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Accountable Officers are designated by the Permanent Secretary of the Scottish Government in his role as the Principal Accountable Officer for the Scottish Administration. As a general rule Accountable Officers are designated - either on a statutory or non-statutory basis - where the accounts of the public bodies concerned are laid before the Parliament for consideration. Accountable Officers are not designated for those public bodies that do not prepare accounts e.g. nearly all tribunal or advisory non-departmental public bodies.

The Scottish Government has not formally discussed the issue of attendance at football matches with any of the football authorities.

It is an operational matter for the police and Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service to determine the priority they attach to investigating and prosecuting fraud, which includes identity theft.

Information on the number of employee jobs by industry is collected each year from the Annual Business Inquiry (ABI), which is the official source of employee jobs data. Table 1 shows the number of employee jobs in the software industry. The most recent year for which data is available is 2006. The ABI does not include self-employed jobs.

This data is based on employee jobs rather than the number of people in employment (as one person may have more than one job). It does not include self-employed jobs.

Table 1: Employee Jobs in the Software Industry in Scotland, 1997 to 2006

Year	Number
1997	8,900
1998	10,100
1999	10,800
2000	16,700
2001	17,500
2002	16,700
2003	16,100
2004	19,600
2005	17,900
2006	16,300

Source: Annual Business Inquiry 1998 to 2006, Annual Employment Survey 1997.

Notes:

1. Data for 1997 and 2006 are not consistent with other years. The data for 1997 was sourced from an earlier survey than the ABI and the reference date for the ABI was changed in 2006.

2. Data are rounded to the nearest hundred.

A report on serious fraud was published on 13 May 2008 by Her Majesty''s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMICS). The report made a number of recommendations aimed at improving how the police work with their partners to tackle serious fraud, which can include cases of identity theft.

One of the report''s recommendations was that the Scottish Government consult with stakeholders, including the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS), to make certain that legislation, process and interventions relating to fraud in Scotland are no less comprehensive or robust than they are elsewhere in the UK.

An ACPOS-led Working Group, which will include representatives of the Scottish Government, is being established to take forward all of the report''s recommendations.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring equal opportunities in sport for all. Support for sports clubs is primarily through the relevant governing body with whom sportscotland works closely to ensure that equitable procedures are in place through the adoption of an equity policy and support through the Equity Standard. Investment to governing bodies of sport is linked to the successful progression through the Equity Standard.

Where facility investment in concerned, sportscotland promotes an Open to All clause in an applicants constitution.

Futureskills Scotland undertakes a biennial large scale survey of the skills needs of Scottish employers which supports the detailed sectoral labour market information and intelligence carried out by the Sector Skills Councils.

Scotland''s Further and Higher Education institutions also engage with employers on curriculum design, work placements and quality enhancement and are working to further ensure that employers are able to recruit graduates with a key base of work related core skills.

In addition, the national economic development agencies, Skills Development Scotland and the Business Gateway service work closely with employers to understand their needs.

Registers of Scotland maintain a public register where details of registrations, under the provisions of Part 2 of the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 2003, can be checked online at http://rcil.ros.gov.uk. As at 30 October 2008, there are 975 valid registrations of tenant''s interests in acquiring land from their landlord.

As the key body in Scotland representing all sides of the agricultural tenanted sector, the Tenant Farming Forum is debating how the current agricultural tenancy legislation is operating with a view to offering advice to the Scottish ministers.

The Scottish Government has fully considered all of the points raised at each of the town hall meetings this year, such as the need to consider flooding from sewerage systems, as well as from rivers and flooding, and also the need for better communication and cooperation between all parties involved in flood risk management. This has helped us to shape the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Bill that is currently passing through the Scottish Parliament.

GPs as independent contractors are expected to identify, assess and address their own training and educational needs aligned to the needs of their patients. On-going attention will include consideration of needs for the identification, treatment and recovery expectations for those with depression.

Learning needs are also highlighted and discussed at the contractually required GP annual appraisals. Other parts of the GP practice contract also assist in the learning process such as significant event analyses.

GPs are supported in addressing their training needs by their NHS board, through protected learning time initiatives. Other help and support is offered through directors of GP post graduate education; NHS Education; Royal College of General Practitioners; NHS elibrary services; special colleagues, and others.

Our published standards for Integrated approaches to the treatment of depression will also inform all practitioners on expectations. We have also published a short summary sheet on the overall attention underway and planned on raising awareness and responding better on depression, including £3 million investment in new innovative approaches for service users.