Chamber and committees

We have had frequent meetings with Norfolkline/DFDS since they re-launched the route in May 2009. Official meetings have been conducted through a steering group and two sub-groups covering freight and passenger issues.

It is estimated that approximately 10 hepatitis c infected babies are born in Scotland annually. Therefore it is estimated that approximately 100 babies infected with hepatitis C have been born in Scotland over the last ten years.

The following table details the number of under 19''s that have been diagnosed with hepatisis C by NHS board area and a total for Scotland as at 31 March 2010.

Area	Number of persons diagnosed with hepatitis C and aged less than 19 at the time of diagnosis	Number of persons diagnosed with hepatitis C, currently less than 19 and alive
Scotland	555	70
Ayrshire and Arran	33	3
Borders	3	2
Dumfries and Galloway	22	1
Fife	20	0
Forth Valley	31	4
Grampian	131	11
Greater Glasgow and Clyde	171	30
Highland	13	0
Lanarkshire	36	5
Lothian	58	6
Orkney	0	0
Shetland	1	0
Tayside	35	8
Western Isles	1	0

 

Health Protection Scotland estimates that 150-200 people under the age of 19 are infected with hepatitis C in Scotland. Fifty-seven of these under 19s have been diagnosed and are currently alive and chronically infected.

(a) The number of neonatal deaths and rates per 1,000 live births are published annually by the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) and can be accessed via the following link:

http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/publications-and-data/vital-events/ref-tables-2009/stillbirths-infant-deaths.html.

GROS have also confirmed the number of neonatal deaths for which group B streptococcus or group B streptococcal was mentioned on the death certificate to be as follows:

Year	Cause of Death
	Underlying	Contributory
2007	1	1
2008	2	0
2009	2	2

 

(b) Health Protection Scotland (HPS) have confirmed the number of group B streptococcal infections recorded in neonates in each of the last three years, as detailed in the following table. HPS also advise that any apparent variation in data should be interpreted with caution, given improvements in the reporting of these infections over recent years.

Year	Number of Group B Streptococcal Infection Reports in Neonates	Rate per 1,000 Live Births
2007	148	2.6
2008	240	4.0
2009	322	5.5

 

The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) has considered the evidence for screening based on the use of the Enriched Culture Medium (ECM) test to detect carriage of group B streptococcus (GBS) in pregnancy.

Health professionals are concerned that, whilst the ECM test''s detection rate appears to be very high, it cannot identify the very small number of women whose babies will be affected. This could lead to unnecessary anxiety and over prescribing of antibiotics during labour.

The following table shows a summary of the Housing Association Grant awarded to each registered social landlord in (a) Falkirk and (b) Scotland in each of the last three years, expressed in real terms:

	HAG Scotland (£m)	HAG Falkirk (£m)	HAG Scotland expressed in real terms (£m)	HAG Falkirk expressed in real terms (£m)
2007-08	576.176	3.299	601.392	3.443		GDP Deflator for 2007-08 - 95.807
2008-09	523.214	4.965	530.336	5.032		GDP Deflator for 2008-09 - 98.657
2009-10	659.376	9.138	659.376	9.138		Calendar year 2009 =  100

 

A table showing a breakdown of the summary figures for Falkirk is as follows:

Registered Social Landlords in Falkirk Council Area Actual Spend £m 2007-08 Expressed in real terms £m   Actual Spend £m 2008-09 Expressed in real terms £m Actual Spend £m 2009-10 Expressed in real terms £m Abbeyfield Scotland Ltd - -   -   -   0.003   0.003 Ark Housing Association Ltd 0.005 0.005   0.005   0.006   -   - Bield Housing Association Ltd 0.034 0.035   0.010   0.010   0.020   0.020 Cairn Housing Association Ltd 0.011 0.011   0.009   0.009   0.012   0.012 Hanover (Scotland) HA Ltd 0.052 0.054   0.034   0.034   0.467   0.467 Horizon Housing Association Ltd 0.020 0.021   0.110   0.112   0.259   0.259 Key Housing Association Ltd 0.315 0.329   0.008   0.008   0.010   0.010 Link Group Ltd 2.815 2.938   4.456   4.517   8.038   8.038 Loretto Housing Association Ltd 0.003 0.003   -   -   0.010   0.010 Paragon Housing Association Ltd 0.038 0.040   0.021   0.021   0.038   0.038 The Margaret Blackwood HA  Ltd 0.003 0.003   0.021   0.021   0.001   0.001 Weslo Housing Management 0.004 0.004   0.292   0.296   0.281   0.281

 

The Scottish Government is currently undertaking an interim review of the Home Report which aims to establish whether any alteration is required to improve its effectiveness and operation.

The review, which was commissioned in December following the Home Report''s first year of operation, will also comment on any effect the Home Report has had on the property market in Scotland. After publication this summer, Ministers will consider any recommendations arising from the review. However, there is no question of Home Reports being abolished.

The review is focused on continuous improvement of the operation of the Home Report in Scotland, and draws on evidence and feedback from buyers, sellers and housing professionals who have used the Home Report system. The Home Report is very different to the Home Information Pack (HIP) and therefore the interim review will not consider the early impact of the removal of HIPs on the housing market in England and Wales.

The Scottish Government funded a small pilot of online interpreting services in 2007-08 to see if an online interpreting service could be delivered successfully. From the pilot and our knowledge of other services which are being developed, we believe that online services will undoubtedly continue to develop and this will be led by market forces.

The development of online BSL/English interpreting services is a matter for the service providing agencies (such as health boards and local authorities) and for the deaf sector. The service providers are responsible for funding interpreting services in order to communicate with their customers, and there is evidence of an increasing number of service providers establishing contracts with deaf organisations to provide online services. The deaf sector which wishes to provide the service has agreed that it is a highly competitive market and is best left to market forces to develop.