Chamber and committees

Maintenance of road access isan operational policing matter and is the responsibility of the relevant Chief Constable.NHS Highland and the Scottish Ambulance Service regularly consult with the policeto ensure that disruption to those requiring medical services on the peninsula iskept to a minimum.

The First Minister will makea further statement to Parliament on the council’s role and membership before thesummer recess.

The organisation of police operationsin Strathclyde, including the deployment of police officers to this operation fromacross the force, is a matter for the Chief Constable of Strathclyde.

As I announced during thedebate on our Approach to Government, a criticalelement of our approach to simpler, smaller government is to declutter thelandscape, in particular with reference to executive agencies and non-departmentalpublic bodies. I plan to discuss this with the people who are involved inpublic services, to build consensus within Parliament that the public sectorlandscape has become too complicated and to reassess the relationship betweenthe Executive its agencies and public bodies. Specific proposals will flow fromthose discussions and reassessment.

Changes made to departmentalstructures will result in real savings of a minimum of £300,000 per year in thecivil service and a minimum of £230,000 per year in terms of ministerialchanges. Further savings are likely to become apparent over time. A number ofScottish Executive staff have been redeployed to other duties.

There is no definitive listof core services although our manifesto expressly included accident andemergency and maternity services as services that the public would expect tohave local access to. Of course, all services must be able to be deliveredsafely and sustainably within available resources.

It is imperative thatNHS boards engage with patients and the public,and that their views are fully taken into account, as proposals for service changeare developed. I have made clear that I will introduce a process of independentscrutiny of boards’ proposals before these are issued for public consultation. Iam currently considering how this will be undertaken and will make an announcementsoon. I can confirm, however, that any proposals for significant service changeat the Vale of Leven Hospital will be subject to independent scrutiny.

I have responsibility for makingfinal decisions on any proposals for significant service change. I have made clearthat in considering future proposals I will operate a presumption against centralisationof services. This does not mean that there will be no changes to health servicesin the future. However, any NHS board that submits proposals for service reconfigurationmust persuade me that their case is robust, that all possible alternatives havebeen considered, and that due weight has been given to both patient need and publicopinion.

In coming to a conclusion onany proposals for change from NHS boards that are put before me, I will give fullconsideration to the representations made to me and to the report from the ScottishHealth Council on boards’ engagement and public consultation exercises.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-35 on 31 May 2007. All answers towritten parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website. The searchfacility for this can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-35 on 31 May 2007. All answers towritten parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website. The searchfacility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-35 on 31 May 2007. All answers towritten parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website. The searchfacility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.