Chamber and committees

The levels of resource transfer negotiated between the care agencies will continue, as now, to reflect local needs, changes to the local pattern of care and all available resources.

Health boards, NHS Trusts, local authorities, local health councils, the Scottish Health Advisory Service, the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland and the voluntary and private sector currently provide a range of information and advice on mental health.

The information and advice will vary in depth and range depending on the organisation and the care need targeted.

We have made The Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) (Scotland) Amendment (No.2) Order 1999.

The Order substitutes a new paragraph 2 in Schedule 1 to the 1997 Order so that the exemption for dwellings undergoing major repair work or structural alteration (or which have recently undergone such work or alteration) ends 12 months after the dwelling in question was last occupied or (if sooner) six months after the work or alteration was substantially completed. It came into force on 1 April 2000.

I can today inform Parliament that it is my intention to consult on plans to end the joint and several liability students have for council tax as part of the Executive's consultation exercise on its proposals for student funding which Henry McLeish will announce on 24 May.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency and its predecessor, the North East River Purification Board, have measured nitrate concentrations in the Ythan catchment on a regular basis since the early 1960's. Whilst there have been year-to-year variations in the data there has been a clear upward trend over the period with, for example, mean levels of nitrate at Ellon increasing from 7.2 milligrams per litre in 1961 to 37.4 mg/litre in 1998. Levels of nitrate in several tributaries of the Ythan, including the Keithfield, Youlie and Brounie Burns have already exceeded the limit in the directive which requires there to be less than 50 mg/litre in 95% of samples.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) continues to monitor the River Ythan and its major tributaries. The table summarises the results obtained during 1999 from the lowest monitoring sites on each tributary and from the lowest freshwater monitoring site on the main river. This provides an overall picture of the state of the river and its tributaries.

River/Tributary	Sampling location	National Grid Reference	Nitrate concentration: min. and max. measurements made in 1999 (mg/l)
R. Ythan	Ellon Car Park (Harmonised Monitoring Site)	NJ 957 303	29.9-41.3
Fordoun Burn	Fyvie Bridge	NJ 761 376	29.0-42.7
Little Water	B9005 Bridge	NJ 842 394	34.4-40.1
Burn of Keithfield	B9005 Bridge	NJ 881 359	25.1-44.6
Raxton Burn	Thornroan	NJ 865 325	24.4-34.5
Ebrie Burn	B9005 Bridge	NJ 923 323	31.3-38.7
Youllie Burn	Hillhead of Ardlethen	NJ 922 305	39.9-51.3
Bronie Burn	Hillhead of Ardlethen	NJ 923 303	26.1-45.5
Forvie Burn	Waulkmill	NK 003 293	17.0-21.4
Tarty Burn	Mill of Tarty	NJ 975 269	16.4-36.5
Foveran Burn	Mill of Newburgh	NJ 998 249	15.9-33.7
Fechel Burn	Mill of Fechel	NJ 868 254	27.7-38.3

SEPA measures the concentration of nitrate in the Ythan estuary beneath the A975 Bridge at Newburgh. Because the location is tidal, the water sampled varies in salinity - sometimes it is predominantly freshwater, sometimes it is predominantly sea water - and therefore in nitrate concentration. In 1999 concentrations of nitrate in the samples collected from the Bridge at Newburgh ranged from 1.2 to 38.0 mg/l.

SEPA is continuing to measure nitrate concentrations at all of the above locations.

The Ythan Nitrate Vulnerable Zone has been designated on the basis of criteria set out at Annex IA(3) of the EC Nitrates Directive(91/676/EEC) i.e. that the estuary is eutrophic, or in the near future may become eutrophic.

During its 1997 review of eutrophic waters the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) concluded that the Ythan estuary met three of the criteria for eutrophication set out in guidance issued by the Scottish Office to regulatory authorities on assessing the eutrophic status of estuaries and coastal waters. These included changes in macrophyte growth, changes in fauna, and elevated nitrate concentrations in the river.

SEPA also supported the conclusion of its predecessor body, the North East River Purification Board, that agriculture is the main source of nitrate pollution in the Ythan catchment. In these circumstances Article 3 of the Directive requires all known areas of land, which drain into the estuary to be designated as an NVZ.

Additional evidence of high levels of nitrate in the surface waters of the Ythan catchment was reported by SEPA in its 1999 Surface Water Monitoring Report.

The Scottish Executive Rural Affairs Department is currently funding one project in this area. The aim is to develop a protocol for identifying UK Enteromorpha species and to identify those species occurring in the Ythan estuary. The research is also investigating how these species respond to different growing conditions in the laboratory, and will relate this information to why Enteromorpha has become a problem in the Ythan estuary. The work is being carried out jointly by the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh and the University of Dundee and is scheduled to be completed by February 2001.

Under the Scottish Executive code of practice on access to information, there is a presumption to make reports available to the public when the research is complete. I will arrange for a copy of the final report of this project to be sent to you when it becomes available.

Codes of practice are required under section 11 of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000, containing guidance on the exercise of functions under the Act. Draft codes, including a code for persons authorised to carry out medical treatment or research under Part 5 of the Act, are currently being prepared.

Final versions of the codes will be laid before Parliament at least three months before they are required for implementation of the legislation. Implementation of the legislation starts in April 2001. We hope to bring Part 5 into force by summer 2001.

Firm cost estimates for these works are not yet available and can only be produced after the Holyrood design and external works proposals have been finalised.

The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body will continue to report to MSPs about the Holyrood Project, including the achievement of construction progress within the agreed timescale. Information will also be provided on specific issues when appropriate. Our next report should be available shortly.