Seòmar agus comataidhean

I have today arranged for therelease of a spreadsheet detailing direct and indirect grants to voluntary organisationsin 2006‑07. In 2006‑07 the Executive will be providing £517 milliondirectly and £160 million indirectly - £677 million in total - to the voluntarysector in Scotland. This is an increase of £154 million from last year,reflecting the Scottish Executive’s continued commitment to the sector.

Copiesof the spreadsheets are available from the Scottish Parliament InformationCentre (Bib. numbers – Direct 40554 and – Indirect 40555) and also on the ScottishExecutive website.

The Executive have supplied the following corrected answer:

Johann Lamont: I have today arranged forthe release of a spreadsheet detailing direct and indirect grants to voluntaryorganisations in 2006‑07. In 2006‑07, the Executive will beproviding £496 million directly and £160 million indirectly - £656 million intotal - to the voluntary sector in Scotland. This is an increase of £133 million from last year,reflecting the Scottish Executive’s continued commitment to the sector.

Copies of the spreadsheetsare available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. numbers –Direct 40554 and – Indirect 40555) and also on the Scottish Executive website.

I am pleased to inform the Parliament that we have asked all Scottish local authorities to work with us toensure that individuals in receipt of a housing support service and residing incertain defined shared accommodation are granted either a refund of all counciltax and water and sewerage charges paid, or where there is a debt accrued thedebt written off. The entire cost of this will be met by the Executive.

In addition we have todaylaid legislation in Parliament that will ensure certain defined sharedaccommodation that houses individuals in receipt of a housing support service,is exempt from local taxation altogether. This will include water and seweragecharges. The legislation is planned to come into force on 1 October 2006.

We are engaged in the biggestnew school building and refurbishment programme in modern times, in expanding thenumbers of teachers and support staff for teachers, and in creating more learningopportunities choices for pupils through curriculum reform. All these measures,among others, are supporting the learning environment for pupils.

From January 2007 eligibilityfor the Warm Deal will be expanded to include households with a child in receiptof Disability Living Allowance.

In addition, we are working withCOSLA and the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations to have Warm Deal installationsin the public sector carried out locally by local authorities and housing associations.This will reduce programme costs allowing more Warm Deal installations, and willhelp housing associations and local authorities meet the Scottish Housing QualityStandards and the Home Energy Conservation Act targets.

The revised Civil ServiceCode has now been published.

The revised code maintains thecore values of the Civil Service - integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality– but updates the language of the code to be clearer and more relevant to the workof the modern Civil Service.

For the first time, a versionof the Civil Service Code has been prepared for civil servants working inthe Scottish Executive and its Agencies. This version reflects their accountabilityto Scottish ministers, who in turn are accountable to the Scottish Parliament. Thisversion is available on the Scottish Executive website www.scotland.gov.uk.

The independent Civil ServiceCommissioners work to ensure understanding and application of the Civil ServiceCode.

Both programmes will continue beyond 2006. From 1 January next year, the central heating programme will be widened so that pensioners in receipt of the guarantee element of Pension Credit will be able to get upgrades if they currently have a central heating system but one that is partial or inefficient. Where pensioners have a central heating system that is not working properly but can be viably repaired, the programme will also provide for repairs which cost over £400. In addition, all pensioners applying to the programmes will be eligible for a free personal benefits health check from the Pensions Service.

To maximise the benefits of the programme, the amount of money available for each installation will be capped. This will be set at a level sufficient to allow the installation of all the necessary measures. This amount will be kept under review to make sure it is still appropriate in light of changes in costs.

Alongside the programmes, we will run a pilot study to explore the potential of renewable energy technology options for heating in a variety of domestic settings across Scotland with a view to considering including these technologies in the main central heating programme at a later date.

The necessary regulations to implement the new programmes will be laid before Parliament in due course.

Consultantshave prepared several design options with cost estimates for the new footbridge.Their report was received yesterday in Transport Scotland and I will consider how this should be taken forward after receivingmy engineer’s advice.

Choosing Our Future – Scotland’s Sustainable Development Strategy sets out how we intend to ensure that young people are equipped with the skills and knowledge to make informed, sustainable choices. Examples of action include our commitment to increasing the numbers involved in the Eco-schools programme and joint work with the Scottish Higher and Further Education Funding Councils to promote sustainable development in universities and colleges.

Copies of the strategy which was published last Wednesday (14 December) are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 38440).

When the white paper was issued in June, we undertook to publish an analysis report of comments received by 16 September. Some 358 comments were received and an analysis report has been prepared by an independent consultant. I am happy to announce the publication of the report today. The report can be viewed on the Scottish Executive website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/Recent. Hard copies of the report (Bib. number 38273) will be available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre later this week.

Information on staff in post in NHS Scotland is published on the Scottish Health Statistics website under Workforce Statistics, at www.isdscotland.org/workforce.

Section B gives details of medical staff employed in NHS Scotland. In particular, table B8 and B17 shows the headcount number of consultants and doctors in training broken down by specialty. Minimally invasive hip and knee replacement procedures are carried out by trauma and orthopaedic surgeons. Latest available figures are at 31 March 2005.

Information on the number of surgeons specifically trained in hip and knee replacement procedures using minimally invasive surgery is not held centrally.