Chamber and committees

The exact number of patients who have myasthenia gravis in Scotland is not available centrally, however an estimate of this can be provided from a sample of Scottish General Practices. It is estimated that the number of patients who consulted a member of the practice team for myasthenia gravis in Scotland during 2005-06 to 2007-08 is 1,039.

The majority of patients with myasthenia gravis are more likely to be treated in a primary care setting. A national estimate can be provided based on the number of patients consulting a general practitioner or practice-employed nurse for myasthenia at general practice participating in Practice Team Information (PTI). The PTI data are obtained from a sample of Scottish General Practice “ the sample covers the full range of age, sex and deprivation classes existing in Scotland. The PTI sample is only representative at national level, so NHS board-level estimates cannot be provided.

Transport Scotland does not hold information on levels of usage of tractors and agricultural vehicles on the trunk road network. mso

The following table shows the number of injury road accidents involving agricultural vehicles on trunk and non-trunk roads in the last five years.

Year	Trunk	Non-trunk	Total
2004	19	39	58
2005	18	57	75
2006	22	58	80
2007	12	67	79
2008	14	59	73

 

The Scottish Government funds the Energy Saving Trust to manage the Energy Saving Scotland advice network. The network comprises five Energy Saving Scotland Advice Centres (ESSACs) across Scotland, each providing local advice on a range of sustainability issues including potential sources of support to increase the thermal insulation of homes.

The ESSAC for south west Scotland is delivered by the South Ayrshire Energy Agency, who have a proportionate share of the network''s cumulative target of reaching 220,000 unique customers in 2009-10.

In common with households across Scotland, residents of South Ayrshire can apply to the Scottish Government''s Energy Assistance Package, which is a holistic scheme aimed at those in fuel poverty to help maximise incomes, reduce fuel bills and improve the energy efficiency of homes, including through the provision of insulation measures.

We shall also consider in due course a bid made by South Ayrshire Council for participation in the Scottish Government''s Home Insulation Scheme in 2010-11.

South Ayrshire Council''s fifth progress report, under the Home Energy Conservation Act (1995), describes a range of initiatives, including those in relation to thermal insulation in domestic homes that contributed to an estimated overall improvement in energy efficiency of 19% between 1997 and 2007.

The Scottish Government''s approach to providing services for people living with long term conditions, such as myasthenia gravis, is outlined in the Long Term Conditions Action Plan, which was issued to NHS boards as CEL 23 (2009) on 16 June 2009.

In addition, NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (NHS QIS) has developed generic clinical standards for all neurological conditions, which it expects to launch formally in January 2010. They will be accompanied by a self-evaluation framework for NHS boards'' use, and an implementation and improvement plan containing detailed tools and techniques for service improvement. The development of these standards forms part of a comprehensive programme of work being planned by NHS QIS over the next five years to support continuous quality improvement in neurological services.

All of this work will help NHS boards to fulfil their responsibility for the planning and provision of services that meet the needs of those living in their area with neurological conditions such as myasthenia gravis.

The majority of patients who require treatment for myasthenia gravis is undertaken mainly in primary care and hospital outpatient settings, with a small number of cases being treated as inpatient and day cases.

Information on waiting times is only available centrally for outpatient appointments and for inpatient and day case treatment. Information published for the quarter ended 30 June 2009, shows that the median waiting time for a first outpatient consultation following a general practitioner referral was 42 days and 31 days for inpatient and day case treatment.

The Scottish Government liaised closely with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) in developing proposals and selection criteria for the area-based Home Insulation Scheme. This included a joint COSLA-Scottish Government workshop with local councils on 28 April 2009.

The Scottish Government liaised with COSLA in the development of the Consultation on the Energy Efficiency Action Plan, which includes proposals for improving the energy efficiency of domestic homes. The Scottish Government is also involved in other relevant groups, such as the Fuel Poverty Forum, working alongside COSLA and other agencies, at which issues related to thermal insulation in homes are discussed.

LEADER (Liaison Entre Actions de Developpement Economique Rurale) or (Links between actions for the development of rural communities) is part of the Scotland Rural Development Programme (2007-13). The aim of LEADER is to enhance rural communities through helping those active in rural areas to consider the long term potential of their area and encourage the implantation of integrated, high quality, original strategies for sustainable local rural criteria.

In respect of the project areas and criteria for support, it is for each LEADER local action group to determine what projects will deliver a wide community benefit within their area and which fall within their overall approved local strategy. These projects need to demonstrate an element of innovation and should not be used to fund areas that are already covered by other bodies or public sectors.

Local authorities are members of the local action groups alongside representatives from the private and third sectors.

The Infection Control Doctors Network was recently established. This body, together with the Scottish Microbiology Forum, will allow for a full analysis of the role and tasks undertaken by microbiologists. A full analysis has begun and a report will go to the HAI Task Force as soon as this work is complete.

There are no separate repossessions figures available for Scotland.

Data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders show the following numbers of repossessions in the UK in each of the last five years:

Year	Number of Repossessions
2008	40,000
2007	27,100
2006	22,700
2005	15,000
2004	8,000