Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government keeps matters such as future eligibility for the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) scheme under regular consideration in light of the evidence that is collected on the effectiveness of EMA.

The Scottish Government fully appreciates that urban gull colonies can cause problems for residents and businesses in Scottish towns and together with its agencies is committed to providing information and expert advice to support local management action. The pilot project has the potential to develop a general action plan which could be applied by other local authorities and local communities seeking to manage the effects of urban gull colonies in their area.

The Gull Summit held on 24 June 2008 was self-financing, delegates paid an attendance fee which covered the direct costs of the event. The Scottish Government and its agencies did however contribute significantly to the organisation of the event and officials also participated as speakers and facilitators on the day.

The Gull Summit in Dumfries on 24 June 2008 concluded that the implementation of preventative measures such as gull proofing and nest destruction is the most effective way to reduce the size of urban gull colonies and to limit nesting success. Implementation of such measures had been shown to reduce the number of successful nesting attempts in Dumfries between 2002 and 2008 by 23%.

A report summarising the main points of discussion raised at the summit has been produced by the Scottish Agricultural Science Agency and a copy has been attached to this response. The Scottish Government announced on 22 August 2008 that it had agreed to participate in a pilot project in conjunction with Dumfries and Galloway Council and that a task force would lead work on the identification of suitable management measures.

The Scottish Government fully appreciates that urban gull colonies can cause problems for residents and businesses in Scottish towns and together with its agencies is committed to providing information and expert advice to support local management action. The pilot project has the potential to develop a general action plan which could be applied by other local authorities and local communities seeking to manage the effects of urban gull colonies in their area.

The Scottish Government announced on 22 August 2008 that it would be working with Dumfries and Galloway Council to help develop a joint pilot project. The aim of this project is to identify and implement measures which will reduce the problems caused by breeding colonies of gulls in Dumfries. The Scottish Government and its agencies will support this project both through the participation of its staff and through the provision of information and expert advice.

The income assessment being used for the national programme of EMAs in Scotland is based on that used by HM Revenue and Customs in their Tax Credit Awards. The household income assessment takes account of the income of those adults who have a caring responsibility for the children in their family household. This approach is consistent with the rest of the UK and is considered to be a fair measure of the financial resources each household has to meet its needs.

A total of 64 delegates attended the gull summit held on 24 June 2008.

Under the Scottish Safety Camera Programme six mobile camera sites, five within Dumfries and Galloway and one within Strathclyde, have been successfully established on the M74 and the A74 (M). Since the cameras have been deployed the average speed of the traffic at the camera sites in Dumfries and Galloway has dropped from an average of 78 to 83mph down to an average of 70 to 72mph. In Strathclyde the average speed of traffic at the camera site has dropped from 69mph down to 66mph.

In addition to the deployment of safety cameras, the police constantly patrol the full length of the M74 and the A74 (M) in both marked and unmarked vehicles to enforce a wide range of traffic legislation, including those laws relating to speeding.

The following is the original answer (published on 21 August 2008); see below

Under the Scottish Safety Camera Programme six mobile camera sites, five within Dumfries and Galloway and one within Strathclyde, have been successfully established on the M74 and the A74 (M). Since the cameras have been deployed the average speed of the traffic at the camera sites in Dumfries and Galloway has dropped from an average of 86 to 89mph down to an average of 70 to 72mph. In Strathclyde the average speed of traffic at the camera site has dropped from 69mph down to 66mph.

In addition to the deployment of safety cameras, the police constantly patrol the full length of the M74 and the A74 (M) in both marked and unmarked vehicles to enforce a wide range of traffic legislation, including those laws relating to speeding.

Further discussions with COSLA on the distribution of funding to individual local authorities are expected to be held during the next few weeks and before the end of September 2008.

The Scottish Government''s Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) initiative has been triggered and the local PACE team met with employees of Langholm Dyeing Company on Monday 4 August and Thursday 7 August. The meetings provided an opportunity for staff affected by the company''s recent announcement to obtain full details of the support, advice, guidance and retraining options available to help them access alternative employment opportunities. Staff that were unable to attend the meetings are being contacted by PACE and provided with similar details.