Chamber and committees

The Annual Population Survey is the official source for national estimates of employment. The Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation is used to define the 15% most deprived areas in Scotland.

Rate and Level of Employment in the 15% Most Deprived Areas in Scotland, 2006-08

Year	Rate of Employment	Level of Employment
2006	56.1%	264,800
2007	58.6%	269,300
2008	60.0%	275,400

Source: Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2006, Annual Population Survey.

Officials are currently in discussions with stakeholders about the most suitable date to hold the conference, which is being planned to take place approximately one year on from the publication of the Race Equality Statement in December 2008.

The Annual Population Survey is the official source for data on people not in employment, education or training.

(a) In 2008, 24.6% of 16 to 19 year olds in the 15% most deprived areas were not in employment, education or training.

(b) In 2008, 11.9% of 16 to 19 year olds in Scotland were not in employment, education or training.

The number of whole-time equivalent (WTE) vacancies in local authority social work services broken down by local authority and staff group is published in table 21 of the Staff of Scottish Local Authority Social Work Services, 2008 Statistics Publication Notice which is available at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00741. The Scottish Parliament Information Centre Bib. number is 48679.

All marketing unit spend, by campaign, is published on the Scottish Government website at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/Directorates/Services-Groups/17963/advertising-marketing/spend.

However, 2008-09 has yet to be audited and published. The final figures should be available within the next two months.

The Scottish Government has been seeking to facilitate effective implementation of the Future Jobs Fund, to ensure that its potential is maximised in Scotland. This has involved arranging a workshop for local areas in conjunction with DWP colleagues, as well as creating a web link to allow potential bidders to share information about their proposals. There is also a Scottish steering group for the fund, involving the Scottish Government, Scotland Office and Jobcentre Plus, who are currently involved in the assessment of Scottish bids.

Minutes of the forum meetings are published on the Scottish Government website and these will, from July, include a report back from the newly formed Fuel Poverty Forum''s Equalities Working Group. My officials provide the secretariat for the main Scottish Fuel Poverty Forum, but not for its subgroups or working groups.

The Scottish Fuel Poverty Forum''s Equalities Working Group held its first meeting on 23 June.

This question was answered in the Chamber. The answer can be viewed in the Official Report using the following link:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-09/sor0625-01.htm

We plan to consult shortly on the possibility of adding a number of offences to the list of criminal lifestyle offences contained in the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. Illegal money lending is only one of the offences under consideration.