Chamber and committees

The post was filled by assignment of a senior civil servant, already experienced in operating at this level, because of the need to strengthen the top management of Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and to do so without delay.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-23749.

Employment policy is reserved to the UK Government, which takes the lead on funding and delivery of the New Deal. In Scotland, it does this in partnership with the Scottish Executive and contributing organisations. The Green Paper, Towards Full Employment in a Modern Society, was published in March 2001. It set out a series of changes and initiatives within the New Deal programme - "New Deal: Next Phase" - designed to tackle harder to help clients, as unemployment rates fall, and to focus on the needs of employers in sectors where there are employment opportunities. These initiatives are funded from the overall New Deal budget.

The relevant employer-led National Training Organisations (NTOs) provide estimates of skill shortages in the construction, oil and gas, and electronics industries. The provision of labour market information is a key function of NTOs, a role that will be taken on by the new Sector Skills Councils, when they replace NTOs from April 2002.The Future Skills Scotland unit has recently commissioned the first-ever Scottish Employers Skill Survey, the fieldwork for which will take place during April/May 2002. The results of this survey should be available by late summer and will complement the existing labour market information in these sectors.

Employment policy is reserved to the UK Government, which takes the lead on funding and delivery of the New Deal. In Scotland it does this in partnership with the Scottish Executive and contributing organisations.The key developments in Scotland, under New Deal: Next Phase, are as follows:Local Account Managers have been appointed in all Employment Service Districts in Scotland, to secure engagement with employers. Business sector initiatives are being developed, to offer opportunities to New Deal clients and meet the skill needs of employers. Targeted assistance is being developed for people with drug problems. Five "Progress2work" pathfinders are in place in Glasgow North; Glasgow South; Tayside; Fife; and Dumbarton, Argyll and Bute. These will be extended to the rest of the country progressively by 2003.There will be two Step-UP pilots in Scotland in East Ayrshire and Dundee, to provide jobs for people who have not succeeded in finding employment after New Deal. These will provide stepping-stones to work through guaranteed jobs.There will be two tailored pathway pilots in Scotland, in Glasgow and Dumfries and Galloway, to provide a more flexible approach to New Deal for Young People options. These will allow personal advisers to combine elements of the four options, to suit the needs of individuals.The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions will publish targets for Jobcentre Plus shortly.

Development of the Scottish Agricultural College's campus at Auchincruive is a matter primarily for the college.The college is currently developing its proposals for the future of the organisation as a whole. No decisions have been taken and its final plans will be submitted to ministers in due course. When they are, we will give them full and careful consideration.

We are making good progress in our discussions with both NHS trusts and Scottish Enterprise and I hope to be in a position to make an announcement in the near future.

The Executive has no plans to extend representation on the Pharmaceutical Liaison Group to include the organisations mentioned in the question.

The Scottish University for Industry (SUfI) is a broker and facilitator of learning between individuals, learning providers and companies and has no direct role in delivering learning itself. SUfI is not a primary holder of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). We therefore do not believe that the concept of technology transfer applies, nor does SUfI have any role in, or capacity to, undertake research and development functions relating to the application of IPR.

All the political parties represented in the Scottish Parliament and the independent member were invited by letter on 27 June 2001, to identify individuals who might be considered for appointment as an Independent Assessor. None of the parties nor the independent member replied.