A reply was issued on 28 March 2001.

The consultation with CoSLA on the Report's recommendations is not yet complete. Once it is I will make a full response on the Report.

The Executive plans to send an official to the Promoting Electronic Government Conference in Birmingham next month, which has been organised by DETR in partnership with others, and is primarily aimed at English local authorities.

I refer to the statement I made this morning providing an update on the outbreak of foot and mouth disease.

Through the Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Department's Public Understanding of Science grant scheme, a contribution of £9,500 to the Women into Science and Engineering (WISE) initiative has been made during the financial year 2000-01, which promotes science, engineering and technology to women. The Scottish Higher Education Funding Council (SHEFC) has provided support, since 1995, for initiatives to increase the number of women studying computing and engineering at university. In 2001-02, £100,000 will be provided for the Women into Science, Engineering and Technology (WISET) initiative, which supports work to improve access to, participation in and progression to careers in science, engineering and technology for women in Scottish higher education institutions. SHEFC is also providing £50,000 per annum to support a collaborative project in Edinburgh to raise awareness and aspirations of female school pupils towards science, engineering and technology-related courses.

Information was sought from the Freshwater Fisheries Laboratory, Pitlochry and, within the Scottish Executive, from the Veterinary Advisers and from Public Health Policy Unit. Clarification of various points was also sought from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. The advice from these bodies did not contradict the Agency's decision to approve the applications in question.The policy of the Scottish Ministers has been to exercise our power to call in applications to discharge for our own determination, under Section 36 of the Control of Pollution Act 1974, where the issues raised are novel or unusual, or of more than local significance, or where the Agency does not appear to be sufficiently informed to allow it to make a decision on the application. Careful consideration was given to the application to discharge at Biggar, but as the case did not appear to meet these criteria, the Scottish Ministers declined to exercise the power to call it in.

For the first time we have awarded 3-year allocations to local authorities from the Rural Transport Fund which is a significant step forward. At present it is the intention to continue the Fund beyond 2003-2004 but this will be reviewed at the next spending review in the light of ministerial commitments known at the time.

There is no mandatory training policy for NHS Trust staff on the use of medical equipment. NHS Trusts are responsible for ensuring that their employees are competent to use the equipment they need to use. Equally all health care professionals have a personal responsibility to ensure that they are properly trained in the safe use of medical equipment that they use.

NHS Trusts are responsible for planning and organising their own training activities according to the individual needs of the staff involved.In order to support and promote action at local level, Scottish Healthcare Supplies are raising the profile of procurement throughout the NHSScotland as an activity that contributes to patient care. The activities of the Strategic Alliance Partnership include the establishment of a Training and Development Group which will assist in the continuing development of staff.

The majority of NHS Trusts have good procedures in place to deal with the management of medical equipment. In April 2000 the Medical Devices Agency issued guidance entitled Equipped to Care - The safe use of medical devices in the 21st century. This was distributed in Scotland by Scottish Healthcare Supplies. The aim of the guidance is to:Help nurses, midwives, health visitors, other health professionals and support workers understand their role in the safe use, purchase and management of medical devices.Provide managers with pointers to the best practices for training, purchase and maintenance of medical devices.Ensure that arrangements for purchase, use and maintenance of medical devices are firmly embedded within the local framework for clinical governance.Raise awareness about the role of MDA and how it can provide advice, guidance to support the safe use of medical devices.However, in the light of the recent baseline report by the Auditor General Equipped to Care: Managing Medical Equipment in the NHS in Scotland it is my intention that the Health Department issues further guidance to NHS Trusts in order further to improve the situation across Scotland.