Chamber and committees

No decision has been made on whether or how hedgehogs might be removed from the Uists and Benbecula, although action is required to address the serious threat to the internationally important population of ground nesting wading birds on these islands. Research conducted by the RSPB over the past seven years has clearly demonstrated the serious decline in these birds due to predation by hedgehogs. The published research on methodology which Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has considered is noted below. Additional advice has been given by RSPB Scotland. SNH has undertaken wide consultation with academics and animal welfare groups through the Uist Wader Project, a partnership between SNH, Scottish Executive and RSPB Scotland. During September 2002, SNH are discussing methods of controlling the hedgehog population on the Uists and Benbecula with a wide range of conservation and animal welfare organisations prior to reaching final conclusions.Research sources:Doncaster CP (1994). Factors regulating local variations in abundance: field tests on hedgehogs. Morris PA (1998). Hedgehog rehabilitation in perspective.Reeve NJ (1998). Survival and welfare of hedgehogs after release back into the wild.Jackson DB and Green RE (2000). The importance of the introduced hedgehog as a predator of the eggs of waders on machair in South Uist, Scotland.Reeve, N.J. and Bristow, S. (2001). Feasibility study on a small-scale translocation of hedgehogs from the Uists to mainland Scotland: a non-lethal alternative to humane killing to achieve hedgehog population reduction.

Postgraduate education for hospital doctors requiring additional training in the diagnosis and treatment of such conditions will be delivered through Continuous Professional Development programmes, which are organised and approved by the medical Royal Colleges. Programmes that are developed for doctors in the training grades will include the relevant education and training that is needed in their areas of practice. Guidance and assistance is available to hospital doctors from NHS Education for Scotland via the Postgraduate Deans and Tutors. General practitioners, like other professionals, are expected to look at their own personal learning needs and the health needs of their patients and to seek training accordingly. Guidance and assistance is available to GPs from NHS Education for Scotland via the Postgraduate Directors of General Practice Education.

The criteria for inclusion in the research are: unexplained motor symptoms, medically unexplained neurological symptoms, and frequent referral from primary to secondary care for medically unexplained symptoms. They are based on the absence of conventionally defined organic disease and on the way patients are managed in the health service. Patients with ME/CFS may be among those recruited into the study, but the presence or absence of this condition is not a criterion for either inclusion or exclusion.

Local authorities are required to provide services to all individuals who need social work services in their areas and who may require community care services under the terms of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968. That would include those who suffer from myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). We have issued no specific guidance relative to those who suffer from ME/CFS or any other chronic condition which may cause disability, but are continuing to provide local authorities with the guidance - as well as with the resources and support - to meet the needs of the people in their areas.

Question S1W-11358 was specifically about ME/CFS, for which there is at present no independently validated diagnostic test. The epidemiological study will determine the annual incidence of patients with unexplained motor symptoms presenting to a neurological service in a defined geographical area. The criteria for inclusion in the study are based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV) criteria for "conversion disorder" and were determined by means of a structured clinical interview conducted by a neurologist. The grant was awarded on the grounds that a better understanding of the factors associated with the development of unexplained motor symptoms would contribute to improved treatment.

The following table shows numbers of people under 18 seen as in-patients and day patients and discharged with a diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis. Figures for those seen as out-patients are not available.

Year ended 31 December	Patients aged under 18
1997	12
1998	10
1999	8
2000	8
2001	13

The Executive does not itself carry out research studies, but may fund NHS and academic bodies to do so. No recent studies into recovery rates from ME/CFS have been funded.

Scottish Statutory Instrument (Scotland) number (2001 No. 259), which sets the statutory rules for the Farm Business Development Scheme (FBDS), legislates for the submission of single project applications attracting a maximum grant of £25,000, or for collaborative ventures. A collaborative venture is defined in the legislation as "a project which is jointly submitted by three or more eligible persons in relation to three or more eligible businesses". The grant ceiling for a collaborative project is £30,000 per eligible business. The SSI came into force on 2 July 2001 and has not been amended. There was, however, an anomaly in the scheme literature which was amended in April 2002. Unfortunately, the literature which accompanied the scheme indicated that joint applications (i.e. applications from two agricultural businesses) were eligible under the scheme. This statement was incorrect, since an FBDS application coming from two agricultural businesses does not fulfil the legal definitions of eligibility as set out at section 2(1) of the covering legal instrument. There has been no change in the legislation as described above. A wide ranging review of the scheme is to be undertaken with a view to reporting to Scottish ministers later this year, and the issue of joint applications will be considered as part of the review. One of the aims of the scheme remains to encourage collaboration within the farming sector and this is reflected in the higher level of grant ceiling available to collaborative ventures.

The first Farm Business Development Scheme (FBDS) projects were approved in November 2001 and since that date 257 projects have been approved. The following table provides a detailed breakdown, by area, of those projects: Table 1 - Numbers of FBDS Projects Approved in Rounds 1 to 3

	East (South)	East (North)	West	Dumfries and Galloway	Scottish Borders	Total
Alternative Agriculture	17	15	1	9	2	44
Non-Agricultural Diversification	33	69	25	63	23	213
Overall Total	50	84	26	72	25	257

The answers to your questions are:(a) There is no set approval rate for types of FBDS projects. Grant rates are set individually by area based Project Assessment Committees up to a maximum of £25,000 or, if less, 50% of eligible expenditure. (b) to (c) Details of FBDS claims paid are, as follows: Table 2 - FBDS Claims Paid (as at 19 July 2002)

Measure	East (South)(£)	East (North)(£)	West(£)	Dumfries and Galloway(£)	ScottishBorders(£)	Total PaymentsClaimed(£)	Approval by Category(%)
Alternative Agriculture	28,315	32,340	14,994	30,991	18,156		20
Non-AgriculturalDiversification	138,607	61,162	64,967	103,327	123,080	491,143	80
Total		93,502	79,961		141,236	615,939	100%

(d) Information in relation to completed projects is not available at this time. Successful applicants have two years from the date of approval in which to complete their project and submit their final claims for financial assistance. No approvals were issued prior to November 2001.

The TSE (Scotland) Regulations 2002, SSI No 2002/255, which implement Community legislation, were signed then laid before the Parliament on 29 May. These controls come into force on 19 June.