Chamber and committees

The data on local authority-owneddwellings and dwellings vacant as at 31 March 2003for each local authority are published in the Scottish Executive StatisticalBulletin (Housing Series) Housing Trends in Scotland: Quarter ending 31 March 2003. This can be accessed onlinethrough the Scottish Executive website www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00266-00.asp.

The recent earthquake in Iran was atragic event, causing tremendous loss of life and suffering. Our sympathy goesto the people of Bam.

International aid is theresponsibility of the United Kingdom Government. They responded immediately bysupplying search and rescue specialists, including a number based here inScotland, as well as supplying or funding the supply of tents, heating andwater purification equipment, and vaccines. The UK Government is nowconsidering support for the medium-term needs of those made homeless.

The information requestedcould only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The strategic review ofinshore fisheries is being carried out through the Scottish Inshore FisheriesAdvisory Group (SIFAG), the Executive’s main source of stakeholder advice oninshore fisheries matters.

There are three key strandsto the strategic review:

review of the effectiveness of inshore fisheriesmanagement to date;

development of a strategy and management frameworkfor inshore fisheries, and

development of a plan to move from the existingsystem to any future system.

The first strand focusesprimarily on the general use of prohibitions under the Inshore Fishing (Scotland)Act 1984. Twenty-four responses were received to a consultation on the use of the act, and the conclusions of that consultation will feed into thedevelopment of a strategy. We will also be having parallel discussions withRegulating Order grantees and applicants. Royal Society for the Protection of Birdsand Scottish Natural Heritage commissioned a report on environmentalintegration in inshore fisheries management, which will act as the mainenvironmental consideration of the review. That report was published on 3 December 2003, andthe project’s steering group will make recommendations to SIFAG.

On the second strand,sub-groups of SIFAG have been convening on a regular basis, supported bySEERAD, to develop a draft strategy and options for local managementstructures. SIFAG will consider drafts of both at the group’s next fullmeeting, which I expect to be in January or February.

Following SIFAGconsideration of a draft strategy and management framework, there will be aconsultation with a wide range of inshore fisheries stakeholders. The extentand timing of any legislation will depend on the conclusions reached by SIFAG.There have been no significant delays in progress, and given the emphasis onstakeholder participation, the timing of the review is flexible to accommodateindustry priorities and responsibilities.

On average there are sevenapplicants for each place available on speech and language therapy and threeapplicants per place for orthotics courses.

The submission and analysisof local alcohol action plans is a key part of the accountability process forthe £2.5 million the Executive provides each year to support alcohol and drug actionteams (ADATs). We have given feedback on the alcohol action plans submittedthis year and will use these plans as a baseline to monitor local progress andto inform future decisions about resourcing. The requirement for ADATs to drawup and publish alcohol action plans was given in the plan for action on alcoholproblems, published in January 2002. A template to inform ADATs of theinformation to be included in local plans was issued in July 2002.

A GPs working day is notsplit into allocated times to deal with different clinical needs, such as drugmisuse, diabetics, asthmatics etc. Rather, GPs make themselves available fortheir patients and deal with each case as it arises.

Under the terms of thecurrent contract, the services which a doctor is required to render for drugmisusers include, where appropriate, to give advice personally to patientsrelating to the misuse of drugs and solvents.

Under the terms of the newGMS contract, provisions to help patients suffering from drugs misuse will beavailable as a specific national enhanced service. Practices will be contractedto provide a service to patients suffering from drug misuse. Such a servicewill include the development and co-ordination of the care of drug users andthe development of practice guidelines, the treatment of dependent drug userswith appropriate support as required and the provision of care for drugmisusers outside the practice’s own registered list.

Each practice contracted toprovide these services will receive an annual retainer fee, a withdrawal feeper patient per annum, and a maintenance fee per patient, per annum.

The formula for allocatingfunding to NHS boards for drug treatment services will take prevalence datainto account from 1 April 2004.

All decommissioning grantsare paid directly into the bank accounts nominated by scheme applicants. Theowners of 50 of the 67 vessels currently covered by the decommissioning scheme haveassigned their grants to secured lenders or mortgagees. However, we do not knowwhat proportion of any individual’s grant is actually required to repay loansor other credit facilities that have been secured by using their vessel ascollateral. That is a private matter between the applicant and their securedlender or mortgagee. The total grant covered by the 50 applications is £23.7 million.

This information is notavailable centrally. However, it is proposed to issue pilot data collected forthe period 2000-01 to 2002-03 as part of the Occupational Health and SafetyMinimum Dataset later this month or next which will show the total absencehours lost as a percentage of available hours for the following groups,Scotland, acute trusts, primary care trusts and NHS health boards.