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As I said to Parliament on 21 March, I authorised no briefing to anyone prior to that date. In fact I issued specific instructions to the contrary.I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond to the second part of your question. His response is as follows:No briefing was given to journalists by SPS and I do not think that SPS staff leaked details of the Estates Review to the media.

The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on a wide range of issues, including the location of new European Agencies.

Information on agencies of European Union is given at:www.europa.eu.int. There are no EU agencies based in Scotland.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1O-4899 on 21 March 2002. I attended the meeting on behalf of the Scottish Executive; the meeting was chaired by the Foreign Secretary, and was also attended by other ministers and officials from the UK Government and the other devolved administrations.

Since the figure for councils attended by Scottish ministers, given in answer to question S1W-22493, included two informal meetings of EU Ministers, the percentage given should have referred to the proportion of the total of all formal meetings of the EU Council of Ministers and informal meetings of EU Ministers. However, due to an administrative error a figure for the total number of formal meetings only was used.The proportion of formal meetings of the EU Council of Ministers attended by Scottish ministers between 1 March 2000 and 28 February 2002 is 11.4%.

No staff are being employed solely and directly to administer the Farm Business Development (Scotland) Scheme 2001 in the non-Highlands and Islands area offices.

Mobility between Government Departments is defined as a loan rather than a secondment. The number of Scottish Executive staff who have been on loan to UKRep since 1987 is 13. The duration of each loan and the Scottish Executive Departments such staff have been on loan from are as follows:Total Number of Scottish Executive staff on loan to UKRep: 13Scottish Executive Departments

Development Department	4
Environment and Rural Affairs Department	6
Justice Department	2
Corporate Services	1

Duration of Loans

0-1 year	1-2 years	2-3 years	3+ years
1	1	2	9

The vision statement Rural Scotland: A New Approach, outlined the Executive's commitment to supporting rural economic development by building on existing strengths and promoting opportunities. The Way Forward: The Framework for Economic Development in Scotland recognised the particular opportunities in rural Scotland, while Smart Successful Scotland recognised Highlands and Islands Enterprise's on-going role in promoting the social development of the sparsely populated areas, and required Scottish Enterprise to be "responsive to the integrated nature of rural development". It also included a commitment to rural development and clearly set out mechanisms for priority setting. Smart Successful Scotland has three priorities - growing businesses, global connections and learning and skills. These apply equally in rural areas. Particular rural challenges include sparsity of population, access to markets, distance, critical mass e.g. an insufficient concentration of entrepreneurs, limited job opportunities, labour supply, availability of development sites and limited range of services. These needs have been taken into account when growing businesses in rural economies:Greater entrepreneurial dynamism and creativityCreating openness to a world economy.Access to capital for business birth via the Business Growth Fund, and Social Investment Scotland for social economy organisations.Improving development for new starts e.g. 555 new businesses aided in the Borders and Dumfries and Galloway in 2001-02.Providing Business advice and information via Business Mentoring Scotland, the Small Business Gateway, developing Single Entry Points for business development services in the Highlands and Islands, and innovative promotional events such as the Scottish Enterprise Grampian rural roadshows in 2001.Greater employment inclusion for disadvantaged groups, young persons, and women.More e-businessAssistance on all aspects of e-business delivered though the Enterprise networks and takes the form of workshops, seminars, one-to-one advice and online help. Businesses are advised about the best way for them to implement appropriate e-business solutions, including online trading.Supporting infrastructure development through public sector procurement of broadband in pathfinder areas - Highlands and Islands and South of Scotland. This should help telcos make a business case for investment and extending services to businesses in these areas. Trials under the DTI Fund for innovative uses of broadband will test alternative technologies for delivering broadband in rural areas. Projects include a wireless trial in the Western Isles, two powerline carrier trials in Crieff and Campbeltown and a network trial in Ayrshire. Broadband Demand Stimulation through the DTI Fund. A network of demonstration centres and a website will demonstrate the benefits of broadband to businesses. The first centre, "Broadband for Business" in Inverness, was launched on 19 March 2002. Developing use e.g. though public sector e-procurement (launched in Skye on 25 March 2002), and e-rings for rural cattle sales.Increasing commercialisation of research and innovationIncreased research and development links with universities and businesses through the Science Strategy 2001, the UHI Millennium Institute, the Borders electronics design link to Napier University, the rural entrepreneurship and tourism link to Crichton Campus Dumfries (in conjunction with Paisley/Glasgow universities), and agricultural projects with Scottish Agricultural College.Fostering growth industries to develop Centres of Excellence in areas such as renewable energy (Muck Community Windpower unit, Vestas in Campbeltown, HIE Renewable Energy Forum, and the European Marine Energy Test Centre in Orkney), aquaculture (Dunstaffnage as the European Centre for Marine Biotechnology), nuclear decommissioning (Dounreay), and healthcare (Inverness MediCentre). Global success in key sectorsRestructuring of traditional industries such as textiles and shipbuilding, ensuring transfer of skills into other key sectors e.g. through the SE Grampian Peterhead Company Diversification Scheme.Business expansion through RSA.Creating exportable excellence through the biotechnology, opto-electronics (Strakan in the Borders), food and drink, tourism, creative industries and forest industries clusters, and the growth industries above.Where possible, we propose to develop a rural dis-aggregation of the progress measures of the Enterprise Networks, as published in Measuring Progress towards Smart Successful Scotland. This will allow the networks to become more responsive to the needs of the rural economy, and the success of specific interventions to be accurately measured.Highlands and Islands Enterprise will develop the priorities of Smart, Successful Scotland in their forthcoming document A Smart Successful Scotland: The Highlands and Islands Dimension, with the Scottish Enterprise Rural Group leading evolution in the Scottish Enterprise Area.These principles, whether rural or urban, will integrate under the overarching Doing it Differently enterprise strategy launched on 12 February 2002, providing a new start for a new era.

I have asked Mr Bob Millar, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. His response is as follows:Communities Scotland is guided by the rural policies and priorities of Scottish ministers, with a view to improving the quality of life for those resident in rural Scotland by fostering sustainable and healthy communities that are attractive, vibrant and safe.

This is a matter for NHS Grampian. However, I understand that the recommendations in the report are intended to provide non-clinical support services more effectively and to increase spending on direct patient care.