Chamber and committees

The rolling stockprocurement plan continues to be developed by Transport Scotland alongside the wider procurement plan to address the requirementsof both the major projects, including Airdrie to Bathgate, and the increasing demandsfor rail services. Transport Scotland is confident that it can successfully procurethe rolling stock needed to continue growing Scotland’s railways, and the procurement plan is on schedule to meet the deliverydeadline for the Airdrie to Bathgate project of December 2010.

The Scottish Government is aware that Argyll and Bute Council spends less than its grant aided expenditure allocation on community care services. That is a matter for the council. The council is required to meet its statutory responsibilities for the assessment and delivery of services to older people in its area. It is for the council to determine the most appropriate allocation of the total resources available to it to meet these and its other responsibilities.

The Scottish Governmentbelieves that greater tax-varying powers is just one of the additional responsibilitiesfor the Scottish Parliament that will help create a more successful economy andincrease wealth for people in all parts of Scotland. Greater responsibility overtaxation is one of the areas highlighted in the recent white paper on Independence,Choosing Scotland’s future, and will form part of the national conversationthat is now underway. We will work in Scotland, with the UKgovernment and with other devolved administrations as appropriate to deliver additionalresponsibilities for the benefit of the nation and to build Scottish success.

The current ScottishWater investment programme has been funded to provide for all anticipated strategicinfrastructure development required to facilitate new housing and commercial development.In addition, Scottish Water is making a reasonable cost contribution towards developerscosts for new local infrastructure.

This statement ofpolicy was set out in - Investing in Water Services: Objectives 2006-2014– on 9 February 2005. This is available as the Explanatory Noteto the Water Industry (Scotland) Act 2002 - The Scottish Water (Objectivesfor 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2010) Directions 2005 at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/1057/0022201.pdf.

Scottishministers provide a wide range of support to manufacturing companies, includingfinancial support, innovation grants, help with trade overseas, practical supportfor companies to improve productivity and efficiency and business and product planningservices delivered through our enterprise agencies and Scottish Development International.In addition, our Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service delivers specialist adviceto manufacturing companies in Scotland.

We will also seekto gain their support for tax powers and the setting of a more competitive rateof Corporation Tax in line with our manifesto commitment.

I refer the memberto the answer to question S3W-2593 on 21 August 2007. All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facilityfor which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Not all of Scotland’s manufacturing is in decline, some companies are atthe cutting edge in terms of design, innovation and technology. The Scottish Governmentprovides a range of support to manufacturing companies in Scotland. Where redundancies do occur, our Partnership Actionfor Continuing Employment framework provides support, advice and guidance on a widerange of retraining and upskilling opportunities to help employees, including thosein the manufacturing sector, access alternative employment. This comprehensive supportis tailored to meet individual needs and local circumstances and includes: JobcentrePlus services; one-to-one counselling; access to high-quality training; seminarson skills such as CV writing and starting a business, and access to IT facilities.

The report to Parliamentin September 2006 on the effect of the right to buy concluded that the full impactof the changes arising from the 2001 Housing Act would not begin to be known untilafter September 2007. We intend to monitor closely the emerging pattern of salesto tenants who have completed their qualifying periods under the modernisedright to buy over the coming months. The impact of right to buy sales varies fromone locality to another. We will be examining whether there are ways to make thepolicy more responsive to local needs; balancing the opportunities for homeownershipagainst the pressure on affordable housing locally.

The Scottish Governmentenjoys good bilateral relations with Northern Ireland. Weintend to work together drawing from each other’s strengths and experiences; sharingknowledge where we have a common interest.

The Scottish Governmentrecognises the strong historical and cultural bond that exists between the peopleof Scotland and Northern Ireland and we are committed to working with the Northern IrelandAssembly government to build on this relationship. The First Minister signed a jointstatement with Northern Ireland’s First Minister and Deputy First Minister on June18 2007 which commits the two governments to consolidating and strengthening thesocial, educational and cultural relationship between the two countries.

Historic Scotlandare actively engaged in raising awareness of cultural and historic links betweenScotland and Northern Ireland. The Scottish government is also raising awarenessof common cultural and historical links between Scotland and Northern Ireland through the promotion of minority languageinitiatives. There is significant minority language activity in both Scotland and Northern Ireland at present and frequentcontact and discussions take place between both jurisdictions.