Chamber and committees

There are no current plans to do so.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-19634 on 5 November 2001, in which I announced that the Registrar General had published his proposals from the consultation Civil Registration in the 21st Century. That consultation involved a wide range of organisations and encouraged responses from local authorities, registrars, churches, community councils, genealogists and others.The Registrar General's proposals included the possibility of requiring certain additional information to be given when registering a birth, death or marriage. He gave as an example the recording of the date of birth of parents when registering the birth of their child. This could facilitate family history searches at a later date. The Registrar General is considering this matter and an announcement will be made in due course.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.

Proposals to reopen a particular station are matters for the local transport authority or transport partnership. The Scottish Executive's Directions and Guidance (D&G) to the Strategic Rail Authority set out ministers' high level priorities for the next Scottish passenger rail franchise. They did not include details of specific services. Under the terms of the D&G, the current level of service is to be the starting point for bids. However, bidders will be able to offer suggested improvements if they wish and will be encouraged to discuss their bids with key stakeholders. The next franchise will be capable of being enhanced over time as the railway is developed.A copy of the D&G is available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 22122).

Proposals to reopen a particular station are for the local transport authority or transport partnership. In this case any such proposals would, therefore, be for Aberdeenshire Council or NESTRANS to bring forward.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-31353 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.

The Crown Office currently contracts with the Universities of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee for the provision of forensic pathology services across Scotland. Discussions are currently under way with service providers about future provision of services, which discussions are commercially confidential. As part of the process, however, the Crown has commissioned a detailed consultation exercise, involving all service providers, stakeholders and interested parties with a view to bringing all parties together to discuss and carve out a way forward that will meet future service needs and address the current concerns of service providers.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-31353 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.

Data on forensic pathologists are not available. However, data is available on histopathology, of which forensic pathology is a sub specialty. Table 1: Headcount and Whole Time Equivalent of Consultant Histopathologists Employed by NHSScotland

As at 30 September 2001	Headcount	WTE
Scotland	132	115.3
Argyll and Clyde Acute Hospitals NHS Trust	7	7.0
Ayrshire and Arran Acute Hospitals NHS Trust	7	7.0
Dumfries and Galloway Acute and Maternity Hospitals NHS Trust	3	3.0
Fife Acute Hospitals NHS Trust	4	3.8
Forth Valley Acute Hospitals NHS Trust	5	4.4
Grampian University Hospitals NHS Trust	17	14.8
South Glasgow University Hospitals NHS Trust	9	7.5
North Glasgow University Hospitals NHS Trust	28	21.4
Yorkhill NHS Trust	3	2.2
Highland Acute Hospitals NHS Trust	4	4.0
Lanarkshire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust	7	6.8
Lothian University Hospitals NHS Trust	26	19.4
West Lothian Healthcare NHS Trust	2	2.0
Tayside University Hospitals NHS Trust	13	11.9
Common Services Agency	1	0.2

Table 2: Vacancies for Consultant Histopathologists in NHSScotland

		Headcount	Vacancies as a Percentage of Establishment
As at 30 September 2001		Total Vacancies	Total Vacancies
Scotland		5	3.6
Argyll and Clyde Acute Hospitals NHS Trust		-	-
Ayrshire and Arran Acute Hospitals NHS Trust		-	-
Dumfries and Galloway Acute and Maternity Hospitals NHS Trust		-	-
Fife Acute Hospitals NHS Trust		-	-
Forth Valley Acute Hospitals NHS Trust		-	-
Grampian University Hospitals NHS Trust		-	-
South Glasgow University Hospitals NHS Trust		-	-
North Glasgow University Hospitals NHS Trust		-	-
Yorkhill NHS Trust		1	25.0
Highland Acute Hospitals NHS Trust		-	-
Lanarkshire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust		2	22.2
Lothian University Hospitals NHS Trust		2	7.1
West Lothian Healthcare NHS Trust		-	-
Tayside University Hospitals NHS Trust		-	-
Common Services Agency		-	-

The information requested is not held centrally.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-30388 on 22 October 2002. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found on http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.