Chamber and committees

The latest estimate of seal numbersin Scottish waters is around 100,000 grey seals and a minimum of 30,000 common seals.

The total annual tonnage of fisheaten by Scottish seals depends on the species involved but is likely to lie between179,000 and 253,000 tonnes, with a significant proportion of this consisting ofnon-commercial species.

The population of common sealsis relatively stable and the number of grey seal pups being born appears to be stabilising.There are currently no plans to introduce contraceptive measures to control the Scottish seal population but the Scottish Executive will continue to assess the potentialof any such measures on an on-going basis.

We plan to develop a strategyfor community hospitals in line with the Partnership Agreement commitment; “We will develop the important role of Community Hospitals anddevelop a strategy for sustaining small, rural and community hospitals where theyare safe and effective, including the provision of minor surgery and to act as aresource to GPs.”  We will be informing the development of the strategy by initiatinga comprehensive review of community hospital provision; this review will begin shortly.

It is not yet known who willserve on the body which is being set up to review the Arbuthnott Formula.

We have no current plans to dualthe single carriageway sections of the A90 north of Aberdeen. Anappraisal of the stretch of the A90 between Balmedie and Tipperty has recently beencompleted, using Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG), and we are consideringits conclusions.

This is a matter for the body which is being set up to review the Arbuthnott Formulato determine. In accordance with the Executive’s Code of Practice on Access to Information,I would anticipate that if evidence is sought it will be published.

The Report of the Summary JusticeReview Committee was published on 16 March 2004.It makes a number of recommendations in relation to reform of the criminal courtsin Scotland, including thecreation of a unified court administration managed by the Scottish CourtService. The Executive is currently consulting on the report’s recommendations.The consultation period runs until 16 July. No decisions will be taken on the report’srecommendations until the consultation period is complete.

The number of outstanding claims (that is claims still being considered after the payment window) for the main subsidy schemes covered by the Common Agricultural Policy for each of the five previous years is set out in the table below.

Scheme	Scheme Year
	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
Sheep Annual Premium Scheme	0	0	0	0	95
Suckler Cow Premium Scheme*	0	0	0	0	-
Beef Special Premium Scheme*	0	0	0	72	-
Slaughter Premium Scheme*	n/a	0	0	125	-
Extensification Payments Scheme*	n/a	0	0	0	-
Less Favoured Areas Support Scheme	n/a	n/a	12	8	6
Arable Area Payments Scheme	4	8	1	2	5

Note:

*No comparable figure for 2003 since payment window runs until 30 June 2004.

In November 2000 I introducedthe EU Agricultural Subsidies Appeals procedure to deal with disputed subsidy claims.

Since the procedure became operational,650 appeals have been received. In 2001 wereceived 84, in 2002, 270 and in 2003, 251. So far 45 appeals have been receivedin 2004. There is no record of claims in dispute prior to this period.

This information is not collectedat a national level or held centrally. The waiting time for patients to see a GPis dependent on a number of factors including clinical need.

A spectrum of measures is intrain within Scotland which reflects the importance the Executive attachesto addressing asthma. These include:

The new GP contract includesasthma as a condition, which will attract extra remuneration for doctors, ifthey meet standards of care. All practices are required to provide essentialservices, including management of chronic disease in a manner determined by thepractice in discussion with the patient.

The new contracts for otherhealth professionals enable the use of their expertise to address the reviewand management of people with asthma in the wider primary care teams. Forexample, the pharmacy strategy, The Right Medicine, is developing the role ofcommunity pharmacists through model schemes. This includes pharmacists takingpart in the chronic disease management of asthma.

Some personal medical pilots,which are another form of GP contract, have also been funded to developimproved chronic disease management in asthma.

Practice accreditationprocedures look into the management of chronic diseases including asthma. Thisinvolves following protocols and guidelines and the intention is that allpractices should be accredited by the end of 2004.

The Scottish IntercollegiateGuidelines Network, which is funded by the Executive through NHS QualityImprovement Scotland, published good practice guidelines on asthma managementjointly with the British Thoracic Society in February last year.

Other initiatives by the Executive which will benefit people with asthma include our efforts to reducesmoking in public places and the yearly influenza vaccination for high riskgroups including asthma.

In addition, the ChiefScientist Office is currently committed to funding nine research projects onasthma at a cost of £783,439.

Community HealthPartnerships (which were signalled in the White Paper, Partnership for Care)will have a particular focus on delivering improvements in the managementof chronic conditions. They will have a critical role as the main focus forservice integration for local communities with a particular emphasis on closingthe health gap and delivering improvements particularly in relation to themanagement of chronic diseases for adults and children. One of their strengthswill be their ability to provide a holistic approach to care.