Chamber and committees

Justice officials constructed a database in 2006 which recorded sheriffs'' recommendations from fatal accident inquiries (FAI), but not their entire determination (since to publish the details of the death may be distressing to relatives). The database recorded the cause of death, date of death and dates of when the inquiry started, even if there were no recommendations.

The database also identified the body or party to whom a recommendation had been directed by the sheriff, including their contact details. The purpose of the database was to assist interested parties to contact those to whom recommendations had been addressed to find out what action had been taken in relation to compliance with those recommendations.

The database was established because it was concluded that officials in justice and government generally have neither the resources nor the expertise to monitor whether recommendations have been complied with. Furthermore, it was considered that in many cases the recommendations from a particular FAI may have no general application, a point also noted by Lord Cullen.

Lord Cullen has not recommended that the Scottish Government should begin to formally monitor implementation of recommendations made at a fatal accident inquiry. He suggested that when a recommendation is made by a sheriff, the entity or body to whom it is directed should be under a duty to make a written response to an appropriate department of the Scottish Government, within a period set by the sheriff, stating whether and to what extent it has implemented, or intends to implement, the recommendations or, if not, for what reason or reasons. This replicates the new arrangements under the system of coroners'' inquests in England and Wales under the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.

Lord Cullen further recommended that the relevant department should publish an annual report of the recommendations and the responses to them. It would not, however, be responsible for ensuring compliance.

The government is considering Lord Cullen''s recommendation in this regard.

Under the existing legislation, sheriffs'' recommendations are not binding on the parties or bodies to whom they are directed and Lord Cullen has not recommended in his report that they should become binding or that they should have general application.

Lord Cullen considered that to make it mandatory to comply with recommendations would carry significant disadvantages. He thought that it would introduce an adversarial element into the fatal accident inquiry (FAI), since a body which might be faced with a possible imposition of a duty would require notice and might well seek to contest it. Provision might have to be made for an appeal. These factors would make for an unwelcome addition to the length and complexity of the FAI. By the time that the sheriff came to the question of the imposition of a duty, circumstances might have so changed that an originally conceived duty was no longer appropriate.

Lord Cullen also commented that The imposition of a duty [to comply with a recommendation] would be pointless without some form of sanction for non-compliance, and it was not clear what sanction would be practicable.

Lord Cullen''s Report on his Review of the Fatal Accident Inquiry Legislation, including his recommendations, may be viewed at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/FAIreview. There are some 35 recommendations, many of which are in several parts.

The information requested is not held centrally. The level of budget for urgent repairs and replacement equipment in each hospital, and the proportion to be utilised by the senior charge nurses each year, is a matter for the NHS board concerned.

The process to be followed is an operational matter for each NHS board concerned.

This information is not routinely collected or held centrally. It is for NHS boards to establish arrangements for the management and deployment of cleaning staff which best suit their needs. However, the Leading Better Care programme is key to ensuring that the senior charge nurse understands their role and works together with the domestic supervisor to ensure that high standards of cleanliness apply in our hospitals so that there is a clean and safe environment for staff, patients and visitors.

The Scottish Government plans to utilise the full value of the capital budget in the current financial year. For the next financial year the capital budget has been fully allocated in accordance with the 2010-11 Budget approved by Parliament. Capital budgets have not yet been set for 2011-12 since this is outwith the current Spending Review period.

In response to concerns about the sustainability and fairness of current and future care for older people in the face of financial and demographic pressures, a major work programme “ Reshaping Care for Older People “ is being taken forward in partnership with NHS Scotland and COSLA through the Ministerial Strategic Group on Health and Community Care.

The programme aspires to develop practical ideas for change that are sufficiently radical to meet the changing needs of Scotland''s population by enabling people to stay at home or in a homely setting, with maximum independence, for as long as possible. A key aim is to ensure that appropriate arrangements are in place to enable service providers to respond effectively to future demand for services. An Integrated Resource Framework is also being developed and tested across four sites in Scotland, from which evidence is being gathered about how resources can be used most effectively across health and social care.

So far the programme has focussed on discussion with colleagues with a professional and clinical interest in delivering services for older people. The emerging proposals are moving towards more anticipatory and preventative approaches, more rehabilitation, more re-ablement, and a greater emphasis on self-care and supported self care, with consequential support for unpaid carers and volunteers.

As part of a wider engagement process and to further analyse and develop emerging proposals, the programme will from March 2010 until the summer seek views from the public and from a wider range of stakeholders including patients, service users and service providers.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-31541 on 3 March 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Given the complexity of social care procurement, it is necessary to consider the desirability of national contracts and pricing frameworks on a case-by-case basis. The Scottish Government, COSLA and Scotland Excel (the procurement Centre of Expertise for local authorities) are working together to explore best practice in relation to social care contracts and pricing frameworks. Scotland Excel is currently consulting local authorities on the opportunities for joint commissioning of services.