Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government have contracted with AC2.com and the British Deaf Association (Scotland) to acquire British Sign Language (BSL) translation services.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde advise that 73 staff registered for the Cleanliness Champion Training Programme between May 2007 and September 2008. 36 have now completed it “ an increase of 13 on the answer provided to S3W-16443. The Cleanliness Champions training programme is completed at a pace which suits staff and personal schedules. However, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has advised that protected time will be allocated to all nursing staff who remain on the programme so they can complete their training within the next few weeks.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde advise that all priority staff as identified by the Vale of Leven Hospital have completed healthcare associated infection (HAI) training.

Sessions to date have been held during September and November 2008 and have covered a wide range of HAI related topics including: the function of the Infection Control Team; micro-organisms and the routes by which they spread; risk factors for HAI; standard precautions that should be taken by staff; environmental cleaning; decontamination of equipment; information about MRSA and Clostridium difficile; outbreak management and Viral gastroenteritis.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde advise that ten nurses at the Vale of Leven Hospital undertook specific training on Clostridium difficile prior to December 2007. Training took place on 4 March 2007 and focused on hand washing protocols when dealing with patients with Clostridium difficile; environmental cleaning; cleaning of equipment and documentation of patients with loose stools.

This local course specific to Clostridium difficile has since been replaced by the Cleanliness Champions Programme which is a comprehensive national programme covering the prevention and control of all Healthcare Associated Infections.

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The British Sign Language and Linguistic Access Working Group advises the Equality Unit on improving linguistic access for deaf people in Scotland. Since January 2008, the Scottish Government''s website has included a BSL translation of an introductory page within its People and Society Topic at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/People/Equality/disability/remit.

The Scottish Government has funded a wide variety of initiatives to promote BSL and has committed £1.5 million for 2008-11 to increase the number of BSL teachers and of BSL/English interpreters.

The example minimum unit price of alcohol used in the Scottish Government''s discussion paper was an illustrative figure only. As stated in the discussion paper, this figure is lower than the off-sales average price and would impact most on those products priced low relative to their strength. Further work would be needed assess the potential impact of different minimum prices before firm proposals were brought forward.

Various studies have been carried out on the pricing of alcohol and its misuse, some of which are referenced in the discussion paper. Given the link between consumption and harm and the evidence that affordability is one of the drivers of increased consumption, addressing price is an essential component of any long-term strategic approach to tackling alcohol misuse.

I refer the member to answers to questions S3W-15628 on 9 September 2008 and S3W-18002 on 26 November 2008. 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.

I refer the member to answer to questions S3W-15628 on 9 September 2008 and S3W-18002 on 26 November 2008. 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.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of making information accessible to British Sign Language (BSL) users. We routinely provide BSL interpreters for meetings if BSL users will be present, and we consider providing BSL DVD translations of publications where appropriate, or if it is not appropriate, ensure that the relevant information is communicated to BSL users in a suitable way.

Sections 17 and 18 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 deal with the abandonment and ensuing repossession of properties under the Scottish secure tenancy. The information is not held centrally for local authority landlords; however, information on the number of abandonments following the start of evictions proceedings by local authorities is collected and is set out in the following table.

Eviction Actions Against Council Tenants: April 2002 to March 2008

Number of Cases Resulting in a Termination of the Tenancy through Abandonment or Eviction

	Abandonment	Eviction
Scotland	6,867	6,275
Aberdeen City	1,159	103
Aberdeenshire	40	254
Angus	0	71
Argyll and Bute	0	59
Clackmannanshire	33	36
Dumfries and Galloway	25	39
Dundee City	595	336
East Ayrshire	123	592
East Dunbartonshire	45	92
East Lothian	7	76
East Renfrewshire	13	51
Edinburgh, City of	1,552	170
Eilean Siar	2	4
Falkirk	261	480
Fife	133	470
Glasgow City	225	133
Highland	65	163
Inverclyde	13	42
Midlothian	4	122
Moray	6	59
North Ayrshire	44	297
North Lanarkshire	1,990	817
Orkney	0	4
Perth and Kinross	22	90
Renfrewshire	31	703
Scottish Borders	18	13
Shetland	4	8
South Ayrshire	217	197
South Lanarkshire	47	359
Stirling	82	110
West Dunbartonshire	57	39
West Lothian	54	286

Source: Evictions returns by local authorities to the Scottish Government: Communities Analytical Services (Housing Statistics).

Notes:

1. Figures may include estimates based on previous data due to outstanding returns.

2. Following housing stock transfers, figures for Dumfries and Galloway, Glasgow and Scottish Borders are not included from 2003-04, Eilean Siar, Argyll and Bute and Inverclyde from 2007-08.

I have asked Karen Watt, Chief Executive of the Scottish Housing Regulator, to provide information in respect of registered social landlords and this is provided in the following table.

Abandonments and Evictions in Registered Social Landlord tenancies, from 2004-05 to 2007-08*, by Local Authority Area

	Total Abandonments	Total Evictions1
Scotland	10,616	4,802
Aberdeen City	85	118
Aberdeenshire	53	74
Angus	70	48
Argyll and Bute	81	52
Clackmannanshire	87	64
Dumfries and Galloway	414	235
Dundee City	299	186
East Ayrshire	177	49
East Dunbartonshire	68	39
East Lothian	14	26
East Renfrewshire	44	28
Edinburgh, City of	467	365
Eilean Siar	17	7
Falkirk	135	90
Fife	268	170
Glasgow City	6,178	2,213
Highland	85	69
Inverclyde	43	45
Midlothian	37	25
Moray	11	24
North Ayrshire	97	75
North Lanarkshire	288	89
Orkney	4	4
Perth and Kinross	70	33
Renfrewshire	478	186
Scottish Borders	392	193
Shetland	2	3
South Ayrshire	12	9
South Lanarkshire	156	70
Stirling	16	18
West Dunbartonshire	244	87
West Lothian	224	108

Source: Scottish Housing Regulator Annual Performance and Statistical Returns (APSR).

Notes:

*This information was not collected prior to 2004-05.

1. Total evictions: number of eviction proceedings resulting in either abandonment or recovery of vacant possession. Abandonments during eviction proceedings are thus included in both columns of this table.