Chamber and committees

The annual increase of public sector pensions is a reserved matter.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Advisory Unit (SFRAU) is currently conducting a review of fire and rescue services'' Integrated Risk Management Plans  (IRMP) - locally determined risk-assessed methodology for deploying fire authority resources. This review will include an examination of response times. SFRAU will also conduct a literature review of available reference material relating to response times and will consider the Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service''s report as part of this work.

In his report, Paddy Tomkins concluded that the current multi-agency approach to water rescue in Scotland is robust and recommended that there is no requirement for new legislation or wholesale change to current arrangements. However, he did indicate that there is scope for making more effective use of the resources currently held by responder agencies as well as those held by the private and voluntary sectors.

Before making any decisions on how to proceed, I was keen to hear members'' views of the findings of the independent review. During the Scottish Government debate held in the Parliament on 21 January, I was pleased at the level of support which the review and its recommendations received from members. In responding to the issues raised by members, I was happy to announce the establishment of a stakeholder group to take the work forward.

The first meeting of the stakeholder group has been arranged for 2 June and invitations have been issued to a range of key stakeholders, including workforce representatives, in line with the commitment I made during the debate. It will be the responsibility of this group to consider the recommendations with a view to ensuring an effective and proportionate water rescue capability across Scotland.

I commissioned Strathclyde Fire & Rescue Chief Officer, Brian Sweeney, to examine how to reduce fire deaths and injuries caused by fire in Scotland. The study findings in the Scotland Together report were submitted to the Scottish Government at the end of 2009.

The Scottish Government is working in partnership with various stakeholders to consider the report''s 37 recommendations. It will also consult the Ministerial Advisory Group (MAG), which includes representatives from the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) and other trade unions.

The Scottish Government and other lead stakeholders are committed to fulfilling the ethos of Scotland Together by taking forward its findings in a multi-agency approach.

The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission is responsible for setting its budget and any questions about its costs and spending should be directed to the Commission.

The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission is responsible for setting the levy and any questions about this should be directed to the Commission.

We have no plans to carry out a review of the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission at this time. It is too early to assess the effectiveness of the commission as it has only been operational since October 2008 and transitional processes remain ongoing.

Under the Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 2007, the commission is required to publish a report, as soon as practicable after the end of the financial year, reporting on the discharge of its functions in that year and such action as the commission proposed to take in the following year. Scottish ministers laid their 2008-2009 Annual Report in the Scottish Parliament on 8 February 2010.

The Chief Executive of the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission is the accountable officer and is responsible for ensuring the propriety and regularity of the finances of the Commission and questions relating to financial monitoring should therefore be referred to the Commission.

The Commission is subject to audit by the Auditor General for Scotland and is required to lay the audited statement of accounts before the Scottish Parliament.

The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission is responsible for setting its budget and questions about its spending should be addressed to the Commission.

The Scottish Government has been in regular contact with the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission on a range of issues such as the appointment of board members, the publication of the commission''s annual report, the Legal Services (Scotland) Bill and the transitional arrangements for complaints relating to the time before the commission''s inception. Such discussions have been conducted on the basis that the commission is largely independent of government in how it fulfils its statutory responsibilities.