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Data on the numberof (a) verbal and (b) written warnings issued by trading standards by local authorityarea is not held by the Scottish Government. However, we do hold information onthe number of local authorities which issued warnings for underage tobacco salesfrom 2000 to 2006 and the available information is given in the following table.

Year/Period	Total Amount of Local Authorities that Issued Warnings	Amount of Local Authorities that Did Not Issue Warnings	Unknown
2000-01	23	9	0
2001-02	25	6	1
2002-03	26	5	1
2003-04	27	4	1
2004-05	24	5	3
2005-06	22	8	2

 

Since 2006 the ScottishGovernment has been working with the Society for Chief Officers of Trading Standardsin Scotland in order to record the level of test purchasing for age restricted goodsbeing undertaken by local authorities in Scotland. The data collected does not specifically include information on the numberof warnings issued for underage tobacco sales and it is therefore not possible togive a figure for 2006-07.

It was the view of the Scottish Pay Reference and Implementation Group (SPRIG), the partnership groupwhich oversaw the introduction of the new system, that an exercise to make availableinformation about overall job evaluation outcomes across Scotland would only have real merit once the implementation processhad been concluded. Whilst we are not in a position to present this data currently,I can confirm that this is actively being taken forward.

Spend on job matchingpanels is not audited centrally. NHSScotland is committed to the introduction ofAgenda for Change as quickly and efficiently as possible and it is for each NHSboard to monitor each part of the process to ensure best value is achieved. In thisregard, the Audit Committee Handbook provides guidance to NHS boards on good practice.It makes clear that boards should have internal controls established to give reasonableassurance that assets are safeguarded, waste and inefficiency is avoided, that reliablefinancial information is produced and that value for money is continuously sought.

There is noseparate mechanism for local authorities to apply for specific funding. the Scottish Government provides general financial support for Scotland’s local authorities’ core services, including burialgrounds and crematoria, but it is the responsibility of each individual localauthority to allocate its total resources, including the locally collectedcouncil tax, on the basis of local needs and priorities.

In 2007-08, thecore local government funding provided by the Scottish Government will amountto over £8.7 billion.

This informationis not held centrally.

This informationis not held centrally.

The available informationis given in the following table. No breakdown of these figures into prosecutionsof retailers and licensees is available from the data held centrally.

Persons ProceededAgainst in Scottish Courts for Selling Tobacco to Persons Under 16¹,by Approximate Local Authority Area², 2000-01 to 2005-06

Local Authority	2000-01	2001-02	2002-03	2003-04	2005-06
Aberdeenshire	-	-	-	1	-
East Lothian	-	-	-	-	1
Edinburgh, City of	-	-	-	2	-
North Lanarkshire	-	1	-	-	-
West Lothian	-	-	-	-	1
Scotland	-	1	-	3	2

Notes:

1. Where main offence.

2. Incorporates anapproximate mapping of sheriff courts into local authority areas. Some sheriff courtswill deal with cases from more than one local authority area. Some local authorityareas, including East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Midlothian and North Ayrshire, do not contain a sheriffcourt.

More recent informationavailable from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service shows that in 2006-07a total of 11 people were subject to court proceedings in respect of illegal salesof tobacco.

The available informationis given in the following table. No breakdown of these figures into prosecutionsof retailers and licensees is available from the data held centrally.

Persons with aCharge Proved in Scottish Courts for Selling Tobacco to Persons Under 16¹,by Approximate Local Authority Area², 2000-01 to 2005-06

Local Authority	2000-01	2001-02	2002-03	2003-04	2005-06
Aberdeenshire	-	-	-	1	-
East Lothian	-	-	-	-	1
Edinburgh, City of	-	-	-	2	-
North Lanarkshire	-	1	-	-	-
West Lothian	-	-	-	-	1
Scotland	-	1	-	3	2

Notes:

1. Where main offence.

2. Incorporates anapproximate mapping of sheriff courts into local authority areas. Some sheriff courtswill deal with cases from more than one local authority area. Some local authorityareas, including East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Midlothian and North Ayrshire, do not contain a sheriffcourt.

More recent informationavailable from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service shows that in 2006-07a total of 11 people were subject to court proceedings in respect of illegal salesof tobacco.

The Procurator Fiscalis responsible for investigating all sudden, suspicious, unexplained, unexpectedor accidental deaths and will consider, based on all the facts and circumstances,whether a fatal accident inquiry (FAI) is necessary.

Current legislationprovides for mandatory fatal accident inquiries in respect of deaths whichoccur in the course of employment or in legal custody, and for discretionary FAIswhere it appears to the Lord Advocate to be in the public interest to hold suchan inquiry. A full investigation by the Procurator Fiscal will precede an FAI.

FAIs are held in public.The sheriff who presides over the FAI makes a determination, on the facts and circumstancesof the case at the conclusion of the FAI and may issue recommendations which arenot currently legally enforceable.

The Scottish Governmentmaintains a public database of FAI determinations.

eTourism Ltd,trading as visitscotland.com, was established in 2002 as a Public Privatepartnership joint venture company, with total funding of £7.5 million beingprovided by its shareholders including VisitScotland. One quarter of thefunding, or £1.875 million, was provided by the Scottish Government throughVisitScotland as an interest bearing loan, on the condition that it will berepaid when visitscotland.com is trading profitably. No other public funds havebeen provided to visitscotland.com since then.