Chamber and committees

The question is ultimately a matter for the courts to determine. Although there is no specific reference to Udal law in the Scotland Act 1998, we understand that, insofar as extant Udal law in Orkney and Shetland relates to devolved matters, by virtue of that Act legislation introduced by the Scottish Parliament would take precedence over Udal law.

The Scottish Executive is providing funding of up to £16.2 million in the current financial year for Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd to support the airport infrastructure at its 10 airports. No additional funding has been announced.

The Western Isles, Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands are marketed by their respective Area Tourist Boards. They also benefit from the generic marketing carried out by VisitScotland and by the British Tourist Authority.The level of air fares on routes to the Western and North Isles is a commercial matter for airlines. The Scottish Executive is, however, committed to the maintenance of affordable links to islands communities. Our subsidy to Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd results in lower costs to airlines than if the full economic costs were applied. In addition, the Glasgow-Barra air service and some inter-island routes within the Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland are already subsidised by the Executive. These measures benefit tourists.

Section 52 of the draft Land Reform (Scotland) Bill, which relates to the community right to buy, exempts family transfers from the provisions of the Bill. Similarly, section 76, which relates to the crofting community right to buy, exempts crofts worked by their owners or members of the owners' families. The Bill does not therefore affect any extant provisions of Udal Law in these areas.

The draft standards for infection control have been circulated widely for consultation and open meetings held in Perth and Glasgow. Pilot review visits are taking place later this month. The standards will then be revised in the light of feedback, and issued for NHS hospitals to undertake self-assessment prior to external review visits, by health care professionals and members of the public, taking place in the first quarter of 2002.

Medical training in Scotland allows surgeons to make use of minimally invasive surgery wherever appropriate. The decision to adopt such an approach depends on the clinical condition of the patient and the outcome of the discussion between patient and clinician on the type of surgery best suited to treating the patient's condition.

Following the launch of a UK Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy last year, the Executive issued publicity materials to increase awareness of this issue. These included posters and leaflets, which were circulated widely to GP practices, dental practitioners and pharmacists to help bring the issue to the attention of the general public. At that time, the Executive also issued a draft Action Plan for Scotland, covering issues such as surveillance, prudent antimicrobial use in human, animal and agricultural practice, and infection control. This document is currently being reviewed in the light of comments received, and a final version will be issued to a wide range of interests later this year.A sub-group of the Advisory Group on Infection produced proposals for the surveillance of Hospital Acquired Infection (HAI) in Scotland. These formed the basis for the national surveillance system for Scotland, which was announced on 6 August. Proposals for the surveillance of antimicrobial resistance patterns will follow later this year. The Executive is working with other UK Departments to take forward plans to tackle the issue of antimicrobial use in the animal field.The Chief Scientist Office (CSO) is currently funding five research projects with a total value of £452,226 into the resistance of bacteria to antibiotics.

Information on vacancies for selected NHSScotland staff groups is collected annually by ISD Scotland. Latest figures show that as at 30 September 2000, 2.2% of consultant posts and 3.6% of medical staff grade posts were vacant for six months or more. At March 2000, 0.6% of all nursing posts had been vacant for over three months.

This information is not available. The new national surveillance system which I announced on 6 August will help to provide better information in the future on the incidence of health care associated infections across Scotland.

Our strategic objectives for rehabilitation are to provide integrated care, treatment and rehabilitation pathways for individuals, and to expand and create key services such as day and residential services and home care.We have increased resources to local authorities for drug rehabilitation substantially. With effect from 1 April this year we increased provision by £6.8 million a year for this purpose.Decisions at local level on spending the additional money are being taken with the involvement and agreement of the relevant Drug Action Teams, taking into account other local spending decisions. This is to ensure an integrated approach to the provision of all drug services across the Drug Action Team area, and to provide best value.