Chamber and committees

Within the total £95 million of European funding announced on 18 April 2009, ESF projects approved and indicating that they would be available to beneficiaries in North Ayrshire have been awarded just over £12 million of grant, and ERDF projects approved and covering North Ayrshire have been awarded just over £37 million of grant.

The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 regulates the use of animals in scientific procedures in the UK. This is a reserved area of legislation. In May 2004, a National Centre for the Replacement, Reduction and Refinement of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) was set up. The NC3Rs brings together stakeholders in the 3Rs in academia, industry, government and animal welfare organisations to facilitate the exchange of information and ideas, and the translation of research findings into practice that will benefit both animals and science. The centre''s mission is to advance and promote the 3Rs in research and testing using animals. This is being achieved by:

Developing a UK strategy for the implementation of the 3Rs

Supporting high-quality research that advances the 3Rs

Promoting a co-ordinated approach to 3Rs research

Providing advice and guidance on the 3Rs and animal welfare to the scientific community

Supporting the UK scientific community''s commitment to best practice in all aspects of laboratory animal science and welfare

Working with regulators on the acceptance of alternative methods.

Information on the activities of the NC3Rs is available on its website:

http://www.nc3rs.org.uk/landing.asp?id=2.

Statistics about prosecutions and convictions at a local authority level are based on the location of the court at which the case was heard. Whilst local authority and court areas are not co-terminous, this provides the best available approximation to local authority information. However, as there is no sheriff court based in North Ayrshire, it is not possible to provide an estimate of the number of prosecutions for offences in this local authority.

The number of prosecutions and convictions in Kilmarnock sheriff court are given below. This court deals with cases from North Ayrshire, as well as other areas.

Persons Proceeded Against for supply, Possession with Intent to Supply¹ Kilmarnock Sheriff Court, 2003-04 - 2007-08

	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08
Proceeded against	120	82	92	96	100
Charge proved	106	76	78	87	83

Note: 1.Where main offence

Under the terms of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, which was ratified by the UK Government on 17 December 2008, where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that an individual is a victim of trafficking for any purpose, he or she must be offered support for a reflection period of at least 30 days. In the UK the reflection period has been set at 45 days. During that time the individual will not be subject to deportation proceedings.

The Scottish Government is working with the UK Government, statutory agencies and the third sector to ensure that victims of trafficking are identified and supported. The Scottish Government has provided funding to the Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance (TARA), which provides specialist support to adult female victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation. In addition, the Scottish Government has entered into an agreement with the Migrant Helpline to provide support to all other adult victims of trafficking, including adult males trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

Local authorities have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in their area who are in need regardless of their status and this would include victims of trafficking.

NHS Scotland''s publications Coping with Dementia “ a Handbook for Carers (Bib. number No. 47699) and the recently updated Worried about your Memory? (Bib. number 47925) and Facing Dementia: how to live well with your diagnosis (Bib. number 47926) are widely available for people with dementia and their carers and families.

Facing Dementia provides practical information for people who have recently been diagnosed with dementia. Worried about your memory? is aimed at helping people who are concerned about their memory to decide whether they should see a doctor.

We also work closely with and provide grant funding to Alzheimer Scotland and the Dementia Services Development Centre who have a key role to play in providing information for people with dementia, their carers and families.

Each member state appoints a national co-ordinator for the European Year of Creativity and Innovation 2009. The national co-ordinator for the UK is Tim Heyes, who was appointed by the UK Departments of Children, Schools and Families and Culture, Media and Sport.

Both the Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise are represented on the board of Irvine Bay Urban Regeneration Company (URC), which is leading regeneration efforts in North Ayrshire. Officials are in regular contact with the URC on local issues, and have engaged closely with North Ayrshire Community Planning Partnership (CPP) on the draft single outcome agreement for the area, which addresses the priority of growing the economy.

We have a specific timetabled NHS target linked to the GP register that focuses on early detention and earlier, better support. We are also investing £600,000 in our work with Alzheimer Scotland and the Dementia Services Development Centre to design effective practical steps for better and earlier identification and interventions, support and information systems following diagnosis. NHS boards also have Dementia Assessment Services that play an important part in diagnosing and responding to the diagnosis.

Living and Dying Well, Scotland''s first national action which was published on 2 October 2008 indicated NHSScotland would develop a single, comprehensive approach to the provision of palliative and end-of-life care that would be embedded across Scotland for the first time. The actions described in Living and Dying Well represent a package of measures to support anyone diagnosed with palliative and end-of-life care needs, regardless of age, diagnosis or location.

The Standards for Integrated Care Pathways for Dementia, published by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (NHSQIS) (Bib. number 44373) includes consideration of needs in terms of end-of-life care. NHS boards are adapting approaches to meet these standards to ensure the right care is offered at the right time

Spend for mental health services, including dementia, is drawn from the record funds allocated to NHS boards and local government. For 2009-10, £11.03 billion will be available for health and £11.2 billion for local government.

We are also investing over £1.5 million through the Dementia Clinical Research Network and on our work with Alzheimer Scotland and the Dementia Services Development Centre to design effective, practical steps for better and earlier identification and interventions for dementia.