Seòmar agus comataidhean

We have already delivered accessto every Scottish community, as defined using census output areas. This was achievedthrough our £16.5 million Broadband for Scotland’s rural and remote areas project.

However, we recognise that thereare still some households or businesses who remain without access. The Executiveis working with independent technical consultants to examine this issue as wellas the viability of potential solutions. This work will complete later this yearand appropriate action will be outlined thereafter.

As at 31 March 2005, 58,850children (74%) and 168,233 adults (55%) were registered with a NHS dentist inTayside.

In addition, patientsaccessed NHS dentists in Tayside for 5,305 single treatments or courses oftreatment in 2004-05.

The outcomes of location reviewssince 1999 are set out in a table on the Executive’s relocation website. The numbersof posts dispersed from Edinburgh, in terms of the civil service and public service,to each local authority to date are as follows: Glasgow has received 400; ScottishBorders has received 218; North Ayrshire has received 140; Aberdeen has received50; Falkirk has received 26; Dundee has received 30; West Lothian has received 104;West Dunbartonshire has received 12; East Ayrshire has received 12; Highland hasreceived 239; Argyll and Bute has received 12, and Dumfries and Galloway has received17 posts.

The criteria by which Scotlandwill measure itself against to achieve Fair Trade Nation status has alreadybeen agreed. Following our discussions with the Welsh Assembly Government, membersof the Cross Party Group on Fair Trade were given the opportunity to comment onthe criteria selected both at the meeting on 15 June 2006 and throughsubsequent email exchanges. The final criteria announced by the First Ministeron 3 July 2006 reflects the views of group members.

The next meeting of the CrossParty Group on Fair Trade will be in October or November 2006.

The Scottish Executive has committedfunding for a five year programme of work being undertaken by the Moredun ResearchInstitute to monitor the impact of squirrel pox virus. A separate research tenderis due to be published shortly to commission work on the transmission routes ofsquirrel pox virus. Evidence from the study would be used to inform red squirrelconservation policy development and implementation.

At the last meeting of theCross Party Group on 15 June 2006, members discussed how its membership might change and how the group mightbring on board representation from the wider fair trade community. Since thatmeeting officials have been consulting with stakeholders on the best way to dothis, and this will be discussed at the next meeting of the Cross Party Group.

Recent reports of an increasein the incidence of squirrel pox virus in the South of Scotland have required anurgent response from SNH and FCS both of whom have supported additional measuresfor red squirrel conservation which are now underway. Options for a longer termstrategy have been evaluated by SNH and FCS at my request. SNH will take these intoaccount in developing its plans for prioritisation of different species managementprogrammes in their Species Framework and which I hope to discuss with them laterthis year.

The information requested isnot held centrally. However, information on accepted offers and payments of RSAsince April 2002, including a description of the projects, can be found on the RSAScotland website at www.rsascotland.gov.uk.

Further information on RSA acceptedoffers, including details by sector, using Standard Industrial Classification (SIC)Codes, are published in Scottish Economic Statistics, a Scottish ExecutiveNational Statistics publication. Copies of these annual publications can be foundat:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/ses/ses-00m.asp.

There are no SIC codes specificallyfor new technology companies and call centres.

The following table providesdetails of the number of RSA offers accepted and the amount paid in each financialyear between 1999-2000 and 2005-06. It also shows the amount of grant recoveredand written-off in the same period.

Financial Year	Accepted Offers	Grant Paid	Grant Recoveries	Written-Off
1999-2000	253	£51,966,770	£9,167,752	£1,104,008
2000-01*	180	£72,191,855*	£2,673,119	£3,784,412
2001-02*	160	£44,419,350*	£20,354,106	£1,366,625
2002-03*	183	£44,480,856*	£5,859,787	£1,296,633
2003-04*	157	£44,233,335*	£12,514,738	£1,519,935
2004-05*	164	£43,944,800*	£1,763,332	£1,734,124
2005-06*	152	£43,818,969*	£586,685	£1,117,232
Total	1,249	£345,055,935	£52,919,339	£11,922,969

Note: *Spend fromfinancial year 2000-01 is given on an accruals basis

RSA is paid in instalments, sometimesover several years and only as specific job and capital expenditure targets aremet. Not all projects will proceed, and nor do all accepted offers result in fullpayment of RSA grant, as projects are sometimes scaled down or abandoned beforepayments are made. The amount of RSA paid, shown above, will therefore include paymentsin relation to offers that were accepted in previous financial years. Grant recoveriesare, for the most part, in relation to amounts paid out in earlier years.

We do not hold specific recordsof companies that have gone into administration, ceased trading or relocated outsideScotland after receiving RSA. However, grant recoveries and write-offs result fromnon compliance with the conditions in the RSA grant agreement. Some of the reasonsfor this will be because businesses have gone into administration or ceased operations.