Chamber and committees

There are no operatorsproviding this service directly into Scotland. However, the following operators transport cats anddogs into England under the pet travel scheme on specified approvedroutes:

Air Canada

Air France(guide dogs only)

Air Malta

All NipponAirways

American Airlines Cargo

Astraeus Cargo

Austrian Airlines (includingLauda Air and Tyrolean Airways)

bmi british midland

Britannia Airways Cargo

British Airways

Brittany Ferries

Clay Lacy Aviation (chartercompany)

Condor Ferries

Continental Airlines

Cyprus Airways

Eurostar (guide dogs only)

Eurotunnel Shuttle Service

Finnair

Gulf Air

Hoverspeed

Japan Airlines

Jeppesen Heaton

Jet Aviation (chartercompany)

KLM Cargo

Lufthansa

Maersk Air Cargo

Monarch Airlines

NetJets TransportesAereos SA (charter company)

Northwest Airlines

P+O Ferries

P+O Ferries (North Sea)

P+O Portsmouth

Qantas

Scandinavian Airlines System(SAS) Cargo

Sea France

Singapore Airlines Cargo

Stena Line Holland BV

Swiss WorldCargo

TAG Aviation (chartercompany)

Virgin Atlantic Airways

Any statutory requirementfor cyclists to wear protective headgear is a matter for the consideration of the UK Government.

The Scottish Executive provides funding to the Scottish Road Safety Campaign for thedevelopment of key road safety education initiatives and publicity messages.The campaign strongly encourages the use of protective headgear through the Scottish Cycle Training Scheme and other promotional materials.

Under the existing rural (village shop) rate relief scheme, qualifying post offices are eligible for 50% mandatory rate relief. Local authorities have discretionary powers to top this relief up to 100%. Mandatory rate relief and 75% of any discretionary rate relief are funded by allowing the local authority concerned to reduce its payment to the non-domestic rates pool by a corresponding amount. The local authority pays for 25% of any discretionary relief. We have no plans to change these funding arrangements.

There is no national approved list of medicines, but NHS boards are encouraged to operate formularies, which cover both hospitals and general practice. Hospital formularies have been used in Scotland for the last 30 years and have gained wide acceptance as a means of managing prescribing, particularly when operated within the hospital clinical pharmacy system. Area drug and therapeutic committees were often established to manage the local formulary. Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) in turn was established by NHS boards to provide them and their Area drug and therapeutic committees with a single source of national advice on the clinical and cost effectiveness of new medicines. While SMC has no role in removing products from local formularies, its existence allows area drug and therapeutic committees more time to review their local formularies.

The key messages that the knowledge economy is a vital part of Scotland's economic future and that it impacts on everyone, including all sectors of business, are fully reflected in the Executive's Smart, Successful Scotland strategy. They have also been fully integrated into our publicity and information strategy and that of the enterprise networks. They have also been given prominence through a range of specific initiatives aimed at improving public sector support for businesses across all business sectors - including our proposals to establish a national intellectual assets centre in Scotland.

An independent and thorough review was carried out in 2001 to ensure that the regional selective assistance grant scheme (RSA) met the needs of businesses in Scotland. The review confirmed that RSA was both worthwhile and necessary, while highlighting a number of areas for improvement. The scheme has now been restructured to take account of the review recommendations and to strengthen its focus on growing Scottish firms.It may instructive to note that in February 2003, the Scottish Manufacturing Steering Group reported that perceptions of RSA not meeting the needs of manufacturers "appear misplaced" and that "Investigation demonstrates that, in Assisted Areas, RSA should meet most manufacturers requirements."

The table shows the cash grant or grant in aid allocations made by the department to its non-departmental public bodies or other sponsored bodies for the period requested. Figures for the years 2000-01 to 2002-03 are the final budget allocations for these years. Figures for 2003-04 are the annual budget allocations approved by the Parliament and are subject to amendment by Autumn or Spring revised budgets. Figures for 2004-05 and 2005-06 are provisional plans.

	£ million
	2000-01	2001-02	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06
Scottish Natural Heritage	40.7	50.0	48.8	56.2	58.1	58.5
Scottish Environment Protection Agency	17.3	22.6	23.2	26.7	26.3	28.2
National Parks*	-	3.0	4.8	6.7	7.2	7.8
Scottish Agricultural and Biological Research Institutes	29.6	35.3	35.1	35.0	36.9	38.6
Scottish Agricultural College	19.6	21.3	20.5	20.5	19.9	20.0
Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh	5.5	6.0	6.2	6.4	6.3	6.5
Crofters Commission	2.2	2.3	2.6	2.4	2.5	2.8
Deer Commission	1.0	1.0	1.2	1.2	1.1	1.1

Note:*Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park and Cairngorms National Park

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) (the former Medicines Control Agency) licenses products on the basis of safety, quality and efficacy. The Agency does not take into account comparative efficacy or cost benefit.The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) reviews newly licensed products using the evidence available at the time of marketing to establish the benefits and costs for NHSScotland. This enables the NHS to plan the speedy introduction of beneficial treatments where appropriate.Once sufficient evidence is available, the SMC initial advice might be the subject of a further assessment by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland or by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), which produces guidance for the NHS in England and Wales.Information about products not recommended by the SMC for use within NHSScotland can be found on their website www.htbs.co.uk/smc.A full list of all the products appraised by NICE can be found on their website www.nice.org.uk.

Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise provide business support for new and existing businesses in Scotland. Both announced performance figures for start-ups assisted during the last financial year above the targets originally set. At a local level, specific actions to improve start-up rates are an operational matter for the enterprise networks. As outlined in the Partnership Agreement, steps are in hand to further improve support measures through the introduction of a new business start up fund.

The Scottish Executive is continuing to taking forward work to implement the recommendations in the Scottish Transplant Group's Organ Donation Strategy for Scotland, published in July 2002, which set out a range of initiatives to help increase organ donation rates. These include:the development of a major national publicity campaign to raise awareness of organ donation issues, aimed at encouraging people to add their names to the NHS Organ Donor Register, as well as making sure those closest to them are aware of their wishes; andthe preparation of a teaching resource pack on organ donation and transplantation to be made available to schools as a teaching aid which explores the complex range of ethical and moral issues surrounding organ donation and transplantation. Over time, this should raise public awareness of the subject, discussion within families and boost the number of names on the Organ Donor Register.