I refer themember to the answer to question S3W-5083 on 18 October 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions areavailable on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be foundat http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

I refer themember to the answer to question S3W-5083 on 18 October 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions areavailable on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can befound at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

The Scottish Governmentcurrently centrally funds the Counterweight adult obesity treatment programme inKeep Well Wave 1 practices in Lanarkshire, Lothian and Tayside NHS board areas.As part of Wave 2 of Keep Well Counterweight will also be introduced in practicesin Grampian, Fife and Ayrshire and Arran. Counterweight is an evidence-based system for managing weight in primarycare and incorporates a range of approaches from lifestyle interventions to drugprescription and referral to dieticians and psychologists. The programme is intensiveand for each patient lasts a year with continuing follow up.

Information on otheradult obesity services provided by individual Health Boards is not held centrally.

The Scottish ObesityAction Resource (SOAR) project is due to be published by the Scottish Public HealthNetwork later this year. SOAR will provide a partial baseline of information oncurrent NHS activity tackling obesity.

A wide range of actionsthat contribute to children achieving and maintaining a healthy weight are deliveredthrough implementation of the Scottish Diet Action Plan and Physical Activity Strategy.

Implementation of the Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) Act 2007 includes banning the saleof carbonated drinks and confectionary in all Scottish schools. The act also introducesa duty on all schools to be “health promoting”, with a whole school approach tohealthy eating and physical activity, including the Hungry for Success and ActiveSchools programmes.

The Scottish Governmentis also promoting healthier environments outwith schools. This includes fundingto Sustrans for the “Safe Routes to School” initiative to encourage walking andcycling as alternatives to the car school run and the “Beyond the School Gate” initiativewhich seeks to maximise the potential for local government to create environmentsthat encourage children to lead more active and healthy lives.

The Scottish EnhancedServices Programme (SESP) has given NHS boards the option to offer services forchildren with unhealthy weight when an adult family member presents for existingobesity services. Uptake of this service is a matter for individual health boards.

Subject to the outcomesof the Strategic Spending Review the Scottish Government will publish our planson diet, physical activity and obesity in the new year.

The plans that NHS24 have in place to reduce sickness absence to the national target of 4% were discussedat its recent annual review.

Schools across Scotland have risen to the challenge and are working in partnershipwith parents and a wide range of agencies to promote health and wellbeing. Inspectionevidence, from over 500 primary and secondary schools across all 32 local authorities,highlights the increasing value placed on health promotion within our schools. Inaddition, local authorities and health partners regularly evaluate progress in schoolsthrough local accreditation processes.

From 3 January 2008, the Schools (Health Promotion andNutrition)(Scotland) Act 2007 will build on this work by placing a legal duty onScottish ministers and education authorities to endeavour to ensure that all publicschools and hostels provided and maintained by education authorities are health-promoting.The act will place the same duty on managers of grant-aided schools in relationto a school under their management. The act will amend the Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc. Act 2000 so thatstrategies for health promotion form part of an education authority’s annual statementof education improvement objectives. This statement in turn forms the basis forschool development plans prepared by each school.

In addition, the newmodel being developed for managing the curriculum together with the health and wellbeingoutcomes will emphasise that health and wellbeing permeates all aspects of the schooland is the responsibility of all staff who work in schools.

The ScottishGovernment is taking forward a wide range of action on food and health.Examples include the healthyliving campaign which promotes awareness of ahealthier diet and encourages people to choose healthier food options; theHealthyliving Award which promotes preparation and provision of healthier foodsin the catering sector; and work with retailers and community food initiativesthrough the Scottish Grocers Federation Healthyliving Programme and CommunityFood and Health (Scotland) to ensure that those living in the most deprived andrural areas are provided with better access to healthier food choices. Nutritionalstandards, already in schools and prisons, are being developed for the rest of the public sector.The ScottishGovernment food and health website (see http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Health/health)provides a more comprehensive list of current Scottish Government action onfood and health.

Further action onfood and health will be announced in due course.

The impact of thehealth improvement campaigns, including the “healthy living” campaign, were until2005 evaluated on behalf of the Scottish Government by NHS Health Scotland throughthe Health Education Population Survey (Scotland) and a communications trackingsurvey. The most recent published findings of both may be found at the followinglinks.http://www.healthscotland.com/documents/1380.aspx.http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/1093/0038218.pdf.

Core questions previouslyasked in the Health Education Population Survey (Scotland) on attitudes to health improvement and awareness of government and NHSadvice will be included in the revised Scottish Health Survey which will run continuouslyfrom 2008. Scottish Government health improvement campaigns have been evaluatedon an individual basis by the Office of the Chief Researcher since 2005.

Evaluation of thevarious elements of the National Programme for Improving Mental Health and Wellbeingincludes a biennial public attitudes survey Well? What do you think? thattracks attitudes towards mental health.

All parties to theAgenda for Change agreement have taken the view that equity and consistency of outcomeare central to the effective introduction of the new pay system. As a result, thejob evaluation system which assesses pay relativities has been designed to be asrigorous and robust as possible.

I can confirm thatboth NHS Grampian and NHS Highland have followed the job evaluation processes whichwere agreed in partnership between NHS Scotland employers and trades unions. Thedata on evaluation outcomes for podiatry staff in both health boards demonstratesa high level of consistency, with the majority being assessed at band 6. Thereforethe evidence available does not suggest that podiatry staff in NHS Grampian arepaid at a lower rate than staff in NHS Highland.

In circumstances wherestaff feel that they have been incorrectly assessed, they can request a review of the job evaluation outcome, which would be conducted in partnership between theemployer and trades unions.

I refer the memberto the answer to question S3W-4584 on 18 October 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availableon the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

The Scottish Governmentis working with NHS boards and other stakeholders to gather data on IVF waitingtimes, which will assist in future policy determination.