Chamber and committees

No government jobs have been relocated to Greenock and Inverclyde since 1999. The Executive remains committed to ensuring that Government in Scotland is efficient and decentralised, as part of the wider vision of more accessible, open and responsive Government. We are committed to examining opportunities as they arise and on a case-by-case basis. In this context, no areas of the country are targeted and equally none are ruled out, nor are there any targets for the number of jobs to be relocated or the areas to which they might go. Greenock and Inverclyde will continue to be considered as potential relocation sites.

The merger proposals are currently at a very early stage and no final decision will be taken before a full consultation has been undertaken to enable the views of all major stakeholders to be aired and the pros and cons of the proposal considered fully. Bearing this in mind, to offer a view on how any future merger of the funding councils would affect an individual college would, at this stage, be premature.

The Scottish Executive continues to work closely with the Enterprise Networks to improve the quality and effectiveness of support for business start-ups and growth businesses throughout Scotland.Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) is the main national scheme of financial assistance to industry in the Assisted Areas, which very substantially covers Greenock and Inverclyde Scottish parliamentary constituency. Following a review in 2001, the scheme was restructured to strengthen its focus on growing Scottish firms and quality projects. Additionally, closer links have been forged between the Executive and Scottish Enterprise Renfrewshire to ensure that firms in the Greenock and Inverclyde area take full advantage of the opportunities offered through RSA.The Scottish Co-Investment Fund (SCF) is administered by Scottish Enterprise. It is targeted at the current equity gap of up to £500,000 and will invest in a range of existing and new private-sector funding vehicles. A number of funds have already signed co-investment agreements and various direct investments in businesses have been made. Companies from Greenock and Inverclyde who wish to access this form of funding can apply directly to the individual fund managers. Businesses can also utilise the new Investment Readiness programme available in the Scottish Enterprise area to help them prepare their investment proposals. Details on this initiative can be obtained by contacting the local Business Gateway outlet in Greenock direct or online at www.bgateway.com.As outlined in the Partnership Agreement, steps are in hand to introduce additional support measures for businesses including a new Business Start-Up Fund. The details of the new fund are currently being worked up and will be announced in due course.

In the Executive's lifelong learning strategy Life Through Learning; Learning Through Life, published in February 2003, we outlined our vision for lifelong learning in Scotland, which "is to provide the best possible match between the learning opportunities open to people and the skills, knowledge, attitudes and behaviours that will strengthen Scotland's economy and society." The five people-centred goals to realise that vision are: a Scotland where people have the confidence, enterprise, knowledge, creativity and skills they need to take a full part in economic, social and civic life; a Scotland where people demand - and learning providers deliver - a high-quality learning experience;a Scotland where people's knowledge and skills are recognised, used and developed to best effect in their workplace; a Scotland where people are given the information, guidance and support they need to make effective learning decisions and transitions, and a Scotland where people have the chance to learn irrespective of their background or current personal circumstances.The planned 16% increase in higher and further education funding by 2006 referred to in A Partnership for a Better Scotland will help us meet these goals for the people of Scotland, and for the people living and working in Greenock and Inverclyde.While Scottish ministers set the overall policy framework within which our educational establishments operate, the resources made available to individual further education colleges and higher education institutions is a matter for the Scottish Further Education Funding Council and the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council respectively.A copy of our lifelong learning strategy can be found on the Executive's website at:http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/lifelong/llsm-00.asp.

We will announce our plans, including funding arrangements, when detailed discussions with local authorities and initial teacher education providers have been completed.

Information on the number of operations cancelled by NHSScotland for the reasons asked is not available. However, data is collected centrally on the number of planned admissions to hospital for in-patient/day case treatment (including non-surgical treatment) which are cancelled. In 2001-02 the number of cancelled planned admissions by NHSScotland was 15,572.

The information requested is not held centrally.

The working time regulations currently apply to all NHS staff, except doctors in training, who will start to come under the terms of the regulations from August 2004.On 4 April 2003, the Scottish Executive Health Department hosted a meeting of key stakeholders which representatives from trusts, Scottish Junior Doctors Committee and the Royal Colleges were invited to attend. The stakeholders engaged in a one-day facilitated discussion exercise, which encouraged the sharing of views and ideas about achieving compliance with the New Deal for junior doctors and working time regulations. A report of the findings on the day has been produced and will be circulated to all key stakeholders including the Royal Colleges.

The Partnership Working Group carried out a detailed study looking at the wider HR aspects of the working time regulations, their impact on staff groups in NHSScotland and their resource implications for the service. The report, which included a framework employers could use to assess the impact of regulations, was published in February 2003 under cover of NHS HDL (2003) 3.

Inverclyde Council, Strathclyde Passenger Transport, Network Rail and the Scottish Executive are making good progress on a number of transport projects in Inverclyde. Negotiations on the A78 West Station Bridge should be complete soon. Preparation work continues on the A78/A770 Cloch Road scheme and we expect that the scheme will be ready to go to tender in the summer.