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The General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) has provided the UK Identity and Passport Service (IPS) with limited online access to the registers of births, marriages and deaths for Scotland. Between 2000 and 2004, as part of work to detect identity theft, GROS gave IPS online access to a computer index to the Scottish birth, marriage and death registers. The index contained limited fields of information taken from the Scottish registers and was also used by the public in the family history search rooms at the GROS office in Edinburgh and at local registration offices. IPS was offered this facility to enable it to check the facts of births against potentially fraudulent applications for passports. The service was rarely used by IPS and has now been discontinued.

More recently, the Registrar General has had preliminary discussions with IPS on how Scottish registration data might be provided to the IPS under section 56 of the Local Electoral Administration and Registration Services (Scotland) Act 2006.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3O-2320 on 21 February 2008. All answers to oral parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-08/sor0221-01.htm.

An internal review considered all aspects of the tender process to ensure compliance with European and UK Procurement Regulations.

None.

We carried out an internal review of the procurement process which concluded that the procedures were properly conducted. We will consider our response to the Commission when they come to a decision on the complaint.

Nineteen planning applications were called by Scottish ministers during 2007. Of these, three had been notified to Scottish ministers because of local authority interest.

Of the 19 applications called-in, planning permission was granted in two cases and refused in one case. One application was withdrawn, and one call-in direction was revoked. The remaining 14 cases are still under consideration.

Yes. The role and remit are set out in Historic Scotland''s Framework Document 2004.

Yes. Historic Scotland achieved nine of the ten key performance targets set by Scottish ministers in 2006-07. In relation to listed building and conservation area consent cases, 99.57% were resolved within 28 days against a target of 97%.

The proposals within Firm Foundations: the Future of Housing in Scotland are intended to promote a housing system which meets the accommodation need of all of Scotland''s communities, including minority groups. The proposals will be subject to an Equality Impact Assessment as they are translated into individual policies.

Local authorities are responsible for the provision of official Gypsies/Travellers Sites in their area. In 2005-08 the Scottish Government is providing grant funding totalling £3.5 million to assist local authorities to improve their facilities for Gypsies/Travellers. Over the period 2008-11 £1 million per year will continue to be made available. In 2008-09 and 2009-10 the grant will continue to be ring fenced within the local government settlement. The ring fence will be removed in the third year.