Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to question S2W-15112 on 17 March 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.

The Scottish Executive has no plans to make representations to the UK Government on this matter.

Data collection for these participationlevels are not specifically for children over 14 but for all children andadults over 14 to help measure the related target in Sport 21 2003-2007. This commencedin April 2003 when Sport 21 took effect. Therefore, the earliest collated figures available here cover the period April 2003 toJune 2004 where the average participation level was 42%. The rolling average uptill the end of 2004 will not be available until summer 2005, and will be reportedto the Sport 21 National Implementation Forum in October 2005. Thereafter, figureswill be posted on sportscotland’s website www.sportscotland.org.uk.

Data collected as part of theomnibus household survey, the Scottish Opinion Survey, are used by sportscotlandto produce their annual reports on sports participation in Scotland. Becausethe sub-sample sizes for many individual sports are relatively small, sportscotlanduse the data from the three previous years for each annual report. This increasesthe sub-sample sizes, thereby reducing the sampling error for individual sportsto make the estimates of participation more reliable than they would be for a singleyear. To take account of the seasonality of participation in many sports, resultsfrom only the two most popular months of the year are used. The rolling average for 1999-2002(up to December 2002) was 48% and for 2000-03 (up to December 2003) was 45%. Whilstthis shows a decrease, we expect this to change once infrastructure developmentssuch as Active Schools are bedded in. Active Schools should lead to improved linksbetween schools and clubs (and tertiary education) and thus pathways for schoolleavers to continue their participation in sport with a club and/or in further education.Figures up to December 2004 will not be available until summer 2005, and will bereported to the Sport 21 National Implementation Forum in October 2005. Thereafter,figures will be posted on sportscotland’s website www.sportscotland.org.uk.

The rolling average for 1999-2002(up to December 2002) was 42% and for 2000-2003 (up to December 2003) was also 42%.That for 2004 will not be available until summer 2005, and will be reported to theSport 21 National Implementation Forum in October 2005. Thereafter, figures willbe posted on sportscotland’s website www.sportscotland.org.uk

The method of measurement isthe same as that stated in the answer to question S2W-14291 on 17 March 2005. All answers towritten parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the searchfacility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

The rolling average for 1999-2002(up to December 2002) was 78% and for 2000-2003 (up to December 2003) was 71.3%.Whilst this shows a decrease, we expect this to change once infrastructure developmentssuch as Active Schools are bedded in. Active Schools should lead to improved linksbetween schools and clubs (and tertiary education) and thus pathways for this agegroup to continue their participation in sport outside the school curriculum. Figuresup to December 2004 will not be available until summer 2005, and will be reportedto the Sport 21 National Implementation Forum in October 2005. Thereafter, figureswill be posted on sportscotland’s website www.sportscotland.org.uk

The method of measurement isthe same as that stated in the answer to
question S2W-14291 on 17 March 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availableon the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Information is not held in the format requested. However, recent figures from the Scottish Opinion Survey suggest that 957,000 Scots were members of sports clubs.

The table details the number of people employed as cultural co-ordinators in the last three years and the number of posts which each local authority applied for. The table also indicates which local authorities have been awarded Phase II funding to date.

Each “post” is equivalent to two days per week. In responding to local need, local authorities have chosen to use their allocations in a number of different ways. Some create full-time positions, for example, whilst others deliver their service through several temporary appointments.In addition, they are not obliged to take up their full entitlement as these postsare match funded by the local authority.

Authority	Posts Applied For			Co-ordinators in post	Awarded Phase II
	Feb-03	Feb-04	Jan-05
Aberdeen City	8	3	3	3
Aberdeenshire	5	5	5	5
Angus	2	2	2	2
Clackmannanshire	2	2	2	2	yes
Dumfries and Galloway	6	4	6	4	yes
Dundee City	3	3	2	2	yes
East Ayrshire	6	3	3	3	yes
East Dunbartonshire	8	2	4	2
East Lothian	4	1	1	1
East Renfrewshire	4	20*	20*	20*	yes
Edinburgh, City of	8	4	4	4
Eilean Siar	4	0	0	1	yes
Falkirk	4	2	2	2	yes
Fife	8	4	4	4	yes
Glasgow City	8	5	5	5
Highland	8	8	6	0
Inverclyde	4	2	2	2
Midlothian	4	3	3	3	yes
Moray	4	1	1	1	yes
North Ayrshire	6	2	4	4
North Lanarkshire**	8 (withdrawn)	0	0	0
Orkney Islands	2	2	2	2
Perth and Kinross	2	2	2	2
Renfrewshire	4	4	2	4
Scottish Borders	1	1	1	1	yes
Shetland Islands	1	1	1	0	yes
South Ayrshire	3	1	1	0
South Lanarkshire	8	2	2	4	yes
Stirling	4	0	1	2
West Dunbartonshire	4	4	4	4	yes
West Lothian	4	2	2	2

Notes:

*East Renfrewshire delivers its Cultural Co-ordinators programme through20 education workers delivering activities on – on atemporary, short-term basis. This figure applies to all three years.

**Due to a seriesof recruitment problems the application from North Lanarkshire had to be withdrawn.

The national languages strategywill be developed within the life of this parliament. The timetable for implementingit will depend on the strategy itself.

I should first make clear thatthese targets were not established by sportscotland. Sport 21 2003-2007:The National Strategy for Sport - Shaping Scotland’s Future, is the strategy for Scottish sport by Scottish sport.Its 11 targets were developed by all key partners with a role in developing anddelivering sport in Scotland and they will all play a part in helping achieve thesetargets. sportscotland and the Executive are only two of the many partners.

Sportscotland does play a co-ordinating role which includesgathering, collating and reporting information on progress against targets. Targets1 and 2 will be measured by the Executive using the Scottish Health Survey and bysurveying education authorities respectively. The remaining targets will be measuredby sportscotland using the Scottish Opinion Survey for targets 3 – 6, 9 and10; through obtaining regular updates from governing bodies of sport for target7; through its computerised facilities planning model for target 8, and obtainingfeedback from all local authorities for target 11. Because the initial two to three years of the Sport 21implementation process is largely concerned with planning, introducing programmesand establishing infrastructure, it was always anticipated that successful progresstowards the participation targets would occur more slowly during 2003 to 2005, andthen with greater momentum during 2006 and 2007.

Progress is reported annuallyto the Sport 21 National Implementation Forum chaired by me and on which all keypartners sit. The only figures available at present are those to April 2004 whichis only one year after the launch of Sport 21 and prior to the final endorsementof the related target strategies. These were reported to the Forum at its meetingyesterday and will be posted on sportscotland’s website at www.sportscotland.org.uk. The figuresup to December 2004 will be available in summer 2005, and will be reported formallyto the forum at its October meeting. These figures will give a more accurate indicationof progress being made.