Chamber and committees

There is no deadline for appointing local area co-ordinators. The recommendation in The Same as You? is that "initial training for putting local area co-ordinators in place will begin in autumn 2001".Training for local area co-ordinators started in the autumn of 2001, and there have been subsequent training events run by Scottish Human Services and the Scottish Consortium for Learning Disability.

Yes. We have established an e-mail network of local authority and NHS contacts for the Partnership in Practice agreements. Local area co-ordinators can use this electronic network to communicate with each other, and with other stakeholders.

The main strategy documents for the implementation of The Same as You? are the Partnership in Practice agreements which set out, at local level, targets, milestones and timescales. Through Partnership in Practice agreements every area in Scotland has a clear strategy for implementing The Same as You?.

I am pleased to announce the publication today of the Executive's Community Regeneration Statement, Better Communities in Scotland: Closing the Gap, which sets out how we intend to turn around deprived communities and create a better life for those living in them. While there have been many successful programmes in Scotland, the statement signals a number of important shifts in our approach to regeneration. Firstly, we intend moving away from funding isolated, project-based regeneration initiatives, which have limited impact. We will in future place regeneration within a wider strategic framework, which the community planning process provides. This will result in more cohesion between national, regional and local priorities, better targeting of resources, better quality of services in deprived areas, and more effective community involvement. Secondly, as a consequence of our new policy approach, we intend migrating social inclusion partnerships to community planning partnership funding and management over the next three to four years. Thirdly, we will place a higher priority on providing individuals and communities with the skills and confidence necessary to take advantage of opportunities and to play a full part in the life of their communities. Fourthly, we will put in place a more robust monitoring and evaluation framework that will allow us to measure progress much more effectively than we have done in the past. Together these proposals will make a significant contribution to closing the gap between deprived communities and the rest of Scotland. Copies of the Community Regeneration Statement are available from the Parliament's Reference Centre.

I shall reply to the member as soon as possible.

Scottish ministers have joint responsibility with the Home Secretary for the policy and general oversight of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme. The day to day administration of the scheme and decisions on individual applications are the responsibility of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.

The operation of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme is the responsibility of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority. I understand that the Deputy Chief Executive of the authority has now written to you in response to your letter of 1 March 2002, addressing the points that you raised in that letter and in your earlier letters to the authority.

In the answer given to question S1W-12163, my colleague, Tom McCabe undertook to report quarterly on the numbers of letters received by ministers and our performance in answering them.In the third quarter of 2001, July to September, 3,471 letters were received for ministerial reply of which 64% received a reply within 17 working days; and 81% received a reply within 25 working days. This performance is similar to the second quarter when 64% of letters received a reply within 17 working days and 82% received a reply within 25 working days and an improvement on the first quarter of 2001 when 60% and 79% of letters respectively received replies within 17 and 25 working days.In the fourth quarter of 2001, October to December, 3,560 letters were received for ministerial reply of which 69% received a reply within 17 working days; and 86% received a reply within 25 working days. This is an improved performance on the third quarter. In the last quarter of 2000 only 39% of letters received a reply within 17 working days. There has been a continuous improvement in performance over all four quarters of 2001, but partly because of the ministerial changes in November and partly because of other pressures on some departments in the Executive the targets of 80% and 100% for the most recent quarter have not been met.I have decided to retain the same targets for 2002 and I shall continue to report performance quarterly.

If tenants vote yes in the Glasgow housing stock transfer ballot, the Glasgow Housing Association's modernisation programme will, through the combination of external fabric upgrading, double-glazing, insulation and central heating, result in significant improvements in the energy efficiency of existing council properties.

In tenants vote yes in the Glasgow housing stock transfer ballot, 13,000 new homes for social rent are planned for Glasgow.