Chamber and committees

The Scottish Executive has made progress in two areas.

Firstly, working alongside local authorities as the card issuers, we have completed an evaluation process to: determine the potential for a multi-application entitlement card, including the issue of more than 100,000 cards to citizens; test the roll out of a young person’s version of the card with cards being issued to more than 300,000 young people; identify a suitable range of services for the card, including concessionary fares, cashless catering, school registration, proof of age, library and leisure services.

Secondly, again working with all local authorities, we have put in place a framework for the rationalisation and replacement of the many disparate card schemes that currently exist, into a single – Scotland-wide - scheme.

Both of the above have been delivered with support from the Modernising Government Fund as part of a wider programme of modernisation work with local authorities, called “Customer First”.

I can confirm that the card is voluntary and no-one would be denied access to the services that they are entitled to should they decline the offer of a card. Further information on the Customer First programme is available at www.openscotland.gov.uk.

The Executive has no plans to link the entitlement card to any national identity register or similar database.

However, within Scotland, there will be a need to develop a link between the entitlement card and an index of entitlement card holders. For example, to automatically cancel the account of that card holder and their entitlement in the event of that persons death being notified, or to automate the award of an entitlement should that persons status change, e.g. a national concessionary fare could automatically be offered in the event of that person reaching their sixtieth birthday.

The establishment of the account, the account status and any data sharing that results from this will only be done with the informed consent of the citizen.

These developments are at an early stage in the consideration of how an entitlement card scheme might work. It is part of a wider drive to improve the efficiency of our public services and the implementation of a more pro-active approach to the delivery of services. It is not about identity management and the need to create a national identity register.

The Executive is taking part in discussion fora on 4 May 2005 organised by HIV-Scotland for organisations involved with HIV, and on 1 June 2005 by Positive Voice for individuals living with HIV. An extension to the consultation deadline has been agreed for these two organisations to allow the outcomes of the discussions to be fed into the process.

In addition the proposals were discussed, and the groups’ views requested, at the meetings of the UK Health Departments’ Expert Advisory Group on AIDS and Advisory Group on Hepatitis, on 3 March 2004 and 27 April 2004 respectively. Executive officials were present at both meetings.

I have asked Dr Paul Stollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), to answer. His response is as follows:

It is intended that the Directive will be fully implemented by 4 January 2006 with regard to energy performance requirements. However, if member states have a lack of qualified and/or accredited experts to enable them to apply fully the provisions of certain articles that require inspection or certification, the directive permits an additional three years to carry this out. Any notification to the European Commission of the need to do this will be done by the UK Government. Numbers of experts available are currently being assessed.

I have asked Dr Paul Stollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), to answer. His response is as follows:

Energy certification of buildings can be introduced through the building standards system. All the primary legislation is in place with the Building (Scotland) Act 2003 coming into force on 1 May 2005. Secondary legislation and supporting guidance will be required to commence a roll-out of certificates.

I have asked Dr Paul Stollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), to answer. His response is as follows:

The Building (Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 2004, which come into force on 1 May, require local authorities to maintain an electronic register for the geographical area of the authority relating to building standards information.  For construction of dwellings, energy ratings will be recorded. The possibility of extending the scope of the register to include energy performance certificate information for all buildings is currently being investigated.

I have asked Dr Paul Stollard, Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), to answer. His response is as follows:

The EU Directive 2002/91/EC on the Energy Performance of Buildings will be implemented in Scotland by the SBSA, on behalf of Scottish ministers, using the new building standards system.

In the first six months of theHamilton Child Safety Initiative (HCSI), which started in October 1997, 200 childrenwere removed from the streets by the police when they had concerns about their safety.The majority were taken home to their parents, with only four charged with any formof crime or offence. Strathclyde Police re-launched the initiative for a furthertwelve month period, in November 1998, as the Children and Young People’s SafetyInitiative (CHYPS), covering the whole of Hamilton. Following a review of CHYPS,Strathclyde Police decided against continuing the programme as a separate initiativeand instead extended the principles underpinning the initiative into community policingmore generally.

Figures for the number of childrentaken home by the police or detained in police custody are not available centrallyfor the later phases of this initiative. They are also not available centrally forother police forces.

No properties have been compulsorilyacquired. Fifteen properties have been acquired on a voluntary basis. The Road Ordersand Compulsory Purchase Order were made on 24 March 2005.The Compulsory Purchase Order enables the Scottish ministers to compulsory purchasethe remaining properties and interests required for the scheme. There are around220 plots in the Compulsory purchase order, although it is hoped that the majorityof these will be acquired by agreement.

The Executive is committed tothorough, effective and appropriate consultation in formulating policy.

Prior to the launch of our consultationdocument, Blood testing following criminal incidents where there is a riskof infection, exchanges took place with the Canadian Professional Police Association,the Scottish Police Federation, the Information Commissioner, the Scottish CriminalRecord Office, the Scottish Prison Service, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary,the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland, Health Protection Scotland,Rape Crisis Scotland and the Judicial Studies Committee. The issues were also discussedat the 2004 International Law Enforcement Conference hosted by the Scottish PoliceFederation.

There was also regular contactbetween the Executive and the Parliament’s Public Petitions Committee,and the issues were debated in the Scottish Parliament on 20 February 2003, in thecontext of the proposed Amendment 76 to the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill.

Further discussions with particularstakeholder groups may take place in the light of responses now being received tothe consultation, to ensure that a wide range of views is taken into consideration.