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SCOTLAND
National Lottery
15. Mr. Jessel: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of benefits to Scotland from the national lottery. [5211]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: Scotland is doing extremely well from the national lottery. To date, over 560 awards have been made, totalling around £125 million.
Lockerbie
16. Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the meeting of the hon. Member for Linlithgow with the Lord Advocate and the Solicitor-General concerning the request for a trial in The Hague, under Scottish rules of evidence, and under a Scottish judge, of the two Libyans accused of bombing Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, what approach the Lord Advocate has made to lawyers in Germany and the United States, and Scots lawyers representing the accused Libyans. [5214]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: None.
Local Government Finance
17. Mr. Chisholm: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the percentage change in aggregate external finance to local authorities between 1995-96 and 1996-97 in (a) cash terms and (b) real terms. [5216]
Mr. Kynoch: It is plus 2.6 per cent.; and minus 0.1 per cent.
Failing Schools
18. Mr. Jacques Arnold: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what policies he is pursuing to deal with failing schools in Scotland. [5217]
Mr. Raymond S. Robertson: Examples of the policies we are following to raise standards and improve quality include:
inspection by Her Majesty's inspectors of schools with appropriate and systematic follow up
the requirement on all schools to draw up school development plans, and
the publication of extensive information for parents on schools' performance.
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Nursery Education
19. Mr. Devlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to improve quality and choice in nursery education. [5218]
Mr. Raymond S. Robertson: We plan to run the pilot phase of our pre-school education voucher initiative from August 1996. We intend to ensure that this initiative delivers high-quality provision and parental choice.
Ministers' Constituencies
20. Mr. Canavan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what guidance is given to Ministers in his Department in respect of their treatment of their own constituencies. [5219]
Mr. Michael Forsyth: Guidance is contained in the Cabinet Office booklet "Questions of Procedure for Ministers", a copy of which is available in the House Library.
Forfar Bypass
21. Mr. Bill Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received about the Kirriemuir and Glamis junctions on the Forfar bypass. [5221]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: The Scottish Office has recently received three representations about the Kirriemuir and Glamis junction on the Forfar bypass, including one from my hon. Friend. As a result of the representations, a package of measures to address road safety will be introduced at the junctions early in the new year.
Private Nursing Homes
23. Mr. Hood: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he next intends to meet representatives of private nursing homes in Scotland to discuss the powers of health boards in respect of registration and inspection; and if he will make a statement. [5223]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton: My right hon. Friend has agreed to meet nursing home proprietors in Tayside to discuss community care issues. The date has yet to be arranged.
Homelessness
24. Mr. Home Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people are homeless or living in overcrowded or substandard accommodation in Scotland. [5224]
Mr. Raymond S. Robertson: Information on the number of people homeless at any one time is not available. During the financial year 1993-94--the latest year for which figures are available--a total of 23,000 households containing 40,800 people in Scotland were assessed as homeless by local authorities.
At the time of the 1991 census of population, 213,900 people in Scotland were in accommodation which fell below the occupancy norm used in the census. This represents a very substantial reduction on the 1981 figure of 698,000.
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It is estimated from the Scottish house condition survey that in 1991 some 217,000 people were living in dwellings which fell below the tolerable standard.
25. Mr. Fabricant:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received concerning the practicalities of a different rate of income tax for Scotland; and if he will make a statement. [5225]
Mr. Michael Forsyth:
As I carry out my duties in Scotland I am constantly being made aware of the deep anxiety felt by all sections of the community on the implications of the "tartan tax".
26. Sir Hector Monro:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what progress he is making towards the eradication of bovine spongiform encephalopathy; and if he will make a statement. [5226]
Mr. Raymond S. Robertson:
Very good progress is being made towards the eradication of BSE in cattle in Scotland. In 1988 we identified the reason for the sudden outbreak of the disease and took early action to eradicate that cause by banning the use of animal protein in cattle feed. Further control measures have been taken in the light of advice from our independent scientific advisers.
The success of that action is demonstrated by the continuing downward trend of cases which are now at their lowest level for five years. Out of a total number of cattle of over 2 million, the number of confirmed cases of BSE in Scotland in 1995 is expected to be around 600, which is some 27 per cent. of the 1993 level.
Our preventive measures are recognised as being safe and effective by independent experts in the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee, the chief medical officers and international bodies including the World Health Organisation.
27. Mr. Whittingdale:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent representations he has received (a) seeking and (b) opposing independence for Scotland; and if he will make a statement. [5227]
Mr. Michael Forsyth:
In the past six months I have received 44 representations on constitutional issues of which 37 favoured Scotland remaining within the United Kingdom. Of the remainder, two argued the case for an independent Scotland, and five for a multi-option referendum on Scotland's constitutional future.
28. Mr. Simon Coombs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the future relationship of the Government of the United Kingdom with the Scottish people. [5228]
Mr. Forsyth:
The vast majority of Scots remain convinced that Scotland's best future lies within the United Kingdom. The Government agree with that view.
29. Sir David Knox:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the total value of grants that Scotland
20 Dec 1995 : Column: 1279
has received from the European regional fund since the fund's inception. [5230]
Mr. Kynoch:
Since the inception of the European regional development fund in 1975, Scotland has received awards totalling almost £1.5 billion. The Government place great emphasis on ensuring value for money from these receipts, particularly as the UK is a net contributor to the European Community budget. To ensure transparency of these receipts in the UK's public expenditure system it was announced in the House on 17 February 1992 that the Government would provide automatic cover for, and identify separately, all forecast ERDF receipts.
30. Mr. McKelvey:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what crime prevention measures he intends introducing for Scotland. [5231]
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton:
On 11 December, my right hon. Friend announced plans for the deployment of 500 additional operational police officers, backed up by improved technology, which we expect will help to prevent crime. I announced, on 13 December, a £4 million CCTV challenge competition for Scotland to help fund more CCTV schemes, which have a clear effect on preventing crime. The Scottish Crime Prevention Council will continue its programme of crime prevention measures, which have achieved much since the council was set up in 1992. My right hon. Friend and I welcome the fact that recorded crime is falling--7 per cent. in the first six months of 1995, following reductions in the three previous years--and further reduction remains a major concern of the Government.
Gaelic 32. Mr. David Evans:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps the European Commission has taken to promote the speaking of Gaelic in Scotland.[5233]
Lord James Douglas Hamilton:
This information is not held by the Scottish Office. We do, however, have details of EU structural funding of a number of projects which contribute to the promotion of Gaelic.
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