Seòmar agus comataidhean

The First Minister was not late to this event. He arrived at 13:15, the arrival time agreed in advance with the organisers.

Under successive administrations it has not been customary to keep a record of arrival times at events by the First Minister.

The procurement of social care services is a matter for individual Councils; it would not be appropriate for ministers to intervene in local decision-making. We have, however, developed draft guidance on social care procurement, on which we are currently consulting  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/01/13125045/0.

The Social Work Inspection Agency undertook a follow-up inspection of City of Edinburgh Council in October 2009 to monitor progress made by the council in implementing the recommendations made in the 2008 performance inspection report. The report of the follow-up inspection was published in December 2009:

http://www.swia.gov.uk/swia/files/City_of_Edinburgh_Performance_Inspection_Follow%20up_Report%20December%202009.pdf.

The Scottish Government notes that the council has commissioned an independent evaluation of its competitive tendering process for care and support services. The procurement of social care services is a matter for individual councils. We have developed draft guidance on social care procurement, on which we are currently consulting http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/01/13125045/0.

I regret that, under the Data Protection Act 1998, Section 7 (4) and (6), I am unable to release the information requested by the member.

Ms Smith has confirmed that she will be using her fee to fund her support for a range of charities.

The review to which the question refers is being undertaken by the Higher Education Funding Council for England and concerns it''s funding for university museums and galleries in England. The Scottish Government is therefore not involved.

The placing of children in schools is a matter for individual local authorities subject where possible to parental wishes.

Information for the full period requested is not held centrally. In response to a request for information on numbers of offenders on community service involved in work to combat the winter weather in the week 5 to 12 January, however, 29 out of 32 local authorities have submitted returns. The information shows that there were 2,071 individuals on community service orders and probation orders who were engaged in this work. This represents 15,205 hours of work and amounts to 60.1% of the 3,444 offenders local authorities have told us were available for work.

The type of work being done has involved, among other duties, clearing snow and ice from pavements and driveways around hospitals, schools and homes for the elderly and other vulnerable people across Scotland. This work began with the onset of the winter weather before Christmas.

Three prisoners have been helping to clear snow in the community.

The information requested in S3W-21590 was not available in time to meet the original deadline and a holding response was issued on 20 March 2009. I wrote to the member on 15 January 2010 with this information and an apology for the delay in its provision. A copy of the letter has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 47911).

Any legal responsibility for an accident would depend on the particular circumstances and ultimately a court would determine whether any person had acted reasonably or had caused or contributed to the accident through their careless or reckless action. Householders who take reasonable measures to clear a pavement outside their home would not normally attract legal liability for subsequent accidents and while a roads authority is expected to take reasonable steps to keep public roads and pavements clear, it is entitled to prioritise and target resources accordingly. Any pedestrian using a footpath in winter conditions would be expected to take care for their own safety.