reports are provided on an annual basis. The average percentage improvement in energy efficiency for both countries is shown in the table.

Year	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
Scotland	-	-	2.77%*	-	4.30%**	-	N/A
England	0.96%	1.35%	2.00%	1.69%	2.19%	2.17%	2.64%

Notes:

* For the period 1 April 1997 to 31 March 1999.

** For the period 1 April 1999 to 31 March 2001.