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Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 16 December 1998
SCOTLAND
Skye Bridge
Mr. Charles Kennedy: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if the (a) draft Toll Order for the Skye Bridge and (b) draft Assignation Statement were placed in the Library in 1991; and if he will make a statement. [63320]
Mr. Macdonald [holding answer 10 December 1998]: A draft of the Order and the Assignation Statement were not placed in the Library. The Order was not subject to parliamentary procedure but the proposal to make the Order was advertised and a draft of the Order was available for inspection in accordance with the required procedures under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984. There was no draft Statement. The procedures in the 1984 Act require the Assignation Statement itself to be made available for inspection with the draft Order and this was done.
Local Authority Capital Receipts
Mr. Welsh: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what powers the devolved Scottish Parliament will have to alter the rules governing the amount of capital receipts from right to buy which local authorities must use to repay their capital debt. [63323]
Mr. Macdonald [holding answer 10 December 1998]: These arrangements were applied as a condition of the consent to local authorities to incur capital expenditure under section 94 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and it would be open to the Scottish Executive to alter those conditions.
Coalmining Communities
Mr. Eric Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the progress he has made in allocating resources to help with the regeneration of Scotland's former coalmining communities. [64628]
Mr. Macdonald:
Scotland's former coalmining communities will benefit from a share of the £10 million being made available in recognition of miners' pension fund surpluses. In addition, we are making £1 million available to help these communities. I will be announcing details about how we will be targeting the funding for these communities, following consultation with Scottish Enterprise, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and the Scottish Region of the Coalfield Communities Campaign. We will ensure that it is deployed to complement the range of initiatives already underway, including the new Social Inclusion Partnerships, which will be supported by £48 million over the next 3 years, for which former coalfield areas are eligible.
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Mr. Dalyell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the suitability of procurators fiscal with qualifications as solicitor-advocate (a) to be advocate deputes and (b) to prosecute in the High Court. [62670]
Mr. McLeish:
My noble and learned Friend the Lord Advocate is responsible for the appointment of Advocate Deputes. My noble and learned Friend is satisfied about the competence of many Procurators Fiscal, including some with qualifications as Solicitor- Advocate, to undertake the work carried out by Advocate Deputes, including prosecuting in the High Court. However, he takes the view that it is necessary for the proper operation of the prosecution system in Scotland to maintain the traditional separation between the role of the Procurator Fiscal and that of Crown Counsel, to ensure independence of decision making and prosecution in respect of High Court cases. He is not, therefore, inclined to appoint Procurators Fiscal as Advocate Deputes.
Mr. Dalyell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the relative costs of using (a) members of the Faculty of Advocates and (b) procurators fiscal qualified as solicitor-advocates, as advocate deputes. [62671]
Mr. McLeish:
My noble and learned Friend the Lord Advocate has responsibility for prosecutions in Scotland. The post of Advocate Depute is assessed for remuneration purposes at rates comparable with the Senior Civil Service, on which individual pay is based regardless of whether the incumbent is a member of the Faculty of Advocates or a Procurator Fiscal. There is therefore no significant difference in their relative costs.
Mrs. Fyfe:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the companies which to date have been offered additional grant if they employ residents of assisted areas under the RSA Priority Initiative launched on 22 May. [63908]
Mr. Dewar:
Under the pilot "RSA Priority" initiative, launched on 22 May 1998 in five particularly deprived areas of Scotland, nine companies have to date been offered the opportunity to receive additional grant if they employ residents of the designated areas. Information regarding offers of Regional Selective Assistance to individual companies is generally regarded as commercially confidential, although details of offers of £75,000 or more are published in "Labour Market Trends" once the company has received its first payment.
Mr. Gorrie:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if the proposed identity card scheme for young people announced by Health and Home Department ministers will operate in Scotland. [63857]
Mr. Galbraith:
The Government have no plans to introduce an identity card scheme for young people in Scotland, or in the rest of the United Kingdom. Ministers have, however, welcomed the various proof of age card schemes covering age-restricted products such as alcohol,
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tobacco and fireworks, and we have encouraged representatives from these industries to consider the feasibility of developing a multi-purpose proof of age card.
Mr. Gorrie:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which categories of properties, which are not owned or operated by recognised charities or other non-profit making bodies, benefit from relief on their water or sewerage rates; and what figures he has for the number of properties concerned and the amount of the relief afforded them. [63859]
Mr. Macdonald:
Following the establishment of the three Scottish water authorities, relief from water and sewerage charges is no longer specified in statute, and is a matter for the authorities. Overall, it is estimated that the amount of relief is some £14 million per annum.
The exact information requested is, therefore, not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Wallace:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what his timetable is for making further orders to give effect to local authority ward boundary changes following the recommendations of the Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland. [64035]
Mr. McLeish:
It is the intention to have orders made in respect of all local authority areas (apart from Orkney and Shetlands) by 31 December 1998. As a consequence of the Petitions for Judicial Review submitted by Orkney and Shetlands Island Councils, we will delay making an order in respect of these 2 areas until 15 January 1999, the latest practicable date if the new arrangements are to take effect for the elections due in May 1999. No order will be made, however, if the Court gives an indication before that date that a decree of reduction is to be granted in respect of the relevant Petition.
Mr. Wallace:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland in respect of which local authority areas in Scotland he has made orders to give effect to ward boundary changes following the recommendations of the Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland. [64034]
Mr. McLeish:
To date, orders have been made in respect of the following 16 local authority areas:
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Dr. Moonie:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the Government's policy on the Scottish Law Commission's Incapable Adults report (Scots Law Com. No. 151). [64388]
Mr. McLeish:
The subject of decision-making on behalf of adults who are unable to manage their own affairs is an important one. The Government have been made fully aware of the issues through the report by the Scottish Law Commission in 1995 and subsequent public consultation, which attracted a substantial and carefully considered response. We accept the need for reform of the existing legislation in this important area of the law that provides support and protection for some of the most vulnerable people in society.
It will be within the competence of the Scottish Parliament to legislate in this area and this statement cannot pre-empt announcements about the Scottish Parliament's legislative programme. It excludes consideration of the SLC's recommendations about medical treatment and research and advance statements. These are sensitive issues and we received many responses on them in the consultation exercise. We have not made any decisions on these matters yet; and we shall also want to consider what emerges from the Lord Chancellor's recent consultation exercise on similar proposals for England and Wales.
We agree with the general principles proposed by the SLC that any intervention should produce a benefit for the adult; be least restrictive of the adult's freedom; wherever possible encourage the adult to use existing skills and acquire new skills, and take account of the present and past wishes of the adult.
In relation to particular aspects of the Report we agree with the SLC on the following:
There are a small number of areas where we propose to vary the SLC's recommendations.
We propose to modify the SLC scheme for carers in domestic settings to have access to funds from the bank accounts of incapable adults, in order to meet daily living expenses. Under the revised scheme, the Public Guardian would grant authority to have stipulated payments made for a time limited period from the incapable adult's
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account to a designated account. The Public Guardian would have powers to check that the incapable adult's funds were being applied for the intended purpose.
Aberdeen City
Angus
City of Edinburgh
Clackmannanshire
Dumfries and Galloway
Dundee City
East Lothian
East Renfrewshire
Glasgow City
Inverclyde
Midlothian
North Ayrshire
Perth and Kinross
Scottish Borders
West Dunbartonshire
West Lothian.
The proposed definition of mental incapacity;
The current office of the Accountant of Court should be expanded to form a new office of Public Guardian;
The function of the Public Guardian should be to maintain public registers of all those authorised to take decisions on behalf of an incapable adult and to supervise and monitor the performance of financial guardians;
The recognition of continuing and welfare powers of attorney and the introduction of public scrutiny of the exercise of such powers;
The creation of a new concept of guardianship to provide for a broad and flexible system of one-off intervention orders and longer term guardianship, with appropriate welfare or financial powers as ordered by the court; and
That key decisions on applications, and in other proceedings under the proposed legislation, should be dealt with in the sheriff courts.
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