Seòmar agus comataidhean

The information is given in the following table:

Band D Domestic Water Charges (£/year)
	1994-95	1995-96	1996-97	1997-98	1998-99	1999-2000	2000-01
East of Scotland Water Area
Borders	92.00	95.00	91.00	96.00	104.00	104.00	124.50
Forth Valley	47.00	46.00	48.00	54.00	75.50	91.00	124.50
Fife	59.00	64.00	67.00	75.00	93.50	95.50	124.50
Lothian	78.00	92.00	91.00	96.00	104.00	104.00	124.50
North of Scotland Water Area
Grampian	89.00	89.00	92.50	99.00	110.00	119.15	165.38
Highland	88.31	91.00	92.50	99.00	110.00	119.15	165.38
Tayside	69.00	74.00	77.00	84.50	98.00	114.00	165.38
Orkney	123.00	122.00	116.00	111.00	110.00	119.15	165.38
Shetland	116.00	118.36	116.00	111.00	110.00	119.15	165.38
Western Isles	194.00	186.00	116.00	111.00	110.00	119.15	165.38
West of Scotland Water Area
Dumfries and Galloway	84.00	83.25	90.00	95.40	103.03	107.08	119.40
Strathclyde	80.00	87.00	90.00	95.40	103.03	107.08	119.40

Employment Policy is reserved to the UK Government which takes the lead in funding and delivery of the New Deal. In Scotland it does this in partnership with the Scottish Executive and contributing Scottish organisations.By responding to individual needs, New Deal seeks to improve participants' prospects of finding and retaining employment. Where appropriate this will include help with motivation, soft and jobsearch skills.

The monitoring of pollution in the River Clyde is a matter for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

There are already significant sanctions applicable to such individuals and companies. Under the terms of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, offences of littering are punishable by a fine of up to Level 4 on the Standard Scale, which is currently £2,500. The discharge of sewage without a consent from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency into the Clyde or any other Scottish river is an offence under the Control of Pollution Act 1974. On summary conviction, the maximum penalties are imprisonment for up to three months, or a fine of up to £20,000, or both. On conviction on indictment, the penalties are imprisonment for up to two years, or an unlimited fine, or both. Decisions on prosecution are a matter for the Procurator Fiscal, and sentencing (within the parameters of the Acts) is a matter for the courts.Where the Scottish Environment Protection Agency grants a consent for the discharge of sewage, it is bound by the terms of the Environment Act 1995 to do so in such a way as to protect the environment, for example by the application of appropriate conditions to the consent.

A national authority responsible for promoting maintenance and improvement of the environmental quality of all Scotland's rivers, including the River Clyde, already exists in the form of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. The Agency works closely with others, such as the water authorities, to continue to deliver improvements to Scotland's water environment.

The Executive has no powers to ensure that the banks of the River Clyde are properly managed and maintained.In general, this is a local matter for the riparian owners concerned. However, where it is considered that maintenance of a watercourse will reduce the likelihood of flooding of non-agricultural land, local authorities have a duty to maintain it.

The discharge of any poisonous, noxious or polluting matter, or any solid waste matter, to the River Clyde is in most circumstances an offence under Section 30F of the Control of Pollution Act 1974. The most important exception is where a consent for a discharge, such as from a sewage treatment works, is granted by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. The Agency is statutorily obliged, when granting such consents, to give consideration to the protection of the environment, and attaches conditions to consents to prevent unacceptable impacts. Littering is also an offence under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.Decisions on whether to prosecute under the 1974 and 1990 Acts are a matter for the Procurator Fiscal, though under the 1990 Act the local authority may appoint Litter Wardens with powers to serve a £25 fixed penalty notice on litter offenders, as an alternative to referring the offence to the Fiscal.

We have no plans to assume responsibility for non-national museums and galleries but we are making an additional £3 million available over the next 3 years for a restructuring fund aimed at putting the museums sector on a more secure financial footing.

No such representations have been received. The Executive have met representatives of Glasgow City Council as a first step in our National Cultural Strategy commitment to work with the Council to examine the circumstances of their museum service. We agreed to continue discussions.

A contract was awarded in August 2000 to the Department of History at the University of Aberdeen to carry out a pilot study of four battlefield sites in Scotland. These sample entries will be the subject of a consultation exercise (to be carried out this year) which will enable Historic Scotland to determine whether the register approach is appropriate for Scotland's battlefield sites. As stated in my predecessor's answer on 8 September 2000 to question S1W-09261 by Mr Michael McMahon, there is a lack of evidence to identify the precise location of many battlefields and few physical remains survive.