Chamber and committees

The number of people injured on the A9 between Perth (Inveralmond Roundabout) and Inverness (Longman Roundabout) in each year since 1985 is shown in the following table:

Year	Number of Casualties
1985	166
1986	133
1987	94
1988	172
1989	165
1990	169
1991	150
1992	98
1993	101
1994	107
1995	84
1996	119
1997	97
1998	115
1999	112
2000	130
2001	94
2002	87
2003	118
2004	111
2005	97
2006	91
2007	114
2008*	62

Note: *2008 Figures are from 1 January to 31 July.

The figures quoted may differ slightly from those published elsewhere because they were extracted on a different date and the database may have changed between the two dates, for example because of late returns or corrections to earlier returns.

I have already given such an assurance in respect of drams provided as part of a distillery tour when I met the Scotch Whisky Association and toured Dewar''s World of Whisky on 21 July 2008. Wider issues concerning the promotion of alcohol are being considered in light of the responses to the Scottish Government''s consultation Changing Scotland''s Relationship with Alcohol but we are clear that we do not propose ban promotions that explain the method of production, history and heritage of Scotland''s quality products. Again, we have already given the Scotch Whisky Association an assurance that we will discuss these matters with them before proposing any regulatory action to end the irresponsible promotion of alcohol.

Local authorities are each responsible for their own waste disposal contracts and therefore the Scottish Government does not hold details of when contracts will be re‘tendered.

The main statutory instrument that governs the procurement process for larger scale contracts is the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 and this should be used where appropriate.

Each local authority is responsible for making its own waste disposal arrangements and this information is not held centrally.

Management of municipal waste is a matter for each local authority. Green waste (household garden waste) is collected by local authorities for composting and the outputs can be used for soil conditioning or land restoration. Where compost is used in this manner it counts towards recycling performance and can be set against national targets.

While the information requested is not routinely collected, the DTZ/Pieda report Use of Antisocial Behaviour Orders in Scotland examined the key issues around the use of ASBOs in Scotland, including the time taken to prepare them. This report was published in September 2007 and is available on the Scottish Government''s website at www.scotland.gov.uk.

The information requested is not held centrally.

The Scottish Government has no plans to review the operation of the Patient Transport Service (PTS). However, the PTS will be discussed as part of the public annual review of the Scottish Ambulance Service on 24 September. In addition, the Scottish Ambulance Service is currently in the process of revising its Patient Transport Service Strategy. As part of that process, the results of an extensive survey of service users and strategic stakeholder views on aspects of the service is currently being analysed for consideration by the SAS board.

Cancellations of Patient Transport Service (PTS) journeys can be made for a variety of reasons and are made by GPs, hospitals, patients or the Scottish Ambulance Service. The service continues to try and reduce cancellations and they work closely with NHS boards to do this.

The information has been provided by the Scottish Ambulance Service and is set out in the table below. Information is not held for 2003-04.

NHS Board	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08
Borders	10,853	8,451	8,379	7,470
Fife	11,938	12,803	13,879	13,228
Forth Valley	11,674	11,589	14,905	16,251
Lothian	25,505	37,329	48,512	46,017
Tayside	13,237	13,006	14,477	13,720
Grampian	12,503	16,462	14,781	14,750
Highland	12,997	13,200	13,352	12,823
Argyll and Clyde*	101,711	124,516	90,946	30,956
Ayrshire and Arran	16,358	16,520	19,623	21,338
Dumfries and Galloway	5,089	7,244	7,273	8,157
Greater Glasgow and Clyde	32,227	31,752	37,868	46,345
Lanarkshire	35,170	32,548	29,288	29,361
Orkney	2	4	541	876
Shetland	4	13	428	575
Western Isles	880	1,165	1,280	1,195
Total Cancellations**	290,148	326,602	315,532	263,062
Total PTS Journeys***	1,734,058	1,730,300	1,688,194	1,691,971

Notes:

*The Scottish Ambulance Service IT systems record data under the previous structure of 15 geographic health boards.

**A cancellation is defined as the cancellation of a pre-booked appointment on the previous day. It is counted as a cancellation while the ambulance service has control over the process, and prior to completion of the planning process for the next day. Any journey which is cancelled on the same day as it was due to take place is counted as an aborted journey. Where the SAS has not been notified of a cancellation and proceeds to pick up the patient, which is counted as an abort and the return journey is also counted as an abort rather than a cancellation.

***Cancellations are not included in total PTS journeys but aborts are included as these remain on the vehicle run schedule for the day.

The detailed information requested is currently being collated and I will write to the member as soon as the information is available. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 46483).