Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the memberto the answer to question S3W-3626 on 6 September 2007. All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website the search facilityfor which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

The Scottish Governmentis committed to tackling violence against women and within that domestic abuse.We have committed £8.6 million of funding to cover a range of issues in 2007-08and we will build on the work which has been undertaken to date in Scotland. We will continue to support women and children who experiencedomestic abuse and other forms of violence against women. To assist in that processthe Scottish Government is in the process of developing a National Violence AgainstWomen Strategy and action plan for broader work on violence against women.

The National Domestic Abuse Delivery Group for Childrenand Young People is also working on a plan for addressing issues for children andyoung people affected by domestic abuse.

The Scottish Governmentwill continue to work with key stakeholders on the National Group to Address ViolenceAgainst Women and the National Domestic Abuse Delivery Group for Children and YoungPeople to ensure that effective protection and support is available to those affected.

As required by theGender Equality Duty, which came into force in April 2007, the government has publishedits Gender Equality Scheme, setting out the government’s high-level objectives fordelivering on gender equality. These include an objective to continue our actionto close the gender pay gap (both part-time and full-time) in Scotland by workingin partnership - with the Equal Opportunities Commission Scotland, Scottish TradesUnion Congress, Scottish Enterprise and others - in the Close the Gap project.Close the Gap raises awareness about the gender pay gap and its various causes,and encourages action by employees and employers to tackle the causes and closethe gap.

Two other high-level objectives set out in the GenderEquality Scheme address main contributors to the gender pay gap, namely occupationalsegregation and pregnancy discrimination. In 2006 the government set up a Cross-DirectorateWorking Group to explore ways of tackling occupational segregation, and in 2008the group will produce its report, mapping out the range of factors involved andmaking recommendations for policy interventions that will help deliver change.

The government’s Gender Equality Scheme is available fromthe Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 42934).

The Scottish Government will continue to act to eliminate gender discrimination andcontinue to provide support toimprove the availability of childcare across Scotland, both of which are important elements in addressing the pay gap.

The government hasalso been working with stakeholders to raise awareness about the Gender EqualityDuty and the opportunity for women (and men) to contribute to the development ofpublic sector policy, including on issues of pay.

We welcome the wide-ranging10-year targets for each of the goals within the Equal Opportunities Commission’sGender Agenda, which was made publicly available on 23 August 2007.

As required by the Gender Equality Duty, which came intoforce in April 2007, the Scottish Government has published its Gender Equality Scheme,setting out the Government’s high level objectives for delivering on gender equality.These include objectives on some of the 10-year targets within the Gender Agenda.For example, there are objectives on closing the gender pay gap, addressing occupationalsegregation, ending pregnancy discrimination at work and violence against women.The scheme is available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib.number 42934).

We will, however,be considering how best to engage with the targets as set out by the EOC in thecoming months, this will be best achieved as part of the annual reporting processrequired by the Gender Equality Duty and our own commitment to revise the schemein light of the priorities of this administration. We will be revising and reportingon our Gender Equality Scheme between December 2007 and March 2008.

I refer the memberto the answer to question S3W-3626 on 6 September 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availableon the Parliament’s website the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

The availablestatistics on court proceedings and recorded crime cannot be combined in anymeaningful way to derive rates of conviction. However, the available statisticsdo illustrate that the conviction rate for rape, in particular, is very low.

The prosecutionof rape presents a particular challenge. It can be very difficult to obtaincorroborated evidence to convince a jury of the accused’s guilt beyondreasonable doubt. Prosecutors cannot raise proceedings where there is insufficientevidence in law to do so. In cases where the accused does not deny the act ofsexual intercourse but maintains that the complainer consented, the trial mayfocus entirely on the question of whether the complainer consented to sexualintercourse with the accused.

The ScottishGovernment is committed to addressing the low conviction rate for rape andserious sexual offences. It is clearly very important to have a robust legalframework that reflects the values of modern society. That is why we haveannounced that we will introduce a Bill on rape and sexual offences in thelight of the Scottish Law Commission’s forthcoming report.

It is equallyimportant that we ensure that cases are handled as effectively as possible. TheCrown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service’s Review of the Investigation andProsecution of Rape and Sexual Offences recommended improved specialisttraining and guidance to prosecutors. The implementation programme is wellunderway with 18 recommendations having been implemented and work ongoingtowards full implementation by June 2009.

Students domiciledin England, Wales and Northern Ireland are liable for a tuition fee of £1,735 peryear for general degree courses and £2,760 for medical courses. There are currentlyno plans to change this and no agreement in this area has been signed.

I refer the memberto the answer to question S3W-3626 on 6 September 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availableon the Parliament’s website the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

NHS Quality ImprovementScotland published a national overview in 2006 thatreviewed services across the country against four Quality Indicators for LearningDisabilities selected as strongly representative of key elements of hospital closure.These were making sure services are in place to meet people’s needs when hospitalsare no longer there; in-patient services for those who need them, and ensuring thetransition into the community is planned in partnership with people with learningdisabilities, their carers and local communities and involving people in decisionsabout their lives.

They found improvementsto all of these areas and also set out a number of recommendations for continuedimprovements to offer better services for children and adults with learning disabilitiesand their carers.

The draft regulationswhich were the subject of recent consultation proposed that a seller would be allowed toalter the information contained in a property sale questionnaire.