Chamber and committees

This is a matter for local authorities. The information requested is not held centrally.

The Scottish Executive does not collect these statistics centrally. The Criminal Justice Statistics Unit within the Scottish Executive does, however, maintain and publish an annual series of Statistical Bulletins on Liquor Licences in Scotland. In 2003, statistics on the total number of licences that were suspended were collected for the first time.

Nineteen licences were suspended. This figure is broken down into local authority areas as follows:

Local Authority	Number of Licences Suspended
Aberdeen City	2
Aberdeenshire	2
Angus	1
Dundee City	4
East Renfrewshire	1
City of Edinburgh	3
North Ayrshire	2
North Lanarkshire	2
Scottish Borders	1
South Lanarkshire	1
Total	19

 

The Scottish Executive has not yet produced any guidance for licensees on the responsible promotion of alcohol. The Licensing (Scotland) Bill was introduced to Parliament on 28 February. The bill contains a number of measures that support ministers’ objectives of tackling binge and under-age drinking. Specifically, it outlaws nationally those irresponsible drinks promotions that can lead to binge drinking.

 Ministers intend to issue guidance to licensees as part of their implementation of the new regime.

The distribution of fishing quotas is one of a number of issues which will be addressed in a forthcoming review of the UK’s quota management arrangements.

The Scottish Executive has had no involvement in deciding the location of the headquarters of the United Kingdom Energy Research Centre. This decision was taken by a consortium of the relevant research institutions.

Section 15 of the Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc Act 2000 requires that an education authority shall provide education in a school other than a special school unless a mainstream setting would not be suited to the ability or aptitude of the child; or would be incompatible with the provision of efficient education for the children with whom the child would be educated; or would result in unreasonable public expenditure being incurred which would not ordinarily be incurred.

No, the Executive does not intend to reverse its decision about the working arrangements of the CDO. The CDO will continue to play a lead role within the Executive in reforming NHS dentistry in Scotland. The work which he will undertake one day a week with NHS Education for Scotland is a vital part of securing the additional workforce needed to deliver the improvements to dental services. All of the duties of the CDO post will continue to be covered by the CDO himself, his deputy and the teams within the Executive which work with him.

The available information is given in the table.

Persons Proceeded Against in Scottish Courts for Sale of Drink to Persons Aged Under 18¹ by Police Force Area, 1998-02

Police Force Area	Number					Year-on-Year Percentage Change
	1998	1999	2000	2001	20022	1998-1999	1999-2000	2000-2001	2001-20022
Central	6	3	6	3	5	-50	100	-50	67
Dumfries and Galloway	7	3	-	-	-	-57	-100	-	-
Fife	5	1	8	2	-	-80	700	-75	-100
Grampian	12	7	7	3	5	-42	0	-57	67
Lothian and Borders	19	4	7	10	11	-79	75	43	10
Northern	4	1	4	2	3	-75	300	-50	50
Strathclyde	60	22	27	25	16	-63	23	-7	-36
Tayside	11	17	3	3	4	55	-82	0	33
Scotland	124	58	62	48	44	-53	7	-23	-8

Notes:

1. Where main offence.

2. Figures may be underestimates due to time taken to record details of some court proceedings.

Following consultation with stakeholders, we have developed a scheme under the national envelope provisions which will be called the Scottish Beef Calf scheme. I will be bringing forward regulations relating to the scheme, shortly. Farmers and crofters have been kept informed of our intentions.

This will involve a flat rate payment for calves born in Scotland to beef-bred animals, with a higher rate payable for the first 10 animals. It is intended to support the supply of quality Scottish beef and safeguard the environment.

The first payments will be made after one year’s worth of claims have been received. I expect the first payments to be made in February to March 2006.

Broadcasting is a reserved matter. We attach considerable importance to the role that regional broadcasting and programming play in nurturing local culture and identity. We have made our views clear in discussions with the broadcasters, Ofcom and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.