Chamber and committees

The audit of current swimming provision I announced on 24 May 2001 is now complete and copies of the report have been placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 25875) and will shortly be distributed to all local authorities. Learning and Teaching Scotland has been commissioned to identify barriers to provision and suggest effective solutions to overcoming these barriers. This will provide valuable advice to local authorities and schools and a report of this work will be available later this year. In June 2002, local authorities were invited to bid for Quality of Life funding for initiatives aimed at supporting children and young people and improving the local environment. Seventeen local authorities decided to allocate almost £2 million for swimming provision in a range of proposals. Aberdeenshire Council received £300,000 for exercise promotion which included swimming. A further £180 million of Quality of Life funding has been allocated to local authorities over the next three years. Local authorities have been invited to submit proposals by 20 February and swimming lessons are eligible for funding under this scheme.Of course, swimming is part of the physical education curriculum which is currently being reviewed under my chairmanship. I believe that all children should be given the opportunity to learn to swim, and improve that ability, whether through home or school opportunities. I will be asking all local authorities to review the information provided in this report and to consider whether swimming lessons could be extended, for example through bids under the Quality of Life Fund.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:It has first been necessary to evaluate the proposal made by the Prison Officers' Association (POA) at the time of the estates review and endorsed by the then Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons that access to night sanitation could be provided within the existing staff complement. This proposal did not contain any detailed plans of how such a system would be operated. The evaluation has shown that the proposal was unworkable. The Governor of Peterhead is now developing and costing alternative proposals for access to night sanitation in consultation with the local branch of the POA. These will be examined in the context of the determination of the SPS budgets for 2003-04 onwards. The SPS expect to be able to reach a decision this spring.

Through our contacts with the Association of British Insurers (ABI) the Executive was kept informed of the development of the new principles and guidance relating to continuing flood risk cover for domestic properties and small businesses. These new principles were put in place by the ABI, on behalf of ABI members within the insurance industry, and are general industry guidance. These principles are not the subject of an agreement with Government. Guidance from the ABI states that it is the intention of ABI members that flood insurance for domestic properties and small businesses should continue to be available for as many customers as possible. The premiums charged and other terms and conditions - such as excesses - will reflect the actual risk of flooding, in the same way as for other insurable risks. However, changes to premiums and policy details are matters for policyholders and the insurance company concerned.

There is no official Scottish Executive working group on discrimination, although the Steering Group established to co-ordinate the Scottish response to the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report did deal with discrimination. The Experience of Violence and Harassment of Gay Men in the City of Edinburgh was not considered by the Steering Group.The report made a number of recommendations for a wide range of agencies to consider including the Executive. One of the main recommendations was that an inter-agency group at national level should be established to consider the violence and harassment experienced by gay men across Scotland. This was supported by the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) and the Scottish Executive and led to the setting up of a wider group, the Scottish Police and Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender (LGBT) Community Liaison Forum. The forum's main remit is to advise ACPOS on service delivery issues in relation to LGBT communities. It also advises COSLA and the Executive on service delivery and policy issues in relation to policing the LGBT communities. The Scottish Executive is represented on the forum, which has just completed its second productive year.

Trampling around outdoor feed rings by livestock may constitute a breach of scheme conditions if it caused damage to a designated site, a site being managed in the interests of conservation under an agri-environment agreement, or to natural or semi-natural vegetation anywhere on a holding in receipt of livestock subsidy or agri-environment payments. In such a case, my department would discuss the situation and potential remedies with the claimant, but in the absence of corrective or preventative action some or all of any payment due would be withheld. If the damage was to any other areas or if the farmer did not claim subsidy, there would be no implications for payments.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency does not provide advice to local authorities on the land use classification of industrial sites. This is a matter for the planning authority.

An inaccurate grid reference was used in respect of one of the wind farms. This meant that of the total number of people surveyed, fewer than had been thought lived within the close proximity zone of 5 km from the development.

The use of enriched battery cages is permitted under the Welfare of Farmed Animal (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2002, which came into force on 4 July 2002. The regulations implement the requirements of Directive 99/74/EC on the Welfare of Laying Hens in full.The Executive has no plans to consult on any proposal to ban the use of such cages in advance of the Commission's review of the directive in 2005.

The contract to design, construct, manage, and finance a prison at Kilmarnock was awarded by the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) under the Private Finance Initiative. The 25-year contract period commenced in March 1999 and so its accounting treatment was assessed using Technical Note 1 (Revised) How to account for PFI Transactions. At the end of the contract period the prison building comes into the ownership of the SPS. In the meantime, the SPS accounts for its commitments under the contract and for its reversionary interest in the property. Since the SPS is an Executive Agency of the Scottish Executive, the same accounting treatment applies in the consolidated accounts of the Scottish Executive (which report the performance, assets and liabilities of all bodies within the Scottish Executive accounting boundary). The external auditor, Audit Scotland, accepts this view.The Scottish Executive is aware that the private sector contractor, supported by their external auditor, has also reached a view that the prison does not constitute a fixed asset in its balance sheet. All parties have been applying, in good faith, the relevant guidance.The Scottish Executive is aware of the apparent anomaly and has raised the issue with the Financial Reporting Advisory Board, which is now conducting a review.

Development and maintenance costs to date are £34,762 inclusive of VAT. Hosting and search engine submission costs are respectively, £300 and £1,200 per year, exclusive of VAT. It is anticipated that the website will operate well beyond the initial advertising of the campaign. The website has attracted significant interest and is proving to be a valuable source of information. There is currently no time limit. We will continue to develop and update the website as long as it remains valuable and delivers results.