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Significant progress has been made both in providing support to local authorities seeking to implement electronic government and developing partnership working.For example, the Executive in partnership with COSLA and local authorities, has established the Central Local 21st Century Government Forum which has a remit to support electronic service delivery across local authorities. Through the forum all councils are now working to produce documented 21st Century Government Action Plans which set each council priorities for electronic service delivery.The Executive has also established the Modernising Government Fund which aims to support local authorities and other public sector providers in developing new models of service delivery. The fund has already distributed £26 million in support of this development and more than £17 million was distributed to local authorities. Further bids for a second round of the fund are currently under consideration.The Executive has also been working with the wider Scottish public sector, including health and local government, to develop an e-procurement service which will be available to all Scottish public bodies, including all Scottish local authorities. One of the major benefits of adopting a common approach to e-procurement across the public sector is that the system will help facilitate partnership working (such as the use of common contracts) in a procurement context. Early adopters of the system are already working together in encouraging suppliers to join the system.The Executive is also demonstrating its commitment to effective partnership working through providing a statutory basis for community planning in the forthcoming Local Government Bill. The independent Community Planning Taskforce, which comprises a wide range of interests, is also working on the key issues surrounding effective partnership working.

Regulations which impact upon business, charities or the voluntary sector will be accompanied by a Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) and when finalised the RIA should be placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre, copied to the lead committee, subordinate legislative committee, Parliament legal advisors and the Improving Regulation in Scotland Unit as appropriate.

The Scottish Executive has no function in relation to the provision of local electoral registers.

There are no plans to set targets for the introduction of resource accounting for local authority housing finance.

The Executive does not have specific targets for the reduction of any backlog in council house repairs. However, Audit Scotland has a performance indicator which measures the number of repairs to council houses, the proportion of these completed within councils' target times, the number of emergency repairs and the number of emergency repairs completed within the target time. Audit Scotland published its latest figures on these targets on 17 January 2002. In addition, the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 introduced a single regulatory framework for local authorities and registered social landlords. This means that, in future, Communities Scotland will be assessing local authorities in relation to a number of performance standards, including an efficient and effective responsive repairs service.

The Scottish Executive has a wide range of targets to protect and improve Scotland's environment. These include investing in secondary sewage treatment for more than 80% of Scotland's population compared to less than 50% previously, introducing legislation in 2002 to protect and improve the water environment and establishing two National Parks by early 2003.The Cabinet Sub Committee on Sustainable Development, chaired by the First Minister, is implementing the Executive's commitment to integrate environmentally and socially sustainable development into all its policies.

No. I believe that the information already sought from candidates, as referred to in the answer given to question S1W-23539 on 12 March 2002, is as far as we need go at this time.

The Executive's policy is that all undisputed invoices should be paid promptly (i.e. within 30 days, unless a different payment period has been agreed). In 2000-01, the last full financial year for which figures are available, the Executive paid around 98% of all undisputed invoices promptly.

The Scottish Executive is engaged in preliminary discussions with the UK Government on the full range of issues arising from the Common Agricultural Policy. Proposals for reform of the Common Agricultural Policy are not expected to emerge from the European Commission until June. When we know what is proposed, there will be an assessment of the potential effect on consumers, taxpayers, farmers, rural communities and any other groups which might be affected.

A Best Value framework was introduced on a voluntary basis by all Scottish local authorities in 1997. The stated aim of this framework was the pursuit of continuous improvement in both corporate management and direct service provision.The Scottish Local Government Bill will be introduced to Parliament at the end of April 2002. It will give statutory force to the existing Best Value framework. This framework seeks to provide councils with the maximum flexibility to develop policies and deliver services in the way that best reflects local needs and circumstances, while delivering value for money.