Chamber and committees

The planning and delivery of health services of this kind is a matter for health boards and NHS Trusts, based on their assessment of the needs of those who use their services.The provision of an outreach service as suggested is therefore a matter for the North Glasgow NHS Trust, in consultation with health boards and other NHS Trusts in Scotland. I understand that there are no current plans to provide such a service.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-11842 on 22 December.

The ban on the use of fishmeal in ruminant feed is one of a package of extremely important community-wide measures agreed at the December EU Agricultural Council Meeting, aimed at controlling BSE in Europe. A consultation exercise on the implementation of the ban is under way. The Scottish Executive will press to secure a derogation from the ban in the event of it being extended beyond June this year.

We offered grant earlier this month to Phoenix House for an intensive day care rehabilitation facility in Aberdeen and to Turning Point for a day rehabilitation service in Aberdeenshire. We expect these to be supported in subsequent years through the substantial additional sums we are providing for treatment and rehabilitation of drug misusers within the overall package of £100 million drug monies announced recently: £10 million for treatment and £21 million for rehabilitation over three years. It is for the local Drug Action Teams and their constituent agencies to consider the adequacy of existing drug misuse services, including the need for joined-up detoxification and rehabilitation facilities, in their proposals for use of these monies locally.

There are strong links between drug misuse and homelessness, and in particular rough sleeping. The Government has allocated £42 million over the five years from 1997-2002 for the Rough Sleepers Initiative, so that no-one will have to sleep rough by 2003.

The RSI fund a number of projects which help young drug addicted rough sleepers. Services provided by such projects include direct access accommodation and supported furnished flats for people with addiction problems, support staff, outreach workers, drugs advice workers and health workers.

In addition, £4 million has been allocated this year to health boards to support existing rough sleeping initiatives in Scotland. Guidance to health bodies on the needs of homeless people, including rough sleepers, will be issued shortly and a national health and homelessness co-ordinator will be appointed later this year to spearhead further improvements in health care for this vulnerable group.

The administration of the meningitis C vaccination programme is funded by the Scottish Executive and invoices are processed by the Common Services Agency. This system was agreed with the Department of Health in England and allows Scotland to take advantage of the arrangements currently in place in the rest of the UK.

Central guidance on the procedures for checking the possible criminal background of prospective teachers and those applying for certain other education authority posts is set out in Circular SED 5 / 1989 issued on 24 July 1989. Similar guidance was issued to proprietors of independent schools on 30 November 1992.

These arrangements will be reviewed to take account of the provisions of Part V of the Police Act 1997 which we aim to bring into force next summer.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-11726.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-11726.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-11726.