Chamber and committees

As a result of the Foot-and-Mouth Disease situation, a number of proprietors of salmon rod fisheries around Scotland have closed their fisheries until further notice.

The Scottish Charities office examined concerns about maladministration expressed by a former employee at the charity Children in Scotland. The investigation found no cause for formal regulatory action by way of proceedings before the Court of Session. The examination of the management of the charity did find a number of areas in which improvements could usefully be made to administrative practice. This is by no means unusual when the affairs of a charity are brought under scrutiny. The Charities Office is working with those in management and control of Children in Scotland to bring about these improvements designed to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the organisation to the greater advantage of its beneficiaries. Good progress is being made and the Charities Office will continue to monitor these developments.The Charities Office did not investigate allegations of bullying. Such allegations are not a matter for that office. They are, in any event, the subject of proceedings before an Employment Tribunal.Investigations under the supervision of charities legislation are conducted in confidence and reports are not published.

No. The proposed closure of Lews Castle School is a matter for Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. A copy of a petition was received in November 2000.

The information sought is not held centrally. From 1 April 1996 the controls previously exercised by Ministers over police force numbers were removed. Since then it has been entirely for chief constables in consultation with police authorities to decide on staffing levels within the resources available to them. As a result of sustained increases in police funding, police numbers are expected to reach record levels by 2002.

This information is not held centrally.

School nurses are not employed directly by schools, but by the NHS.Deployment of school nurses is a matter for NHS Boards to decide locally on the basis of assessed needs.

The Food Standards Agency advises that there are no plans to transfer responsibility for meat inspection from the Meat Hygiene Service to slaughterhouse operators.

There was no formal requirement for the Scottish Executive to respond to the Scottish Affairs Committee's Report on Poverty in Scotland. However, as part of our ongoing co-operation and dialogue with the UK Government, I wrote to the then Secretary of State for Scotland, Dr John Reid, on 21 November 2000, indicating where the Scottish Executive stands on those recommendations with a devolved dimension.A copy of my letter was included as an annex in the UK Government's formal response, which was published on 13 December 2000, and is available on the House of Commons website. A copy of the Government's response (HC-55) and the report itself (HC59-I) is also available in the Parliament's Reference Centre.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1O-3002 today.

Factories producing medium density fibreboard in Scotland are authorised by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency under Part I of the Environment Protection Act 1990. When issuing an authorisation SEPA must have regard to the emission limits set down in Government Guidance for the Process for the Manufacture of Particleboard and Fibreboard, as well as the health-based air quality objectives in the Air Quality (Scotland) Regulations 2000.SEPA monitors the Nexfor plant on a routine basis for emissions of potentially hazardous chemicals and wood dust. It is aware of the concerns of the residents of Cowie regarding a wood fibre emission from the plant on the 26 January 2001. Shortly after the incident was reported to SEPA an investigation was initiated; this is ongoing.In response to concerns raised in the past about the Nexfor plant, Forth Valley Health Board has checked the incidence of health problems in the surrounding area. Health statistics indicate that the incidence of asthma in the Cowie area is in keeping with expectations based on the national average figure.