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During 2004-05, 13 local authoritiesused prudential borrowing to spend on social rented housing. In 2005-06, 17 localauthorities estimate that they will use prudential borrowing.

Capital investment in the NHS since 1997 is detailed in the following table:

Year	Baseline Gross (£ Million)	Income (£ Million)	Net (£ Million)
1997-98	143.73	-7.4	136.3
1998-99	148.1	-12.1	136.0
1999-2000	178.4	-12.1	166.3
2000-01	247.9	-12.1	235.8
2001-02	297.1	-12.1	285.0
2002-03	289.1	-12.1	277.0
2003-04	322.1	-12.1	310.0
2004-05	362.1	-12.1	350.0
2005-06	438.1	-12.1	426.0
2006-07	470.1	-12.1	458.0
2007-08	544.1	-12.1	532.0

 

Details of capital procurement and the current value of the capital assets purchased over that period are not held centrally. NHS boards are responsible for delivering health services to their local population and receive the majority of the portfolio’s capital funding on a formula basis. This allows resources to be clearly applied and prioritised, by NHS boards, in support of the objectives set out in Local Delivery Plans and supporting Property Strategies.

Three direct air links have alreadybeen established through investment from the Route Development Fund between Edinburgh andCologne, Glasgow Prestwick and Niederrhein (Düsseldorf), and Glasgow Prestwickand Lübeck (Hamburg). A direct link between Glasgow International Airport and Berlin Schönefeld will commence in May 2006. Any approach by an airlineto commence direct scheduled services from Scotland to German destinations not alreadyserved will be considered.

There are no direct bus or raillinks between any of Scotland’s airports. Indirect links are, however, provided bya combination of bus and rail between Glasgow International, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, GlasgowPrestwick, Inverness and Campbeltown Airports.

Although there are no air servicesbetween the four main Scottish airports, there are links from Glasgow International,Edinburgh and Aberdeen Airports to the Highlands and Islands, and between airports in the Highlands andIslands.

It was agreed in partnership with trades unions and professional organisations at a UK level as part of the overall Agenda for Change agreement that the outcomes of the job evaluation scheme would be checked for consistency and accuracy.

There are two strands to this process in NHSScotland, both performed in partnership. Local systems ensure that there is consistency in outcome across the individual matching panels within their area. A national monitoring group (JEMG) ensures that job evaluation outcomes are accurate and consistent across the whole of NHSScotland. Approval from JEMG is required before staff groups can be assimilated to the new Agenda for Change paybands.

The Scottish Ambulance Service began submitting outcomes to JEMG in early January 2006. A number of these have been processed and the notifying of staff commenced on 17 February 2006.

I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-23100 on 28 February 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Estimates of derelict land reclaimed as reported by local authorities in the voluntary Scottish Vacant and Derelict Land Survey (SVDLS) are set out in the following table. Information is not held on the amount of land that has been cleaned.

Area of Derelict Land Reclaimed Since the Previous Survey (Hectares), by Local Authority, 1999-2005^1-5

Local Authority	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
Aberdeen City	10	2	0	-	10	*	5
Aberdeenshire	*	1	1	1	1	-	68
Angus	24	1	3	6	34	0	2
Argyll and Bute	-	0	0	3	-	-	3
Clackmannanshire	0	6	1	*	8	7	0
Dumfries and Galloway	0	*	1	0	0	0	89
Dundee City	16	-	6	*	5	1	7
East Ayrshire	54	38	73	71	9	8	1
East Dunbartonshire	8	0	*	0	*	*	0
East Lothian	139	4	3	1	4	3	3
East Renfrewshire	4	0	0	0	*	*	2
Edinburgh, City of	12	1	0	-	36	1	4
Eilean Siar	0	*	0	0	*	0	0
Falkirk	16	-	6	7	7	26	39
Fife	39	26	23	13	13	10	15
Glasgow City	57	57	59	25	46	25	50
Highland6	-	-	-	26	8	2	2
Inverclyde	7	6	6	5	16	0	6
Midlothian	6	9	3	0	9	14	1
Moray	-	0	-	0	-	1	0
North Ayrshire	*	1	0	-	1	3	2
North Lanarkshire	108	97	51	93	55	44	49
Orkney Islands	*	0	0	0	3	0	0
Perth and Kinross	6	9	15	8	0	7	22
Renfrewshire	7	1	5	2	9	4	15
Scottish Borders	7	-	7	0	-	-	-
Shetland Islands	0	0	0	0	-	0	0
South Ayrshire	-	3	7	4	3	-	12
South Lanarkshire	20	29	21	15	21	10	25
Stirling	44	*	4	5	1	5	0
West Dunbartonshire	12	8	3	5	4	7	8
West Lothian	183	-	151	2	4	1	18
Scotland	778	301	449	293	308	181	448

 

Notes:

1. Figures may not sum due to rounding.

2. - represents a year when a local authority did not carry out the survey. Where an authority has not provided data every year, the recorded change will be since the last survey conducted by the authority, and will thus reflect several years worth of change.

3. * represents an area reclaimed of more than zero but less than 0.5 hectares.

4. Sites reclaimed that cover less than 0.1 hectares are excluded from the survey.

5. The figures for a particular year reflect the amount of land reclaimed since the previous survey. Thus the figure for 1999 shows land reclaimed in the period between the 1998 and 1999 surveys.

6. Highland Council has carried out a partial survey each year since 2002 (of all settlements over 2,000 in population and the Inner Moray Firth area). 2002 was the first year that the council participated in the survey since 1993. Thus the figure of 26 hectares of reclaimed derelict land (in 2002) represents nine years worth of change.

Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 empowers local authorities to carry out inspections within their areas for the purpose of identifying contaminated land and to secure its remediation. At the time the contaminated land regime came into force in 2000, little was known about the true extent and nature of contaminated land and it was not possible to set targets for overall progress.

The Executive has, therefore, provided resources for the purpose of supporting local authorities in carrying out their statutory responsibilities for identifying and investigating contaminated land within their areas. In addition, funding has been provided for remediating approximately 144 hectares of contaminated land on specific sites. It is also likely that additional contaminated land will be remediated by developers in compliance with conditions in planning consents.

The resources distributed to local authorities over the period 2000-01 to 2004-05 to carry out activities, including site remediation work, associated with implementation of the contaminated land regime are set out in the following table.

In addition, the Scottish Executive allocated £8 million, aimed at tackling problems of vacant and derelict land, to the following local authorities in 2004‑05:

Dundee: £2 million.

Glasgow: £4 million.

North Lanarkshire: £2 million.

Local Authority (£000)	2000-01	2001-02	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05
Aberdeen City Council	17	62	83*	69	69
Aberdeenshire Council	19	68	68	68	502*
Angus Council	32	79	430*	98	98
Argyll and Bute Council	20	72	72	72	72
Clackmannanshire Council	15	37	280*	50	111*
Dumfries and Galloway Council	46	112	155	163	163
Dundee City Council	41	102	357*	142	582*
East Ayrshire Council	54	128	421*	181	490*
East Dunbartonshire Council	15	37	45	61	61
East Lothian Council	15	37	57	57	107*
East Renfrewshire Council	15	37	75*	50	50
City Of Edinburgh Council	45	181	181	181	406*
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar	20	72	72	72	222*
Falkirk Council	26	63	278*	126	1,146*
Fife Council	108	266	386*	325	2,086*
Glasgow City Council	174	429	812*	580	650*
Highland Council	91	224	297	326	1,021*
Inverclyde Council	15	55	798*	57	57
Midlothian Council	49	106	307*	133	133
Moray Council	15	38	45	50	2,200*
North Ayrshire Council	52	128	496*	194	194
North Lanarkshire Council	225	447	1,080*	662	662
Orkney Islands Council	15	37	45	50	50
Perth and Kinross Council	22	77	338*	77	552*
Renfrewshire Council	52	127	181	300	600*
Scottish Borders Council	15	53	53	53	345*
Shetland Islands Council	-	-	-	-	-
South Ayrshire Council	19	47	66	69	69
South Lanarkshire Council	76	187	475*	281	831*
Stirling Council	27	68	85	92	480*
West Dunbartonshire Council	29	71	92	101	851*
West Lothian Council	136	253	253	260	860*
Total	1,500	3,700	8,383	5,000	15,720

Notes:

1. Resources allocated up to and including 2003‑04 were issued as capital allocations under section 94 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. Following the introduction of the prudential framework for local government capital from April 2004, resources have been distributed as capital grants.

2. *Indicates that resources include additional End Year Flexibility funding issued in 2002‑03 and 2004‑05 for specific projects aimed at cleaning up derelict and contaminated land causing public health risks or blighting communities

3. Shetland Islands Council does not receive capital allocations.

There are a range of schemes supporting families with children under three, including the Sure Start Scotland programme which provides targeted support for families who are vulnerable for whatever reason. These families are not, however, always located in areas of multiple deprivation. Mapping Sure Start Scotland indicated that there has continued to be a year on year increase in the numbers of children and parents supported. In 2003-04 these were 15,400 and 9,600 respectively.

Phase 1 of the National Demonstration Project for Child and Family Health in Scotland, Starting Well, targeted children aged 0 to three and their parents from two specific areas of multiple deprivation. Phase 2 of the project works with vulnerable children aged 0 to five across Glasgow.

Although the £318 million Community Regeneration Fund does not target 0 to threes directly, it supports a range of activities in areas of multiple deprivation. This includes some which may be of indirect benefit to 0 to threes such as child care and health support.

There are over 100 Working for Families (WFF) projects currently operating in 10 local authority areas which support parents in disadvantaged areas or groups to progress towards or into employment by removing childcare barriers. Support is provided to parents of children in the 0 to 16 age group, which includes parents of children under three, although these parents are not specifically targeted as a separate sub-group. WFF projects include key workers who provide focussed adult support for employment related activity and a range of childcare projects aimed at improving accessibility to services and building capacity where necessary.