Chamber and committees

The proportion of children living in low-income households in Scotland was 30% in 2000-01. This is our headline measure, based on 60% of median GB income (after housing costs) for the relative year. In order to have a detailed understanding of children in low-income families we track a number of measurements, as outlined in our Social Justice Annual Report.There has been considerable progress in improving the position for families on the lowest incomes. The proportion of children in severe income poverty (below 50% of median income) has fallen markedly from 21% in 1996-97 to 16% in 2000-01. There has also been a substantial improvement in income levels for low income families generally, as shown by the 13 percentage point drop in the number of children living in low-income households in absolute terms, from 34% in our baseline year of 1996-97 to 21% in 2000-01. These figures demonstrate that poor children in Scotland have been benefiting from our policies of supporting parents into training and work, underpinned by the modernisation of the tax and benefit system by the UK Government.We remain committed to defeating child poverty in a generation.

Information on the number of nursery nurses employed across the full range of children's services is not held centrally. Information is held on the number of qualified early education and childcare workers (which includes nursery nurses) employed in pre-school education centres. This information is shown in the following table.Number and Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) of Qualified Childcare and Early Education Workers in Pre-School Education Centres as at September 1999: Shown by Local Authority Area.

	Number of Qualified Childcare and Early Education Workers	Qualified Childcare and Early Education Workers FTE
Scotland	5,128	4,186
Aberdeen City	249	188.7
Aberdeenshire	174	127.9
Angus	92	72.9
Argyll and Bute	84	53.0
Clackmannanshire	60	54.3
Dumfries and Galloway	94	68.1
Dundee City	195	167.5
East Ayrshire	87	78.8
East Dunbartonshire	124	89.1
East Lothian	66	55.3
East Renfrewshire	100	90.1
Edinburgh, City of	461	380.3
Eilean Siar	37	22.5
Falkirk	108	94.9
Fife	286	245.6
Glasgow City	731	644.5
Highland	212	135.6
Inverclyde	153	118.5
Midlothian	78	62.7
Moray	89	61.8
North Ayrshire	126	98.5
North Lanarkshire	333	299.1
Orkney Islands	12	7.5
Perth and Kinross	130	101.4
Renfrewshire	241	201.2
Scottish Borders	102	73.3
Shetland Islands	27	15.1
South Ayrshire	92	79.3
South Lanarkshire	279	236.1
Stirling	80	66.2
West Dunbartonshire	125	105.8
West Lothian	101	90.6

The pay and conditions of nursery nurses are the responsibility of their employers, whether these are local authorities or operators in the private and voluntary sectors.

UNISON submitted a pay claim on behalf of nursery nurses to all local authorities in February 2002. This claim is now being considered by local authorities.

The deployment of police resources is entirely an operational matter for individual chief constables. The police, of course, have a clear duty to uphold the law in relation to illegal drugs.

The number of agency nurses employed in NHSScotland in each of the last three years, expressed as an average whole time equivalent (WTE), is as follows:

1998-99	1999-2000	2000-01
537.5	562.1	725.1

The average WTE figure represents the number of agency nurses that on average work in NHSScotland on any given day.Information on the number of hospitals using the bank hour system is not held centrally.The Accounts Commission for Scotland (now Audit Scotland) published their report on the employment of bank and agency nurses in Scotland entitled Temporary Measures in February 2000. Employers are expected to employ permanent staff. Before a bank or agency nurse is employed, employers should have gone through the criteria for employing bank and agency nurses set out in the report. Audit Scotland has advised that they are currently carrying out a review of ward-based nursing in NHSScotland which will include a follow-up on the trusts implementation of the main recommendations in their earlier report; the new report is expected in the autumn. Trusts were written to in September last year and again on 7 February this year reminding them that they should be using the Accounts Commission criteria. Use of agency nurses will be monitored through the Staff Governance Standard.

I refer the member to the figures provided in response to questions S1W-8299 and S1W-18253, which set out the year end balances carried forward and re-allocation to budgets.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-24578 on 26 April 2002.

Yes.

The European Community state aid framework exists to ensure a level playing field for all enterprises in Europe by ensuring that public bodies throughout the European Union do not provide selective support to businesses or undertakings. Aid cannot be given unless it fits one of the block exemption regulations or is notified to, and approved by, the European Commission. This aid cannot take the form of an "operating aid" or provide support for an enterprise that would otherwise fail. My officials have been working with Western Isles Council to help them identify legitimate ways in which they could help Heather Isles Meats in Stornoway stay in business. The decision whether to invest further in Heather Isles Meats rested with the council and a full meeting of the council concluded that it should not provide further support to the business under a rescue and restructuring package. In the interests of sustainable farming, it is important that there are profitable markets for livestock whether that is abattoirs or other farmers to finish the animals. While only one-third of livestock from the Western Isles is slaughtered on the Islands, the council remain fully committed to retaining slaughterhouse facilities throughout the Western Isles and are looking at how this aim can best be met. Neither the Scottish Crofters Federation nor the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals have approached the Executive.