Chamber and committees

Compliance with the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 is a matter for the Care Commission itself. The Care Commission's complaints procedure, which is published on their website at: www.carecommission.com, aims to encourage openness and transparency. It confirms that the final decision will be communicated to the complainant and to the party complained against. The final written report itself must, of course, remain confidential in terms of the Data Protection Act as it inevitably contains references to third parties.

The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) has been directed by the Scottish ministers to deliver an enhanceable franchise for ScotRail. This means, among other things, that new or improved services associated with new infrastructure can be introduced into the franchise throughout its life. The franchise will contain a mechanism to ensure that new services are introduced on reasonable terms as and when the new infrastructure becomes available.

We support mediation where it is feasible and appropriate for example in family cases, where the courts have the power to refer cases, in neighbourhood disputes or commercial situations, and other policy areas including restorative justice programmes where it forms part of our youth justice strategy.

The latest projections issued by the Registrar General for Scotland show that the population in the Borders area, as well as in Scotland in general, is expected to decline slightly over the long term. There is a projected increase in the proportion of older people, with the largest percentage increase among the very old and a fall in the proportion of younger age groups. The Executive believes that a growing population, with a highly skilled and motivated workforce, will help the Scottish Economy. Measures that contribute to a sustainable Scotland, now and in the future, include those that support people of all ages in participating and contributing as learners, workers, carers, parents and volunteers.In addition, we have worked in collaboration with the enterprise networks and Scottish Development International on a number of initiatives to link Scottish businesses with successful Scots now living overseas and to attract those with appropriate skills to live and work in Scotland.

The Scottish Strategic Rail Study was commissioned in July 2001 in partnership with the Strategic Rail Authority, Strathclyde Passenger Transport, SESTRAN, Railtrack and, latterly, NESTRANS and Dundee City Council. Work was undertaken by consultants Steer Davies Gleave at a total cost of £153,250 and the final report is expected to be published in March 2003.

The Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information indicates that certain categories of information are exempt from the commitment to provide information, including internal discussion and advice. This includes legal advice.

The provision of publicly accessible local archives is part of the routine business of a local authority and so should generally be funded from their existing resources. However, there are other sources of funding. The Scottish Cultural Resources Access Network (SCRAN) has been a source of grants for digitisation of records and associated work for a variety of organisations, including local archives. The National Archives of Scotland also provides small grants for conservation of archives and local archives have benefited from these.It is also open to local authorities to apply for other possible sources of funding for local archives, such as the New Opportunities Fund (NOF) and the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). A number of archive projects in Scotland have already benefited from awards from these funds. For example, the HLF-backed Scottish Archive Network (SCAN) project is assisting the automation and remote consultation of local archives by offering direct assistance to local authorities that join the network. Further information on these funds is available from the Lottery distributors.The Executive is not responsible for the funding of individual community councils - their funding comes primarily from local authorities - or for archives of independent trusts and other parties. However, it is also open to these bodies to apply to the NOF or HLF for funding for archives and other heritage projects.

The first major comprehensive survey of local authority archives took place in 1969-72. This survey is still occasionally referred to and forms a baseline for knowledge of some of the older records in local custody. It generally omitted from its coverage the Dean of Guild court records, an important historical source on buildings, but these were surveyed in a guide published in 1994. More recently, in 2000 there was a mapping exercise, An Archival Account of Scotland, which was conducted with administrative assistance from the National Archives of Scotland. In addition, the Archivists in Scottish Local Authorities Working Group has for many years compiled statistics on the usage of local authority archives.

Policy and related expenditure matters on Scottish fisheries are devolved and are for consideration by the Scottish Executive. The cost of the compensation package falls to be met from within the overall resources available to the Executive and there are no grounds on which additional resources might be sought from the UK Exchequer.

Archives at a local level are a local responsibility. However, the Scottish Executive is concerned to ensure that Scotland's archival heritage is appropriately and securely preserved, maintained and publicly accessible, in line with statutory obligations and current best practice.