Seòmar agus comataidhean

It is for each serviceprovider to satisfy itself that its arrangements for service delivery areconsistent with the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, andto use the tools, including the checklist in the Scottish Consumer Councilreport Bridging the Gap Improving access to primary healthcare services for disabledpeople, which it considers most appropriate. We are drawing the report to the attention of NHS boardsand primary care contractors who are responsible for the issues covered, andreminding them of their responsibility for ensuring that the services theyprovide comply with the letter and spirit of the Disability Discrimination Act.

I understand that the reportBridging the Gap: Improving access to primary health care services fordisabled people was published by the Scottish Consumer Council on 16 March 2005. Itwill be for each service provider to consider whether to use the check listtherein when considering what steps may be appropriate and reasonable inimproving access by disabled people to services provided.

It is for each serviceprovider to ensure that it is operating consistently with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and the department is funding a three year project in which the DisabilityRights Commission will work with NHS Scotland to ensure that local services canrespond sensitively to the individual needs of people with a disability.

We have not set any regional targets for attracting people to Scotland under the Fresh Talent initiative. That does not meanthat we will not be seeking to monitor its overall success. However, Fresh Talent isa long-term initiative, and evaluation will take time. In the meantime, we arecarrying out some more immediate evaluations that will give us some usefuldata.

Forexample:

Wewill know how many people successfully apply to live and work in Scotlandunder the Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland scheme, and we are currently in discussions with theHome Office to develop a robust and workable arrangement for monitoring andevaluating the scheme. The Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland Scheme goes livein summer 2005.

We will also know the numberof people interested in living and working in Scotland via the number ofenquiries to the Relocation Advisory Service and the numbers visiting thewebsite. An evaluation of the Relocation Advisory Service, which is gettingunderway, will also provide us with some useful information.

The Executive has set aside up to £1 million to pilot the use of electronic monitoring services in these schemes which are designed to reduce offending on bail.

Information is not held centrally in the format requested.

Almost all income from council house rents is reinvested in council housing.  The only alternative permitted use for rental income is a transfer to the General Fund and in 2003-04 only £1.7 million out of a total rental income of £838.5 million was used for this purpose.

All Right to Buy receipts are either re-invested in council housing stock or used to redeem housing debt. As of April 2004, it is for local authorities to determine what percentage of receipts is re-invested in their stock.

I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-15325 on 12 April 2005. 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.

I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-15323 on 12 April 2005. 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.