Chamber and committees

Information on the total number of allergy clinics across Scotland is not collected centrally. However, specialist allergy services are available in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Dundee and Glasgow.

On 13 November 2000, I announced publication of a major review of Immunology and Allergy services in Scotland, the main recommendation from which is for an increase in the number of consultant immunologists. The Executive is providing funding to allow the creation of two new consultant immunologist posts, to increase our ability to identify and treat those patients most at risk from potentially fatal disorders.

The recruitment of nursing staff is primarily a matter for individual NHS Trusts but the Scottish Executive has funded an additional 210 nurses for specialist training in priority areas this winter.

Local authorities are required to publish their reports under the Home Energy Conservation Act. We will be publishing a report on their progress generally in working towards their HECA targets under a range of headings including those described. The report will give some examples of good practice but will not comprise a league table.

A very significant funding package has been put together to implement the Partnership's recommendations. The details are as follows:£10 million over three years from April 2001 for refuge development. This money has been added to the Scottish Homes' budget and will be used to address the shortage of refuge spaces across Scotland.£4.5 million over three years from April 2001 to implement other Partnership recommendations.£3 million to fund an extension of the Domestic Abuse Service Development fund for a further two years from April 2002.£818,000 from current EYF to enable Scottish Women's Aid to produce training packs for professionals, information leaflets in ethnic community languages, a leaflet for children and to improve facilities for the disabled and children at refuges and offices.

The report of the Scottish Partnership on Domestic Abuse and the National Strategy to Address Domestic Abuse in Scotland are being published today. The First Minister will launch both documents in St Andrew's House on Wednesday 29 November 2000. Copies of the report and strategy will be circulated to all MSPs and are available in SPICe. A parliamentary debate will take place on Wednesday 29 November 2000.

Digital hearing aids are not suitable for all types of hearing loss. It is for the clinician in charge of a patient's care to decide which hearing aid best meets their clinical needs and it would not be appropriate for the Executive to intervene.

I understand from Fife Health Board that the board, Fife Acute Hospitals NHS Trust and the Scottish Section of the Medical Research Council Institute of Hearing Research are evaluating current procedures for selecting hearing aids and the effectiveness of a sample of digital aids. This project is due to be completed by February 2001.

The Ministry of Defence has produced an information pack for health professionals dealing with patients who are Gulf veterans. It has also made available helpline numbers for the Gulf Veterans' Illnesses Unit in the MoD and the Gulf Veterans' Medical Assessment Programme. The attention of the NHS in Scotland was drawn to the availability of this information in July 1998.

The GB road safety strategy, Tomorrow's Roads - Safer for Everyone, published on 1 March, confirms that there is a need for targeted public information advertising to highlight the risks of driving under the influence of drugs. For publicity campaigns to be effective, they need to be targeted specifically at the groups most at risk and to be based on an understanding of the precise nature and extent of the problem. A generalised high profile television campaign would not necessarily reach the right people.

The Scottish Executive has commissioned research on the prevalence of recreational drug use and driving in Scotland. Other research is also being carried out by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions. The results of all this research will inform the targeting and content of a publicity campaign.

The Executive has received no such advice from Keith Hellawell, the United Kingdom Anti-Drugs Co-ordinator ("drugs tsar").

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has published its fourth Annual Report and Accounts today. The report contains details of the progress made by SEPA during the period 1 April 1999 to 31 March 2000, the agency's fourth year of operation. A copy of the Annual Report and Accounts, together with a report by the Auditor General for Scotland on SEPA's audited accounts, have been placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre.