Chamber and committees

Chairmen of Children's Panels are appointed to 15 May of any given year. New or further appointments will, where appropriate, be made to take effect from 16 May. Appointment letters are issued once advice from the relevant Children's Panel Advisory Committee has been considered.

The Scottish Executive has commissioned research into home supervision requirements made by hearings. This research compares between the decision of the hearing with the action undertaken by the local authority.

Any decision of a Children's Hearing is taken in the best interests of the child. Implementation is a matter for the relevant local authority.

There is no set term for the appointment of Children's Panel Chairmen. They may be appointed from one to five years with further periods of appointment as an option. The Scottish Executive takes advice from the relevant Children's Panel Advisory Committee on the proposed period of appointment.

Yes. I intend to bring forward a Bill to deal with various ECHR issues relating to bail, district courts and part-time sheriffs. The Bill will amend the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 by removing the present restrictions on the power of the sheriff to grant bail. It will therefore be a matter for the sheriff to determine whether to grant bail on the merits of the particular case. The Bill will also amend various aspects of the District Court (Scotland) Act 1975. In particular, it will prohibit the use of ex officio or other councillor justices in a judicial capacity, and introduce statutory security of tenure for Justices of the Peace in their judicial capacity. Finally, it will create a new judicial office of part-time sheriff with statutory terms and conditions to put their security of tenure beyond doubt.

The Glasgow Alliance is the over-arching body responsible for the regeneration agenda in the city. Its partners are Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Development Agency, Greater Glasgow Health Board, Scottish Homes, Scottish Executive, Glasgow Council for the Voluntary Sector and Scottish Business in the Community.

The Alliance is committed to making Glasgow a more inclusive society. Their strategy and the policies of their partners in relation to education, training, employment, housing and health, seek to enable more people to participate in the social, economic, political and cultural life of the city.

In addition to the work of the Alliance, over £2.1 billion public sector funding went into Glasgow during 1999-2000 from the Scottish Executive Grant. The Scottish Executive also recently announced Special Deprivation Payments of £8.68 million for Glasgow City Council in recognition of the high levels of deprivation and poverty in the city. This payment is over and above the grant support of £1,339 given to the Council per head of population.

A major research project associated with the Working Group established by the English Chief Medical Officer to devise good practice guidance is studying the causes and effects of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. The Scottish Executive Health Department has observer representation on the Group and is closely monitoring its progress.

The Working Group was set up by the English Chief Medical Officer, and its remit extends only to producing good practice guidelines for England. It would not be appropriate for Scottish representatives to take a direct part in this. However, we wanted to monitor the Group's work with a view to adopting or adapting the guidelines for Scotland, and therefore sought and were willingly given observer status.

The Scottish Executive has no such plans. However, the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations published Guidance Booklet 10 Good Practice in dealing with Domestic Abuse on 10 March 1999 and this Guidance Booklet was drawn up with the assistance of Scottish Women's Aid. While not statutory it is part of the compliance test applied to all housing associations registered with or wishing to become registered with Scottish Homes. Additionally, the Scottish Partnership on Domestic Abuse will issue Good Practice Guidelines and Service Standards for all Agencies concerned with domestic abuse.

The improvement and repairs grant system will be reformed by introducing a test of resources to decide the amount of grant. Assistance will be available at rates up to 100% for households on the lowest incomes. All those taking part in common repairs will receive at least a minimum percentage grant. These reforms will help local authorities promote necessary works and encourage owner-occupiers to carry them out.