Seòmar agus comataidhean

Control of pests under the Pests Act 1954 does not require a licence. Under The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which provides for the protection of all wild birds, four general licences are in force in Scotland which permit authorised persons to kill a range of birds referred to as pest species by certain means in certain circumstances. Individual licence applications in respect of these species are not required, but they are required under that Act for birds not covered by the four general licences.We intend to produce a range of pest control information leaflets which will be freely available.

The Scottish Executive has no such plans.

Publication of the identities of applicants for licences to kill or take ravens under section 16 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 is exempt from the requirements of the Environmental Information Regulations 1992 and there are no plans to change this.

The estimated amount of aggregates sent to landfill in 1999 was 5,200 kilo tonnes. This figure was determined by a pilot survey carried out as part of a research project commissioned by the Scottish Executive. The research report Recycled Aggregates in Scotland can be found in the Parliament's reference centre (Bib. no. 11522).

Local Volunteer Development Agencies (LDVAs) were not funded under the Active Communities Initiative in 2000-01. I announced in June that £300,000 would be made available in 2001-02 to engage the national network of LVDAs in delivering the Active Communities Initiative at local level across Scotland. I anticipate that each LVDA will receive some £10,000. Active Communities Initiative funding for the network will increase to £1 million in 2002-03, with each LVDA receiving some £30,000. These sums are in addition to the £31,500 that each LVDA already receives annually.

The Active Communities Initiative is a UK initiative. Resources made available under the initiative are used to provide grants to voluntary organisations to promote volunteering and community involvement. The Scottish Executive invested £650,000 in the initiative in 2000-01 and £1.65 million will be spent in 2001-02.

I announced that £18.5 million is being allocated through local authorities to Community Learning Strategy Partnerships over the next three years, including £2.7 million in the current financial year, to raise levels of adult literacy and numeracy in Scotland.Circular ELLD 1/01, issued on 17 July, makes clear that all local providers of adult literacy, including voluntary organisations, should have access to the new funding. All providers will need to demonstrate clearly their ability to make effective use of the funding and it will be for Community Learning Strategy Partnerships to decide and demonstrate collectively how the resources can be used to provide best value.

Circular ELLD 1/01, containing the details, was issued to local authorities on 17 July 2001.

The Department for Education and Skills has introduced various routes into teacher education in England and Wales, including part-time courses. The introduction of such courses is aimed at dealing with acute teacher supply difficulties experienced there. The position in Scotland is rather different. The Supply of Teachers report, 2nd Edition - June 2001, details the background to the current position on teacher supply and outlines progress on planned improvements to teacher workforce planning practices. Copies of the report are in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib no: 14980) and it is on the Executive's website.I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-16892 on 10 August and that institutions are able to offer any course on a part-time basis provided it meets the requirements set out in the Guidelines for Initial Teacher Education in Scotland as in the answer to question S1W-16022 on 13 June 2001.

The recommendations set out in Annex 3 of the Third Annual Report of the Planning and Audit Unit 2001 are being progressed as follows:

Performance Statistics

A performance monitoring database has been set up and is in operation. When it has been operating long enough to yield robust statistics, targets for improvement can be set.

Consultation

A system to advise planning authorities where consultations cannot be dealt with in 14 days has been set up and is working well. Setting a timetable for the consultation process is likely to be misleading and better communication with planning officers is suggested as an alternative.

• Good progress is being made with developing electronic communications, although technical problems remain.

• Progress on revising the consultation forms depends on planning authorities standardising their planning application forms to include the information required by the trunk road authority. This proposal was discussed with local authorities but there has been no formal response to date.

Pre-application advice

Applicants are encouraged to consult the Scottish Executive Road Network Management and Maintenance Division (RNMMD) at the earliest possible stage to speed up the consultation process.

The need for further planning advice

It has been decided not to seek revision of the Town & Country Planning Scotland General Development Procedure (Scotland) Order 1992, but revised advice is contained in Planning Advice Note 40 Development Control. Consultants have been commissioned to advise by the end of 2001 on guidance on transport assessment for development proposals in Scotland. Together with the output of other research on key development sites and on achieving sustainable mode share, the research output will inform further good practice Planning Advice programmed for 2002.

The need for further trunk road advice

Route strategies are under active consideration.

• We have effectively achieved a one-door approach to the Operating Companies. A copy of the consultation form only is sent to RNMMD to enable them to monitor performance.

• Consideration is still being given as to how best to keep planning authorities informed of progress.

• A library of standard conditions is in use, and is subject to constant revision and updating.

It is the view of RNMMD that the current wording of conditions complies with the law.