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The Planning etc. (Scotland) Bill does not prescribe the type of development which may be included in a future national planning framework. Any application for a new radioactive waste disposal facility would be determined under the provisions of the Town and Country Planning Act (Scotland) 1997, as amended. Such determination would be in accordance with the procedures appropriate for the category of development into which the proposed facility fell, as assessed against any criteria set out in secondary legislation to define the thresholds for the hierarchy of developments.

The Planning etc. (Scotland) Bill does not prescribe the type of development which may be included in a future national planning framework. Any application by a power generation company for a nuclear power station would be determined by ministers under the terms of the Electricity Act 1989. The Executive’s position on the development of new nuclear power stations is stated in the Partnership Agreement – we will not support the further development of nuclear power stations while waste management issues remain unresolved.

National Developments set out in the National Planning Framework will be subject to public consultation at four stages. First, there will be extensive consultation around the drafting of the National Planning Framework, involving seminars across Scotland and a full public consultation on a draft document. Second, there will be extensive scrutiny by Parliament, including a new procedure to allow Parliament to express its views at the end of the process, with ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ accountable to the electorate in the normal ways. Third, national developments which need to go through the planning system will need to be included in development plans, with all the existing and proposed new opportunities for public involvement available. Fourth, individual planning applications for projects identified as national developments will also be subject to all the existing and proposed new opportunities for public participation. The issue of whether an individual development is required will be settled in a national debate, focused on the Executive and Parliament: all other issues, including specific location and design will remain to be settled by processes at a local level.

The review’s report Changing Lives- Report of the 21st Century Social Work Review (Bib. number 38763), Changing Lives- Summary Report of the 21st Century Social Work Review’ (Bib. number 38764) and Changing Lives- Scottish Executive Response to the 21st Century Social Work Review (Bib. number 38765) will be published on Tuesday 7 February 2006. A detailed implementation plan will be published later in the year. Copies of all three are available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

The report provides a historic opportunity to modernise social work practice and gives focus for the work of social workers to do the things that they are best equipped and trained to do. Social work services must be designed and delivered around the needs of people who use them, their carers and communities. The Executive intends to take a series of actions to move forward issues highlighted in the report.  These will be detailed in the forthcoming implementation plan.

The potential impacts on race equality of the actions referred to in Choosing Our Future will be assessed as the strategy implementation plan is developed and put into effect. An annual summary assessment will be included in public reports on progress in delivering the strategy.

The Executive shares this goal. To develop our response to it we have set up the Strategic Group on Ethnic Minorities and the Labour Market, as detailed in my replies to the associated question S2W-22608 about the group on 1 February 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at .

These are matters which members of the strategic group will wish to consider in developing its action plan.

As stated in response to the answer to question S2W-19177 on 3 October 2005, the group’s formal remit will be agreed at its first meeting on 20 February 2006. The short-term outcome of the strategic group will be to produce an action plan to address the current inequalities that exist for minority ethnic communities in the labour market in Scotland.

The group is to be chaired by Dr Charan Gill MBE. The Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning and I will also sit on the group.

We expect tobe able to respond to Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive on the Glasgow Crossrailstudy during the spring.