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Lanarkshire Careers Service and Tayside Careers Ltd.

I understand that Railtrack is committed under its Environmental Policy to comply with legal standards as the minimum and to apply a consistent set of principles for the stewardship of protected habitats under the company's care. This includes compliance with the relevant legislation such as Tree Preservation Orders and protection of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). I also understand that Railtrack is in regular contact with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Scottish Natural Heritage and the water authorities concerning agreed sensitive areas where the types of herbicides used by their contractors in the management of lineside vegetation are restricted near watercourses, near water abstraction points and SSSIs.

At all times, Railtrack must ensure safety and efficiency on the railway network by maintaining the infrastructure. This includes keeping vegetation clear of track, signals, overhead cables and train movements. Neither Railtrack nor their contractors are statutorily obliged to inform residents of this type of work.

I refer the Member to the answer I gave to question S1W-8604 on 21 July 2000.

The Scottish Executive is in discussions with other Government Departments and industry on how best to take forward the main recommendations of the Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones.

The Executive is consulting with other Government Departments on the production of a joint leaflet which will provide information for the consumer to make choices about their use of new mobile phone technologies. It will be available later in the year.

It is a priority of the Scottish Executive to ensure that genetically modified crops and foods do not endanger human health or the environment. Before GM crops and foods can be approved for marketing or wider commercial use they must be rigorously assessed for safety.

This is an issue with an international dimension and the rigorous regulatory regime which we have in place at European level is designed to protect human health and the environment while simultaneously providing a strategic framework for the development of GM technology. This technology could bring significant benefits; not least in the field of medical biotechnology, where Scottish science is in a leading position. However, the technology will only be given the opportunity to demonstrate its potential within the security which the science-based regulatory regime provides for us.

I refer to my answer to question S1W-8817.

Historic Scotland has not awarded a grant of £3.6 million for the Merchant City in Glasgow. The Heritage Lottery Fund earlier this year announced an award of £1.6 million, under the Fund's Townscape Heritage Initiative, for a pilot project to assist the upgrading and improvement of buildings within the historic centre of Glasgow. It is for Glasgow City Council and Scottish Enterprise Glasgow, being formal partners with the Fund and providing a matching contribution, to determine the content of the five-year programme of work. Historic Scotland may be approached for top-up funding for buildings which meet the criteria for an award under the agency's Historic Buildings Repair Grants Scheme.

Current estimates would suggest that about 12% of under 16's in Scotland are regular smokers with a further 9% occasional smokers (source: Office for National Statistics, "Smoking, drinking and drug use among young teenagers in 1998", Volume 2: Scotland).

No information is available on Glasgow Kelvin.

The exact number of people contracting cancer as a direct result of smoking is unknown. The numbers of lung cancer cases diagnosed during 1996 and 1997 in the areas of interest are as follows:

	Year of diagnosis
	1996	1997*
Scotland	4,855	4,519
Greater Glasgow Health Board	1,144	1,006
Glasgow Kelvin Parliamentary constituency	75	71

* Data for 1997 is provisional.

It is expected that 80-90% of these cancers will have been caused by smoking.