Chamber and committees

Safeguards are in place to ensurethat regulated commuter fares do not go up by more than RPI+1 overall. Some non-commuterfare levels are regulated individually at RPI+1, while unregulated fares are a matterfor First ScotRail.

There were some significant increaseson unregulated fares which we are assured by First ScotRail are aimed at effectivedemand management on the busier routes. There were also a number of ticket pricereductions, season ticket prices remained static and the addition of a new advancepurchase product.

In the last several years wehave seen increases of circa 10% year on year in the number of people choosingto travel by train. We are committed to work to continue that trend, focussingin particular on improving punctuality and service quality.

The franchise agreementcontains conditions restricting the amount by which regulated fares canincrease. Transport Scotland officials scrutinise changes in regulated fareslevels to ensure that First ScotRail operates within the terms of the franchise.Changes in unregulated fares are a commercial matter for First ScotRail.

The franchise agreement requiresFirst ScotRail to produce a number of specific reports on performance. Thesereports are closely scrutinised by Transport Scotland officials who look toFirst ScotRail to deliver the best performance for the public subsidy. There arerobust performance regimes contained within the franchise agreement to ensurethat the standard of rail services provided by the franchisee continuallyimproves over the life of the franchise. The franchisee faces significantfinancial penalties where performance targets are not met.

The subsidy paid to FirstScotRail represents payment of these costs net of the revenue generated fromticket sales. The Executive has driven, through the franchise agreement andtheir funds, greatly improved levels of service, punctuality and quality aswell as implementing the various performance regimes contained in the franchiseagreement. Where performance targets fail to be met, the franchisee facessubstantial financial penalties.

The estimates are based on asample survey, and as such, are subject to some sampling error. Taking this samplingerror into account, the changes in the estimates over time are not statisticallysignificant.

Table 1 Working-Age¹Economic Inactivity by Selected Local Authority Area, 2000-04²

Source: LabourForce Survey, Annual Data.

Notes:

1. Working ageis defined as 16 to 64 for men and 16 to 59 for women.

2. Data basedon seasonal years (March to February).

3. Data arerounded to the nearest thousand.

SingletonsBorn in Scotland and Detected¹ with Anomalies of the Heart and CirculatorySystem at Birth or During Infancy²; Numbers and Rates Per 1,000 Birthsby Year of birth: 1987-94

Notes:

1.Anomalies have been located from the diagnostic summaries contained within the linkedsource data comprising profiles of neonatal and in-patient hospital discharge records,stillbirth notifications and death registrations.

2.All Infants followed up from birth for period of one year to allow detection ofanomalies from hospital in-patient records or General Register Office death registrations.

3. Singletons with more thanone congenital anomaly are only counted once in a category total. For example ifan infant was born with anomalies of both the heart and circulatory system, theanomalies would be recorded separately in each category, but only once in the totalfigure for Anomalies of the Heart and Circulatory System.

NHS boards are delivering educationthrough their locally appointed Health Promotion Managers and Drug Action Teams.In addition, NHS Health Scotland is working with key stakeholders to support positiveSexual Health in the workplace in relation to HIV status.

NHS Health Scotland are alsoworking closely with the Executive on two programmes, “Healthy Respect” and “Respectand Responsibility” where HIV/AIDS is seen as being an important element in workaround promoting protection against all STIs, reducing stigma and discriminationand improving access to services for those people who are living with HIV/AIDS.

However,the Executive currently allocates £8.6 million per annum to NHS boards for actionto prevent the spread of blood borne viruses (BBV), and to support people who havecontracted BBV, including HIV/AIDS.

Inaddition, the Executive also funds a number of voluntary organisations through theSection 16B Funding scheme. The organisations which received funding towards supportingpeople with HIV/AIDS, within the financial year 2006-07 are:

PHACEScotland receives core funding of £32,000 and project funding of £9,769;

HIVScotland receives core funding of £85,000 and project funding of £204,500;

NationalAids Trust receives core funding of £12,000;

PositiveSteps Partnership receives core funding of £45,000 and project funding of £50,000,and

Waverley Care receives core fundingof £7,636. Waverley Care also receive Section 10 project funding of £62,044.