Chamber and committees

The Scottish Executive will use a range of methods to disseminate the findings of the pilot projects on restorative practices as follows:

A section of the website www.betterbehaviourscotland.gov.uk is dedicated to restorative practices.

A regional communication team has been established, which will provide information, training and support to education authorities and schools wishing to develop restorative practices, and sharing the experience and findings of the pilot schools.

Publications developed by the Scottish Executive for the education community will continue to share the findings, such as the teacher magazine Better Behaviour.

Media coverage featuring the work of the pilots will continue, for example through The Times Educational Supplement and mainstream newspapers.

A regular national conference on restorative practices in education will raise awareness of the work of the pilots and of developments in the UK and internationally. The first conference took place in September 2005.

The Scottish Executive has taken a number of steps to help local authorities to implement the recommendations of Better Behaviour - Better Learning including the following:

The Scottish Executive has provided education authorities with funding, including £10 million a year for implementation of Better Behaviour - Better Learning and an additional £34.9 million funding package over three years for additional support staff to support schools to tackle indiscipline.

Several methods of sharing information on good practice in promoting positive behaviour have been established, including a website, a range of local events and national conferences, and publications.

A number of working groups have been formed including a discipline stakeholder group, to inform the Scottish Executive on issues concerning behaviour in schools.

A regional communication team will provide information, consultancy and support to education authorities and schools across Scotland.

The relocation guide, publishedin June 2005, will contribute significantly to the three objectives of our relocationpolicy: government decentralisation and efficiency; cost-effective delivery solutions,and supporting communities with social or economic needs. Fair distribution of civilservice and public service jobs is part of that first objective.

Probationer teachers who have graduated from Scottish higher education institutions, whose places have been publicly funded, are guaranteed the offer of a place on the teacher induction scheme. This comprises a one-year teaching contract with a Scottish local authority, a 70% teaching load with the remaining 30% of time available for professional development, and access to the services of an experienced teacher as a mentor/supporter. Probationer teachers who have trained outwith Scotland are not eligible for places on the teacher induction scheme. However, subject to having registered with the General Teaching Council for Scotland, they may apply to local authorities to teach on a supply/temporary contract basis.

Section 5 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 is limited to referrals made by local authorities to registered social landlords. If local authorities are able to discharge their duties to homeless people by entering into agreements with private landlords for the latter to provide accommodation, then they are free to do so, but these agreements would not be subject to the conditions of section 5.

I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:

Certain community business initiatives are able to access the Futurebuilders Scotland fund where they are part of the social economy and meet the Futurebuilders Scotland eligibility criteria.

Financial support for community business initiatives is also available through Leader+(Scotland), a European Community Initiative designed to encourage new ideas and support in sustainable rural development.

Support for businesses generally is primarily an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. Scottish Enterprise provides support and advice through the Business Gateway, while in the Highlands and Islands area, the ten local enterprise companies act as the access point. This includes advice on the sources of financial support available.

Ministers are responsible underthe Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001 for the appointment of Care Commissionboard members. The act requires that the board has at least two members who eitheruse or have used care services or are carers for persons who use or have used thoseservices. The current board includes four such members.

Local authorities have powers under Section 179 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 to serve notice requiring occupiers to take steps to rectify the condition of land that is adversely affecting the amenity of the surrounding area. This could include taking control of injurious weeds that are threatening neighbouring land.

An occupier who unreasonably fails to comply with a notice served under Section 1 of the Weeds Act 1959 is committing an offence and may, on summary conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding level 3 of the standard scale (currently £1,000).

Where an occupier fails to comply with a notice, the Weeds Act 1959 also empowers Scottish ministers to take control action and recover the costs of this action from the occupier of the land.

Local authorities have powers under Section 179 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 to serve notice requiring occupiers to deal with any land whose condition is adversely affecting the amenity of other land in their district. If the occupier fails to comply with the notice, the planning authority may take control action and recover the costs of the action.

Any feed or forage that contains ragwort is unsafe to feed to horses and other animals. The Agriculture Act 1970 and the Feeding Stuffs (Scotland) Regulations 2000 govern the sale of animal feed and forage. Regulation 14 makes it an offence to sell any material for use as a feeding stuff which is found, or discovered as a result of analysis, to be unwholesome for or dangerous to any farmed animal, pet animal or human being. The penalty for this offence would be a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale (currently £5,000).

Current proposals for the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Bill do not explicitly cover the production of animal feed. However, there are two sections in the draft bill that could be used to deal with this issue.

The proposed section 20 of the draft bill would make it an offence to administer a poisonous or injurious substance to an animal, if the person administering that substance knows that substance to be poisonous or injurious. Knowingly feeding ragwort to an animal susceptible to ragwort poisoning would therefore be an offence. The definition of “poisonous or injurious” substance would certainly include ragwort fed to horses.

The proposed section 22 of the draft bill would make it an offence to fail to ensure that the needs of animals are met and this would include ensuring that an animal is fed a suitable diet. Hay or haylage contaminated with ragwort and fed to animals susceptible to ragwort poisoning would not be providing the animal with a suitable diet. We would expect the person responsible for feeding the animal to check that the animal feed was suitable, if necessary removing any ragwort.

The penalties for both these offences on summary conviction would be imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale (currently £5,000) or both.