Chamber and committees

We have no such plans. Rather we encourage all general practitioners to operate within Local Health Care Co-operatives which are designed to encourage co-operation and collaboration among all primary care professionals. In addition, as stated in Our National Health: A plan for action, a plan for change, we are taking steps to ensure a greater focus on quality in the GP contract. The quality standards will apply equally to single handed practices as to group practices.

Directive 98/04/EEC, which predates devolution, makes relatively minor technical amendments to an existing directive on utilities procurement which has already been given effect in UK law. Separate implementation for Scotland would create two sets of amendments to existing UK regulations. This would cause unwarranted complications for those wishing to interpret the legislation and, given that there is no particular Scottish dimension here, I have agreed that implementation should be on a UK basis. A copy of the implementing regulations will be placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. no. 14737).

Information on the number of patients currently resident in long-stay hospitals is not available centrally.

New Deal for Disabled People will be extended nationally from July 2001, providing assistance with job-search techniques, work preparation, pre-vocational or occupational training and work placements.People with learning disabilities are entitled to immediate entry to Training for Work, the Executive's training programme for unemployed adults.New Futures Fund supports projects aimed at developing work skills while providing intensive support to unemployed people in Scotland who face serious disadvantage in looking for work. Projects currently help clients suffering from mental or physical disability.Support is available under the 2000-06 Objective 3 European Social Fund Programme in Scotland for measures to improve employment opportunities and to combat and prevent unemployment. Minimising the effects of social exclusion is one of the main priorities under the programme and people with learning disabilities are specifically targeted for support. Organisations such as the Scottish Association for Mental Health, the Centre for Independent Living and Scottish Enterprise Fife have already been awarded grants under the programme.The Executive's review of services for people with learning disabilities, The same as you? was published on 11 May 2000. Change funds of £36 million over the first three years have been provided to local authorities to assist with implementing the review's recommendations on including people with learning disabilities in community life, education, day opportunities, employment, and leisure and recreation. Answered on the 20 April 2000, question S1W-14328 and S1W-14602 provide details of the distribution of these additional funds.

The Executive has committed £22.6 million to implement the recommendations of the Beattie Committee which examined the needs of young people who require additional support to make the transition to post-school education and training or employment. The National Action Group chaired by Alisdair Morrison, the Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning is providing a national lead and focus for implementing this inclusiveness agenda in Scotland.In addition, we conducted a review of services for people with learning disabilities and published the findings in The same as you? in May 2000. The review considered ways to ensure that people with learning difficulties are included in community life, education, day opportunities, employment, and leisure and recreation. Change funds of £36 million over the first three years have been provided to local authorities to assist with implementing its recommendations.In the further education sector, colleges may already claim extra funding from the Scottish Further Education Funding Council to reflect the cost of providing additional support to students with disabilities and other special needs.These measures support the Executive's commitment to create an inclusive society and will have a positive impact on the lives of people with learning difficulties wishing to overcome barriers to accessing educational opportunities.

We have consulted Scottish organisations on these proposals. In the meantime, the commission has produced a working paper with revised proposals in the form of draft legislation. A summary of the revised proposals is being made available for consultation and copies will be available in the Parliament's Reference Centre. The Executive has an open mind on the commission's proposals and will take into account all the views that are expressed before finalising our position.The revised proposals include maximum thresholds for the presence of GM material in conventional seeds, breaks in crop production to limit the possibility of GM volunteer plants, isolation distances to prevent cross-pollination and labelling requirements for seeds of GM varieties.

The task force delivered its report to me on 29 June, I have published it today, and it is available in the Parliament's Reference Centre. The Food Standards Agency and the Executive are now actively considering how best the recommendations can be taken forward.

The number of higher specialist training posts available in Scotland is regularly adjusted to meet the projected number of new consultants needed to meet known and anticipated turnover and local service developments. The specialist registrar establishment for the surgical specialties was increased in March 2001 from 228 to 253, meaning that the total number of specialist training posts in surgery has risen by almost 11% in the last year.As I announced on 20 June, Professor John Temple is to chair the fundamental review of medical workforce planning which was a commitment in Our National Health: A plan for action, a plan for change. The review will consider the many complex areas surrounding the supply of trained doctors to NHSScotland.

The Intervention Board Executive Agency (IBEA) is designated as a cross-border public authority under sections 88 and 89 of the Scotland Act 1998. It carries out certain CAP related functions, mainly on market management matters, on behalf of Scottish ministers.On abolition of IBEA, the functions will revert to Scottish ministers, but provision is being made for the new payments agency - Rural Payments Agency - to carry out these functions on behalf of Scottish ministers under formal agency arrangements.These changes require secondary legislative changes both at Westminster and in the Parliament. Scottish Regulations will be laid in September covering these matters.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1O-03671.