Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is not aware of any recommendations made by the Health and Safety Executive on the storage of household waste for collection by local authorities.

Information on recruitment of local government staff, including graduates, is not held centrally. This is a matter for local authorities themselves as independent corporate bodies.

The information requested is not held centrally. Information about the estimated prevalence of autism spectrum disorders, by age group and by local authority area, is set out in Scottish Government Policy and Practice Guidance on Commissioning Services for People on the Autism Spectrum. This is based on a prevalence rate of 90 in 10,000 people. The guidance is available on the Scottish Government website at:

http://openscotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/03/27085247/0.

The Scottish Government has not undertaken any investigation into the use of underground recycling facilities in urban areas.

The Scottish Government understands however that three local authorities in Scotland operate underground recycling facilities, and they may be able to provide you with information on any investigatory work undertaken prior to adopting these systems. The local authorities are Dundee, East Dunbartonshire and Edinburgh.

There are no specific standards for the education of children with additional support needs including autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Under section 2 of the Standards in Scotland''s Schools etc. Act 2000 education authorities are required to secure that education is directed to the development of the personality, talents and mental and physical abilities of the child or young person to their fullest potential. This applies to all children including those with ASD.

Her Majesty''s Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) inspects provision for ASD as part of its general inspection activity. The quality of educational provision for children with autism spectrum disorders is, therefore, subject to the same rigour and scrutiny as that applied to all children and young people.

Any good practice which is identified whilst inspecting provision for ASD is posted on the HMIE website and is designed to help establishments to continuously improve and aspire to the best of practice for these children and young people.

As a result of a request from Scottish ministers, HMIE carried out a specific task to evaluate and report on the educational provision for pupils with ASD. A report of the review''s findings together with a literature review was published in October 2006. The report is used by the educational community to improve services to children and young people.

On 3 April 2009, the Scottish Government launched The Autism Toolbox: An Autism Resource for Scottish Schools. This provides support and guidance to educational establishments to promote and develop high standards of provision for pupils with ASD.

The £321.2 million NPV (net present value) of the whole contract is comprised as follows: (a) construction (including design) - £251.4 million; (b) maintenance (including capital works and operational costs) - £38.1 million, and (c) other costs (including taxation, financing and management costs) - £31.7 million.

Direct international air links improve Scotland''s business connections to existing and new markets, attract inward investment and make access to Scotland easier for inbound tourists.

We will continue to promote Scotland as a destination worth serving to airlines, which will improve our connectivity for business and inbound tourism. To assist airlines in their decision-making, we will also share market analysis data on Scotland and on the potential for new routes.

We, and the police, are treating all forms of fraud, including internet fraud, as a priority.

We support the recommendations in Her Majesty''s Inspectorate of Constabulary for Scotland''s recent Thematic Inspection on Serious Fraud to ensure a more systematic approach to handling fraud in Scotland within the police service, including establishing a national strategic unit. Scottish Government officials are working closely with the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) team set up to take those recommendations forward.

The National Casework Division within the Crown Office and the police already work in partnership to investigate and prosecute high value, complex cases of fraud. Furthermore the National Fraud Initiative (NFI) has already identified around £37 million of fraud and error and has led to over 75 prosecutions in Scotland. We are strengthening the NFI by giving it statutory force in the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Bill. We are also using that bill to strengthen the law to ensure there are no barriers to all Scottish public authorities sharing information with each other and with anti-fraud organisations to help prevent and detect fraud.

In Scotland, the eight police forces, the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency e-crime unit and the Scottish Business Crime Centre are all involved in helping prevent internet fraud. In addition, private and business organisations such as banks and internet service providers are involved in monitoring and tackling internet fraud.