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The First Minister has appointed 14 Parliamentary Liaison Officers (PLOs), listed as follows, to play a role in contributing to the effective communication of the government''s policy within the Parliament to support Cabinet Secretaries. Parliamentary Liaison Officers are unpaid, not members of the government and are not, therefore, bound by Collective Responsibility.

Portfolio	Parliamentary Liaison Officer
Office of the First Minister	Aileen Campbell Keith Brown Alasdair Allan Chris Harvie
Deputy First Minister/Health and Wellbeing	Stuart McMillan Ian McKee
Education and Lifelong Learning	Christina McKelvie Bob Doris
Environment and Rural Affairs	Rob Gibson Jamie Hepburn
Justice	Nigel Don Angela Constance
Finance and Sustainable Growth	Joe Fitzpatrick Shirley Ann Somerville

 

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-10903 on 25 March 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

I refer the member to question S3W-10903 on 25 March 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-10903 on 25 March 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

The closing date for applications for a share of the £200,000 was 7 March 2008. Thirty bids from a range of statutory and voluntary organisations have been received and are currently being evaluated. All of the successful bids will deliver a range of educational, diversionary and behaviour change activities aimed at tackling gang and group violence and disorder within local communities. To support this work, 72 individuals from the police and local authorities across Scotland have been given specialist conflict resolution training and a supporting good practice toolkit to utilise during the initiative.

The delivery of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, and the group structure to support that work, is a matter for the Glasgow 2014 Organising Company.

The Scottish Government places great importance on its requirements under the public sector equality duties. From a games legacy perspective, all equality groups, including disability groups, are being consulted as part of the Glasgow 2014 “ Delivering a lasting legacy for Scotland consultation process which the First Minister and other Glasgow 2014 partners launched on 15 February 2008. We are currently considering the membership of the Scottish Legacy Board and its supporting sub-groups to help develop and deliver a games legacy plan. In doing so we will ensure that the interests of all groups, including people with a physical or learning disability, are represented.

The Scottish Government is developing a coherent approach to the encouragement and support of good moving and handling practice for children and young people with disabilities. This approach will cover practice in health, education, social work and other relevant sectors and take stock of the recommendations in the Scottish Commissioner for Children and Young People's report Handle with Care.

The Scottish Government, through sportscotland, is committed to providing opportunities for people with disabilities to take part in sport at all levels, and invests in disability sport in a number of ways through a range of key partners including local authorities.

As the main providers of leisure and recreational activities, it is for local authorities to plan and deliver a range of opportunities. Sportscotland is helping to break down barriers in their ground breaking Active Schools programme by providing training opportunities through a new disability inclusion module. This training module has been designed to provide participants with the skills they need to ensure children and young people with a disability can enjoy the benefits of a range of sporting and physical activities. This training will roll-out across the whole of the active schools network operated by local authorities over the next two years.

This information is not held centrally.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting and involving children and young people with disabilities and their parents in decisions about their care. We are currently engaging at strategic level with the For Scotland's Disabled Children coalition on relevant issues, as well as taking forward a range of practical measures such as national guidance on self-directed support which emphasises the involvement by children and young people in assessments and decisions about their care.