Chamber and committees

In terms of the Human Tissue Act 1961, two different sets of circumstances need to be considered. Section 1(1) of the act provides: "If any person, either in writing at any time or orally in the presence of two or more witnesses during his last illness, has expressed a request that his body or any specified part be used after his death for therapeutic purposes or for purposes of medical education or research, the person lawfully in possession of his body after his death may, unless he has reason to believe that the request was subsequently withdrawn, authorise the removal from the body of any part or, as the case may be, the specified part, for use in accordance with the request." In the case of an individual dying in hospital without any next of kin, there would be nothing to prevent the person lawfully in charge of the body consulting the executor as to whether the original request had been withdrawn.Section 1(2)(a) of the 1961 act provides that the person lawfully in possession of the body can authorise the removal of any part of the body for the purposes of medical education or research if, after reasonable inquiry, he has no reason to believe that the deceased had expressed an objection to the body being so dealt with after death, and had not withdrawn that objection. In the case of a person dying in hospital with no next of kin, one option would clearly be to inquire of the executors whether the deceased had expressed any objections to a post-mortem examination.The 1961 act is generally regarded as unsatisfactory, and the Executive has accepted the recommendation from the Review Group on Retention of Organs at Post-Mortem that it should be replaced when legislative time becomes available.

When an individual without next of kin dies in hospital, the funeral can be arranged by a public authority such as an NHS board, NHS trust or Social Work Department. The local authority has a duty to bury or cremate the deceased if no other arrangements can be made, and a claim can be made on the deceased's estate to cover the funeral expenses.Further information is available in the Scottish Executive publication What to Do After a Death in Scotland.

We are committed to changing the legislation governing post-mortem examinations, and are continuing to work closely with the other UK Health Departments and the Retained Organs Commission, who are also looking at the reform of the law on the use of human tissue. The Review Group on the Retention of Organs at Post-Mortem and the Scottish Transplant Group will continue to advise the Executive in relation to proposed changes in the law.

The information requested is not held centrally. This would be a matter for local authorities themselves.

No application to fund specific community planning events at a local level, have been made to the Scottish Executive in either the previous financial year (2001-02) or the current financial year (2002-03).The Executive may have received funding requests for other events which have had a relationship to the broader community planning process, but where community planning itself was not the over-riding theme. This information is not held centrally.

Community planning guidance is being developed to accompany the Local Government in Scotland Bill, which is currently being considered by Parliament.It is our intention to circulate it to Community Planning Partnerships and other bodies, including community councils, for comment this month.

The Scottish Executive provides funding for the national network of Councils for Voluntary Service who work to a set of key objectives set by the Executive, one of which is to participate in the community planning process.Whilst the Executive does not provide funding for individual community councils, it does provide grant funding for the Association of Scottish Community Councils to enable them to play a full role in the representation of community council interests.The Executive has also issued general guidance to both local authorities and community councils on best practice in involving community councils in issues affecting the local community.

The Clinical Standards Board for Scotland is currently working on the development of standards for hospital post-mortem examinations. These have a standard statement relating to authorisation and information, which is that "authorisation is given for all hospital post-mortems, taking into account the wishes of the deceased and, where appropriate, the wishes of the relatives." These standards will be mandatory across NHSScotland.

I refer the member to the answer given to the question S1W-29544 today. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.

(a) The Local Government in Scotland Bill proposes a requirement on local authorities in their role in facilitating the community planning process, to consult, co-operate and encourage community bodies to work in partnership, to promote the well-being of their area through community planning.Guidance to the bill will emphasise that this should include voluntary organisations. We are also considering as part of the guidance, what support is required in building the capacity of voluntary organisations to engage in the community planning process.(b) The formal consultation on community budgeting was completed at the end of June 2002. The Executive is currently considering these responses and the best way forward for community budgeting to proceed.