Chamber and committees

The information pertaining to direct support of the voluntary sector by the Executive in 2000-01 is currently being compiled. An announcement by the Minister for Social Justice is imminent. The funding provided by non-departmental public bodies, the NHS and local government analysed as requested is not held centrally and would involve a trawl of all local authorities, NHS Boards and Trust Hospitals, etc. The provision of these figures would involve a disproportionate cost.

One of the core principles of Best Value is the requirement for local authorities to consult with stakeholders where appropriate. Indeed the Best Value Task Force report, which set out how Best Value should be implemented in Scotland, stated that effective consultation is essential to the success of Best Value and that Local authorities should ensure that all relevant stakeholders are consulted. This includes the voluntary sector where they make a significant contribution to service delivery or where they are one of the local authorities key partners.

As I announced in Parliament in May of this year we are in the process of drafting legislative proposals for consultation in Autumn 2001. These proposals will include a statutory definition of Best Value.

All local authorities have voluntarily undertaken a rolling programme of best value reviews of all their services and will be or have already publicised the results of these reviews locally. In addition from April 2000 all local authorities have developed their own Public Performance Reporting framework which makes information about performance available to those who are recognised stakeholders in local authority activities.

Details of who each local authority consults with are not held centrally. However we do expect authorities to consult with all relevant stakeholders in their area. Who these stakeholders are is for the local authority to determine, although they would be expected to consider the views of all parties who are affected by their decisions.

The Performance and Innovation Unit review will consider how the regulatory and legal framework could better enable voluntary organisations to thrive and grow; encourage the development of new types of organisations where needed; and ensure public confidence. The review will therefore touch on both reserved and devolved matters. We have established contact with the review team and will consider any implications their findings may have for devolved matters in due course.

We have no plans to encourage the establishment of a sports-specific first aid certificate for sports coaches. However, sportscotland's Coaching Team administer a number of workshops on behalf of the National Coaching Foundation. Injury Prevention and Management is just one in a series of 12 new workshops which consist of highly practical and applied three-hour sessions. On completion of this workshop coaches should be able to:

• Identify potential problems in training and/or competition which may lead to injury.
• Modify their practices and those of their performers to reduce the likelihood of injury.
• Assess the severity of injury and respond appropriately.
• Define the type and grade of, and deal with, soft tissue injury.
• Assess if a performer is ready to resume training and/or competition.

In the financial year ending 31 March 2001, 183 coaches had successfully completed the Injury Prevention and Management workshop. The workshop was also made available to approximately 30 Millennium Volunteers aged from 16 to 18.

I have just announced my intention to bring together nursing leaders and education providers for a "summit" on recruitment and retention.

Recruitment of nurses is a matter for individual NHS Trusts to determine in the light of local workforce planning needs within the overall context of agreed national policy. Our National Health: A plan for action, a plan for change states that over the next five years 10,000 nurses and midwives will qualify in Scotland - 1,500 more than previously planned.

We have no evidence of widescale recruitment by NHS Trusts in Scotland of nurses from overseas.

I am pleased to announce that Sheriff Principal Gordon Nicholson QC has accepted my invitation to chair this committee.Sheriff Principal Nicholson will bring his wealth of experience and expertise to the post. This committee is crucial to modernising our liquor licensing arrangements. The current law has served us well over 25 years. We now need to look at the issues again in the light of social changes; at how we encourage healthy patterns of drinking, and at how we discourage the links between drinking and violence.I expect to make an announcement about the wider membership of the committee early in July. It is hoped the committee will be able to hold its first meeting in August and to complete its work within 18 months.

The priority given to the maintenance of pavements, and the amount of any legal costs or compensation payments arising from defective pavements are properly matters for local authorities themselves. No such costs have had to be met by NHSScotland.

The Executive is committed to modernising government for Scotland. The modernisation programme is designed to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the Executive. It focuses on key developments in leadership, business planning, performance management, diversity and attracting and developing talent.A key element of the programme is a new objective based Pay and Performance Management System. The system will ensure there are clear links between personal objectives and the Executive's higher level objectives. Every individual will be accountable for achieving their objectives. The new system will complement the Executive's business planning process which is closely aligned with the budget process. Work is also going on to streamline Executive wide processes using IT, such as correspondence handling and records management.The Scottish Ministers are accountable to Parliament for the use of all the resources that are allocated to them.