The Ministerial Healthcare Associated Infection (HAI) Task Force is nearing completion of a three-year programme of work to improve prevention and control of HAI. The task force has developed a raft of tools, including a national Code of Practice for the Local Management of Hygiene and HAI, a range of professional guidance, public information, and multidisciplinary education and training programmes.

We recently announced that the task force will lead a new programme of work (underpinned by the £15 million Clean Hospitals funding). This will focus on implementation of, and monitoring compliance with, HAI Task Force recommendations and Scottish Executive requirements to ensure that best practice on infection prevention and control is firmly embedded into working practices throughout NHSScotland.

For example, I recently launched a monitoring tool that will measure compliance within NHS boards with the NHSScotland National Cleaning Services Specification. The Health Department will receive quarterly reports on compliance.

I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:

Communities Scotland (and its predecessor, Scottish Homes) has worked strenuously to increase the quality and variety of houses in disadvantaged areas of West Dunbartonshire. In particular:

Since 1997 (and before) investment has been targeted almost solely on areas of deprivation in West Dunbartonshire, especially in the seven former social inclusion partnership priority areas, which now correspond to the community planning areas for priority investment.

Communities Scotland has worked in close partnership with West Dunbartonshire Council, local registered social landlords (RSL) and communities to identify local housing need, together with the type and tenure of housing appropriate to local areas. This has involved the development of comprehensive area based housing strategies including the restructuring of estates and removal of unpopular/low demand housing.

Together with the above Communities Scotland is ensuring through its appraisal procedures an increase in housing quality through the use of sustainable materials, increased energy efficiency and the provision of housing for varying needs.

Since 1997 (the nine year period from 1996-97 to 2004-05) 1,466 houses have been provided comprising 846 units for social rent general needs, 291 units for social rent special needs, 329 for low cost home ownership (71 units shared ownership and 258 units GRO grant funded). Total investment over this period was £61,365,000.

The location of the houses provided as follows:

Clydebank/Faifley	645
Bellsmyre/Dumbarton	73
Haldane/New Bonhill	249
Renton/Alexandria	499

 

In addition, for 2005-06 approvals have been given for another 142 affordable houses and a further £9,601,000 investment.

The funding allocations made each year to The Golden Jubilee Hospital, since it was purchased for the NHS in June 2002 are as shown in the following table.

Year	Revenue Resource Limit (£000)	Capital Resource Limit (£000)
2005-06 Year to Date	37,966	3,790
2004-05*	33,341	3,870
2003-04*	28,400	3,059
2002-03* (June 02 onwards)	17,100	2,000

Note: *Information obtained from Annual Accounts.

Information for the areas requested is not held centrally.

National estimates drawn from sample data of general practitioner consultations for dementia, post natal depression, anxiety and depression are available from the NHS, National Services Scotland at http://www.isdscotland.org/general_practice_info.

Data on the proportion of GP registered patients with severe and enduring mental health problems who have agreed to regular follow-up through the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) process is available at http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/qof.

The EU Landfill Directive sets targets for the UK to reduce the amount of biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) going to landfill to:

75% of 1995 levels by 2010

50% of 1995 levels by 2013

35% of 1995 levels by 2020.

The National Waste Plan 2003 set an interim target to reduce landfill of biodegradable municipal waste to 1.5 million tonnes by 2006.

The Landfill Allowance Scheme sets limits for individual authorities to meet these targets, by limiting their landfill of biodegradable municipal waste to their holding of landfill allowances. A total of 1.5 million tonnes of allowances has been issued for the 2006-07 scheme year. The total tonnes of biodegradable municipal waste which will be allowed to be landfilled in Directive target years are:

1.32 million tonnes in 2009-10

0.88 million tonnes in 2012-13

0.62 million tonnes in 2019-20.

In order to meet these targets local authorities have been awarded over £329 million to 2007-08 through the Strategic Waste Fund to implement recycling and composting schemes. Indicative awards totalling nearly £1 billion to 2020 have also been made. Further bids to the fund are requested from all local authorities by the end of January 2006 showing how they propose to divert waste from landfill.

The number of modern apprentices (MAs) broken down by local authority area and by year is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. This information is not held centrally.

However, Scottish Enterprise have published MA figures which include the parliamentary constituency of Dumbarton and also Dunbartonshire local enterprise company area. These are now in the public domain and can be found on their website:

www.scottish-enterprise.com/sedotcom_home/training-providers-top/training-providers/performance-and-reports.htm?siblingtoggle=1.

Regulations have been in place since April 2003 enabling local authorities to undertake roadside exhaust emissions testing and to issue fixed penalty notices where prescribed standards are not met. The regulations also allow fixed penalties to be issued to drivers who allow their vehicle engines to run unnecessarily while parked.

Glasgow City Council is one of the authorities making use of these powers.

We have not made any calculation of these costs.

A number of initiatives have been implemented to address congestion on the M8 through Glasgow in recent years. These include ramp metering at junction 16 to allow smoother merging and improved traffic throughput; journey time information panels on eastern approaches to Glasgow on the M8 and M80, to allow drivers to take local diversion routes if appropriate; active queue management on gantries, and new Incident Support Units, introduced by AMEY, which help to tackle congestion by getting to and clearing incidents and hazards quickly.

Measures to tackle congestion on the local road network, including the Clyde Tunnel, are a matter for Glasgow City Council.

In its response to the public consultation paper on the Tolled Bridges Review Phase Two earlier this year, and in a related press release on 25 July, the Scottish Council for Development and Industry called for the abolition of tolls at all three of Scotland’s tolled bridges. We are taking these views and many others into account in considering the findings of the review.