Chamber and committees

The information requested is not available centrally.

In addition to the normal financial allocations made to the NHS and local authorities, the Executive has allocated £16.735 million to Forth Valley Health Board to help the health board and its planning partners meet non-recurrent costs associated with the reprovision and retraction of services currently provided at the Royal Scottish National Hospital, Larbert.The Executive has also earmarked nearly £3 million for the provision of a new facility for those with learning difficulties in Forth Valley who require NHS continuing care.

This information is not held centrally.

Existing guidance on assessment and care management of people needing social care applies to former patients of the Royal Scottish National Hospital, Larbert. More generally, The same as you?, our review of learning disability services, aims to change markedly the quality of life of people with learning disabilities living in the community, including those formerly living in hospital.

A Project Board, comprising senior managers from Forth Valley Health Board, Forth Valley Primary Care NHS Trust and Falkirk Council, is co-ordinating arrangements to discharge patients from the Royal Scottish National Hospital, Larbert as part of the reprovision and retraction of services currently provided at the hospital. Officials from the Scottish Executive meet with the Project Board quarterly to review progress.No patient should be discharged from the hospital unless and until suitable alternative services and accommodation are in place. Under care management, social work professionals locally keep under review the provision of services for people with significant needs living in the community, including former patients of the hospital.

Where local authorities are currently engaged on trunk road minor improvement schemes outwith the new term maintenance contracts they will continue to work on these schemes for the time being. A review is currently under way to determine which schemes will remain with local authorities, which will be passed to the new operating companies and which new schemes could be allocated to local authorities. The outcome of the review is unlikely to be known until later this year.

The Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) was formed in 1993 by the Academy of Royal Colleges and Faculties in Scotland. SIGN develops and disseminates multidisciplinary, evidence-based clinical guidelines for the NHS in Scotland. The guidelines, which contain recommendations for effective practice based on current evidence, aim to improve the quality of health care for patients by reducing variation in practice and outcome. The guideline development programme is funded by the Clinical Resource and Audit Group (CRAG) of the Scottish Executive. Membership of SIGN includes all medical specialties, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, professions allied to medicine, patients, health service managers, social services, and researchers. The work of SIGN is supported by an Executive of 19 staff based at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. SIGN has a programme of 60 evidence-based clinical guidelines - published, in development, or under review - covering a wide range of topics. Its 50^th guideline was published in February of this year. Many of the guidelines relate to the NHS priority areas.Full background information on SlGN and a list of published guidelines can be found at their website at www.sign.ac.uk.

The claimant count unemployment rate for Scotland in February 2001 was 4.5%, showing a fall of 0.6% from the previous year. In East Ayrshire, the rate was 5.9%, showing a fall of 2.1% from the previous year.

As indicated in the answer to S1W-14487 Action Teams for Jobs is a Department for Education and Employment initiative. Further to the Chancellor's budget announcement on extensions to existing Action Teams I can confirm that the East Ayrshire Team will be extended until March 2004. A further £120m has been allocated to extend the initiative across Great Britain until 2004, including the creation of 2 new teams in Scotland. Details of the resources allocated to each team are still under discussion within DfEE and should be finalised in the next weeks. All Teams will be set stretching targets, with a focus on helping those furthest from active labour market involvement.

As indicated in the answer to S1O-3176 Action Teams for Jobs is a Department for Education and Employment initiative which provides additional, flexible assistance to jobless people in discrete areas of high unemployment. The Action Team in East Ayrshire has been operational since 26 June 2000 and celebrated its 200th job entry on 10 February 2001. Action Teams focus on small areas and groups of people at a particular disadvantage in the labour market. Participation in the initiative is voluntary and help is available to jobless people in the Action Team area regardless of the type of benefit they are claiming. The East Ayrshire Team is currently focusing on the Shortlees and Riccarton areas of Kilmarnock; and the areas of Muirkirk, Logan, Lugar and Netherthird & Craigens in Cumnock.