Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-30821 on 27 January 2010. 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/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

We have recently received details of the objections received to the Forth Crossing Bill. Once these have been considered it is our intention to respond to and to meet objectors to discuss the issues they have raised.

All public libraries in Scotland received copies, as did all MSPs, MPs and MEPs representing Scottish constituencies, as well as the leaders of the parties in the Scottish Parliament and the Presiding Officer. Copies were also placed in the Scottish Parliament''s Information Centre (Bib. number 49796).

Copies were also provided to governmental leaders throughout the United Kingdom, as well as to certain members of the Royal Family. Copies were distributed to Scottish civic society organisations and were available to the media.

The total cost of National Conversation events, branding and publications, including the cost of Your Scotland, Your Voice, is £394,737 to date. The National Conversation successfully engaged over 5,000 people at public events across Scotland and stimulated a wide ranging public debate involving academics, media, faith groups, business, voluntary organisations, trade unions, young people and ethnic minority communities. The debate also prompted over 600,000 hits on the National Conversation web pages.

The National Conversation was supported by a number of Scottish Government publications which examined the effect of constitutional change across a range of issues of importance to the people of Scotland, and culminated in the publication of a White Paper Your Scotland Your Voice on St Andrew''s Day 2009.

The member will also be aware of the published costs of approximately £625,000 incurred by the UK Government and the Scottish Parliament to support the work of the Commission on Scottish Devolution, and to produce the UK Government''s response which was set out in the publication of Scotland''s Future in the United Kingdom.

Details are as follows:

In addition, a total of four meetings have been rescheduled. Meetings planned for 27 March 2008, 29 May 2008 and 30 July 2009 were postponed as all business was able to be conducted through correspondence. A further meeting planned for 29 January 2009 was cancelled as two non-government members of the group were unable to attend.

The Scottish Government''s overall contribution to the games budget, at 2007 prices, will be £275.8 million plus a £20 million reserve to be held in case of exceptional circumstances.

There have been three Ministers for Europe, External Affairs and Culture since 1 January 2009, none of whom have had meetings with the OC in that time. The Minister for Culture and External Affairs actively supports the development of a broad suite of cultural activity ensuring 2014 provides a lasting legacy and greater accessibility for all of Scotland''s communities.

Preparations for staging the games are co-ordinated across all of the games partners, including the Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council. The planning arrangements and governance structure were explained in the report published by Audit Scotland in November 2009 (Bib. number 49708) although considerable progress has been made in implementing the recommendations since the time of the study. Separately, the Scottish Government is working closely with COSLA, the 2014 All of Scotland Group and through identified leads in each local authority to ensure that plans are in place to enable the whole of Scotland to benefit from the games being held in Glasgow in 2014.