Multimedia Mania/abacus-multimedia-mania.iso/dp/0050/00503.txt

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$Unique_ID{bob00503}
$Pretitle{}
$Title{United Kingdom
The Financial Sector}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Embassy of the United Kingdom, Washington DC}
$Affiliation{Embassy of the United Kingdom, Washington DC}
$Subject{scotland
services
scottish
local
health
social
areas
new
housing
planning
see
pictures
see
figures
}
$Date{1990}
$Log{See Glasgow Garden Festival, 1988*0050301.scf
}
Title:       United Kingdom
Book:        Scotland
Author:      Embassy of the United Kingdom, Washington DC
Affiliation: Embassy of the United Kingdom, Washington DC
Date:        1990

The Financial Sector

[See Glasgow Garden Festival, 1988: Courtesy Embassy of the United Kingdom,
New York.]

     The financial services industry is one of the fastest-growing sectors of
the Scottish economy, increasingly attracting investment from overseas, and
playing an important part in the regeneration of Scottish enterprise.
Scotland's financial institutions have a high reputation internationally,
and in a range of services - for example, investment trusts, branch banking,
and unit trusts - Scotland has been a pioneer. About one-third of all
investment funds in Britain are managed from Scotland, which is also a base
for a large number of insurance companies. Edinburgh is regarded as the
country's financial centre, and the headquarters of many financial
institutions are located there, but Glasgow too has important commercial and
banking facilities.

     There are three Scottish clearing banks: the Bank of Scotland, founded in
1695; the Royal Bank of Scotland, founded in 1727; and the Clydesdale Bank,
founded in 1838. While forming an integral part of the British monetary
system, these banks have full powers of independent action and have limited
rights to issue their own banknotes, which are accepted by banks throughout
Britain. The Scottish banks have led with the introduction of new banking
technology in Britain, and the Bank of Scotland is participating in the
operation of Homelink, an electronic banking service for the home. The banks
have offices in London and are also represented overseas, particularly in the
United States and the Far East. The Royal Bank of Scotland operates throughout
Great Britain.

     The greatly increased demand for capital generated by offshore oil
exploration and exploitation provided a new opportunity for Scottish financial
institutions and led to the establishment of a number of indigenous merchant
banks. Both they and the clearing banks have invested substantially in North
Sea oil and gas and have collaborated in ventures related to oil development.

     The Scottish Stock Exchange now forms part of a single system throughout
Britain known as the International Stock Exchange. There are also centres in
Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Transport and Communications

Transport

     As in the rest of Britain, car ownership has increased, and in 1985, 53
per cent of households had the regular use of a car, 12 per cent having the
use of two or more cars. In 1986 there were over 1.5 million vehicles,
including 1.2 million cars (243 per 1,000 population). There are 50,750 km
(31,500 miles) of publicly maintained roads in Scotland, of which about 3,130
km (1,940 miles) are trunk roads or motorways.

     The three main motorways are the M8 Edinburgh-Glasgow-Greenock, the
M9 Edinburgh-Stirling and the M90 Forth Road Bridge-Perth. These motorways,
together with a good dual carriageway system, link the main industrial areas
in central and eastern Scotland with each other. A major priority is
the reconstruction of much of the A75 trunk road linking the Northern Ireland
ferry ports of Stranraer and Cairnryan with the national motorway system.
Further improvements to the motorway and trunk road network are planned,
notably upgrading the A74 trunk road (which runs between Glasgow and
Carlisle) to motorway standard. The three main estuaries of central
Scotland - those of the Clyde, Forth and Tay - are spanned by road bridges,
the last two of which are among the largest in Europe. Construction,
improvement and maintenance of motorways and trunk roads are financed
by the Government: other roads are the responsibility of regional and islands
councils.

     The Transport Act 1985 abolished the system of regulation and state
control of bus services. Initial indications are that, while the level of bus
services has been generally maintained, many local authorities have
achieved substantial savings in subsidies to public transport. There has been
a considerable increase in minibus services in towns and cities. The Transport
(Scotland) Bill would provide for the privatisation of the Scottish Bus Group,
which is responsible for main bus services outside the major cities, and for
the transfer of ownership of Caledonian Macbrayne, which runs ferries to the
islands off the west coast, from the nationalised Scottish Transport Group to
the Secretary of State. The Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive operates
local bus services and an underground railway in Glasgow, and acts as the
Regional Council's transport policy adviser throughout the Strathclyde area.
In some of the less-populated rural areas there are post-bus services
combining mail deliveries with facilities for passengers.

     The Scottish Region of British Rail operates some 4,900 km (3,100 miles)
of track throughout much of Scotland. InterCity 125 trains - the world's
fastest diesel trains - link Scotland with London (the journey time from
Edinburgh to London is now under 5 hours) and other main cities in England and
Wales, and a scheme to electrify the main line between London and Edinburgh is
in progress, with completion expected by 1991. An 80 million Pounds scheme to
electrify services between Glasgow and Ayr, with a branch to Ardrossan, was
completed in 1986. Commuter services operate between Glasgow, Edinburgh,
Aberdeen and Dundee. A Motorail network allows cars to be transported long
distance by train, and freight services by rail are run on behalf of
individual firms on scheduled timings, although freight traffic has declined
considerably in recent years.

     Scottish ports provide direct container and conventional services to over
100 countries. East-coast ports trade chiefly with the rest of Europe while
west-coast trade is dominated by North America and other deep-sea trading
areas. The most extensive port complexes are those on the Clyde and the Forth.
The Clyde complex, Clydeport, combines the facilities of Glasgow and Greenock,
the deep-water oil terminal at Finnart on Loch Long, the coastal port of
Ardrossan and an iron-ore terminal at Hunterston (opened in 1979 and one of
the world's finest deep-water harbours). On the Forth there are facilities at
Grangemouth, Leith and Granton on the southern side of the Firth and at
Burntisland, Kirkcaldy and Methil on the northern side. Cargo traffic on the
Forth has increased (from 8.3 million tonnes in 1970 to 30 million tonnes in
1987), much of it related to offshore oil and gas. The first purpose-built
terminal for oil from the British sector of the North Sea was completed at
Hound Point on the Forth in 1975. The port of Stranraer handles most of the
traffic to and from Ireland.

     Other major port developments undertaken to handle traffic generated by
offshore oil and gas include the terminals at Flotta and Sullom Voe. Three of
the four jetties at Sullom Voe can handle tankers of up to 350,000 dead-weight
tons, and the fourth jetty handles the export of liquified petroleum gases,
accommodating vessels with a capacity of up to 75,000 cubic metres. A 54
million Pounds terminal at Braefoot Bay in the Firth of Forth handles tankers
carrying natural gas liquids brought from the plant at Mossmorran (Fife).
Supply bases for offshore vessels have been built at Leith, Dundee, Montrose,
Aberdeen, Peterhead and Lerwick.

     Passenger and freight services are operated to all the island groups with
roll-on/roll-off ferries on most routes.

     The principal inland waterways open to navigation are the Caledonian
Canal, from Fort William to Inverness, and the Crinan Canal through the Mull
of Kintyre. Although both are used by fishing and commercial craft, their main
use is by pleasure yachts.

     With the improvement and extension of facilities at Scottish airports
(many of these also attributable to oil business), passenger and freight
traffic has grown rapidly. Services include direct intercontinental flights;
short- and medium-haul flights between Scotland and other parts of Britain,
with continental European and other international connections; and local
flights to and from the islands. Services are operated by a number of airlines
including British Airways, British Midland Airways and Loganair. The main
airports are at Glasgow, Edinburgh, Prestwick and Aberdeen, all of which are
owned and managed by Scottish Airports Ltd (a subsidiary of BAA plc). Sumburgh
airport in Shetland and seven smaller airfields in the Highlands and Islands
are controlled by a public body, Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd.

     In 1986 Scottish airports handled over 7.2 million passengers, of whom
3.1 million passed through Glasgow, 1.6 million through Edinburgh, and 1.5
million through Aberdeen.

Communications

     The telecommunications services sector is one of the fastest-expanding
areas of the economy. Following the Telecommunications Act 1984, British
Telecom's exclusive privilege of running public telecommunications systems was
removed, and Mercury Communications Ltd (a subsidiary of Cable and Wireless
plc) was licensed as the second national fixed-link operator. Edinburgh and
Glasgow are connected by optical fibre to Mercury Communications' national
trunk telecommunications network, and in Edinburgh a local optical fibre
network has been installed to enable residents to benefit from direct
connection to the national trunk cable.

Environment

Planning, Housing and New Towns

Planning

     The system of land use planning in Scotland provides a two-tier
framework. Structure plans identify broad strategic objectives and are the
responsibility of regional and islands councils; they must be formally
approved by the Secretary of State for Scotland. Local plans deal with
detailed planning on a local basis and are, with some exceptions, looked
after by district councils; provided they do not conflict with the objects of
the relevant structure plan or involve issues of national importance, they may
be implemented without reference to the Secretary of State. An application for
planning permission must be made for most kinds of development, other than
minor changes such as small alterations to dwelling houses; in enterprise
zones, or 'simplified planning zones' (set up under the Housing and Planning
Act 1986), advance planning permission is given for specified types of
development. There is provision for appeals against decisions of the planning
authority and for public inquiries by a small staff of inquiry reporters who
are part of the Scottish Office.

Housing

     Scotland's housing stock in 1987 amounted to just over 2 million
dwellings, over 100,000 more than the number of households. Since 1981 the
rate of private housebuilding has been increasing, while in the public sector
the emphasis has shifted from new building to modernisation and improvement,
and particularly to the regeneration of large housing estates in urban
areas. Home ownership is increasing but, at 43 per cent, is lower than in
other areas of Britain, while the proportion of public sector dwellings,
rented from local authorities, Scottish Homes and new towns, at 48 per cent,
is higher. Under the Tenants Rights etc (Scotland) Act 1980, public sector
tenants have security of tenure and are entitled, subject to the satisfaction
of certain basic qualifying conditions, to buy their homes on favourable
terms. Up to the end of 1987 about 78,000 local authority houses had been sold
to sitting tenants since the introduction of the Act. The Housing (Scotland)
Act 1988 provides for tenants of certain public sector landlords to transfer,
with their existing homes, to a new landlord.

     This Act has also stimulated the development of more choice in housing
by establishing a new housing development agency for Scotland, incorporating
the former Housing Corporation in Scotland and the Scottish Special Housing
Association. The agency, Scottish Homes, can both provide financial assistance
to housing associations and others, and own and manage housing. Voluntary
non-profit-making housing associations and societies registered with Scottish
Homes extend the choice of housing by providing rented accommodation in new or
rehabilitated properties; many cater for the needs of groups such as elderly
or disabled people as well as ordinary families.

     Home improvement grants are available for the modernisation, improvement
and repair of substandard houses and for the provision of basic amenities.
Local authorities also receive special help, through the Government's urban
programme, in tackling urban deprivation. In 1988-89, 44 million Pounds is
being spent under this programme on a wide range of projects from social work
support to community centres and recreational facilities. For major urban
renewal schemes (see p 14) which tackle both economic and social problems,
local authorities have support from Scottish Homes, the Training Agency and
the National Health Service as well as from central government and the
Scottish Development Agency. In 1988 the Government launched four major new
initiatives to regenerate the large housing estates on the outskirts of
Glasgow, Paisley, Edinburgh and Dundee.

New Towns

     One of the most successful achievements of British planning since 1946
has been the erection of new towns. In Scotland there are five new towns
(Cumbernauld, East Kilbride, Glenrothes, Irvine and Livingston), all in the
central belt. As well as providing centres for new industry and contributing
to the rehabilitation of areas where traditional industries were declining,
one of the new towns' major original functions was the re-housing of families
from the overcrowded older areas of central Glasgow. As this has been
achieved, their primary function is to attract industry and associated
employment to their areas and stimulate economic development; some 80 per cent
of companies that set up in Scotland choose to do so in new towns. All the
towns are strategically placed for access to other industrial centres in
Scotland and to ports, container terminals and airports, and their links by
road and rail networks have been extended and improved. All are well provided
with educational, social and recreational facilities and are designed to
provide a harmonious environment for living and working.

     The combined populations of the new towns amount to some 256,000,
and more than 92,000 houses have been provided. The new towns have
proved particularly attractive to overseas firms, mainly from North America,
but also from the rest of Europe, Japan and Australia. There is a wide range
of industrial activity, with particular emphasis on modern technological
developments, including computers, electrical and electronic appliances and
microelectronic products, as well as light engineering and consumer products
such as vehicles, furniture, food and clothing. East Kilbride accommodates
the National Engineering Laboratory; Glenrothes is a centre for electronic
research; Livingston has become a focal point for industrial research and
development; Irvine has developed as a leisure centre; and Cumbernauld,
with its excellent communication links, is proving attractive to service
industries.

     The Government is at present engaged on a review of the future of the
new towns, in consultation with their development corporations and other
bodies (see Reading List, p 42).

Conservation and Wildlife

     The natural beauty of Scotland's rugged and mountainous landscape is
enjoyed in increasing numbers by local people and tourists, and conservation
has become a matter of considerable public concern, as elsewhere in
Britain. Statutory and voluntary organisations co-operate to protect the
countryside from inappropriate development, to preserve historic buildings
and monuments and safeguard wildlife and natural habitats. The Nature
Conservancy Council, established by the Government in 1973 as the
successor to the Nature Conservancy, is the statutory body which promotes
nature conservation in Great Britain. It gives advice to government and all
those whose activities affect wildlife and wild places. It also selects and
manages a series of national Nature Reserves, of which there are 68 in
Scotland, and identifies Sites of Special Scientific Interest (1,133 in
Scotland). The statutory body responsible for advising on landscape
conservation and countryside recreation in Scotland is the Countryside
Commission for Scotland, set up by the Government under the Countryside
(Scotland) Act 1967, with wide-ranging responsibilities for the conservation
of Scotland's landscape and for developing provision for its enjoyment.

     Although there are no national parks in Scotland, four regional parks and
40 'national scenic areas' have been designated, covering a total of 13 per
cent of the country's land surface; they are subject to special planning
arrangements under the supervision of the Secretary of State. Five farming
areas have been designated as `environmentally sensitive areas', and
conservation of the environment is also a high priority of the Forestry
Commission (see p 15). Four of the seven forest parks in Great Britain lie
within Scotland's boundaries and a fifth spans the border between Scotland
and England.

     Local authorities and a variety of amenity organisations are concerned
with the conservation of historic buildings. Under the provisions of planning
law, buildings of special architectural or historic interest are listed and
may not be demolished or altered without planning consent; there are over
35,000 listed buildings in Scotland. There is also provision for the
designation by local authorities of `conservation areas' of special
architectural or historic interest. Grants are available for the repair and
restoration of historic buildings and for the enhancement of listed buildings
and conservation areas. Central government grants are made on the advice of
the Historic Buildings Council for Scotland.

     Scotland's countryside contains a rich variety of wildlife, some species
not being known elsewhere in Britain. Wild animals found in Scotland
include the pine marten, wild cat, mountain hare, red squirrel, roe deer
and red deer. Bird species include the ptarmigan, golden eagle, osprey,
capercaillie, red grouse and black grouse. Nature reserves, bird sanctuaries
and other designated areas provide opportunities for the protection and study
of some of the rarer fauna and flora.

     Among voluntary organisations concerned with conservation, the National
Trust for Scotland, founded in 1931, has the statutory duty of promoting
the care of fine buildings, historic places and beautiful countryside. It owns
or cares for some of the most outstanding scenery and buildings in the
country, with more than 100 properties, including castles and other historic
buildings and sites, gardens, islands and areas of mountainous country.
The Trust negotiates conservation agreements with landlords and has made
special efforts to protect unspoiled coastline, particularly in areas under
pressure from oil-related or similar development.

     Other bodies concerned with conservation, wildlife and environmental
issues in Scotland include the Scottish Civic Trust, the Association for the
Protection of Rural Scotland, the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical
Monuments of Scotland, the Saltire Society (which, among other activities,
makes awards for the restoration of buildings of special architectural merit),
the Scottish Wildlife Trust and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

Social Welfare

Health Services

     In 1948 comprehensive National Health Service was introduced in Scotland,
similar to the service adopted for the rest of Britain, but with some
differences in the details of administration. Central responsibility lies with
the Secretary of State for Scotland, who acts through the Scottish Home and
Health Department and is advised on the planning and development of the
health service by the Scottish Health Service Planning Council, whose role
and functions are currently under review.

     Responsibility for the provision of most of the services is delegated to
15 Health Boards, each in charge of an area. The Boards co-operate closely
with local authorities responsible for social work and environmental and other
services. In recent years priority has been given to preventive medicine and
to caring for people in the community rather than in institutions, and there
have been substantial increases in primary health care staff.

     Health authority expenditure is financed mainly from general taxation.
Most medical treatment under the National Health Service is free to patients,
though there are set charges for dental and ophthalmic services (with
exemptions for certain categories of patient, such as children and expectant
mothers).

     General medical, dental and ophthalmic services outside the hospitals are
provided by independent practitioners. The major teaching hospitals in the
cities provide specialised treatment for surrounding areas. A Common
Services Agency handles those services which are most efficiently organised
on an all-Scotland basis, including ambulance and blood transfusion services,
the design and management of major building projects, health education, and
management and information services, including computers.

     The great majority of all cases of illness are dealt with solely by
general medical practitioners, most of whom are in the National Health Service
and under contract to provide a full range of primary medical care. On
average, each general practitioner has about 1,620 patients on his or her
list. In the sparsely populated Highlands and Islands arrangements are made
to ensure that everyone has a family doctor available reasonably close at
hand. There were some 3,300 doctors in practice in 1987. Many doctors work
in partnerships or group practices, often as members of a health care team
which may also include health visitors, district nurses, midwives and social
workers. The team may be based in one of the 213 health centres in Scotland,
which provide purpose-built and well-equipped surgeries for a range of health
services.

     Treatment for mentally handicapped people is increasingly taking the
form of care in the community and the provision of day hospital facilities.
These are also developed for medical care elderly people, and, by 1987, 56
day hospitals under the care of specialists in geriatrics provided 960 places
for elderly patients.

     There are over 300 hospitals in the Scottish health service, with a total
of about 55,000 beds and employing some 5,000 doctors. Buildings range from
small cottage hospitals in the rural areas to major teaching complexes in the
cities, linked with universities. Since 1979, 54 major health building schemes
have been completed, providing over 6,200 beds, and a further 32 schemes are
under development. Scotland has a long-established reputation in the field of
medical education and research, and about 550 doctors graduate annually from
Scottish medical schools. The Scottish Hospital Advisory Service provides
information and advice on the management of mental and geriatric hospitals.

     The Scottish Ambulance Service includes an Air Ambulance Service to carry
patients from the Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland and from the more remote
parts of the mainland to the larger hospital centres. Health education is the
responsibility of the Scottish Health Education Group, which provides training
and materials on health education and runs publicity campaigns designed to
inform the public about good health practice and hazards such as smoking,
alcoholism, drug misuse and AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome).

Social Services

     An important area of local authority responsibility in Scotland is that
of social welfare, and in recent years there has been increasing demand for
services for the most vulnerable members of the community, including elderly
people, children in need of care, and people with mental illness or with
physical or mental handicap. Each local authority's social services are
organised under a single social work department, so that individuals, families
or groups with a number of separate needs or problems may turn to a single
source for help and guidance. The Secretary of State has general
responsibility for the oversight of the social work services provided
by local authorities and independent bodies and is assisted by the Social
Work Services Group of the Scottish Education Department, which undertakes a
range of duties in connection with research and training, financial assistance
to voluntary organisations and certain other matters. Social work training in
Scotland is accredited by the Central Council for Education and Training, a
British body, and courses are provided to degree level and beyond.

     Local authority social workers have close links with the National
Health Service (there are over 470 social workers in hospital social work
units), with the police, with the housing, planning and education departments
of local authorities, and with the many statutory and voluntary bodies.
Services offered increasingly reflect the emphasis on caring in the community
rather than institutional provision, and are wide-ranging: child care and
supervision; care of elderly people and those with a physical handicap;
facilities for mentally ill and mentally disabled people; community service by
offenders; probation and the after-care of prisoners; work in hospitals; and
the social welfare of the community.

     Closely linked with local authority social work departments is the
system of children's hearings, which in Scotland replaced juvenile courts
(see p 9). All children up to the age of 16 who are in need of compulsory
care (other than those who have committed very serious offences) fall within
the scope of the hearings system, and most are allowed to remain at home under
the supervision of a social worker. There are some 60 intermediate treatment
centres where children in trouble may be helped within their own environment
and without the need for residential care. For certain children considered by
a children's hearing to require compulsory residential care there are about 18
schools mainly run by voluntary bodies. Children taken into care for other
reasons are accommodated in some 260 residential homes, most of which are
supervised by local authorities.

     Local authorities and voluntary bodies continue to develop their services
for elderly people living in their own homes, including the provision of home
helps and `meals on wheels' (hot midday meals brought by van). Residential
care is available in 270 local authority and 233 registered voluntary homes,
with a total of more than 16,000 places. There are day-care centres and
recreational, social and lunch clubs for the elderly. Services, other than
medical, for physically and mentally disabled people include residential homes
and day-care centres run by local authorities or voluntary organisations.
Local authorities also undertake the adaptation of houses to make them
suitable for occupation by disabled people - for example, by the installation
of ground-floor toilets, or ramps for wheelchairs.

     Social work departments are responsible for administering community
service by offenders, for the supervision of people placed on probation by
the courts, and for giving advice and assistance to those released from
penal detention.