Chamber and committees

Should tenants vote against the proposed housing transfer, the stock will be retained by Glasgow City Council. In these circumstances the council would continue to receive their share of existing Housing Revenue Account resources.

Transfers of council housing to community ownership offer substantial benefits to tenants, councils and communities. It is for councils and tenants to decide whether to pursue housing stock transfer.

I would expect Lanarkshire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust to formally consult with the Local Health Council and to seek the views and thoughts of parents and children who have had long-term contact with the paediatricians at Monklands Hospital. I understand from the trust that the decision to temporarily transfer in-patient paediatric services over the winter period was taken on the grounds of patient safety. The trust advertised the proposed transfer in local newspapers, through GP Practices and in Monklands Hospital. I also understand that a public meeting was held on 12 December in Airdrie, where the public were invited to raise concerns and to clarify arrangements, including the reimbursement of any extra costs incurred in travelling to Wishaw. The trust has confirmed that in-patient paediatric services will return to Monklands General Hospital at the beginning of April.

A plan is being considered by the Scottish Executive on how best to take forward the equal opportunities agenda in housing as well as the support that can be offered to local authorities to meet their obligations under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001, including the preparation of Local Housing Strategies.

The Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 requires each local authority to state in its homelessness strategy how it will comply with its equal opportunities duty under section 106 of the act, so far as relating to the matters included in the strategy. Communities Scotland will be responsible for monitoring homelessness strategies and their implementation through its regulation and inspection function.

NHS boards are expected to consult with all affected communities about any significant service change or development whether these are new or existing services, or a change in the way health services are used.Boards should agree a process that provides a clear timetable for decision making, identifies who will be consulted and when this will happen, the range of approaches that will be used, and the stages at which people who have been involved will be made aware of progress. This approach should be shared with the local health council, the local authority and other representative bodies at an early stage for advice where appropriate. It is important that service users should be involved in developing possible options or alternatives prior to proceeding with the formal consultation process. The initial stages of a consultation process should begin with open sessions to gain views on a range of options of key interest groups, for example service user groups, community groups, NHS staff and trade unions. Full public debate on the options should be supported by feedback, through the media and newsletters, of the points made at open sessions. Focus groups and surveys should be used where appropriate to ensure patient experience and the wider public perspective are fed into the process. Written comments should be encouraged with particular attention being given to eliciting comment from local councils, local councillors, MSPs and MPs and other key local individuals and organisations.In deciding whether to approve a proposal for a permanent change of use, ministers will take account of the quality and extent of the public involvement in the development of the proposal for service change.

The Child Health Support Group Template for Child Health Services within Unified NHS Board Areas sets out that, where possible, in order to minimise anxiety for the child, the chosen model of acute care should be out-patient provision located as near as possible to the child's home. Where in-patient care is necessary we recommend in At Home in Hospital - A Guide to Care of Children and Young People that families should have easy access to hospital facilities for children without needing to travel significant distances.

The Executive expects NHS boards and trusts to design and operate health services, including children's services, so that they meet local needs and adhere to overall Scottish and other policies and frameworks where relevant.The Child Health Support Group published its Template for Child Health Services within Unified NHS Board Areas in May 2001. The template is a framework for the planning of child health services by NHS boards across Scotland and is available at www.Show.Scot.nhs.uk/chsg under the heading "Work of the Group". The Executive would expect local children's health service planning in Lanarkshire to be carried forward within this framework.

The number of higher specialist training posts available in Scotland is regularly adjusted to meet the projected number of new consultants needed to meet known and anticipated turnover and local service developments. We will consider whether additional training posts for paediatrics should be part of the targeted increase of 375 junior doctors which was announced on 2 April 2001 for the period to 2004. Targeting will take account of the review of medical workforce planning which is also currently under way.

The following table provides information on the number of patients under the age of 16 years that were admitted to Lanarkshire acute hospitals for in-patient and day case treatment during the period April 1998 to March 2001, the most up to date figures available.

	"Winter" Months			"Summer" Months
Type of admission	Oct 1998 -Mar 1999	Oct 1999-Mar 2000	Oct 2000 -Mar 2001p	Apr 1998 -Sep 1998	Apr 1999 -Sep 1999	Apr 2000 -Sep 2000
Elective	1,545	1,380	968	1,710	1,514	1,320
Transfer	82	55	68	66	69	49
Emergency	2,518	2,490	2,382	2,462	2,385	2,330
Total

Source: ISD Scotland.^P Provisional.