http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-09/sor1001-01.htm

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.

Support offered under the SRDP has to comply with the definitions and eligibility criteria set out in the relevant European legislation. There is no specific funding available to assist with the period before any return on crops can be realised, including bog myrtle. However, funding is available under Rural Priorities for farm businesses to diversify into alternative forms of agricultural production, such as bog myrtle.

Rural Priorities is a competitive funding mechanism whereby the best quality proposals are approved, which will involve farmers undertaking a strategic analysis of their business including an examination of the prospects offered by a diversification opportunity.

Grants of up to 50% are available, plus a 10% premium for young farmers, for costs associated with the provision or upgrading of buildings, new machinery, equipment and information technology.

(a) The European working time directive currently has no effect on retained fire-fighters within the fire and rescue services in Scotland.

(b) The Scottish Ambulance Service is not currently operating any retained ambulance services and does not have any retained staff.

(c) Mountain rescue workers are unpaid volunteers and are therefore not subject to the working time directive.

However, from the Scottish Drug Misuse Database (SDMD) it is possible to supply information on the number of people entering treatment at drugs services. Table 1 shows the number of new patients/clients entering treatment for drug misuse by NHS board of treatment in each of the last five years. 2007-08 is the most recent year for which information is currently available.

Data on the number of people entering alcohol services for treatment is not held centrally. However, the Scottish Alcohol Needs Assessment research report estimated that, across Scotland in 2006-07, approximately 17,000 people accessed alcohol treatment services. In addition, from acute hospital discharges it is possible to provide the number of people discharged from general acute hospitals with a diagnosis of alcohol dependence. Table 2 shows the numbers of patients discharged from general acute hospitals with a diagnosis of alcohol dependence by NHS board of treatment in each of the last five years. 2007-08 is the most recent year for which information is currently available.

Table 1: New Individual Patients/Clients¹ Reported to the Scottish Drugs Misuse Database by NHS Board of Treatment²: 2003-04 to 2007-08^3,4

Source: ISD Scotland (SMR25 Interim Database), Ref: 2009-02077, Date Extracted: 7 September 2009.

Notes:

- (Zero).

* Indicates values that have been suppressed due to the potential risk of disclosure.

1. New patient/client is any person who, at the time of presenting, is not currently in contact with a service that provides specialist assessment of a client''s drug misuse care needs.

2. Individuals are included once within each NHS board area but may appear in the figures for more than one health board. Therefore the sum of local area data may not equal the Scotland figure.

3. From April 2006 the new SMR25a form was introduced. Changes to the data collection mean that figures are not directly comparable with those published from the SMR24 form i.e. prior to April 2006.

4. General Practitioner data has not been included in this analysis.

Table 2: General acute hospital¹ inpatients with a diagnosis of alcohol dependence^2,3 by NHS Health Board of Treatment^4,5: 2003-04 to 2007-08:

Source: ISD Scotland (SMR01), Ref: 2009-02077, Date Extracted: 7^th September 2009.

Notes:

* Indicates values that have been suppressed due to the potential risk of disclosure.

1. Excludes mental illness hospitals, psychiatric units and maternity hospitals. Transfer cases have also been excluded.

2. Caution is necessary when interpreting these figures. The recording of alcohol dependence may vary from hospital to hospital. Where alcohol dependence is suspected but unconfirmed it may not be recorded by the hospital.

3. Diseases are recorded using the World Health Organization''s International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision (ICD10). Alcohol dependence: F10.2. Up to six diagnoses are recorded. All six diagnoses have been used to identify alcohol dependence.

4. Figures in the table only relate to those individuals who are treated as inpatients. They do not include individuals managed as outpatients or individuals attending accident and emergency who are not subsequently admitted.

5. The same patient may have been admitted multiple times within the year (for example, if a patient has been admitted six times in the year this counts as five repeat admissions).

Until 2008, the Scottish Drug Misuse Database (SDMD) collected data based on the initial assessment of new patients. The new follow-up reporting system, currently being rolled-out across Scotland, will allow patients to be tracked through treatment and reveal the numbers receiving further treatment.

Data on the number of people entering alcohol services for treatment are not held centrally. However, the Scottish Alcohol Needs Assessment research report estimated that, across Scotland in 2006-07, approximately 17,000 people accessed alcohol treatment services. No information is available on the number of those individuals who had previously been treated for alcohol problems. However, from general acute hospital discharges it is possible to provide the percentage of patients discharged from general acute hospitals with a diagnosis of alcohol dependence who have previously been discharged with a diagnosis of alcohol dependence.

Table 1 shows the number of patients discharged from general acute hospitals with a diagnosis of alcohol dependence in each of the last five years, and the number and percentage of patients previously discharged with a diagnosis of alcohol dependence in any of the five years prior. 2007-08 is the most recent year for which information is currently available.

Table 1: General Acute Hospital¹ Inpatients with a Diagnosis of Alcohol Dependence^2,3,4: Scotland 2003-04 to 2007-08

Source: ISD Scotland (SMR01), Ref: 2009-02076, Date Extracted: 7 September 2009.

Notes:

1. Excludes mental illness hospitals, psychiatric units and maternity hospitals. Transfer cases have also been excluded.

2. Caution is necessary when interpreting these figures. The recording of alcohol dependence may vary from hospital to hospital. Where alcohol dependence is suspected but unconfirmed it may not be recorded by the hospital.

3. Diseases recorded using the World Health Organisation''s International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision (ICD10). Alcohol dependence: F10.2. Up to six diagnoses are recorded. All six diagnoses have been used to identify alcohol dependence.

4. Figures in the table only relate to those individuals who are treated as inpatients. They do not include individuals managed as outpatients or individuals attending accident and emergency who are not subsequently admitted.

5. Patients are counted as having had a previous alcohol dependence discharge if the patient has been discharged with a diagnosis of alcohol dependence more than once in the five year period prior to the date reported on. For example: for patients discharged in 2003-04 prior alcohol dependence discharges were looked for in the preceding five years i.e. 1999-2000 to 2003-04.

http://www.drugmisuse.isdscotland.org/publications/local/prevreport2004.pdf.

Estimates are given by local authority area in table 3 on page 16 and by NHS board in table 10 on page 29. In both cases figures relate to those aged between 15 and 54.

Estimates relating to 2006 will be published by ISD Scotland on 6 October 2009 on the Drug Misuse Information Scotland website at http://www.drugmisuse.isdscotland.org/.