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Volunteering in the public sector is being driven forward by the Active Communities Initiative, which is designed to bring about more positive attitudes towards volunteering, locate volunteering at the heart of policy and to broaden the range and numbers of people involved. The Community Service Volunteers report State of the Volunteering Nation will help inform the initiative. In addition, many of the projects assisted through the Active Communities Initiative, for example Community Service Volunteers' Retired and Senior Volunteering Programme, include volunteering opportunities in the public sector.Other steps taken to promote volunteering in the public sector include:Supporting the Active Communities Development Unit at Volunteer Development Scotland. The unit offers assistance in shaping policy and practice in the public sector and local authorities, and is working on new guidance, which should be published later this year;Publication of new guidance on volunteering in health; andSupporting Volunteer Development Scotland who, with COSLA, issued joint guidance to local authorities on how to prepare and implement volunteering policy statements.

I am due to meet with COSLA again next month to talk about the Spending Review and the distribution of resources for all local authorities. This will be the forum to discuss such matters. Any other meetings will be considered after my discussions with COSLA.

I have today written to the Acting Convenor of the Education, Culture and Sport Committee informing her that performance measures have been agreed for this year and enclosed these for the committee's interest. I have placed copies of my letter, and its enclosure, in the Parliament's Reference Centre.

Subject to approval by the Scottish Cabinet, the Scottish Executive's Expert Panel on school meals will publish recommendations for consultation over the summer months.

The Scottish Executive is participating in the review of the Blue Badge Scheme being conducted on behalf of all four UK administrations by the Department for Transport.This review covers all aspects of the scheme including enforcement.

Under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, roads authorities have a general duty to secure the expeditious, convenient and safe movement of traffic. This general duty is met by the local authority making Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) which can be introduced for a variety of reasons including the provision of parking bays for disabled people.It is a matter for individual authorities to decide how they enforce the correct use of parking bays for disabled people.

In the ministerial guidance to the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council (SHEFC) in December 2001, which applies to the year 2002-03, the council was asked to supply an annual report on the position with regard to information on contract research staff within higher education institutions in Scotland. The timing of that report is a matter to be agreed with SHEFC in the light of its advice on the best means of collecting this information.SHEFC is currently developing options for collecting this information and for monitoring progress which it intends to discuss with Universities Scotland. In doing so, it will draw on the report by the Institute for Employment Research on the career destinations of contract research staff in Scotland. This report was commissioned jointly with the ESRC, the Wellcome Trust, the Carnegie Trust and the Scottish Executive and was published in December 2001.

The Scottish Higher Education Funding Council (SHEFC) has allocated the £500,000 funding to assist with the implementation of the new condition of grant on human resource policies and management. This condition of grant covers the management of all staff, including contact research staff, and came into effect on 1 April 2002. The majority of the additional resources have been allocated to institutions to assist in their preparations for the introduction of the condition. Institutions can use these resources in any way to assist, develop and implement strategies and policies to bring about improvements in relation to the management of all staff, including contract research staff. The remaining funds are being used by the council to assist its own preparation for the introduction of the condition. In responding to the guidance received from the minister on 10 December 2002, SHEFC will work with Universities Scotland to report annually on the distribution of contract research staff in Scottish higher education institutions.

This information is not held centrally.

The interpretation of statute is a legal matter which is ultimately for the courts. However, it is the Executive's view that the implementation of the Scottish secure tenancy (converting existing tenancies to Scottish secure tenancies) will not of itself affect any existing rent arrears.