Chamber and committees

The Scottish Executive considered the consultant's report and a range of potential options for the delivery of Facilities Management services. The Executive concluded that a Business Improvement Plan (BIP), using mainly in-house provision, would provide the best overall value for the Executive. The BIP involves the reorganisation of in house teams and for their role to expand as some current contracts will not be replaced as they end.The BIP aims to both improve facilities management services and reduce costs by £2.1 million per annum by 2004-05. Over the period 2002-03 to 2004-05 a number of changes will be made to the organisation of services delivery, to the number and extent of the contracts which support this work, and the way in which staff gain access to services. Every effort will be made to ensure that staff surpluses do not arise and redundancies are avoided through establishing staff preferences, reskilling, retraining and redeployment.

Arrangements are already in place with Treasury whereby assistance with debt is available as part of a whole stock transfer package. The Executive is not in a position to be able to relieve local authority housing departments of debt outwith stock transfer, since this would require the public sector to meet the costs of both debt redemption and investment in council stock.

The Scottish Refugee Integration Forum was established in January 2002 and has met three times. Six satellite groups were established to take forward specific areas of work. The satellites have completed their evidence gathering sessions and are now considering their priority actions. These draft action plans will be considered at a full meeting of the group towards the end of September.

As indicated in the answer given to question S1W-24465 15 April 2002, the Fife pilot of the National Debtline project was launched by Iain Gray, then Social Justice Minister, on 22 March 2002. The Department of Trade and Industry plan to undertake an evaluation of all three pilots of the National Debtline in autumn 2002.

I believe that the answer complies with the letter and spirit of the Scottish Ministerial Code.

In accordance with standard practice, the national guidance on car parking charges was published in Management Executive Letter (MEL) (2000) 13, dated 17 March 2000, copies of which are available to the public through The Stationery Office. Should the guidance be revised following the current review, it will be published in a Health Department Letter (HDL) and made available in the same way.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-26486 on 20 June 2002.

Resources are allocated to NHS boards on the basis of need. Boards are held to account for managing within the allocations made to them and for achieving national and local targets.The Health Department will support boards to achieve these targets through regular monitoring and performance management.

This information is not available for the Lothian NHS Board area for the periods in question. The manpower planning system used in other parts of Scotland to provide this detail has only recently been installed in this area.What we do know is that in recent weeks, in the Lothian NHS Board area, the number of uncovered shifts amounts to less than 1% of all rostered shifts.

The roles of policy analysts vary. All will be team leaders and most will be responsible for a discreet policy area. Their duties are likely to include developing, implementing or evaluating policy, preparing briefing and speeches for ministers, giving evidence to Parliamentary Committees, and representing the Executive at meetings and in exchanges with a wide range of organisations. Some policy analysts may also be called upon to manage substantial projects or to be responsible for significant numbers of staff and large-scale financial resources.Successful applicants from the Policy Analyst recruitment exercise could be assigned to work in any part of the Scottish Executive. Decisions on the posts to which successful applicants are to be assigned will take account of the skills and experience of the applicants and the vacancies available at the time they are able to take up appointment. The Executive's vacancy position changes over time as a result of internal movement.