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I understand that ScotRail will make a decision on the reinstatement of sleeper services north of Edinburgh after consideration of a report recently submitted by Railtrack Midland Zone concerning a programme of necessary repairs to track between Crewe and London.

Disability issues are reserved. The UK Government's forthcoming Disability Bill will impose new duties upon local authorities, independent schools and grant-aided schools in relation to the provision of nursery, primary and secondary education. This will include a duty to provide education by a reasonable alternative method where a physical feature places a disabled child at a substantial disadvantage.The Bill will also introduce a duty on local education authorities to plan to increase access for pupils and children with disabilities. The planning duty, however, will not apply in Scotland, as planning, which deals with the organisation and administration of schools, is an educational matter and is thus devolved.Scottish Ministers are considering introducing a similar duty on Scottish local authorities in line with the UK Bill which is being progressed through the Westminster Parliament.The Bill has no implications for the provision of pre-school education when that education takes place in private and voluntary partner centres. As providers of childcare - which is covered under Part III of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 - these centres already have duties not to discriminate against the disabled.

The UK Government and the Scottish Executive are today issuing proposals to unify the powers of criminal confiscation, create new powers of civil recovery, strengthen existing money laundering powers, and introduce new arrangements to enable tax to be levied on income believed to derive from criminal activity. We are inviting comments from a wide range of interests. The consultation period closes on 25 May.Many of these proposals are reserved - for example, confiscation of the proceeds of drug trafficking, money laundering, and taxation - while others are devolved. We aim to strengthen public confidence in the justice system; undermine harmful role models and deprive criminals of working capital. We have taken the view that comprehensive, UK legislation will be more workable and effective than complex, complementary legislation in both Parliaments, and will avoid loopholes that could create of safe havens for criminals either side of the Border.The Bill will contain separate Scottish clauses to ensure that the new powers are fully consistent with Scots law and procedures.We will, of course, be seeking the agreement of the Scottish Parliament in due course.

A wide range of international research evidence shows that high quality pre-school provision can benefit children not only in their early school learning but also in later life, contributing significantly to wider social and economic gains.

This information is not held centrally. The allocation of places to particular courses or institutions is a matter for the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council taking into account advice on workforce needs identified. The detailed allocation for 2001-02 academic year will be announced by SHEFC in March.

A Command Paper was laid at the Westminster Parliament today setting out the Government's interim response to the BSE Inquiry Report. The interim response considers the Inquiry's findings and conclusions along with the major themes which emerge from these such as openness, the handling of risk and uncertainty, the use of scientific advice in policymaking, the structure of Government and the legislative framework. It details the action which Government has already taken to address these issues as well as the challenges which must continue to be addressed.Many of these issues are of common interest across the UK. The Scottish Executive has been fully consulted as this response has been developed. I welcome its publication and the consultation process which will now commence. I encourage all consultees in Scotland to contribute their views on both the position UK-wide and the particular Scottish aspects which arise, to ensure that the final report is comprehensive in UK terms while also providing input on how further progress may be achieved in Scotland.

In April 2000, I announced publication of the consultation document Delivering Lifeline Ferry Services which sought views on options for putting our subsidised lifeline services out to tender in order that they can continue under European Community rules.

We received a response of over 100 replies. I have considered all of the points made carefully, taking account of the relevant EC Regulations and Guidelines on State Aid. I am announcing today a package of provisional proposals which have been submitted to the European Commission and which I believe will provide a robust framework for the continued delivery of high quality lifeline ferry services to the Highlands and Islands. The key elements are briefly summarised as follows:

- I regard all Caledonian MacBrayne ferry services which serve islands as being consistent with public service obligations (PSOs) and plan to tender these services in line with the requirements for these as set out in the European Community cabotage regulations and guidelines;

- I have made robust representations to the Commission in relation to Caledonian MacBrayne's mainland-to-mainland routes, Gourock-Dunoon and Tarbert-Portavadie. I am pleased that the Commission has indicated it might be prepared to consider such services where land based transport would not provide a viable alternative. I regard Caledonian MacBrayne's present mainland-to-mainland routes as being consistent with this criterion. I therefore propose PSOs in respect of these routes also. In the case of Gourock-Dunoon, the PSO would be in respect of a passenger only service because of its integration with other modes of transport (as indeed is the approved service at present);

- On the packages of routes to be tendered, the Executive's strong preference, based on the results of consultation, is to tender the network as a whole. Overwhelming support was expressed for this option in response to consultation and we believe this would maximise service reliability for the communities served, simplify the process for management of vessels and provide economies of scale in company management, safety and quality systems. It also avoids cherry picking of routes and facilitates integrated transport through co-ordinated timetabling of services;

- On arrangements for future ownership of vessels, I propose to establish a publicly owned vessel owning company in line with proposals set out in Delivering Lifeline Ferry Services. I believe this strikes the right balance between the need to ensure the efficient utilisation of the unique existing fleet and service reliability through this period of great change. Vessels would be leased to operators on a commercial basis and without subsidy in line with European Community rules that prohibit grants in respect of vessel replacement;

- I propose operators would be bound to the vessel owning company's existing vessels. However, I propose to allow scope for operators to bring their own vessel solutions where we have identified a need for new vessels to replace older ships or expand the range of services during a five-year contract period. This will be decided on a case by case basis at the outset of each PSO contract period. In line with the Commission's guidance, the vessel owning company's functions would focus on bare boat leasing to operators as well as ownership and maintenance of CalMac's piers and harbours. I am considering the possibility of the vessel owning company offering, on an optional basis, a management of maintenance package which might be attractive to some operators. We also propose the vessel owning company should act as an operator of last resort which would provide an important safeguard through this period of change;

- Delivering Lifeline Ferry Services made clear that the Executive would allow Caledonian MacBrayne to bid to operate the routes on a basis which ensured that the bid was prepared on a fair and full cost basis and evaluated transparently and equally with bids from other potential operators. We will honour this commitment. It will be for the company to decide how best to proceed and I will ask it to draw up proposals setting out details of its plans and to put these to me;

- the consultation paper invited views on the possible need for a new legislative framework. There was little comment on this aspect and I intend to consider this in the longer term drawing on the lessons learned through the first contract period and taking account of the possible future role of a Highlands and Islands Integrated Transport Authority;

- I wish to promote good consultative arrangements within the new framework. The Highlands and Islands Integrated Transport Forum was invited in autumn 1998 to review the way in which passenger ferry companies consult the public and local communities over services and timetables. I propose to invite the forum to expand their review to look at the arrangements needed under the new framework;

- I gave a commitment when I announced Delivering Lifeline Ferry Services that levels of service and fares would be protected. We will be developing a detailed specification of services and will be consulting on this in due course;

- Caledonian MacBrayne currently operates several services which are outwith the Undertaking of approved services. I plan to take the opportunity presented by the tendering exercise to consider whether any of these Out of Undertaking Services should be brought within the Undertaking and hence safeguarded and made eligible for subsidy. I will also be considering whether any new routes ought to be added. We will require to take into account the affordability of proposals and we will consult on the service specification in due course when we have taken decisions on these matters;We are required under the European Community's rules to consult the Commission on the proposals and therefore they are provisional at this stage and subject to the Commission's approval and further investigation. The Executive is committed to maintaining these vital lifeline links to Scotland's islands and rural communities. If approved by the Commission, these measures would ensure that we will be able to continue to subsidise them in the future and safeguard the services on which these communities depend.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency's (SEPA) Strategic Review of Organic Waste Spread on Land was commissioned by the Scottish Office in 1998. The report provides a comprehensive and useful assessment of the practices, impacts and risks of spreading organic wastes on land.

The Scottish Executive conducted a public consultation on SEPA's recommendations. Although there was general support for increased or more consistent control of most aspects of waste spreading on land, some of the recommendations did not receive overall support.

The Executive is also carrying out a wider review of the exemptions set out in the Waste Management Licensing Regulations (WMLR) 1994 and the SEPA recommendations have been very useful in this work. At present, these regulations allow certain wastes to be spread on land with only a minimum of control, with information simply having to be registered with SEPA. These exemptions are made to encourage the recovery or recycling of waste but there may be a need for more stringent controls. This will be the subject of consultation in due course. The amendments being considered, if adopted, would implement the bulk of the recommendations in SEPA's Review. These include:

• the introduction of a consistent legislative framework for all organic wastes spread on land;

• a requirement for those intending to spread organic wastes to demonstrate to SEPA the agricultural benefit or improvement for animal and plant communities;

• restrictions on land utilisation following the application of wastes to prevent harm to health, wastes to be analysed for chemical and microbiological parameters prior to spreading;

• a prohibition on spreading of septic tank sludge on land;

• a requirement for a waste producer who wishes to recycle organic waste to land to provide an audit trail which SEPA can assess and;

• a charging scheme to be developed by SEPA to recover the cost of inspections from those seeking the exemption.

However, the following SEPA recommendations still need to be addressed.

• Prohibition of the spreading of blood and gut contents from abattoirs.

The Executive proposes to consider how blood and gut contents should be dealt with in the light of the report due to be published in 2001 by the joint Executive/Food Standards Agency Task Force which is examining how to minimise the exposure of the public to E.coli 0157. In the meantime the Executive will continue a dialogue with spreading contractors to promote improved practices.

• Introduction of Land Management Plans.

The Executive will continue to work to promote better planning of farm activities to prevent adverse impacts on the environment. However, the Executive's Prevention of Environmental Pollution from Agricultural Activity (PEPFAA) Code already provides good practice advice to farmers.

• Prohibition of certain practices including injecting wastes on land with field drains and spreading waste outwith daylight hours. Prohibition of these practices will not be taken forward at present. It is considered impracticable to prohibit injecting on agricultural land with field drains. Spreading outwith daylight hours could be a practical disadvantage to Scottish farmers because of the shorter winter daylight hours in Scotland.

• Competency schemes for contractors carrying out landspreading operations. The Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) already offers Waste to Agricultural Land Systems Training Schemes (WASTeS). It is not considered that other schemes are necessary at present.

I am confident that the activities currently under way and planned as a result of the review of the WMLR exemptions and the recommendations in the SEPA report will lead to better control of the recycling and recovery of wastes spread on land. There is potential for continuing to make use of these waste materials, but it is obviously vital that we also allay the concerns of the public and avoid unacceptable risk and impact to health and the environment.

It is the intention to publish at the end of January the UK Government's interim response to the report. The findings of the report raise many important issues, including: properly informed policy-making; joined-up government; best use of advisory committees and expert advice; timely decision-taking; a consistent and proportionate approach to risk management and precaution - especially when dealing with uncertainty, and effective implementation of policy decisions. The report's conclusions also emphasise the need for openness and better communication with the public about scientific knowledge and risk to inform consumer choice. The UK Government is leading the development of the response to the report, a process to which the Scottish Executive is contributing as well as considering the implications for its own procedures.

The interim response will focus on actions already taken on these key themes, as well as addressing how to deal with the many detailed lessons that the report identifies. It will form the basis of consultations and discussions, enabling all those interested to contribute to the final response that the UK Government will make later next year.

The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food is announcing today in the House of Commons that an independent assessment of current scientific understanding, including emerging findings, of the origins of the BSE epidemic is being commissioned. Professor Gabriel Horn has been asked to chair this review.

The Executive will continue to ensure that the Parliament is informed of developments.

Children with disabilities have the same entitlement to pre-school education as other eligible children. Education Authorities are responsible for ensuring that the places provided for all children meet their individual needs. Authorities may provide places directly or commission places in the private and voluntary sector. Where places are commissioned for children with disabilities, authorities should ensure that any specialist support required is in place.