Chamber and committees

Improvements to Golspie Main Street have recently been completed at a cost of £500,000 and the £800,000 replacement of the Ord Bridge is nearing completion. Following my announcement of the outcome of the Strategic Roads Review on 4 November, consideration will be given to on-line improvements to improve the flow of traffic between Helmsdale and The Ord of Caithness. These improvements and others, in line with the Route Action Plan, will be implemented as resources permit.

I am only aware of one NHS Trust, which has turned down the offer of a CT scanner from the private sector due to the annual revenue costs associated with the equipment. It is for individual NHS Trusts to determine local priorities and how they should be addressed.

refer the Member to the answer given to question S1W-2173.

It is for individual clinicians to decide whether to offer post-exposure prophylaxis taking account of the circumstances of each case.

There is no national policy in Scotland imposing an age limit on access to heart transplantation. Each patient is considered as an individual. Although capacity to benefit from transplantation diminishes with age, the determining factor is the overall likelihood of clinical benefit for each patient.

Food produced within the EU must be produced to minimum common hygiene standards. Similarly, imports from outside the EU must meet the same, or equivalent standards.

It is illegal to ban imports of meat on animal welfare grounds. However, a new EC Directive, agreed in June 1998 and which must be implemented in Member States by the end of this year, sets out minimum standards on welfare, for all farmed animals. This will encourage a more level playing field for trade in all meat products.The EC Directive also requires the Commission to produce a report comparing EU welfare conditions with those of third country suppliers, and international acknowledgement of animal welfare rules is one of the key points of the EU negotiating brief for the current WTO round.

I refer to the answer to question S1W-2593, given to Kenneth MacIntosh MSP.

Zanamivir (Relenza) is authorised as a prescription only medicine for the treatment of influenza A and B in adults and adolescents, 12 years of age and over.In Scotland, arrangements exist within each Health Board area whereby Drug and Therapeutic Committees consider the available evidence, including that provided by manufacturers, and provide advice to clinicians and Boards on new health technologies, including drugs. The Executive is happy for these arrangements to continue at present and we understand that some Committees have already assessed the available evidence and issued advice on Relenza to their local prescribers.

Mrs Stenhouse wrote to me on 2 November to tender her resignation as the Chairman of Fife Health Board.

Mrs Stenhouse wrote to me on 2 November to tender her resignation as the Chairman of Fife Health Board.