Chamber and committees

I refer the memberto the answer to question S3W-3484 on 6 September 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availableon the Parliament’s website; the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Reducingalcohol-fuelled crime and antisocial behaviour is a key priority for this government.We are funding local agencies in the Highlands and Islands to provide a range of services aimed at delivering this outcome.

The information requestedis given in the following tables:

Local Authority	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07
Aberdeen City	430	430	440
Aberdeenshire	480	470	450
Angus	280	280	280
Argyll and Bute	210	240	250
Clackmannanshire	30	40	50
Dumfries and Galloway	390	280	290
Dundee City	200	210	220
East Ayrshire	140	140	160
East Dunbartonshire	250	270	290
East Lothian	170	170	170
East Renfrewshire	210	210	240
Edinburgh, City of	1,280	1,360	1,320
Eilean Siar	20	20	20
Falkirk	140	140	150
Fife	700	730	800
Glasgow city	610	630	650
Highland	400	400	400
Inverclyde	150	150	160
Midlothian	80	80	90
Moray	160	190	180
North Ayrshire	230	240	250
North Lanarkshire	170	200	230
Orkney Islands	10	10	20
Perth and Kinross	490	470	450
Renfrewshire	200	220	240
Scottish Borders	110	100	100
Shetland Islands	0	0	0
South Ayrshire	330	360	360
South Lanarkshire	450	480	490
Stirling	230	240	220
West Dunbartonshire	70	80	80
West Lothian	110	120	130
Scotland estimate	8,740	8,960	9,200

Source: CommunityCare Quarterly Key Monitoring.

Table b: Numberof Self-Funders in Care Homes Receiving Free Nursing Care

(Yearly Averages)

Local Authority	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07
Aberdeen City	290	290	350
Aberdeenshire	340	350	330
Angus	110	120	130
Argyll and Bute	80	100	90
Clackmannanshire	30	40	40
Dumfries and Galloway	310	220	220
Dundee City	110	110	130
East Ayrshire	100	90	110
East Dunbartonshire	190	200	230
East Lothian	130	130	140
East Renfrewshire	130	160	170
Edinburgh, City of	970	1,030	1,010
Eilean Siar	10	10	10
Falkirk	120	120	130
Fife	400	410	450
Glasgow city	380	380	370
Highland	170	160	180
Inverclyde	110	110	130
Midlothian	60	60	60
Moray	110	140	140
North Ayrshire	140	150	160
North Lanarkshire	120	140	170
Orkney Islands	0	0	0
Perth and Kinross	230	240	230
Renfrewshire	150	160	180
Scottish Borders	50	50	50
Shetland Islands	0	0	0
South Ayrshire	280	290	290
South Lanarkshire	290	310	330
Stirling	140	150	140
West Dunbartonshire	40	40	40
West Lothian	90	90	100
Scotland estimate	5,690	5,850	6,080

Source: CommunityCare Quarterly Key Monitoring

Notes:

All figures areyearly averages rounded to the nearest 10.

Figures may notsum due to rounding.

Scottish Borders have revised their estimatessince the last publication of Community Care Quarterly Key monitoring.

Dumfries and Galloway received £600,000 per annum from the Working for Families programme in 2006-07and 2007-08.

A Code Of Practice In The Appointment And EmploymentOf Locum Doctors - NHS Circular: PCS (DD) 1998/1 was issued to health boards in Scotland on 23 January 1998. A copy ofthis guidance is available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib.number 43515). The code providesgood practice guidance for employing locums. It does not provide guidance on thecircumstances in which locumsshould be appointed; this is a matter for health boards as NHS Scotland employers.

The appointment ofconsultants is governed by the National Health Service Appointment of Consultants(Scotland) Regulations 1993. These regulations requirethe appointing authority to constitute an Advisory Appointments Committee, whichmust include members drawn from a National Panel List, to make recommendations onappointments.

General guidance onmedical and dental appointments, including appointment of consultants under theregulations, is published annually along with a National Panel List. Copies of thecurrent guidance and list are available in the Scottish Parliament InformationCentre (Bib. numbers 43505 and 43504 respectively).

A review of the NationalHealth Service Appointment of Consultants (Scotland) Regulations 1993 is currently being undertaken which will include researchinto best practice recruitment principles.

I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond.

Her response is asfollows:

Where a registered social landlord (RSL)does not comply with a request to provide housing for a homeless person within areasonable period or has no good reason for not complying with the request, andthe RSL and the local authority are unable to reach agreement, the local authorityand the RSL must appoint an arbiter to determine the issue. If the local authorityand the RSL cannot agree who to appoint as the arbiter, Communities Scotland, asregulator, must, on request of the local authority, appoint an arbiter.

If an RSL fails toimplement an arbiter’s decision Communities Scotland may use the powers containedin section 71 of the 2001 act to appoint a manager to the RSL to ensure that anarbiter’s decision is enforced. The RSL’s overall approach to meeting its obligationstowards homeless persons can also be reviewed, if this is required.”

Members of thearmed forces serving overseas are treated the same for council tax purposes asany other citizen. This means that if they own an empty property in Scotland, it will be exempt from council tax for up to six months. If it is still emptyafter that, it becomes liable for 50% council tax for a further six months. Ifit is still empty after 12 months in total, it then becomes liable for council taxin accordance with the policy of the local authority, i.e. for between 50 to 90%of the full council tax liability for that property.

The Scottish government continues to support work at aUK-level following the then Prime Minister’s announcement in October 2006 thatthe UK Government would look into providing support for the council tax costsof service personnel on operations overseas. Discussions between officials fromthe Department of Communities and local government and the Ministry of Defence,which also involve officials from the Scottish Executive, are on-going.

Section 5 of the Housing(Scotland) Act 2001 requires that a registered sociallandlord (RSL) must comply, within a reasonable period, with a local authority’srequest to provide accommodation for a homeless household, which is unintentionallyhomeless with a priority need, unless it has good reason not to.

Scottishministers have issued guidance on what constitutes “good reason” for refusal ofa request. This states that, where an RSL is unable to make appropriate accommodationavailable within six weeks, then it has good reason for non-compliance. An RSL alsohas a good reason for non-compliance if the only accommodation it has availableis of a specialist nature and this is not appropriate for the applicant.

Section 5 of the Housing(Scotland) Act 2001 requires that a registered sociallandlord (RSL) must comply, within a reasonable period, with a local authority’srequest to provide accommodation for a homeless household, which is unintentionallyhomeless with a priority need, unless it has good reason not to. Section 5 alsorequires that the accommodation must be a Scottish secure tenancy (or in cases wherethere is  antisocial behaviour order or where there has been an eviction on  antisocialbehaviour grounds in the last three years, a short Scottish secure tenancy) unlessan express request for other accommodation has been made by the local authority.

Scottishministers have issued guidance on what constitutes “good reason” for refusal ofa request. This states that, where an RSL is unable to make appropriate accommodationavailable within six weeks then it has good reason for non-compliance. An RSL alsohas a good reason for non-compliance if the only accommodation it has availableis of a specialist nature and this is not appropriate for the applicant.  antisocialbehaviour is not one of the grounds which provide good reason not to comply.