Chamber and committees

The following guidance has been issued to NHS boards:

Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy and Scottish Action Plan, 2002.

Scottish Medicines Consortium published Antimicrobial Prescribing Policy and Practice in Scotland (2005).

Scottish Management of Antimicrobial Resistance Action Plan (ScotMARAP) March 2008. ScotMARAP has replaced the 2002 guidance document and outlines the national programme for Scotland in tackling antimicrobial resistance and prudent prescribing over the next five years in primary and secondary care.

On 8 July 2008, CEL 30 2008, was sent to all chief executives, medical directors, and infection control manager of NHS boards and Special Health Boards, seeking the immediate implementation of the national policies set out in ScotMARAP.

Other sources of guidance for prescribers include the British National Formulary which provides advice on the prescribing of medicines including antibacterial drugs for the treatment of MRSA.

The Scottish Government is providing £100,000 a year until 2010-11 to the Money Advice Trust, which runs National Debtline. This funding is to ensure that advisors are appropriately trained to provide advice on, for example, the different debt solutions available in Scotland. National Debtline anticipates spending £7.3 million in total during 2009. National Debtline started operating in April 1987. There is no planned end date.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-20547 on 4 March 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Information on the charging policies of each local authority for specific social care services or client groups is not held centrally.

The National Assistance (Assessment of Resources) Regulations 1992 provide the framework for local authorities to charge for care that they provide or arrange in residential care homes, including for people with learning disabilities.

Under Section 87 (1A) of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 a local authority may charge for certain adult non-personal domiciliary services it provides. In keeping with local accountability, it is for local authorities to decide their charging policies for these non-personal care services. The legislation requires that any charges levied should not be more than appears to be reasonably practicable for the recipient to pay, taking account of his or her other financial commitments.

Guidance issued to local authorities by the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities in January 2006 recommends a consistent framework for charging and encourages councils to demonstrate that they are following best practice. The guidance is currently under review by the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-20547 on 4 March 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-20547 on 4 March 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-20547 on 4 March 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-20532 on 3 March 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

This question concerns statistics and government support for the marine industry. This includes such industries as sea fishing, aquaculture, ports, shipping, marine boat and ship building.

Scotland''s Seas: Towards Understanding their State, published in April 2008, contains an analysis of economic activity in the marine environment. Table 5.3 in Chapter 5 (page 117) (Bib. number 45262), on Productive Seas, contains the first overall assessment of the economic value and associated employment of Scotland''s seas and summarises the economic value and employment for a range of marine-related industry. The report highlights that the seas generate around £2.2 billion of marine-industry activity (excluding offshore oil and gas extraction activity) and provide approximately 50,000 jobs in Scotland. The Scottish Government does not have readily available separate figures on leisure, commercial and defence work.

From an alternative source, the number of enterprises in Scotland, following the same categories as table 5.3 in Scotland''s Seas are in the following table:

Number of Enterprises¹ in the Marine-Related Industries in Scotland

Industry	Enterprises
Sea fishing	1,695
Fish farming	160
Service activities incidental to oil and gas extraction	175
Processing and preserving of fish and fish products	150
Building and repairing of ships and boats	160
Construction of water projects	20
Sea and coastal water transport	180
Total	2,545

Source: Scottish Government, Office of National Statistics (Inter Departmental Business Register) published October 2008.

Notes:

Totals may not equal the sum of the constituent parts due to rounding.

1. Excludes central and local government.

Government support, in terms of finance and in providing a framework in which industry can develop, is varied. For example:

1. The Wave and Tidal Energy Scheme (WATES) comprises of £13 million in capital support for the development of marine renewable technologies. Scotland is establishing the precedent of offering higher revenue support for marine renewable technologies through its Renewables Obligation. The £10 million Saltire Prize aims to accelerate the commercial deployment of wave and tidal devices. The Scottish Government has created one of the world''s largest ever innovation prizes to stimulate global innovation in these technologies. Scottish Government is also supporting the growth of the marine renewable industry through FREDS Marine Energy Group (MEG) and the Marine Energy Spatial Planning Group.

2. The principal financial support mechanism for the fishing, processing and aquaculture sectors is provided through the European Fisheries Fund. The current programme allocation administered by Scottish Government between 2007 and 2013 is worth approximately £50 million in capital support. This fund underpins Government support for specific industry strategy and policy initiatives such as the Strategic Framework for Scottish Aquaculture and the strategic direction given to the fishing sector by the Scottish Fisheries Council.

3. Support has been provided by RSA Scotland, Scottish Enterprise and its former Local Enterprise Companies to both naval and civil shipbuilders. Over £8 million worth of grants have been awarded for a variety of initiatives to create and safeguard jobs, to improve the various businesses and to up-skill the workforces. The Scottish Government and its agencies are working actively with the shipbuilding and boat building industry to consolidate and to further develop Scotland''s position in this area. Scottish Enterprise is developing an industry strategy for Aerospace, Defence and Marine which is being led and informed by a newly-formed industry advisory group.

4. This government''s overarching Purpose is to increase sustainable economic growth in Scotland and, through our Government Economic Strategy, we have identified Scotland''s fisheries as a major component of our food and drink sector and as an area where government is focused on creating the right environment for increased competitiveness and growth.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-20532 on 3 March 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.