Chamber and committees

The generic clinical standards of NHS Quality Improvement (previously the Clinical Standards Board for Scotland) require all NHS services to identify the needs of carers in line with the National Strategy for Carers. All NHS services should meet clinical standards, and the report of the board's second review of the implementation of these standards will be published in May.

We are issuing comprehensive guidance to local authorities and the NHS on the new duties introduced by the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002 to inform carers of their right to an assessment. We have consulted widely with local authorities, the NHS and carers about this guidance. In addition, we are working closely with local authorities, the NHS and carers' representatives to develop more effective ways of monitoring the effective implementation of our policies to support carers.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-34219 today. 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/webapp/search_wa.

In line with its Diversity Strategy, the Scottish Executive has a range of policies to allow its staff to meet their caring responsibilities and to achieve a satisfactory work life balance. These include career breaks, alternative working patterns, work place nurseries, subsidised holiday play schemes and special leave. The Executive also has in place staff networks for those with caring responsibilities or who work an alternative pattern. Work life balance policy is reserved to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). The Scottish Executive is working with the DTI to promote family-friendly policies in Scotland.

The resources allocated by the Executive to local authorities to support carers, including resources to develop respite services, will have risen from £5 million in 1999-2000 to £21 million in the period 2003-04. The local government allocations for the next three years maintain these resources at the 2003-04 levels, augmented by the general uplift for pay and inflation. We have made it clear to authorities that we expect these resources to be used to benefit carers. We are currently working with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, NHS representatives and carers' organisations to develop outcome measures that will monitor the benefits to carers from these resources, our Carers Strategy in general and our recent introduction of new legislation to support carers. We are also monitoring through local agreements the outcomes achieved by individual councils for the significant resources we are providing specifically to develop additional respite services.

Service planners and providers are required under section 5A of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 to consult effectively with service users and carers on the provision of local community care services, including respite care, to ensure that services are appropriate and accessible to carers. Our Carers Strategy specifically requires local authorities to consult carers on the use of resources allocated to them to provide services to support carers, including the provision of respite. Local authorities and NHS bodies are also encouraged to involve users and carers directly in implementing the Joint Future agenda to help deliver more integrated support services across health and social care.

The Executive is committed to an accessible public transport system and we will work with public transport providers and others to improve access to services and facilities across Scotland. We have established the Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland to advise ministers on a wide range of accessible transport issues.

Employment policy is reserved to the UK Government through the Department for Work and Pensions, and Jobcentre Plus.

National and local health promotion activities and initiatives aim to improve the health of everyone in the community. Programmes cover a wide range of topics including diet, exercise, smoking cessation, oral health, mental health and well-being. Services provided by NHS Board Health Promotion Units may benefit carers themselves directly or indirectly through provision of services for the cared for person.Health promotion is the responsibility of NHS boards who should be approached directly for information about their plans and strategies for carers' health.

The Executive's recently published strategy Life Through Learning; Learning Through Life has a key goal of ensuring that everyone has the chance to learn, irrespective of their personal circumstances. Our policy on widening access to further education aims to break down barriers faced by all groups including carers. Our aim is to ensure that social prejudice plays no part in who gets to benefit from further education. We have delegated to the Scottish Further Education Funding Council (SFEFC) the duty to secure adequate and efficient provision of further education in Scotland. We expect SFEFC to allocate budgets to individual colleges, and offer other support and guidance, in a way that takes account of that duty. Community Learning and Development Partnerships, including of course voluntary sector organisations, also play a crucial role in widening access into learning.