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The total grant figures announced take account of a wide range of factors impacting on local government costs, including the predicted rate of inflation. There is an element included to fund additional expenditure on education, including the recommendations of the McCrone Committee, but this will be reviewed once the final McCrone package is agreed.

The allocations to Glasgow City Council announced on the 7 December include provision for Level Playing Field Support for Schools of over £44 million. Glasgow City Council's single capital allocation will rise to almost £40 million (a 38% increase) over the next three years. The Single Allocation covers roads and transport, education, social work, private housing and general services (including coast protection and flood prevention). It is for Glasgow City Council to decide how its single allocation is spent.

Under the Flood Prevention (Scotland) Act 1961 grants, at a rate of 50%, are available to all councils for the construction of confirmed flood prevention schemes which meet specified cost-benefit criteria. It is a matter for the councils concerned whether to take forward flood prevention schemes for the White Cart.

Comparisons of the population update and block and formula methods of grant distribution for 2002-03 and 2003-04 suggested that Glasgow City Council would gain around £3.9 million more over the three-year period 2001-04 from the block and formula method than the population update method. The incorporation of a "floor", or guaranteed minimum grant increase, gives the council an additional £16 million over the block and formula method. It is the difference between these two figures that constituted the additional £12 million that was referred to in the statement of 7 December 2000.

The Minister acknowledged the burdens and pressures on local government. But none of these burdens are hidden.

The length and content of vocational training for general practitioners is a matter for the Joint Committee on Postgraduate Training for General Practice (JCPTGP), which is a reserved body with a UK wide remit.

The Executive will continue to work with relevant authorities, agencies (including the Glasgow Alliance) and other interests to address population decline in the area.

The SHBA's objections and representations will be taken fully into account in reaching a decision on the Glasgow and Clyde Valley Structure Plan.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-11774.

It is difficult to make detailed comparisons between SCDI service sector export figures and those collected by the Office for National Statistics on a UK basis, and there is also the considerable influence of the City of London to consider. However, it is generally acknowledged that there has been a weaker performance in tradeable services.

The Scottish Executive, through Scottish Trade International, is committed to helping Scottish exporters from all sectors to access new markets and compete effectively. The current Export Development Strategy for Scotland identifies a number of priority industries, two of which are from the service sector.According to SCDI's last annual survey, for 1998-99, Scottish service sector reached a record £2.357 billion, a 14.2% increase on the previous year. The 3.9% figure represented a slight increase as a percentage of the UK total. In the same survey, SCDI also reported that some 40% of exporters in this sector expected to see future growth.