Chamber and committees

The Executive would be supportive of any initiatives aimed at reducing the amount of litter and waste, particularly those sponsored by the industries which use packaging themselves.

Officials from the Executive, Locate in Scotland, Scottish Enterprise Ayrshire and North Ayrshire Council continue to work together to identify future options for the Volvo site at Irvine. Consultants have been appointed to work up a master plan for the site which will be completed by the end of October.

I have invited a number of universities in Scotland (including Glasgow Caledonian University, where orthoptic education finished this summer) to consider launching a course in orthoptics from within the normal Scottish Higher Education Funding Council (SHEFC) arrangements. We will be having further discussions with those who have expressed an interest.

I have assured the universities that the Scottish Executive Health Department will be pleased to assist them in securing course approval and ensuring that clinical placements are available to them at no cost regardless of their location in the UK.

I announced on 6 June my approval for the development of a single national cervical screening call/recall system for Scotland. A working group, Chaired by Trevor Jones, General Manager of Lothian Health Board, is developing a full business specification and taking forward consultation with the service. I expect the group to report back me by the end of the year.

Measures such as the £50 million student support package recently announced, fee waivers and loans for the most disadvantaged part-time students and the funding of an additional 2,000 places in higher education institutions by 2002 should provide real help to those from disadvantaged areas. Also, I have charged the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council to work with institutions to examine their performance in recruiting from areas currently under represented in higher education.

It is a fundamental policy of the Scottish Executive that treatment in the NHS in Scotland should be based on clinical need.

The CHD Task Force has been looking at issues related to equity of access to cardiac services. It is generally accepted that women tend to develop coronary heart disease later than men and are harder to evaluate because they give less typical histories. There is some evidence to suggest that because women tend to seek treatment later than men following onset of chest pain they may be less suitable for thrombolysis ("clot-busting"). This tendency to delay seeking help may relate to a higher tolerance of pain amongst women.Once women commence treatment, there is no evidence to suggest that the treatment they receive is inferior to that given to men, although it has to be borne in mind that the smaller size of women's arteries in general can make it more difficult to revascularise them than men. The improvement of treatment of CHD amongst women will therefore proceed in parallel with that for men.

The Scottish Executive is very conscious of the particular problems of areas such as North Ayrshire and we shall seek to ensure, through investing in jobs and skills, fostering enterprise and encouraging the growth of new businesses, that we create sustainable economic growth and employment opportunities for all members of the community.

The main alternative means of treating dentally-anxious patients is sedation. The Scottish Council for Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education runs courses on sedation for general dental practitioners. The number of courses provided depends on demand and there are no indications at present that demand exceeds supply. The Scottish Executive is continuing to monitor the situation.

Since launching our Strategy for Carers in Scotland, we have been working closely with carers' organisations and local authority representatives on implementing key measures set out in the Strategy. Authorities now have their share of the £10 million ear-marked under the Strategy for carers' services, including respite care. Many are already consulting carers and others on the use of these resources. Monitoring arrangements will ensure that these resources are used appropriately.

The Carers' Legislation Working Group was set up in January with a remit to draw up new legislative proposals to better address carers' needs. The Group has met twice to date and we propose to use their recommendations as the basis for public consultation later this year.

Information packs for young carers are being made available to all primary, secondary and independent schools. These will be available shortly.

From 1 April the free NHS Helpline has been able to provide information and advice to carers on a range of issues, including access to local support groups, short-break services and financial assistance. We will shortly be undertaking a national media campaign to alert carers to the strategy and the Helpline.

I have asked my officials to work with clinicians to phase out the use of general anaesthesia in NHS general dental practice as soon as practicable. Such services will be transferred to acute hospital centres but I also hope that there will be a continuing reduction in the use of general anaesthesia for treating dentally- anxious patients. Other methods such as local anaesthetic with or without conscious sedation are more appropriate and safer.