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The future of the fund will be decided in the light of the consultation on the framework and plan for museums launched by Mike Watson on 9 September.

The Executive initiated a three-month consultation on the findings of the National Audit of Scotland's Museums and Galleries on the 9 September. The consultation process will include a seminar organised by the Scottish Museums Council on 4 November. Information submitted during this period will inform the creation of an action plan, to be published in spring 2003, providing a framework for the development of the museums and galleries sector in Scotland.

The Scottish Executive does not provide direct funding to non-national museums and galleries in Scotland. The Executive is responsible only for the National Institutions. Funding to the National Galleries of Scotland and the National Museums of Scotland for 1999-2000 to 2001-02 is shown in the following table.

Funding (£m)	1999-2000	2000-01	2001-02	2002-03
National Galleries of Scotland	10,085	11.185	12.535	12.285
National Museums of Scotland	13,291	14.427	17.177	17.477

Note:These amounts include revenue and capital funding.Funding is also provided for the Scottish Museums Council as shown:

Scottish Museums Council
	1999-2000	2000-01	2001-02	2002-03
Funding (£m)	0.941	0.941	1.041	1.191
Strategic Change Fund			0.5	1.0

Of the strategic change fund £420,000 in each year is allocated to the support package for the three industrial museums.In addition, the Scottish Maritime Museum received emergency funds of £90,000 in 2000-01 and £110,000 in 2001-02 and £30,000 in 2002-03.In addition, in March 2002 in connection with the refurbishment of the Kelvingrove Gallery by Glasgow City Council the Executive made an exceptional one off payment of £3 million to Glasgow's Museum Service including £1 million specifically identified for the Kelvingrove Refurbishment Appeal Trust.

The funding consequentials from the Chancellors' announcement on 15 July 2002 were paid into the Scottish Consolidated Fund. Decisions on the allocation of the money from the Scottish Consolidated Fund are made by Scottish ministers. Building a Better Scotland, which was published on 12 September 2002 contains a breakdown of the SR2002 results and gives details of the allocation to the Tourism, Culture and Sport portfolio. Copies of the publication are available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 24102).

The Scottish Executive has consulted widely with both internal and external colleagues on the framework and classifications to be used in the school census.The Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) and the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) were not formally consulted over the proposed ethnic background and national identity categories, but the Scottish Executive did take into consideration the classifications used in the 2001 Census of Population, conducted by the GROS. The recommendations of the CRE in their consultation document Ethnic Monitoring - a guide for public authorities were also taken into account in compiling the categories. Comments on the categories were also sought from the Centre for Education for Racial Equality in Scotland (CERES). However, not all of CERES' suggestions could be taken on board given the need to ensure that the categories used in the September 2002 School Census matched closely with those in the 2001 Census of Population to ensure comparability and consistency across different data sources.The national identity and ethnic background categories used in the school census are subject to review to ensure that they remain relevant and well understood. This will ensure that ongoing work at a national level on equality and inclusion issues is reflected in future censuses.

Work on the formulation of a successor to the individual learning account scheme continues to make progress. Officials are currently consulting key stakeholders about my plans in principle and will in due course confer with them further about the operational details. I intend to launch the successor scheme when I am satisfied that it will incorporate the required improvements on the first programme. I expect to make an announcement before the end of the year.

The Executive is already committed to providing a stable funding environment for the voluntary sector including three-year funding for our own direct support. The Executive's wider Strategic Funding Review will be looking closely at funding of the sector by all public bodies. The Executive recently issued an accountability framework to inform local Alcohol Action Teams (AATs) of what should be in their three-year plans. The framework generally requires security of three-year funding to be passed on to all voluntary sector agencies undertaking work in the AAT area.

The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on a wide range of issues and does intend to input to the UK Government's response to the European Commission's White Paper on Corporate Social Responsibility.

My officials are currently considering this matter and are in discussion with Scottish Water and Scottish Environment Protection Agency. Scottish Water is currently conducting a thorough survey of their network, with a view to understanding the scale of the development constraints problem and its implications. This task will enable the Executive to make an informed choice, and I will make my proposals known in due course.

No.The funding available to Scottish Water during the current four year investment cycle is described in some detail in Water Quality and Standards Investment Priorities for Scotland's Water Authorities 2002-2006 (Bib. number 15676). The purpose of wastewater treatment works is to treat discharges of wastewater to a standard which will benefit the environment.Scottish Water's investment programme is already very substantial and is based upon the advice of a wide range of bodies including Scottish Environment Protection Agency and the Water Industry Commission. It reflects a balance between our meeting environmental and public health considerations on the one hand, and the affordability of charges to customers on the other.