Chamber and committees

Question S1W-25635 has been answered today.

Distribution planning is a responsibility of NHS boards working with the operators of nuclear facilities, the police, local authorities and others who would be involved in the response to any nuclear accident or incident. Methods employed would depend on the nature, scale and circumstances of the accident or incident. In some circumstances distribution to people in their homes might be appropriate; in others, distribution might be effected at reception centres or other points at which people within an affected area would be collected.

The size of the area around any nuclear accident or incident in which people might require medication would depend upon the nature, scale and circumstances of the accident or incident, together with actual and forecast meteorological conditions which might affect the behaviour of any emission of radioactive iodine from it.

Orders have been laid to implement the right to buy provisions contained in the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001. These should bring about the agreed changes to the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 with effect from 30 September 2002. Details of the changes being introduced are contained in SEDD Circular 5/2002, entitled Housing (Scotland) Act 2001: The Modernised Right to Buy, which was issued recently and copies of which have been placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre.In addition, following a consultation exercise earlier this year, we are proposing a new cost floor determination to commence at the same time as these right to buy measures are introduced. This determination will make relatively minor changes to the cost floor rules, primarily allowing for all "initial works" conducted by a social rented landlord following acquisition to count towards the cost floor and to ensure that where costs could be covered by a landlord's insurance policy, they are not also added to the cost floor.

I currently have no plans to make the guidance statutory.

Yes. The Scottish Executive has taken steps to ensure that a supply of stable iodine tablets adequate to satisfy potential needs following a nuclear accident or incident is in place. Potential needs arise only when the release contains radioactive iodine. Determination of adequacy has included assessment of the possible scale and spread of radioactive iodine emanating from such an accident or incident.

March 2002.

Social Inclusion Partnership Fund grant expenditure is audited at a number of levels. At project level the accounts are subject to an annual audit by a qualified accountant. Where the council is the nominated partner, the council's management is responsible for ensuring that its systems for handling grant and accounting for it are sound. These systems may be subject to scrutiny by the council's internal auditors. Non-local authority nominated partners are responsible for ensuring that their systems for handling grant and accounting for it are sound and for ensuring that their final grant claim is audited by professionally qualified external auditors. At the partnership level, partnerships' final claims are periodically certified by auditors appointed by Audit Scotland. The role of these external auditors is to ensure that expenditure is properly accounted for and used for the intended purposes. Communities Scotland is currently undertaking a review of financial procedures and practices in relation to the social inclusion partnership programme.

This is an operational matter for the Scottish Ambulance Service. I can, however, advise you that the service regularly reviews its operational performance addressing all of the factors which influence that performance. These include demand on the service, staffing levels generally and specifically covering relief requirements, training demands and sickness levels. There are no rostered single crewed ambulance shifts. Where single crewed ambulances are operating it is because of short notice unplanned absences. Across Scotland the incidence of such responses last year was 0.69% of all calls. In those circumstances where a single crewed accident and emergency ambulance provides the first response to an emergency call, staff in the operations room ensure that this is backed up by a double crewed resource at the first available opportunity. The single crewed response is only recorded against the response times target if the follow up resource reaches the patient within 14/18/21 minutes (depending on population density) of the call being received.

Overtime rates of pay are paid to ambulance frontline staff, paramedic technicians, operations room assistants, maintenance staff, driver/handymen and administrative and clerical staff within the Scottish Ambulance Service staff.