Chamber and committees

I refer the member to my answer to question S1W-5615.

31 May.

I refer Ms Sturgeon to the reply I gave her to question S1W-6572.

The review is useful to help explain the ways in which the social and physical environment can contribute to higher child pedestrian casualty rates. The Scottish Executive will take the study's findings into account when targeting road safety campaigns for disadvantaged areas. This will help us to make progress towards meeting our target for a reduction of 50% in the number of child road deaths and serious injuries by 2010.

Copies of the report Road Accidents and Children Living in Disadvantaged Areas: A Literature Review have been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe).

The Scottish Executive and the UK Government recently announced targets for road accident casualty reductions in the period to 2010. These include a 50% reduction in the number of child fatal and serious casualties. The targets, together with a strategy for achieving them, were published on 1 March.

The Scottish Executive will take into account the findings of the research report Road Accidents and Children Living in Disadvantaged Areas, published by the Scottish Executive Central Research Unit on 19 April, when targeting road safety campaigns for disadvantaged areas.

Research published recently by the Scottish Executive found that child pedestrians from socio-economically disadvantaged families have a higher risk of injury in road accidents than children in higher socio-economic groups and that injuries tend to be of greater severity. The research suggested that the link between social deprivation and the high accident rate of child pedestrians may be partly explained by increased exposure to hazardous environments, such as busy roads with a lack of safe crossing sites, the location of schools within the community and the availability of and access to safe play areas. These factors, compounded by a lack of adult supervision of younger children, appear to exacerbate road accident rates in disadvantaged areas.

Research to be commissioned by the Scottish Executive later this year will consider road safety initiatives in deprived areas. In particular, the research will establish the extent and type of community road safety initiatives in Scotland, focusing on deprived areas. It will compare different types of initiatives and consider best practice. Guidelines to be produced in the light of the research will advise local authorities and community organisations on how to establish and run a road safety initiative.

The Scottish Executive will continue to fund the operation of the Children's Traffic Club in Scotland to ensure that road safety education is available free to all three and four year old children in Scotland. Research published last year found that the club was having a positive effect on both the members and their carers.

The format of the Children's Traffic Club in Scotland is being revised. Changes are being made to the number, frequency and content of books sent to members with the aim of encouraging greater use of the materials, particularly by members and carers from lower socio-economic groups.

The education authorities which have reported difficulties in maintaining supply cover did so in a wide range of subjects. The subjects most mentioned, that is by up to four or five education authorities, are mathematics, technological education, music, religious education, chemistry, art and PE.

The overall management of their school building stock is a matter for individual education authorities. Detailed information of the kind requested is not held centrally. Education authorities generally have their own assessments of school building maintenance and other needs, although these may not be on a basis which is consistent across authorities. We are currently discussing with local authority representatives aspects of school building needs, including the scope for improving the consistency of such information across all authorities.

The overall management of their school building stock is a matter for individual education authorities. Detailed information of the kind requested is not held centrally.