Scottish Executive

Aggregates Tax

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to Her Majesty’s Treasury regarding a derogation for Scotland from the aggregates tax.

Allan Wilson: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with HM Treasury on a wide range of issues, including the aggregates tax.

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what economic assessments of the impact of the aggregates tax on the Scottish economy it has undertaken and what conclusions have been reached.

Allan Wilson: Assessment of economic impacts of UK taxation measures is the responsibility of HM Treasury. No separate assessment has been undertaken by the Scottish Executive.

Alcohol Misuse

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish its action plan on alcohol misuse, announced in the debate on alcohol misuse of 7 December 2000.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: Our Plan for Action on alcohol problems is published today. The plan sets out a powerful package of national and local measures for a range of organisations and individuals to reduce alcohol-related harm in Scotland. Action proposed covers changing some of the cultures surrounding drinking, prevention and education, support and treatment services for people with alcohol problems and protection of individuals and the wider community.

The success of the plan will depend upon partnership working. Our aims are ambitious, and it will take time to see changes. However, the Executive believes the Plan for Action offers an important opportunity to reverse the current worrying trends in alcohol problems in Scotland. We will review progress in delivering the plan by the end of 2003.

Copies of the plan have been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 18608) and it is also being published on the Scottish Executive website.

Asylum Seekers

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-21089 by Iain Gray on 3 January 2001, when the membership of the Scottish Refugee Integration Forum will be agreed; when the forum will be launched, and when the research commissioned on the impact of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 will be published.

Iain Gray: The first meeting of the Scottish Refugee Integration Forum will take place on 21 January 2002.

The members for the Scottish Refugee Integration Forum will be:

Sally Daghlian - Chief Executive of the Scottish Refugee Council

Professor David Walsh - Dean of Health Faculty for Glasgow Caledonian

University and Chair of National Refugee Forum

Kathleen Bolt - Principal Legal Officer for Commission for Racial Equality

Ken Corsar - Director of Education Service, Glasgow City Council

Ms Linda McTavish - Principal of Anniesland College

Brian Dempsey - Board Member of Scottish Business in the Community

Philippa Bonella - Policy Officer for Scottish Council for Voluntary

Organisations

Ms Kaliani Lyle - Chief Executive of Citizens Advice Scotland

Pat Bonar - Vice Chair Castlemilk Law Centre, Board Member of

Positive Action in Housing

Robert Aldridge - Director of Scottish Council for Single Homeless

Mark Batho - Head of Social Justice Group, Scottish Executive

Development

Rachael Reynolds - Deputy Director of Immigration and Nationality

Department, Home Office

Other members are still to be confirmed. Nominations from COSLA, Scottish Interfaith Council, ACTS, and Scottish Asylum Seekers Consortium are awaited.

The research on the impact of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 is now under way and will be published in autumn 2002.

Cancer

Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what strategies it has in respect of making photo-dynamic therapy for the treatment of cancer widely available throughout Scotland

Malcolm Chisholm: The clinical effectiveness of photo-dynamic therapy is the subject of on-going research and, pending the availability of evidence to support its safety and efficacy as a treatment option it would not therefore be expected to be widely available throughout Scotland.

Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, in view of advances made in developing the techniques of photo-dynamic therapy for the treatment of cancer, what plans it has to fund clinical and scientific research in order to provide authoritative guidelines on the use of this treatment.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Chief Scientist Office (CSO) of the Scottish Executive Health Department has responsibility for encouraging and supporting research into health services and patient care within NHSScotland. This role is well advertised throughout the healthcare and academic community. CSO is always happy to consider robust proposals for research projects, which would be assessed against the normal peer review and committee procedures and criteria.

The CSO portfolio includes more than 30 cancer related projects with an annual spend of approximately £1.4 million, the findings of which will be relevant to all tumour types. The CSO also funds the indirect costs of cancer research. In 2000-01 approximately £7.1 million of the general funding allocated to the NHSScotland for research was used in support of cancer studies.

Further information on CSO funding is available at www.show.scot.nhs.uk/cso.

Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the work of the Photo-dynamic Cancer Therapy Unit in Dundee and any finance or staffing limitations faced by the unit, whether it will provide additional funding to ensure that photo-dynamic therapy treatment is made widely available to the Scottish public.

Malcolm Chisholm: My answer to the member’s earlier question (S1W-21411) sets out the position regarding clinical effectiveness and availability of photodynamic therapy for cancer.

Service development is subject to the normal NHS Board local health planning processes, based on assessed needs of resident patient populations.

Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, given the successful use of photo-dynamic therapy in many parts of the developed world in the management of a wide variety of cancers, what its position is on the availability of this treatment in Scotland and whether it has any plans to provide funding in order to develop the use of the treatment for a wider range of cancers.

Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the answers given to questions S1W-21411 and S1W-21413.

Council Tax

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much money would be raised in each local authority area by discontinuing the 50% council tax discount in respect of second homes.

Peter Peacock: Information on the number of second homes in each local authority area is not held centrally. The existing arrangements for the distribution of government grants take account of a council’s local tax raising ability, including the incidence of council tax exemptions and discounts. Any change in the projected levels of such exemptions and discounts would be reflected in the levels of grant support.

Employment

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-19274 by Ms Margaret Curran on 23 November 2001, how many part-time jobs would be created if the proposed Glasgow housing stock transfer were to proceed.

Ms Margaret Curran: The feasibility study into the Glasgow housing transfer estimated that over 3,000 full time equivalent jobs would be created. No analysis has been undertaken on how many of these jobs would be part-time.

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-19641 by Mr Alasdair Morrison on 16 November 2001, when it will publish the research it has commissioned on maximising employment opportunities from the proposed housing stock transfer.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The research commissioned by the Scottish Executive into construction skills gaps, designed to help maximise employment opportunities from housing stock transfer, is in the final stages of editing. It will be published as a joint report by Communities Scotland shortly and I will ensure that the member sees a copy.

Enterprise

Miss Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the reasons are for any inconsistencies in the approach in the annual reports of local enterprise companies (LECs) to indicating actual performance attainment against projected targets.

Ms Wendy Alexander: LECs do report their performance against network priority targets to Scottish Enterprise and Highlands & Islands Enterprise in a consistent manner, for internal management purposes, and these figures are reflected in network-wide performance measures when they are published. Until recently, the presentation and format of LEC Annual Reports was determined by the requirements of local stakeholders, and specific local conditions. The change in the status of LECs to become wholly owned subsidiaries of Scottish Enterprise and Highlands Islands Enterprise will be accompanied by greater consistency in reporting arrangements at local level.

Finance

Mr Michael McMahon (Hamilton North and Bellshill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to allocate the Learning Disability Services Change Fund in the financial year 2002-03, and whether this allocation will be dependent on the use local authorities made of their allocation from the fund in the current financial year.

Mr Michael McMahon (Hamilton North and Bellshill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the allocation of the Learning Disability Services Change Fund to local authorities in the financial year 2002-03 will be part of their Grant Aided Expenditure or whether the allocation will be hypothecated for learning disability services.

Hugh Henry: The additional change funds of £12 million for 2002-03 are included within unhypothecated general local government Grant Aided Expenditure for that year.

Partnership in Practice agreements have been monitored for the extent to which they make use of new and existing resources to implement the recommendations of The same as you?

Further and Higher Education

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the procedures for dealing with student complaints, grievances, academic assessments and appeals in respect of each of these categories in all universities and further education colleges are compliant with the European Convention on Human Rights and whether it will detail any action it has undertaken to ensure that this is the case and the reasons for any such action.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Higher education institutions and further education colleges are autonomous bodies under the terms of the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992 and are therefore responsible themselves for ensuring that their procedures comply with all relevant legislation. Institutions and colleges have been advised to review their practices and procedures to ensure that they do comply with the convention.

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the appointment and assessment processes for external academic assessors in all universities and further education colleges are compliant with the European Convention on Human Rights and whether it will detail any action it has undertaken to ensure that this is the case and the reasons for any such action.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Higher education institutions and further education colleges are autonomous bodies under the terms of the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992 and are therefore responsible themselves for ensuring that their procedures comply with all relevant legislation. Institutions and colleges have been advised to review their practices and procedures to ensure that they do comply with the convention.

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many student complaints, grievances and academic appeals were lodged at each (a) university and (b) further education college in each of the past five years, broken down by course classification type.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The information requested is not held centrally.

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it has provided to ensure that welfare services were available to students at each (a) university and (b) further education college in each of the past five years and how much this funding was as a percentage of the overall funding of each institution in each year.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The funding for individual institutions is a matter for the Scottish Funding Councils for Further and Higher Education. Funds are not specifically distributed for welfare services, the funding of which is a matter for individual institutions.

The Executive does not earmark a particular proportion of the funding which it makes available to the Funding Councils for student welfare purposes.

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time students have undertaken study at each (i) university and (ii) further education college in each of the past five years, broken down by course classification type.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Information on student numbers by institution and by subject in further and higher education over the last five years can be found in the Standard Tables on Higher Education and Further Education in Scotland, published by the Scottish Executive under National Statistics in June 2001.

Copies are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. No. 18496) or on the Scottish Executive website at:

www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00086-00.asp

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many full-time students who have undertaken a course of study at each (a) university and (b) further education college have been direct entrants from the state school sector in each of the past five years, broken down by course classification type and shown as a percentage of first year students at that institution in that year.

Ms Wendy Alexander: This information is not held centrally in the format requested, and is not available for further education colleges.

Information on entrants to higher education institutions from state schools can be found in the Performance Indicators on Higher Education in the UK, published by the Higher Education Funding Councils in December 2001.

Copies are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. No. 18498) or on the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council’s website at:

www.shefc.ac.uk/content/library/press/2001/prhe2701.htm

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time students of each (i) university and (ii) further education college were designated as having a physical disability in each of the past five years, broken down by course classification type and shown as a percentage of the overall student population at each institution and on each course.

Ms Wendy Alexander: This information is not held centrally for further education colleges.

Tables answering this question for higher education institutions, named "Students and disabled students in HE", have been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. No.18526)

More detailed breakdown could only be achieved at disproportionate cost and would raise difficulties in terms of the potential identification of individuals and thus, data protection.

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time students at each (i) university and (ii) further education college failed to complete their course of study in each of the past five years, broken down by course classification type and shown as a percentage of the overall student population at each institution and on each course.

Ms Wendy Alexander: This information is not held centrally in the format requested, and is not available for further education colleges.

Information on course completion in higher education institutions can be found in the Performance Indicators on Higher Education in the UK, published by the Higher Education Funding Councils in December 2001.

Copies are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. No. 18498) or on the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council’s website at:

www.shefc.ac.uk/content/library/press/2001/prhe2701.htm

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether all university and further education college buildings provide access and egress for physically disabled people and whether it will detail any institution and campus building where this is not the case and the proposed date for rectifying the position in each case.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The information requested is not held centrally.

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether every lecture hall in each university and further education college building has a loop system to assist students with hearing difficulties and whether it will detail any institution and lecture hall where this is not the case and the proposed date for rectififying the situation in each case.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The information requested is not held centrally.

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time academic staff were employed at each (i) university and (ii) further education college in each of the past five years, also shown as a percentage of the gross national employment figure.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Tables relating to these questions, named "Teaching Staff in FE and HE", have been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. No. 18527)

The Gross National Employment figure for the last six years has been:

Source: the Labour Force Survey (LFS).

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding was provided to each (a) university and (b) further education college in each of the past five years, also shown as a percentage of the gross national funding figure.

Ms Wendy Alexander: This is a matter for the Scottish Funding Councils for Higher Education and Further Education. The Information requested is not held centrally.

For further education colleges, funding allocations for the current academic year can be found on the Scottish Further Education Funding Council’s website at www.sfefc.ac.uk Allocationsfor the previous two years are published in the council’s 2000-01 and 1999-2000 annual report and accounts. Copies of these are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. No’s 18518 and 18517) or on the council’s website. Prior to these dates, the information about allocations can be found in the Secretary of State’s annual published reports, Further Education in Scotland, 1998 and 1997. Copies of these are also available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. No’s 18520 and 18521).

For higher education institutions, this information can be found in the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council’s annual report and accounts. These can be found on SHEFC’s website at www.shefc.ac.uk/content/library/others/annrep/intro.htm. Copies of the three most recent years plans are also available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. No’s 2000-01-18497, 1999-00-18525, 1998-99-18524). The latest information on the grant allocation to institutions for 2001-02 can be found in the council’s grant letter, again published on the SHEFC website at:

http://www.shefc.ac.uk/content/library/circs/01/he0901/Mainltr/contents.html

This provides the initial allocations to institutions for the year, but will not take account of further allocations made subsequently during the current year.

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time academic staff at each (i) university and (ii) further education college were (1) newly employed, (2) took early retirement, (3) were required to take compulsory retirement and (4) did not have their contracts renewed in each of the past five years, broken down by occupational category and shown as a percentage of all academic employees in each category at each institution.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The information requested is not collected in this format for further education colleges.

For higher education institutions, information for point 3 is not collected and that for points 2 and 4 could only be achieved at disproportionate cost.

Tables relating to point 1 for HEIs, named "Newly employed staff in HEIs", have been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. No.18528).

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time academic staff at each (i) university and (ii) further education college possessed a recognised teaching qualification in each of the past five years, broken down by subject category and shown as a percentage of all academic employees in each category at each institution.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The information in respect of academic staff at further education colleges is only available for the academic year 1999-2000, when 4,036 full-time and 3,617 part-time staff possessed a recognised teaching qualification. These figures represent 58% of all academic staff in colleges. A breakdown of these figures on a per college and subject category basis is not held centrally.

Information on full-time and part-time academic staff in universities with recognised teaching qualifications is not collected.

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time academic staff at each (i) university and (ii) further education college were designated as having a physical disability in each of the past five years, broken down by subject category and shown as a percentage of all academic employees in each category at each institution.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The information requested is not held centrally for further education colleges.

Tables answering this question for higher education institutions, named "staff and disabled staff in HEIs", have been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. No. 18529).

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many students attending university or further education college (a) applied for and (b) received a student loan in each of the past five years, showing the average amount borrowed and expressed as a percentage of all Scottish students for that year.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Comprehensive figures in the form requested on the total numbers applying for a student loan, either through the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) or direct to the Student Loans Company (SLC), could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Students apply for support to the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS), which assesses whether applicants are eligible for a student loan and the maximum amount of loan to which they would be entitled, based on the information provided in the application. This information is then sent to the Student Loans Company (SLC).

Where a student does not apply for a loan as part of their original application for support, SAAS nevertheless assesses entitlement and provides information on the amount the student would be entitled to borrow. The student may then apply for a loan later in the academic year, by applying directly to SLC, without requiring to inform SAAS.

The figures can be provided for the number of students assessed by SAAS as eligible for a loan. These will be higher than the number of students who applied for a loan.

These figures include loans paid under the "mortgage-style" scheme and the income contingent loan scheme. (Source: Student Loans Company). Separate data on Scottish domiciled students is not available for the years before 1998-99.

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many former student loan-holders have incurred financial penalties for defaulting on their loans in each of the past five years, showing the average period of default and penalty imposed and expressed as a percentage of the total number of loan-holders in each year.

Ms Wendy Alexander: At 31 March 2001, the most recent date for which figures are available, 14,537 student loan accounts held by Scottish domiciled students were subject to a financial penalty. This represents 7% of the total number of loans held by such students.

Information on the average period which each students spends in default, the average charge applied or the comparable position in previous years is not available or could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many students accepted for full time (a) diplomate, (b) undergraduate and (c) postgraduate study at each (i) university and (ii) further education college applied for full financial support from the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) in each of the past five years and how many received this, broken down by academic category and shown as a percentage of the overall number of applicants in each category.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The information cannot be provided in the format requested.

As well as means-tested loans and bursaries, the full financial support to which a full-time higher education student is entitled may include supplementary grants, such as Disabled Students' Allowance, Lone Parent's Grant and travel grants. The Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) cannot know whether any particular applicant has applied for all the supplementary support to which they may be entitled. In addition, some students may only apply for tuition fee support and the minimum student loan and therefore are not required to provide any income details. In these cases, the agency in unable to judge whether or not the loan applied for is the maximum to which the student is entitled.

Data on the number of applicants in each category and for each year, who applied for the maximum value of general living cost support to which they were entitled, on the basis of details provided and income declared on their application forms, could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.

Information on student awards issued, by place of study and level of course, is available in the SAAS Annual Report, a copy of which is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre and on the agency's website (www.saas.gov.uk).

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many full-time students at each (a) university and (b) further education college were over (i) thirty, (ii) forty, (iii) fifty and (iv) sixty years of age in each of the past five years, broken down by student population at each institution in each year.

Ms Wendy Alexander: Information on student numbers by institution and by age in further and higher education over the last five years can be found in the Standard Tables on Higher Education and Further Education in Scotland, published by the Scottish Executive under National Statistics in June 2001.

Copies are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. No. 18496) or on the Scottish Executive website at:

www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00086-00.asp

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many students from each (a) university and (b) further education college found employment within an industry directly associated with their specific area of study upon graduation in each of the past five years, broken down by course classification type and shown as a percentage of the total student population studying in each subject category.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The information requested is not available in respect of further education students.

Information on First Destinations of Graduates and Diplomates in Scotland is published annually by the Scottish Executive under National Statistics, the most recent data was produced in December 2001. This provides information on graduates going into employment, by industry and type of employer.

Copies are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. No. 18155)

The more detailed information requested could only be produced at disproportionate cost.

Hearing Aids

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-19250 by Susan Deacon on 16 November 2001, under what circumstances digital hearing aids are made available free from the NHS.

Malcolm Chisholm: Good practice guidance issued to NHSScotland in March last year recommends that when a patient requires, and can benefit from a feature which is only available in digital instruments, these should be made available to meet clinical needs.

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the current level of provision is of NHS (a) analogue and (b) digital hearing aids, broken down by health board area.

Malcolm Chisholm: The following table shows (a) analogue and (b) digital hearing aids as a percentage of the total of analogue and digital hearing aids drawn off the central Scottish Healthcare Supplies contract by each NHS board area between January and September 2001.

Note: Orkney, Shetland and Western Isles NHS Boards are included within the percentages for Grampian and Highland.

In addition, over 10,000 digitally programmable analogue aids have been drawn off the contract during the same period. This represents 31% of the total number of hearing aids issued by NHSScotland.

Hepatitis

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will designate hepatitis C as a notifiable illness.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Public Health (Notification of Infectious Diseases) (Scotland) Regulations 1988 require medical practitioners to notify viral hepatitis as an infectious disease.

In addition, the Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health operates an enhanced hepatitis C infection database, developed in collaboration with the key hepatitis testing laboratories, which is believed to have an under-reporting rate of less than 1%.

Housing

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-19263 by Ms Margaret Curran on 23 November 2001, under what circumstances it is empowered to intervene in any proposed demolitions of local authority housing stock.

Ms Margaret Curran: Decisions regarding the demolition of local authority housing stock are a matter for individual councils. The Executive has no powers to intervene in these decisions.

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been paid to each Independent Tenant Advisor assisting with the proposed housing stock transfers since 16 June 2001 and who the sub-contractors employed by each advisor are.

Ms Margaret Curran: The Executive has made resources available to councils for independent advice to tenants. The amounts paid to each Independent Tenant advisor are a matter for individual councils. No information is held centrally on sub-contractors employed by tenant advisors.

Human Rights Commission

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to its press release SE5006/2001 on 10 December 2001, (a) whether it will outline a timetable for the creation of a Human Rights Commission for Scotland, (b) how many commissioners will be appointed to the commission, (c) what its relationship will be with the existing bodies (i) the Equal Opportunities Commission, (ii) the Commission for Racial Equality and (iii) the Disability Rights Commission, (d) how many posts are to be created under the new commission and (e) where it will be located.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Executive has decided in principle to establish a Scottish Human Rights Commission. No decision has yet been taken on the timetable or on the detailed structure and membership of such a body. I intend to put forward proposals on those issues for consultation during the course of this year. No decision has been taken on the location of a commission.

The Executive is clear that a Scottish Human Rights Commission should not in any way cut across the remits of the existing statutory equality bodies. The detailed proposals for the establishment of the commission will be drawn up with that firmly in mind. However, we anticipate that a Scottish commission will want to work closely with these bodies on matters of mutual interest, and we envisage that the new body, once established, will wish to draw up a memorandum of understanding to facilitate this working relationship.

Livestock

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what research it has undertaken into Porcine Dermatitis Nephropathy Syndrome and Post-weaning Multi-systemic Wasting Syndrome in pigs.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive has not commissioned nor undertaken research into Porcine Dermatitis Nephropathy Syndrome or Post-weaning Multi-systemic Wasting Syndrome. Research to investigate the role of candidate viruses in both diseases is being undertaken by the Veterinary Laboratories Agency.

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken regarding any potential threat to the pig industry posed by Porcine Dermatitis Nephropathy Syndrome and Post-weaning Multi-systemic Wasting Syndrome.

Ross Finnie: Veterinary Officers from Animal Health Offices in Scotland have informed local vets about the recent case of Post-weaning Multi-systemic Wasting Syndrome in the North East of Scotland. In addition, professional staff from the State Veterinary Service (SVS) in Scotland have attended a training course on the diseases and their symptoms. This information has been cascaded to other Scottish SVS staff. Thus the awareness of the disease has been increased within the profession.

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with representatives of the pig industry regarding Porcine Dermatitis Nephropathy Syndrome and Post-weaning Multi-systemic Wasting Syndrome in pigs.

Ross Finnie: There has been on-going dialogue between the members of State Veterinary Service (SVS) based in the Animal Health offices in Scotland with local pig breeders. No formal discussions have been held with representatives of the pig industry but nearly all pig farmers are aware of the disease and its symptoms.

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-19788 by Ross Finnie on 21 November 2001, why details relating to the gate fees negotiated with companies under the Over Thirty Month Slaughter Scheme are a matter of commercial confidentiality and whether this information has been made available in the House of Commons.

Ross Finnie: Gate fees are negotiated between individual companies and the Rural Payments Agency for work relating to the operation of the Over Thirty Month Scheme (OTMS). These fees are agreed following negotiations based on bids submitted to the agency through competitive tendering procedures. At no time are these fees publicly released as to do so would breach these procedures, could jeopardise current contracts and might prejudice future tendering exercises relating to the scheme. The Rural Payments Agency has confirmed that OTMS gate fees have not been disclosed in the House of Commons.

Maternity Services

Miss Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give a guarantee that the Rankin Maternity Unit will not be removed from Inverclyde Royal Hospital.

Malcolm Chisholm: Planning and providing maternity services in Argyll and Clyde is in the first place a matter for NHS Argyll and Clyde. They are responsible for ensuring that services are safe, of high quality, and meet the needs of users. Any proposals to change significantly the current pattern of services would be subject to comprehensive public consultation, and would ultimately require the approval of the Health Department.

In addition, NHS boards are required to demonstrate to the department that their maternity services follow the Scottish Framework for Maternity Services, published in February 2001. The framework set out clear action points and recommendations intended to ensure that NHSScotland continues to provide modern, safe maternity services that are appropriate to the needs of women in Scotland.

NHS Waiting Lists

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to its press release SE5076/2001 of 19 December 2001, whether the waiting lists review will include an examination of the time taken from consultation to diagnosis.

Malcolm Chisholm: The timetable and terms of reference for the review of the management of waiting lists in NHSScotland is currently being discussed with the Auditor General for Scotland. Details will be announced in due course.

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to its press release SE5076/2001 of 19 December 2001, whether the waiting list review will examine the transfer of day patients to out-patients made in order to reduce the size of the waiting list.

Malcolm Chisholm: The timetable and terms of reference for the review of the management of waiting lists in NHSScotland is currently being discussed with the Auditor General for Scotland. Details will be announced in due course.

National Parks

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-18999 by Allan Wilson on 17 December 2001, what research has been commissioned into the likely impact on traffic flows which the creation of the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park will have on (a) the A82 between Balloch and Crianlarich, (b) the A811 between Drymen and Balloch and (c) local authority maintained roads within the proposed park boundaries.

Allan Wilson: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-18999. The Scottish Executive is not aware of any research on the possible impact of the National Park on traffic flows.

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what research has been commissioned into the likely impact which the creation of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park will have on tourist visitor numbers to the area.

Allan Wilson: The Scottish Executive is not aware of any research on the possible impact of the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park on tourist visitor numbers.

People with Disabilities

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-19550 by Malcolm Chisholm on 26 November 2001, whether it will give a breakdown by local authority of the £5 million allocation to assist with any delays in making alterations to the homes of people with disabilities who wish to continue living in their own homes as an alternative to institutional care.

Hugh Henry: The £5 million was allocated as follows:

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-19550 by Malcolm Chisholm on 26 November 2001, what the total allocation was to each local authority to assist with any delays in making alterations to the homes of people with disabilities who wished to continue living in their own homes as an alternative to institutional care in each year since 1995-96 to 1999-2000.

Hugh Henry: There were no specific allocations to local authorities to assist with any delays in the years 1995-96 to 1999-2000.

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-19551 by Malcolm Chisholm on 26 November, when the results of the survey by the Strategy Forum on waiting times for local authority equipment and adaptations services which are assessed by social services departments will be published.

Hugh Henry: Equipment and Adaptation Services in Scotland: A Survey of Waiting Times for Social Work Provision was written by Dr Edward Hall with the Scottish Executive Social Work Services Inspectorate and published by the Scottish Executive Central Research Unit on 21 December 2001. Copies are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. No. 18416).

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Holyrood Project

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer what additional funding will be required to cover the cost of purchasing materials for the new Parliament building in light of the aggregates tax.

Sir David Steel: The vast majority of aggregate required for the Holyrood Project has already been supplied. The Convener of the Holyrood Progress Group has confirmed that the effect of the tax on the remainder is likely to be minimal, and will not require additional funding.

The following questions were given holding answers:

S1W-21384

S1W-21404

S1W-21430

S1W-21431

S1W-21432

S1W-21433