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The Newbridge plant is owned by Continental Tyres and decisions on the sale of it will rest with the company.Since the announcement of the decision to close the plant, The Scottish Executive has been directing its immediate efforts towards helping the workforce. I have set up an Action Team which will do everything possible to help those affected find suitable alternative employment.

The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on a range of issues, including financial and economic matters.

On many occasions, both I and my Ministerial and official colleagues have offered our help to the Newbridge plant. I have personally stressed to Continental management both here and in Germany, the willingness of the Scottish Executive to discuss ways in which we could assist the company to retain a presence in Scotland.Since the announcement of the decision to close the plant, immediate efforts have been directed to helping the workforce. I have set up an Action Team which will also do everything possible to help those affected find suitable alternative employment.

Myself and my Ministerial and official colleagues have had frequent and detailed discussions with Continental Tyres over a lengthy period to try to secure the future of the Newbridge plant. These discussions have taken place both prior to and since the formation of the Scottish Executive.

Social landlords receiving funds under the 1999-2002 New Housing Partnerships bidding round are required to become Registered Social Landlords with Scottish Homes. Registered Social Landlords may be either Industrial and Provident Societies or companies, but are required by Scottish Homes to meet the same registration criteria including being non-profit distributing.

The Home Energy Efficiency Scheme was replaced in Scotland on 1 July by the Warm Deal. The budget for the Warm Deal in the current year is £12 million and it is expected that about 24,000 homes will receive grants. I hope to make an announcement shortly about the resources available in 2000-2001 and 2001-2002, and the qualifying criteria.

All the responses to the Green Paper (except for those expressly submitted in confidence) are already available for public inspection at the offices of the Scottish Executive, and I have also arranged for copies to be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre. I have no plans at present to publish all the responses on the Internet, but a summary of the responses will be produced and made available on the Internet in due course.

The Scottish Executive is an equal opportunities employer and does not discriminate on grounds of age in recruitment or employment.

The 1996 Scottish House Condition Survey (SHCS) estimated that the minimum cost to repair and bring all occupied dwellings up to a fully modernised standard, including tackling Below Tolerable Standard dwellings, would be:

1. £2,264 million in the social rented sector;
2. £921 million in the private rented sector; and

£4,373 million in the owner occupied sector

The operational responsibility for allocating houses must be transferred to new community landlords if they are genuinely to have control over their own affairs. Local authorities will, however, need to ensure that they have access to sufficient housing to enable them to meet their statutory obligations, including their duties in relation to homeless persons. The contract of sale between the authority and the acquiring landlord should clearly define the rights and responsibilities of both parties in this area. The Housing Green Paper invited views on whether there was a case for changing the legislation to introduce further safeguards for access for vulnerable groups and we are currently considering the responses.