Chamber and committees

I am not aware that such a group exists. The Scottish Raptor Study Groups are groups established on a regional basis to monitor raptors in Scotland. They are voluntary organisations and membership records are not held by the Executive.

Consultation documents setting out options for changes in the police and fire service pension schemes, including changes in contribution rates, were published by the Home Office in March1998. The response to consultation is under consideration.

There are currently 107 Community Service Orders being supervised by East Ayrshire Council Social Work Department. Work being undertaken includes environmental improvement work, painting and decorating for the elderly and support for various community organisations.

Funding for research into nanotechnology is provided by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. One of the recipients is the University of Glasgow, which is one of the leading centres for research into nanotechnology in the United Kingdom. Funding for nanotechnology research is also available to Scottish companies and research institutions from the EC Fifth Framework Programme. Projects involving nanotechnology are eligible for the full range of UK Government, Scottish Executive and Scottish Enterprise innovation support available for new technologies.

The available information is as follows:-

Actual, forecast and planned spend on purchase of vehicles by fire brigades in Scotland: figures in £,000.

Brigade	Actual		Forecast	Planned
	1997-98	1998-99	1999-2000		2000-2001	2001-2002
Central Scotland	470	375	318		350	350
Dumfries & Galloway	359	169	169		230	240
Fife	380	490	769		730	470
Grampian	750	603	215		680	675
Highland & Islands	878	444	550		750	750
Lothian & Borders	1,012	535	805		1,962*	2,120*
Strathclyde	1,160	683	731		742	957
Tayside	545	486	747		778	809

(Source: specific returns from brigades) (Note: * figures represent desired rather than projected spend)

The development and upgrading of railway infrastructure, including stations, is primarily a matter for Railtrack. I understand that the company is currently spending over £1.7 million on refurbishing Kilmarnock station.

The Scottish Executive is constantly in touch with HMG on a range of matters. Responsibility for safety and security at the Faslane base, however, rests primarily with the Ministry of Defence. Strathclyde Police are responsible for dealing with safety and security matters requiring police involvement which arise outside Faslane's perimeter. There is close liaison between both on these matters.

The Skillseekers programme is designed to provide work-based training for young people which leads to qualification up to SVQ Level III. HNCs are broadly equivalent to SVQ Level IV which is a higher level qualification than would normally be funded through Skillseekers.Skillseekers provides training which leads to occupational competence. SVQs are competence-based qualifications designed to industry standards, so provide a relevant qualification.

I refer the member to the answer to S1W-2067.

The Scottish Qualifications Authority carries out tracking research for its full portfolio of qualifications, and for SVQs specifically, to elicit information from stakeholders, including employers, about the awareness, understanding, relevance and perceived benefits of the different types of awards. The research does not seek to make comparisons since the different forms of qualifications are part of the same national framework in Scotland, exist to meet different needs, and are complementary. The Scottish Executive is conducting research in the current financial year to investigate the perceptions of employers of the benefits of offering work-based training and opportunities to acquire SVQs in the workplace.