Within the Executive's Senior Civil Service (SCS) grades there are currently 55 women (25.7%). There are also a small number of staff who have self-declared a disability. However, as there are less than five of these, a precise number cannot be given to preserve confidentiality. The Executive is re-surveying its staff with regard to ethnic origin and accurate statistics are therefore not presently available. These numbers do not include all of those successful in the recent SCS recruitment exercise.

The Executive is currently undertaking preparatory work, with a view to the campaign starting in the late spring/early summer.

Final bids for the digital communities initiative were received on 1 March 2002 and we expect to announce the two successful bids this month.

I have now received a draft of the social economy review undertaken by Mr Stephen Maxwell, Assistant Director of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations. I shall be discussing Mr Maxwell's draft with him and will arrange for publication of the report for consultation in due course.

At its third meeting on 4 February 2002 the Housing Improvement Task Force agreed that the work of stage two, the formulation of policy recommendations to address the issues identified in the first stage report (to be published during March 2002), will be undertaken through three sub-groups considering:Owner occupiers resident in houses and flats that require improvement or repair;Individuals buying and selling property, andLandlords renting property in the private sector (and the interests of tenants who occupy these properties).Draft remits for each of the sub-groups are included in the papers for the 4 February meeting, which will be placed on the Scottish Executive website.The specific policy areas that the sub-group will look at in detail have yet to be decided. They will be agreed at each group's first meeting to take place from 19 March to 4 April. As with all other papers relating to the work of the task force, the papers for these meetings will be published on the website prior to each meeting.

Yes.

We consulted on the issue of political restrictions in the Green Paper on local government, published in November 2000. Specific proposals on political restrictions will be included in the Local Government Consultative Document due to be published before the Easter Recess.

The tender for a feasibility study on establishing a national centre for women's enterprise was awarded to the Paisley Enterprise Research Centre, University of Paisley, on 22 February. The study will provide an assessment of the need for a women's enterprise centre in Scotland and the role it could best perform. The study is expected to be concluded by end May 2002.

The Scottish Executive plans to use the forthcoming Scottish Local Government Bill to amend those parts of the Local Government Act 1988 that are currently preventing Scottish local authorities from delivering fully on their commitment to fair employment and Best Value. This change is being made in response to a recommendation of the Best Value Task Force.

Many public sector bodies in Scotland have been under a general obligation under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 to promote race equality since April 2001.An order extending the list of bodies in Schedule 1A of the 1976 Act, including devolved bodies, to be made subject to the general duty to promote race equality was laid in Westminster in October 2001 and came into force on 3 December 2001.However, the act recognised that there would be a need to make provision for more specific duties to ensure the better performance by public bodies of the general duty.The Race Relations Act 1976 (Statutory Duties) (Scotland) Order 2002 was laid before the Scottish Parliament on 15 February 2002 and will come into force on 13 March 2002. Public bodies will require to comply with the duties by November 2002.The Commission for Racial Equality, Scotland will shortly be publishing for consultation a draft Statutory Code of Practice and associated guidance for devolved public bodies in Scotland. The code will provide practical guidance to bodies on how to fulfil both their general and specific duties and will be supported by examples of best practice.