Student teachers are given generaltuition and guidance on how to recognise and support pupils with additional supportneeds, including dyslexia, as part of a series of core and elective modules withininitial teacher education courses.

The Executive are also fundinga pioneering new project at Aberdeen University, providing £1.39 million over 2005-10,to embed inclusive approaches to teaching for pupils with additional support needs,including dyslexia, within initial teacher education. The findings and best practicewill be disseminated to other initial teacher education providers.

The National Parks(Scotland) Act 2000 provides powers for Scottish Ministers to designatenational parks where they are satisfied: that an area is of outstandingnational importance because of its natural, or natural and cultural heritage;that the area has a distinctive and coherent identity; and that designation ofa national park would represent the best means of meeting the special needs of the area. The Act identifies the aims of National Parks as:

(a) to conserve and enhancethe natural and cultural heritage of the area;

(b) to promote sustainableuse of the natural resources of the area;

(c) to promote understandingand enjoyment (including enjoyment in the form of recreation) of the specialqualities of the area by the public; and

(d) to promote sustainableeconomic and social development of the area’s communities.

Regional Parks may bedesignated by local authorities under powers provided in the Wildlife andCountryside (Scotland) Act 1981. The Act defines a regional park as ‘anextensive area of land, part of which is devoted to the recreational needs of the public’. Regional Park designations are subject to confirmation byMinisters.

I refer the member to the answerto question S3W-2237 on 10 August 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions areavailable on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can befound at:http://.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

I have askedAngiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Herresponse is as follows:

Information aboutthe number of applicants on housing association waiting lists is collected byhousing association and not by local authority area. The figures for each local authority area shown inthe following table are, therefore, indicative only, as a number of housingassociations operate over more than one area. The figures from housingassociations operating in more than one local authority area are shownseparately. In addition, manyapplicants are on the waiting list of more than one housing association,leading to double counting. The frequency with which housing associationsreview their housing lists varies and care should be taken when interpretingyear on year changes.

Figures are notavailable prior to 2001-02.

Local Authority	2006-07	2005-06	2004-05	2003-04	2002-03	2001-02
Scotland	267,100	301,127	237,142	177,659	120,583	91,158
Aberdeen City	7	8	13	0	8	10
Aberdeenshire	8	5	10	13	555	683
Argyll and Bute	2,486	1,889	2,189	1,711	1,646	1,156
City of Edinburgh	22,619	22,175	209	3,943	4,174	3,390
City of Glasgow	61,915	73,823	68,697	70,270	19,460	15,060
Dumfries and Galloway	7,584	7,063	8,061	6,803	2,300	1,400
Dundee City	93	106	90	101	143	193
East Ayrshire	1,302	1,095	1,389	861	694	299
East Dunbartonshire	444	651	344	0	0	0
East Lothian	6,156	2,411	1,468	860	705	433
East Renfrewshire	270	217	204	221	210	237
Fife	974	2,112	1,787	1,564	1,246	973
Highland	741	563	544	488	444	497
Inverclyde	5,286	6,006	5,094	3,192	2,627	632
Moray	489	394	330	927	539	386
North Lanarkshire	3,465	3,934	2,840	3,033	3,018	2,047
Orkney Islands	647	575	481	485	300	257
Perth and Kinross	340	281	273	200	4,224	4,545
Renfrewshire	9,074	10,310	8,963	6,056	3,663	2,455
Scottish Borders	7,504	7,251	7,064	6,082	3,120	1,550
Shetland Islands	718	583	402	311	275	237
South Ayrshire	31	35	34	36	3,015	1,655
South Lanarkshire	2,331	2,243	2,419	2,085	1,437	853
Stirling	1,521	1,765	1,605	1,802	1,548	1,277
West Dunbartonshire	2,693	2,671	2,764	2,405	2,034	1,557
West Lothian	1,604	1,523	1,979	1,682	996	583
Western Isles	1,115	493	362	301	259	751
Housing associations operating in more than one local authority	125,683	150,945	117,527	62,227	61,943	48,042

Source:Annual Performance and Statistical Return by registered social landlords toCommunities Scotland Regulation and Inspection Division.

Notes:

1Local authority figures are indicative only as a number of housing associations(registered social landlords) operate over more than one local authority area.Figures from these organisations cannot be broken down by local authority.

2The increase in waiting lists in 2003-04 for Dumfries and Galloway, Glasgow andScottish Borders is due to the transfer of council housing stock to housingassociations.

3There is no information available for Angus, Clackmannanshire, Falkirk, Midlothian or North Ayrshire as noone housing association operates solely in these local authority areas.

The numbers onlocal authority housing lists at March of each year are shown as follows. Data isnot available prior to March 2001.

Table 1: Applicantson Housing List at 31 March by Local Authority: 2001-2006

Local Authority	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Aberdeen City	8,971	7,247	9,636	12,195	12,315	12,178
Aberdeenshire	4,929	3,637	4,112	4,404	5,246	5,067
Angus	5,191	3,241	3,259	3,183	4,113	5,203
Argyll and Bute	1,594	2,060	2,623	2,891	3,952	3,994
Clackmannanshire	2,603	2,514	2,867	1,779	2,118	2,536
Dumfries and Galloway	4,750	4,415	4,505	na	na	na
Dundee City	4,871	3,376	5,271	5,865	6,487	8,321
East Ayrshire	2,843	4,081	4,667	4,761	4,913	8,321
East Dunbartonshire	4,451	3,466	3,793	4,216	5,051	3,859
East Lothian	4,138	5,371	5,549	5,520	6,098	6,479
East Renfrewshire	2,777	1,846	2,292	2,637	2,625	2,239
Edinburgh, City of	19,512	20,733	20,733	22,624	23,304	23,623
Eilean Siar	680	621	717	743	895	924
Falkirk	10,768	11,138	10,057	11,223	7,094	9,856
Fife	19,026	19,982	10,340	13,654	11,424	15,511
Glasgow City	30,297	34,209	na	na	na	na
Highland	7,530	8,351	8,652	9,663	5,343	10,809
Inverclyde	8,482	5,409	5,400	4,382	3,592	5,567
Midlothian	2,191	2,095	2,550	2,536	3,558	2,465
Moray	1,676	2,339	2,346	2,550	2,768	3,143
North Ayrshire		6,870	6,474	5,945	5,747	5,250
North Lanarkshire	12,664	14,013	12,148	16,576	19,220	21,304
Orkney	331	428	333	591	495	711
Perth and Kinross		4,393	5,639	4,739	4,439	5,546
Renfrewshire	11,046	9,211	10,010	9,015	9,892	8,095
Scottish Borders	2,485	2,488	2,488	na	na	na
Shetland	513	440	513	692	782	1,155
South Ayrshire	5,993	5,480	4,306	3,206	3,245	4,486
South Lanarkshire	20,544	21,464	20,099	16,099	16,423	16,598
Stirling	2,716	2,873	3,512	4,807	4,526	3,598
West Dunbartonshire	6,835	6,520	5,326	6,032	6,008	6,799
West Lothian	9,430	8,176	8,818	9,364	9,256	9,102
Total	210,407	220,311	180,217	202,530	181,673	203,637

Source:Housing Lists returns submitted by local authorities to the Scottish Executive.

Notes:

1. The data include both those applying for their first council tenancy(waiting list) and those who are applying to move from one council property toanother (transfer list).

2. In 2003, Dumfries and Galloway, Glasgow andScottish Borders councils transferred their housing stock to housingassociation ownership.

3. Households may be on the waiting list of more thanone local authority or housing association, leading to double counting. Thisdouble (or more) counting particularly occurs among landlords that are not partof a common housing register.

4.The frequency with which local authorities review their housing lists variesbetween councils, and care should be taken when interpreting year on yearchanges.

Information onthe percentage of the (a) urban and (b) rural population that is classified asliving in relative poverty is not available at present. It is planned howeverto publish this analysis on 21 September 2007 on the Scottish Government Income and Poverty Website at:http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Social-Welfare/incomepoverty.

Officials fromthe Communities Analytical Services Division will notify you when the analysisis available.

The ScottishGovernment wishes to see greater consistency and transparency in the sentencingdecisions of our courts across all areas of the criminal law. We plan to holdfurther consultation and dialogue with key interests, principally the judiciary,on how to achieve these objectives.

The funding roundfor the period 2007-10 was restricted to renewal applications from existingbeneficiaries, all of which were approved. We notified 69 other organisationswho had expressed an interest in applying for funding for 2007-10 that the Fundwould not be open to new applications due to a restricted resource position.

A total of£21,661,280 has been committed over the period 2007-10, subject to outcomes fromthe spending review and parliamentary approval of budgets for 2008-09 and2009-10.

All the resourcescurrently available from the Fund for 2007-10 have been allocated to voluntaryorganisations, subject to outcomes from the Spending Review and Parliamentaryapproval of budgets for 2008-09 and 2009-10. We have no plans, at the presenttime, to review the decision to restrict applications to the Fund for 2007-10to existing beneficiaries.