Local authorities are statutory bodies with democratically elected members responsible for their administration. It is the responsibility of the elected members to ensure that decisions concerning an authority''s expenditure plans are in accordance with good professional practice and are consistent with local strategic planning.

Statute places a duty on local authorities to manage their capital expenditure and to determine and keep under review the maximum amount they can afford to allocate to it. Regulations issued by the Scottish ministers require them to have regard to the CIPFA Prudential Code. The Prudential Code sets out the responsibility for a local authority to decide how much they can afford to borrow based upon a prudent assessment of their capital expenditure requirements, and with regard to affordability and sustainability. The code specifies a range of indicators that have to be calculated to inform the judgement on affordability which includes the ratio of financing costs (repayment of principle and interest) to net revenue stream. The code does not set a maximum level as this is a matter for local decision.

The following table shows each council''s anticipated level of external debt as at 31 March 2009:

Council	Forecast External Debt as at 31 March 2009 (£ million)
Aberdeen City	519.735
Aberdeenshire	342.468
Angus	153.221
Argyll and Bute	187.672
Clackmannanshire	113.712
Dumfries and Galloway	180.867
Dundee City	337.695
East Ayrshire	190.711
East Dunbartonshire	120.283
East Lothian	188.324
East Renfrewshire	90.383
Edinburgh. City of	1,148.417
Eilean Siar	146.715
Falkirk	137.155
Fife	611.314
Glasgow City	1,387.000
Highland	575.413
Inverclyde	183.702
Midlothian	156.828
Moray	138.171
North Ayrshire	209.932
North Lanarkshire	478.708
Orkney Islands	20.000
Perth and Kinross	203.180
Renfrewshire	302.511
Scottish Borders	192.959
Shetland Islands	0.000
South Ayrshire	187.332
South Lanarkshire	621.987
Stirling	145.921
West Dunbartonshire	213.296
West Lothian	337.398

 

Data is taken from the Final Capital Returns for 2007-08. As well as capturing actual information for 2007-08 this return includes projections of external debt at 31 March 2009 and 2010.

Local authorities are statutory bodies with democratically elected members responsible for their administration. It is the responsibility of the elected members to ensure that decisions concerning an authority''s expenditure plans are in accordance with good professional practice and are consistent with local strategic planning.

Statute places a duty on local authorities to manage their capital expenditure and to determine and keep under review the maximum amount they can afford to allocate to it. Regulations issued by the Scottish ministers require them to have regard to the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy Prudential Code. The Prudential Code sets out the responsibility for a local authority to decide how much they can afford to borrow based upon a prudent assessment of their capital expenditure requirements, and with regard to affordability and sustainability.

The duty to determine the level of affordable borrowing places reliance on self regulation by the local authority. The level of capital investment that can be supported is, subject to affordability and sustainability, a matter for local decision.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-22395 on 23 April 2009. 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.

This information is not held by the Scottish Government.

The Care Commission was set up to regulate for improvement in the quality of care. It does not close care services immediately as a result of a failure to achieve acceptable grades in one or more quality themes.

Where care services fail to achieve an acceptable standard of care, the Care Commission works with the provider to ensure that the quality improves. This may be partly through the use of formal enforcement action and through increased inspection and supervision.

Ultimately, the commission can propose to cancel the registration of a service if it does not meet the improvement notice. This means that the care service would no longer be able to operate. The Care Commission sees closure of a care service as a last resort. Where a provider is failing to supply an adequate standard of care, additional support will be offered.

This information has only been available since the introduction of the prudential code on 1 April 2004.

The following table provides a breakdown of the recorded instances of local authorities exceeding either the operational boundary or the authorised limit at 31 March for each year:

	2005	2006	2007	2008
Number of Councils exceeding their operational boundary	0	6	3	2
Number of Councils exceeding their authorised limit	0	1	1	1

 

Information for 31 March 2009 is not yet available.

Under the prudential code temporary breaches of the operational boundary are considered unlikely to be significant unless they are regular or sustained. The code requires that breaches of the authorised limit should be referred to the decision making body within the council to determine whether it would be prudent to raise the limit or alternatively instigate procedures to ensure that the current limit is not breached.

The Scottish Government has been working closely with NHS 24 on a number of service developments including those related to physiotherapy. A telehealth physiotherapy triage and referral management pilot service has already been established by NHS 24 within NHS Lothian. The aim of this pilot is to reduce the waiting time for physiotherapy advice/management by providing earlier access to screening, advice and onward referral management. This pilot is currently being evaluated with a view to national roll out. Work is also underway with NHS 24 to identify what other services provided by the Allied Health Professions can be developed within NHS 24, including musculoskeletal, dietetics and mental health services.

The Care Commission grades services on a six-point scale against four themes: quality of care and support, quality of environment, quality of staffing and quality of management and leadership. It does not award an overall grade for the care service.

Any care service which receives a grade below 3 (adequate) in any theme will be subject to a formal requirement to improve. The timescale for this improvement will take into account practicalities such as refurbishment of premises, organising further training or engaging additional staff. Where improvement is essential to service users'' safety, requirements may be made to take immediate effect.

The Scottish Government has been working closely with NHS 24 on a number of service developments in relation to the Allied Health Professions. A collaboration has been established with the Scottish Centre for Healthy Working Lives, NHS 24 and the Scottish Government to update the Working Backs Scotland website. A project manager has been employed by NHS 24 to carry out this work with a view to undertaking the development of other web-based information and advice sites within NHS 24.

I have agreed that there will be joint working between Highland Council and Transport Scotland on how Highland Council can take forward the A82/A9 link within the context of the Government''s commitment to the A9/A96 link. An action plan is being prepared by Highland Council and Transport Scotland to agree a partnership approach to help deliver the key outcomes of the Strategic Transport Projects Review in the Highland area.

The commencement dates for the project and cost to Highland Council are a matter for Highland Council.