Chamber and committees

Specialist nursing roles are relatively new in Scotland and as such published literature on outcomes is limited. We are not aware of any specific research that has quantified both the benefits to care and the cost effectiveness of Parkinson’s Disease nursing in Scotland.

NHS Grampian and NHS Tayside are testing these new roles as part of the CCI Outpatients Programme and data collected from these projects will inform the evidence base.

The planning of the workforce to deliver first class health services - including specialist Parkinson’s nurses - to patients in Scotland is primarily a matter for individual NHS boards.

All NHS organisations also have responsibility for nursing and midwifery post-registration education and work in partnership with staff to ensure that they are supported and encouraged to maintain and develop their skills. The Scottish Executive also remains committed to building the capacity of the NHSScotland workforce and under the Facing the Future banner has committed over £10 million to a number of nursing and midwifery initiatives in the last three financial years. This includes specific funding for continuous professional development along with other more targeted funded initiatives.

The answer in S2W-14302 outlines the range of agencies that can use physical restraint. As the answer states, the legal authority underpinning the use of restraint equipment depends on the circumstances. The steps taken to verify whether restraint is appropriate or should be requested to be removed prior to treatment is a matter of professional judgement based on risk.

I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-15888 on 20 April 2005. 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/webapp/wa.search.

The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on a wide range of issues including this matter. Assurance has been given that Scotland will be represented on the Equality Reference Group for the review and that the review team will fully engage with both the Executive and other relevant Scottish partners.

The Scottish Executive is committed to mainstreaming equality to ensure that all policies, legislation, spending plans and services integrate an equalities perspective and are designed and delivered in a way that is sensitive to the diverse needs and experiences of all people living in Scotland.

The Scottish Executive’s Equality Unit has already done significant work on mainstreaming equality throughout Executive departments. In this next period we intend to develop further materials and provide additional support to departments.

We will look to build on the success of the NHS Equality and Diversity Impact Assessment Toolkit to ensure that its guiding principles are built in to our future work in supporting departments, agencies and non-departmental public bodies.

I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-15888 on 20 April 2005. 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/webapp/wa.search.

The Scottish Executive will be publishing a report and action plan in the coming months following the Executive’s review of race equality. The review was commissioned by ministers last year given the changing context in which race equality work is being conducted. Among other things, the review considered priorities for communities, Executive funding, and the infrastructure required to deliver effective race equality and community cohesion. 

The report and action plan, which will be published on the Executive’s website, will form the basis of the Scottish response to the Home Office Strategy and will be set within the British framework. 

The Executive commissioned a review of race equality last year to consider, among other things, priorities in communities, Executive funding, and the infrastructure required to deliver effective race equality and community cohesion. As part of the evidence gathering process, a mapping exercise of race equality activity in the public sector was undertaken which used bodies’ Race Equality Schemes. The purpose of this mapping exercise report was to contribute to the body of knowledge informing the review. It was not to evaluate whether and to what extent Scottish public bodies are fulfilling their legal duties related to race relations.  The report of the mapping exercise is available on the Executive’s One Scotland website, www.infoscotland.com.

The Commission for Racial Equality has statutory powers to enforce compliance with the statutory duty to promote race equality. The commission keeps ministers informed of Scottish public authorities’ progress towards meeting the duty. For further information about this matter, you may wish to contact:

The Commission for Racial Equality

Scotland Office

The TUN

12 Jackson’s Entry

off Holyrood Road

Edinburgh

EH8 8PJ

Tel: 0131 524 2000

www.cre.gov.uk.

Commercial confidentiality is a subject which has a wide range of application. The nature and source of advice on that subject will depend on the context in which it is required. There are a number of guidance documents which cover commercial confidentiality. These include procurement guidance, internal freedom of information guidance, the Code of Practice under section 60 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and briefings from the Office of the Scottish Information Commissioner. These are all available to the Executive and its agencies and to non-departmental public bodies.