Chamber and committees

As part of the implementation of the Acute Services Review, the Chief Medical Officer invited the Scottish Medical and Scientific Advisory Committee (SMASAC) to set up a multidisciplinary Working Group to develop a framework for the procurement of clinical radiology equipment, with particular reference to the management of cancer as one of the clinical priorities of the NHS in Scotland. The remit covers the replacement of outdated equipment as well as the assessment and planned implementation of new service developments related to cancer imaging. The Working Group has nearly completed its task and will be reporting its findings shortly.

Eligible Scottish domiciled students entering higher education in session 1999/2000 who are in receipt of scholarship or sponsorship income can apply for means-tested help with their tuition fees and living costs from the Student Awards Agency for Scotland. Any such income is taken account of in the assessment of students' entitlement to support. The first £1,000 is disregarded and the remainder reduces the means-tested element of support pound for pound. Nevertheless, students studying in Scotland can apply for a student loan of up to £2,725 or £2,155, depending on whether they are living in the parental home or not, irrespective of their own or their families' income.Where the scholarship or sponsorship income is payable from a charitable source to students in particular need, for example students from low income families, the whole of the income is disregarded.

The reports referred to are misleading. Following an inspection programme in late 1998, the French Government reported in April this year isolated instances of waste material being illegally used in four animal feed plants. French officials have provided assurances that these incidents were not representative of the industry and that remedial action, including the incineration of the animal feed in question, had been taken.No action is required, therefore, for the protection of the health of the Scottish consumer as a result of these incidents.

The current estimate of the spend on compensation payments by the NHS in Scotland in 1998-99 is £6.6m (of which £6.3m has been made under legal obligation). This figure represents payments made by the Health Boards, NHS Trusts, Common Services Agency, and the State Hospital. The figure is provisional, as a small number of NHS Trusts have still to submit details of their expenditure in this respect and, in addition, the figures are currently the subject of audit.

The central government allocation of resources to local authorities for community care is unhypothecated. The Grant Aided Expenditure (GAE) allocations for individual client groups are assessments of the relative need to spend to enable overall GAE levels to be set for individual authorities. The level of expenditure by local authorities on services for older people is thus a matter for each local authority.

The central government allocation of resources to local authorities for community care is unhypothecated. The Grant Aided Expenditure (GAE) allocations for individual client groups are assessments of the relative need to spend to enable overall GAE levels to be set for individual authorities. The level of expenditure by local authorities on services for older people is thus a matter for each local authority.

The Food Standards Agency will work in an open and transparent way and be empowered to make public the advice it gives to Ministers. It will be for Ministers to consider this advice, and the views expressed by the Scottish Parliament on the Agency's recommendations, and to explain to MSPs and the public their reasons for not taking the Agency's advice.

The figures for deaths where epilepsy has been recorded on the death certificates are as follows:

	1998	Jan-April 1999
Epilepsy recorded as underlying cause of death	99	60
Epilepsy mentioned on death certificate	279	92
Epilepsy mentioned on death certificate, but not Recorded as underlying cause of death	180	52

April 1999 is the last month for which figures are presently available. It is not possible to say which of the cases where epilepsy was recorded as a cause of death were sudden and unexpected.

The causes of Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP) are not well defined, which handicaps research into ways of preventing it. The Scottish Executive has recently agreed to fund a bid by the charity Epilepsy Bereaved, which has a particular interest in SUDEP, to extend the national sentinel audit they are undertaking into epilepsy-related deaths in England, to cover cases of epilepsy-related deaths in Scotland. One of the aims of the audit will be to identify areas for preventive research.

A total of £13.5 million, formerly paid as GP Fundholding Management Allowances has been redistributed on a weighted capitation basis to support the work of LHCCs in 1999-2000. In future years this funding will form part of Health Boards' unified budgets.

The introduction of Primary Care Trusts was part of the overall reconfiguration of NHS Trusts in Scotland that is expected to yield net savings of £6 million per annum. With mergers having taken place in all 12 mainland Health Board areas, the saving per Board area will be £500,000 on average. It is for individual Primary Care Trusts to manage their own resources and decide how much of their funding should be made available for the development of primary care services.