Chamber and committees

The new GeneralMedical Services contract provides a patient service guarantee which ensuresthat patients will continue to get access to at least the current range ofprimary medical services available.

GPpractices may opt-out of providing additional services and out-of-hoursprovision. The new contract stipulates that these services must meet therequired independent standards to ensure a safe, quality service, whoever theprovider may be.

As I indicated in my answer of13 May 2004, the Parliament is currently reviewing its policy onthe use of languages, including Gaelic, and a report will be made to the SPCB shortly.I have nothing further to add at this stage.

The number of Integrated Administration and Control System, Area Aid Application forms submitted to each SEERAD area office for each of the last four complete scheme years is shown below.

The information on penalties is not readily available in exactly the form requested. The table indicates the percentage of these subsequently found by officials to contain errors which resulted in reductions or penalties being applied. These errors were identified either during administration checks or inspections. Claims submitted late and those “reduced” due to insufficient set-aside have not been counted in the percentage penalised. Not all of these adjustments to claims will have resulted in a financial penalty.

Area Office*	Claimants				Percentage Reduced or Penalised
	2000	2001	2002	2003	2000	2001	2002	2003
Ayr	1,956	1,923	1,886	1,874	15.8	17.0	13.1	12.0
Benbecula	763	741	729	718	5.2	3.4	9.9	5.4
Dumfries	1,434	1,405	1,376	1,388	16.9	19.1	17.7	16.4
Elgin	641	616	600	588	12.5	18.7	17.8	15.0
Gala	1,590	1,574	1,544	1,549	18.3	19.2	23.6	17.9
Hamilton	865	848	832	821	15.3	19.7	15.4	15.4
Inverness	1,497	1,441	1,412	1,386	15.9	19.0	14.7	13.8
Grampian	2,933	2,858	2,784	2,754	16.2	17.7	16.8	17.0
Kirkwall	826	798	785	769	13.6	17.9	18.1	15.1
Lairg	500	492	480	472	11.8	14.2	7.7	11.6
Lerwick	1,144	1,129	1,094	1,057	16.8	24.3	19.0	20.2
Oban	973	950	931	919	17.8	22.4	15.2	11.1
Perth	2,787	2,713	2,667	2,627	22.4	22.3	18.2	19.4
Portree	588	581	563	542	13.8	10.7	5.2	5.5
Stornoway	1,395	1,329	1,263	1,183	15.0	20.3	6.7	4.7
Thurso	798	783	767	750	17.7	12.8	8.0	11.2
Total	20,692	20,183	19,715	19,397	16.4	18.4	15.4	14.5

Note:

*In addition, two businesseshave not yet been allocated a parish/area office.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-7775 on 7 May 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.

The Minister has provided the following Gaelic translation:

Dh’iarrainn air a’ bhall a dhol chun an fhreagairt a chaidh a thoirt ri ceist S2W-7775. Tha a h-uile ceist ri CPan sgrìobhte rim faotainn air làrach-lìn na Pàrlamaid, agus an goireas airson a lorg aig http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.

No. The Bull Hire Scheme wasintended to deliver improvement to cattle stocks not as a form of financial supportfor crofting groups. The members of participating groups continue to have accessto the full range of agricultural support schemes available in the Highlands andIslands and to the special assistance available to crofters and persons of likestatus through the Crofting Counties Agricultural Grants Scheme. In due course theywill also have access to the grant scheme that will replace the Bull Hire Scheme.

The Executive is keen to ensurethat all of the £126 million made available for ex-gratia payments when the pensionschemes were wound up will be paid out. To date, £121.72 million has been paid outto 12,026 former members of the ScottishTransport Group pension schemes. Around 640ex members of pension scheme have yet to make an application for funds that maybe due to them. The Executive is currently considering how to best to distributethe final £4.28 million that remains of the original £126 million made available. 

None. The decision was basedon an evaluation which was made available in the Parliament Information Centre (Bib.number 32088) and published on the Crofters Commission website. The decision alsohad regard to concerns as to the extent to which the Bull Hire Scheme is consistentwith the Community Guidelines for State Aid in the Agricultural Sector.

The details of the scheme havenot yet been developed. We have commissioned a consultant to prepare proposals fora replacement cattle improvement scheme. We will be working closely with key intereststo work up such a scheme. It is essential that these new arrangements are clearlycompliant with state aid rules.

The new arrangements will givecrofting groups far greater control over improvement of their stock.

The arrangements are likely totake the form of grants, payable on expenditureto implement plans to deliver genetic improvement.Grant levels will not exceed 50% of costsincurred. Our intention is that all thosewho are eligible for assistance under the current Bull Hire Scheme should be eligibleto apply for grant.

Aside from these basic requirementsthe structure of the scheme is yet to be determined.

This decision was taken on thebasis of concerns about compliance with EU state aids rules and value for money.The evaluation of the scheme has already been made public.

The Bull Hire Scheme precededthe Forward Strategy for Scottish Agriculture by many years and had no link to it.The proposed replacement scheme can however be expected to take account of the strategy.It is intended that it will allow crofters to control the improvement of their stockwith a focus on the market in a way that is not possible under the existing schemewhich allocates the limited range of bulls available on the stud farm to croftinggroups.  Concern at the possible loss of cattle from peripheral areas was one of the principal reasons we decided to introduce a replacement scheme. There is noreason to suppose that a scheme that will be better at enabling crofters to respondto market pressures will be any less effective  than the present arrangements atcombating such loss.