Chamber and committees

The objective set by Scottish Enterprise for the Business Birth Rate Strategy was very ambitious. In early 2000 Scottish Enterprise conducted a review to consider why the target had not been achieved. This is available on their website. Their review concluded that, although the number of new businesses created per head of population remained below the UK average, there had been some improvements in the infrastructure to support new businesses and an increase in the number of people enthusiastic about starting a business, and that these changes would have effect in the longer term. Scottish Enterprise are about to commission an independent review of the strategy to help focus on ways to improve the strategy in the 21st century. We are also working closely with Scottish Enterprise to improve our support for the small business sector, for example through the recent introduction of the Small Business Gateway.

A comprehensive range of policy measures is in place to reduce unemployment in Scotland, including the establishing of Local Economic Forums, the New Futures Fund and a Review of the Training for Work Programme all of which aim to ensure that unemployed people can play an effective part in Scotland's economic future.

To directly encourage the creation of new employment opportunities and safeguard existing jobs in areas of relatively weaker economic performance, the Regional Selective Assistance and Invest for Growth grant schemes offer financial support to businesses located in the Assisted Areas. The Scottish Executive is also contributing £454 million in supporting the Enterprise Network.Figures to the end-August show that 33,000 young people and long-term unemployed have gained employment through the New Deal in Scotland.Youth unemployment (18-24s unemployment for six months or more) in Scotland was around 3,000 in October 2000. This was 67% lower than in 1998. Long-term unemployment (over 25s who have been unemployment for two years or more) in Scotland was 11,000 in October 2000. This was 21% lower than October 1998, but has almost halved since 1997.I also refer Mr Gibson to the reply given to question S1W-11148.

The Scottish Executive will examine the findings of the recent survey, commissioned by HEBS and ASH (Scotland) on public perceptions of passive smoking, when they become available.

The Executive recognises the importance for public awareness and understanding of issues surrounding passive smoking. Everyone should be able to be free from smoke and the effects of smoke wherever possible. It is important for employers, owners and managers of premises to understand these issues and to share the responsibility for creating smoke-free environments

The Executive will consider the need for a public awareness campaign on the effects of passive smoking in the light of the results of this latest survey when known, together with the impact of the Scottish Voluntary Charter on Smoking in Public Places and the HSE's proposed Approved Code of Practice on Passive Smoking in the Workplace.

General practitioners, like other professionals, are encouraged to look at their own personal learning needs and the health needs of their patients and to seek training in specific areas. Guidance and assistance is available from the Scottish Council for Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education (SCPMDE) via the Postgraduate Directors of General Practice Education. Each GP also receives an annual Postgraduate Education Allowance to support an agreed amount of training. As the responsibility for continuous professional development belongs to the individual doctor, there is no central record kept of the details of training which has been undertaken.

The content of university medical courses is not a matter for the Scottish Executive to determine. The General Medical Council has a UK wide responsibility for determining the extent of the knowledge and skill required for the granting of primary medical qualifications. The route to reaching these standards is a matter for each individual medical school.

The content of specialist training for doctors is a matter for the Specialist Training Authority in the case of hospital doctors. The content of vocational training is a matter for the Joint Committee On Postgraduate Training For General Practice (JCPTGP) in the case of General Practitioners. The Scottish Executive would expect that, following completion of their training, doctors, as professionals, would keep their skills up to date in the areas which are relevant to their sphere of practice.

Training for nursing staff in dealing with childhood sexual abuse is embedded within the curriculum for certain qualifications such as paediatric nursing, forensic nursing, health visiting and midwifery. Dealing with the survivors of childhood abuse is a highly specialised aspect of childhood sexual abuse and training is the responsibility of individual practitioners in this field and their employers who are required to assess and meet the training needs of the multidisciplinary team.

At a national level, the Scottish Executive is supporting the work of the Social Work Information Review Group which is committed to ensuring that information requirements and data standards set for social care are coherent with those set for health care. The outcome of this work will provide the agencies with a common currency of information to inform the planning and commissioning of services. The establishment of an Older People's Centre in 2001 to champion the development of good and innovative community care services will inform the commissioning process.

At local level, the Joint Future Group report will provide a new lead on service priorities and on improved information and systems integration in support of the delivery and commissioning of services.

There are no plans to introduce such legislation.

Figures on employment rates for men and women by local authority area are publicly available from the NOMIS database. Staff at the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) are ready to help access this information.

Fluctuations in the number of business starts are heavily influenced by conditions in the broader economy. The Scottish Executive has established a Framework for Economic Development that highlights a range of policies to secure economic development. Growth picked up in the second quarter, while independent forecasters expect that growth will be above trend next year.

In addition, we have a number of measures aimed to help people setting up new businesses: improvements to the Scottish Enterprise Network through the establishment, from July, of a single brand Small Business Gateway offering an extremely important package of core measures that improve on the quality and consistency of public sector support for new and small businesses in the Scottish Enterprise area; work by Scottish Enterprise to review the Business Birth Rate Strategy to further encourage entrepreneurship and start-ups - including from non-traditional sources, like women and youth; and the continuation of local events under the Personal Enterprise Campaign, including shows in deprived areas. In addition new start-ups with growth potential also have access to support from the £12 million Business Growth Fund and our national mentoring scheme - Business Mentoring Scotland.

National planning policy guidelines seek to ensure that, when local authorities assess the requirement for housing land, they will be guided by a number of considerations relevant to the circumstances of their area. These may include: the availability of or need for schools, shops, places of worship and recreational facilities; or whether existing facilities could be sustained through additional housing.