Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Executive has already put in place a range of national initiatives to develop the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) and approaches to core skills training across Scotland. The Executive is committed to achieving universal access to the internet through its digital inclusion strategy and under the Public Internet Access Points Initiative we are creating over 1,000 new public internet access facilities. We have also committed substantial funding to Community Learning Partnerships across Scotland, which is enabling the delivery of a wide range of community-based programmes to develop individual ICT skills. In addition, Executive funding is also assisting such partnerships to develop and implement Literacies Action Plans. The activity in social inclusion partnership areas therefore complements these national initiatives.

The projected decline in mainstream local authority school rolls in Scotland, East Dunbartonshire and East Renfrewshire is set out in the following table:

	2001 School Census	2011 Projection	Percentage Change
Scotland	736,891	628,515	-15%
East Dunbartonshire	19,075	15,843	-17%
East Renfrewshire	16,092	14,538	-10%

A revised Scotland projection based upon information from the 2001 population census is now available. This shows a decline in pupil numbers across Scotland of 14%. Local authority figures on this basis are not available.

The information requested is given in Table 8, page 26, of the statistical bulletin Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2001 published by the Scottish Executive in April 2002, a copy of which is available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 20798).

Currently ADSL take-up, as a percentage of lines available, stands at just over 3% in Scotland, and 2.3% in East Renfrewshire. There is no ADSL availability in East Dunbartonshire.

Currently ADSL coverage of households stands at about 40% in Scotland, 0% in East Dunbartonshire and about 32% in East Renfrewshire.

Participation in the New Deal for Young People (NDYP) is mandatory for all aged 18 to 24 years, unemployed for six months or longer. From the start of the programme in April 1998 to the end of September 2002, 100,100 young people have participated in NDYP in Scotland. Of this total, 1,200 were in East Dunbartonshire and 900 in East Renfrewshire.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-33076 today. 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/search_wa.

The information requested is given in table 7, page 25, of the statistical bulletin Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2001, published by the Scottish Executive in April 2002, a copy of which is available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 20798).

The specific information requested is not available centrally. Allocations are made to health board areas without any specification of how this should be shared with local authority partners.Prior to 2000-01, no additional funds were allocated to health boards specifically for delayed discharges. In 2000-01 health boards were allocated non-recurring spend of £19 million which included funds for delayed discharge. This consisted of £10 million announced in February 2001 to address the delayed discharge problem and help reduce shortcomings in the provision of audiology aids, prosthetics and wheelchairs and £9 million released to health boards specifically for delayed discharge, as part of a £60 million allocation for improvements to patient services in Scotland. Greater Glasgow received its share of these allocations based on the Arbuthnott distribution formula in use at the time for NHS resources. No other non-recurring funds have been allocated for delayed discharges.Discharges attributable to this additional expenditure are not recorded separately.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-32998 today. 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/search_wa.In 2003-04, the amount specifically earmarked for delayed discharges will rise to £30 million across Scotland. This is recurring funding. No decision has yet been made about the distribution of the money for 2003-04, nor about any future years.