Chamber and committees

We expect to bring forward proposalsto simplify the range and scope of funding streams for local environmental regenerationprojects by the end of this financial year and to implement new arrangements forfunding as soon as possible thereafter.

Supervision of offenders isa function of local authorities. The information held centrally relates only tofunding allocations to authorities for the supervision of offenders in generaland not separately for the supervision of sex offenders.

Consideration of the InvernessSouthern Distributor Road in the regional transport strategy for the area is a matterfor the Highland Council to discuss with the Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership.Capital funding of £3,530,227 in 2006-07, and £3,530,227 in 2007-08 was made availableto the Partnership, by the Scottish Executive.

The Executive recognisesthat, whilst osteoporosis affects both men and women, there is a higherprevalence of the disease amongst women. Our work on smoking, diet and exercisewill help reduce the risk of people developing osteoporosis.

The Executive alsorecognises that some diseases such as CHD, cancer and mental health problemsaffect men and women differently, and that others such as endometriosis andcervical cancer affect women exclusively. The principles set out in Deliveringfor Health are about making sure that services are responsive to the needsof the person.

No.

I have asked Angiolina Foster,Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond.

Her response is as follows:

Eligibility for the Central Heatingand Warm Deal Programmes is determined by a set of defined criteria. Those criteriaare assessed on an individual basis and eligibility determined by the ProgrammeManaging Agent. As a general rule, providing an applicant met those criteria theywould be eligible if:

they are over 80 and the heatingin their home was provided by an open coal fire, including heating arrangementsconnected to a system of two or more radiators or ducts, or

they are over 60 and the heatingin their home was provided by a coal fire, excluding heating arrangements connectedto a working system of two or more radiators or ducts.

The criteria covering the WarmDeal Programme are not dependent on the type of heating system in a property. Toqualify for the programme householders must be in receipt of one or more of a rangeof specified state benefits. Those over 60 not on a qualifying benefit are eligiblefor a reduced grant of 25%.

The most recent reliable estimatesof the number of households which use coal as a primary source of fuel are takenfrom the Scottish House Condition Survey 2002. This survey estimates the numberto be around 15,000 dwellings.

We have not received any informationor representations from EWS on this matter.

The Channel Tunnel Rail Linkis a reserved matter for the Department for Transport (DfT) and as such TransportScotland do liaise with DfT to ensure that Scottish rail freight interests are appropriatelyconsidered.

The Antisocial Behaviour (Scotland) Act2004 includes provisions for the registration of private landlords which were introduced,in part, to assist in tackling antisocial behaviour in private sector tenancies.Local authorities and Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) have the power to applyfor Antisocial Behaviour Orders (ASBOs). There are currently no plans to amend legislationto enable private landlords to do so. Where necessary, private landlords shouldseek to work in partnership with local agencies to tackle antisocial behaviour.Private landlords can approach the local council to request the use of measuresavailable under antisocial behaviour legislation, including ASBOs, where appropriate.

On 31 May 2006, I announced thefirst four awards totalling £420,400 from the Strategic Timber TransportScheme:

1. ProgrammeManager/Facilitator for Stirling and Tayside areas: awarded £25,000 of £34,000project costs.

2. SKOTKA South of Scotlandtimber logistics programme: awarded £ 68,900 of £473,000 project costs.(aproject with national value to the timber haulage sector, with work based insouth west Scotland)

3. ProgrammeManager/Co-ordinator for Argyll: awarded £94,000 of £152,000 project costs.

4. Study into theperformance of forest and public roads under timber transport traffic: awarded£232,500 of £336,500 project costs (a project with national value to the timberhaulage sector and local authorities, with work based in south west Scotland).

It is through the Schemethat applicants can obtain financial support from the Strategic TimberTransport Fund if the criteria are met. The aim of the Fund is to facilitatethe sustainable transport of timber in rural areas of Scotland forthe benefit of local communities and the environment.

Another project seeking some£2.2 million of £3.2 million project costs, in Dumfries and Galloway, isbeing discussed between the applicant and Forestry Commission Scotland whomanage the Scheme on behalf of the Executive.

A second tranche ofapplications received on 22 June, representing bids for £3.1 million of £4.7 millionproject costs, is currently being assessed. Six of the applications are forcapital works, both rail and road based.

The geographical spread of the seven applications is:

Area	Number of Applications
Highland	2
Argyll	3
Highland Perthshire	1
South west Scotland	1

Dates of the further roundsof applications are given in the user guidance, with the closing date for thenext round being 31 August 2006.