Chamber and committees

The First Ministerlaunched a new Diaspora Strategy and hosted two events for Diaspora in Toronto and Guelph whilst in Canada inOctober 2005. The strategy aims to encouragethe diaspora’s active participation and engagement in promoting Scotland as a greatcountry to visit, live, learn, work, do business and invest, as well as consideringreturning to Scotland themselves.the Scottish Executive is involved with individuals and groups around the world throughnetworks such as Global Friends of Scotland and Global Scots. These groups are providedwith information about contemporary Scotland which enables them to promote Scotland andfurther Scottish interests internationally. We use websites such as www.scotlandistheplace.com, www.friendsofscotland.gov.uk andwww.globalscot.com/public/index.aspxto communicate, in a cost effective manner, key messages about modern, dynamic Scotlandbeing a great place to visit, live, learn, work, do business and invest in.

TheExecutive is currently working on production of an e-magazine which will assistour engagement with our worldwide diaspora, and encourage individuals and groupswithin that body to actively participate in promoting modern Scotland as thebest small country in the world.

Ministerial visits overseas arealso used to promote positive messages about modern Scotland and,where possible, events for a diaspora and expatriate audience are included in theprogramme. Events such as the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne are being used bythe Executive to enable ministers to meet a diaspora audience.

The Scottish Executive is lookingat a number of initiatives to encourage people to move to Scotland. Thisincludes the Fresh Talent Initiative, which is a wide ranging initiative aimed atattracting bright, talented and hard-working individuals to come and live, workand study in Scotland.

We are also undertaking specificactivity to help address demands in our public services. Last year Lewis Macdonald, Deputy Minister for Health and CommunityCare announced that dentists from Poland were being recruited from Poland to workin the NHS in Scotland. The first such eleven dentists arrived in Scotland in Januaryand will provide treatment for around 20,000 patients in Argyll amd Clyde, Forth Valley and Fife. Furtherdentists from Poland are due to arrive in a further two phases later thisyear. In addition, the on-going teacher recruitment campaign continues to attractteachers and their families to our shores.There has been a significant increase in the number of highly qualified teachersfrom outwith Scotland who have registered with the General Teaching Councilfor Scotland. Figures indicate a rise of over 40% since 2004.

The Home Office and ScottishExecutive have worked constructively together on a range of initiatives regardingFresh Talent, the Scottish Executive’s wide ranging initiative aimed at attractingbright, talented and hard-working individuals to come and live, work and study inScotland. Fresh Talent has a number of different strands, some related to immigrationwhich is a reserved matter and dealt with by the Home Office. On these strands the Executive continues to work closely and productively with the Home Office on facilitatingsome of the administrative procedures for those who want to live and work in Scotland.

Notablesuccesses in this area include the launch last June of the Fresh Talent: Workingin Scotland scheme which gives international students graduatingfrom a Scottish university or college the opportunity to stay on and work for upto two years without requiring a work permit. The Scottish Executive and the HomeOffice have also worked together on a range of measures within the new system formanaged migration that was announced by the Home Secretary on 7 March when he launchedA Points-Based System: Making Migration Work for Britain (available on theHome Office website). These new specific Scottish flexibilities will build on theFresh Talent initiative and help to attract and, crucially, retain the skills andtalent to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Scottish economy and society.

There have been no discussionson devolving immigration to the Scottish Parliament. I am confident that the bestway forward for Scotland is to work in conjunction with the Home Office to achievesolutions that meet Scottish needs.

The average cost, per family,of child care is not known for Scotland in 2006. In 2003-04 a survey of parents in Scotland conductedfor the Executive revealed that 63 per cent of families with children do not payfor child care, relying on informal care and free provision. Of those families thatdid pay for child care, 38 per cent paid less than £20 per week, 18 per cent paidbetween £20 and £39 per week, 18 per cent paid between £40 and £70 per week, 10per cent paid between £71 and £100 per week, 8 per cent paid more than £100 perweek, 1 per cent make a one off payment and 7 per cent was not stated. These costsare per family for up to two children.

The main direct forms of supportfor parents with child care costs are the tax credits system and child care vouchers.These are both the responsibility of HerMajesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and are reserved matters.

Childcare Strategy funding ofover £43 million has been passed to local authorities to meet the Executive’s aimof providing good quality, accessible and affordable childcare in all areas of Scotland. Thisfunding supports a wide range of child care projects and can include providing orsubsidising child care places where this is seen as a priority. Similarly, SureStartScotland funding is used by local authorities to provide services for vulnerablefamilies, which may include child care provision.

The Working for Families (WFF)initiative, being operated in selected parts of Scotland, supports parents in deprivedareas to progress towards or into employment. This can include help to tackle thefinancial barriers associated with child care, for example by providing the fullcost of a child care place for a short time-limited period whilst the parent makesthe transition into employment.

The fingerprint mark which was the subject of the report by three members of the Aberdeen Bureau of the Scottish Fingerprint Service has been reviewed and independently assessed by a number of people over the last nine years. Experts have reached different conclusions about the ownership of the mark.

The independence of the Lord Advocate is enshrined in section 48 of the Scotland Act 1998. This independence is fundamental to the role of the Lord Advocate as head of the system of criminal prosecution in the public interest. It is a cornerstone of any democracy that those who make prosecution decisions do so independently of any other person and, as the Lord Advocate’s deputy, the Solicitor General for Scotland requires to exercise the same independence.

As I stated in my previous answer, the Scottish Executive is aware that several of our major cities, of which Glasgow and Edinburgh are two, have world class facilities. As I stated in my response to S2W-22466 on 31 January 2006, the IOC have given no definition for the term “world city”. Therefore it is impossible to say whether Edinburgh or Glasgow are “world cities”. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

As I said in response to S2W-17566,answered on 18 July 2005, it was presently only feasible for a UK Olympic Games to be held in London. As Scotland’s sports facilities and infrastructure continue to improve that position will change.

As I said in response to S2W-22531 on 3 February 2006, the Scottish Executive currently has no plans to support a Glasgow Olympic bid but would not rule out such a bid in the future. At present efforts are focused on bringing the Commonwealth Games to Scotland in 2014.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

The Executive agrees that it is necessary for cities wishing to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games to meet certain requirements. It also agrees that this is for the International Olympic Committee to consider.