Chamber and committees

We continue to work through Scottish Development International to promote Scotland as a quality location for value-added, high-skill call centres, emphasising our educational strengths, providing support and assistance with identifying locations and training, and offering financial support where appropriate. Financial services and telecommunications are priority areas for Scottish Development International and are being actively targeted in key overseas markets.

Boards of management are accountable to the Scottish ministers through powers delegated to the Scottish Further Education Funding Council in the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992.

Industrial relations and employment issues within further education colleges, which are autonomous bodies in terms of the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992, are for the colleges themselves to address.

An extensive consultation exercise seeking views on future governance and accountability arrangements in the further education sector is currently under way. The appointment of boards of management is one issue on which views are being sought.

Arrangements whereby staff in colleges of further education may appeal against disciplinary action would normally be covered by the disciplinary code of the college concerned and by general employment law provisions.

We will consider further the alignment of the student support for further and higher education students in the light of the forthcoming lifelong learning strategy.

Decisions on awards from Hardship Funds allocations are made by colleges and universities who are best placed to assess whether individual students need this additional support. The current arrangements for Hardship Funds and the Mature Students Bursary Fund (MSBF) aim to retain as much of that discretion as possible while at the same time targeting the support to those students who need it most. We have asked institutions for feedback on the first year of MSBF and will consider whether any changes should be made to the arrangements in the light of their comments.

I understand that Clydeport owns some 21 hectares (approximately 55%) of the development site and Glasgow City Council owns 17 hectares (approximately 44%). The remaining 1% is made up of various ownerships held on long leases.

Implementation of the Scottish Diet Action Plan began in 1996. The plan set dietary targets for 2005. The recently announced National Healthy Eating Campaign takes forward the Scottish Diet Action Plan in a renewed and focused effort to meet the dietary targets with a particular focus on increasing consumption of fruit and vegetables and decreasing fat intake. The campaign is an integral part of the Step Change agenda to improve Scotland's health.

The Scottish Executive supports the development of breakfast clubs and fruit provision in schools in a number of ways. The Executive has created a £250,000 Breakfast Service Challenge Fund to expand services targeting vulnerable children and is reviewing current provision. One of the priorities identified for the Health Improvement Fund, which has allocated £26 million per annum towards improving public health until 2003-04, is improving the diet of children. This includes supporting the provision of breakfast clubs and fruit in nurseries and schools.The Scottish Community Diet Project has a specific remit to work with low-income communities and will receive funding of £1.2 million between 2002 and 2005. It supports a range of community food initiatives including breakfast clubs and recently published a Breakfast Club toolkit to assist organisations wishing to set up a breakfast club.Childcare Strategy funding (£16.75 million in 2002-03) is allocated to local authorities who, with Childcare Partnerships, make decisions on its disbursement to meet local childcare needs. The Executive has allocated an additional £8 million to local authorities as part of the Childcare Strategy funding over 2001-04 to help support and stabilise fragile out of school care provision, including breakfast clubs. New Community Schools have the twin aims of promoting social inclusion and raising educational standards in Scotland. Many New Community Schools have been involved in setting up breakfast clubs where there is perceived need.