The World Health Organization advises that the volume of alcohol use in a country is best estimated from national sales, production and/or taxation data since population surveys invariably underestimate total alcohol consumption. Moreover, Scottish data from the General Lifestyle Survey (GLF) 2008 - the population survey used by the Centre for Public Policy for the Regions - should be treated with significant caution given the small sample size.

The Scottish Health Survey (SHeS), with a Scottish sample size around four times that of the GLF, is therefore the preferred population survey measure of alcohol consumption in Scotland. The SHeSUK Comparisons report, published in August 2010, compared SHeS Scottish estimates with Health Survey for England (HSE) figures. It showed that a significantly higher proportion of men and women in Scotland exceeded the sensible daily drinking guidelines and a significantly higher proportion drank twice the recommended limit (a measure of binge drinking) on at least one occasion in the previous week. Mean daily consumption on the heaviest drinking day was also considerably higher for both men and women in Scotland. Millilitres of alcohol purchased is not a robust measure of relative consumption levels across countries, as it takes no account of the strength of the alcohol purchased.

In addition, sales data published by NHS Health Scotland in July 2010 showed that per capital alcohol sales were 24% higher in Scotland in 2009 than in England and Wales. Average weekly sales per adult (aged 16 and over) in Scotland equated to 22.9 units, 4.5 units higher than in England and Wales (18.4 units). Higher alcohol sales in Scotland have been evident throughout the period covered by this data, i.e. since 2005.

The higher per capita weekly alcohol sales in Scotland are likely to, at least in part, explain the higher alcohol-related mortality rates in Scotland. In addition, SHeS data suggests people in Scotland are more likely to exceed sensible daily limits and to binge drink than their English counterparts, increasing their risk of developing acute and chronic alcohol-related health conditions.

Moray Council voted to close Cabrach Primary School on 8 December 2010 and the formal process under the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 commences from that date. Any individual who wishes to make representation to Scottish ministers may do so until 28 December 2010 and Scottish ministers have until 18 January to take a decision on the call in of this closure decision. At that time, Scottish ministers will notify Moray Council of their determination and related documents will be publicly available.

The main resource available to the NHS is the Better Quality, Better Value (BQBV) Indicators and toolkit that allow identification of productive opportunities for both efficiency savings and productivity gains within NHSScotland. The indicators compare variation in a number of areas including same day surgery rates, average length of stay, pre-operative bed days, against NHS boards, hospitals and specialties.

Shetland Islands Council voted to close the secondary department of Scalloway Junior High School on 8 December 2010 and the formal process under the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 commences from that date. Any individual who wishes to make representation to Scottish ministers may do so until 28 December 2010 and Scottish ministers have until 18 January to take a decision on the call in of this closure decision. At that time, Scottish ministers will notify Shetland Islands Council of their determination and related documents will be publicly available.

It is not the role of the Scottish Government to set up services for victims. However, we are fully supportive of appropriate services being available to support male victims of domestic abuse.

Since April this year, we have been providing funding to Respect to extend the Men''s Advice Line, a dedicated support for male victims, to Scotland. In addition, we have been working with Abused Men in Scotland to further our understanding of the needs of male victims. We will assess the need for additional service provision once the advice line has been evaluated after a year.

As part of our Keeping Childbirth Natural and Dynamic (KCND) programme, we introduced national pathways for maternity care that outline the minimum standard of postnatal care we expect all NHS boards to offer. These national pathways will assist NHS boards to ensure they have appropriate systems in place to provide high quality, evidence based person centred care for new mothers and their babies.

The Framework for Maternity Services in Scotland is currently being refreshed and will compliment the national pathways by ensuring that maternity services fully take into account social influences for the best possible outcomes for both mother and baby.

Care and treatment for women at risk of postnatal mental ill-health, including depression, will be delivered in line with national clinical guidelines, the implementation of which is the responsibility of individual NHS boards as an essential part of clinical governance.

The Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network national clinical guideline on the management of postnatal depression and puerperal psychosis includes evidence based recommendations on identifying risk factors, screening, diagnosis, management and prevention.

Recommendations on risk factors identify the need for procedures to ensure all women are routinely assessed during the antenatal period for a history of depression; that psychosocial and biological risk factors for postnatal depression and puerperal psychosis should routinely be recorded in the antenatal period, and that pregnant women and their partners should be given information during the antenatal period on the nature of postnatal mood disorders and puerperal psychosis.

As part of our Keeping Childbirth Natural and Dynamic (KCND) programme, we introduced national pathways for maternity care that outline the minimum standard of postnatal care we expect all NHS boards to offer.

This is based on the best available evidence including NICE guidance.

Vaccination policy in Scotland is based on advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), an independent expert advisory committee that provides advice to the four UK administrations.

On 29 March 2010, the JCVI published its recommendations on the shingles (herpes zoster) vaccine. The JCVI recommended that people aged 70 to 79 years should be vaccinated against shingles if the vaccine can be purchased at a cost effective price.

The current sole manufacturer of shingles vaccine, Sanofi Pasteur, announced in April this year that it is not currently able to supply enough vaccine to support a vaccination programme across the UK. It is not possible to consider implementation of a vaccination programme in line with JCVI advice until this position changes and sufficient stocks of vaccine are available. This will be kept under review.

The government has already put in place a number of measures which demonstrates its commitment to ensuring that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are given fair opportunity to bid for public contracts. In April 2009, I wrote to heads of procurement and chief executives throughout the Scottish public sector setting out my expectation that they take Six Simple Steps, to promote access to public sector contracts for SMEs, social enterprises and third sector bodies. http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/1265/0080942.pdf

Earlier this year, in partnership with Scottish Chambers of Commerce, we established a working group with representatives from the public, private and third sector to explore additional ways to enhance the economic impact of public procurement and ways to enhance access to contract opportunities, particularly by smaller organisations. We have also implemented a website for free contract email alert service.