Chamber and committees

I understand that, as a result of the review, decisions have now been made by NHS Lothian and by the other NHS Boards which send patients to the sleep apnoea service in Lothian. As a result, all patients should now be able to receive equipment for the treatment of sleep apnoea, in order of clinical priority.

Learning and Teaching Scotland distributed the Standard Grade Technological Studies support materials to all Scottish secondary schools on Monday 20 August. A copy of these materials is available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 16397).

No. The Scottish Athletics Federation view UK Athletics as the appropriate body to deal with this meeting from their sports point of view and have confidence in the abilities of their UK colleagues to address the issues raised.

The tolling of new roads in Scotland is allowed by Part II of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991. The right to levy tolls on the Forth, Erskine and Tay bridges is established by separate Acts specific to each bridge. Part III of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2001 permits a local authority to introduce a scheme for road user charging within its area. The Executive has no plans to seek powers for any other forms of road tolling during the lifetime of this Parliament.

The issue of retraining and returning to practice is one of the important issues to be addressed at the Nurse Recruitment and Retention Convention I announced recently, which will be held on 19 November 2001.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-18498.

Our policy is to ensure that all staff have the opportunity to contribute appropriately to decision making in NHS Scotland, without favouring one profession or professional organisation over another.

Specifically, all 15 new NHS Boards include - as a full member - the Staff Side Chair of the Area Partnership Forum. Staff Side Chairs are drawn from all staff groups and representative organisations, including the Royal College of Nursing.

Additionally, to promote opportunities for clinicians to be involved in local decision making, each NHS Board is creating an Area Clinical Forum, which will bring together the chairs of all the local professional advisory committees, including the Nursing & Midwifery Committee. The Chair of the forum has a full seat on the NHS Board.

Within the new structures, responsibility and accountability for direct patient care is still led at NHS Trust level. Trust boards have been replaced by a Trust Management Team, more closely focused around delivery of services to patients. All 28 Trust Management Teams must - by law - include a registered nurse or midwife as an Executive Director.

Scientific studies conducted by the Food Standards Agency (Scotland) are detailed in the Food Standards Agency's Food Research Programmes Annual Report. The first of these was published in October 2000 but did not contain specific Scottish research. The second report is due to be published later this month. There will in addition be a simplified report aimed at consumers. The report will be available through the agency's website (www.foodstandards.gov.uk). Summaries of individual studies commissioned by Food Standards Agency (Scotland) can be obtained from their Aberdeen office and in due course will be posted on the website which is currently being restructured. Consultations are also conducted to inform policy, the results of which are also available on the website.

I announced on 28 September 2000 provision of £70 million to be included within the single allocation for local authority capital investment over the three years from 1 April 2001 to assist local authorities in tackling the backlog of repairs and maintenance to their roads. Local authorities also fund these costs from their revenue expenditure. It is for each authority to determine its expenditure and investment priorities across the range of its responsibilities, including for roads, lighting and bridges. Allocations beyond 1 April 2004 will be determined in the next Spending Review.

Expenditure on research and development by businesses in Scotland amounted to £393 million in 1999, the latest year for which figures have been published by the Office for National Statistics.