Chamber and committees

The Scottish Executive Health Department has recognised the crucial importance of ongoing education for all staff in NHSScotland through its strategy for education, training and lifelong learning entitled Learning Together.The prime responsibility for continuous professional development lies with employers and it is for them to organise their priorities and resources to meet the needs of their staff.Support and co-ordination of this activity is currently provided by the National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting for Scotland and will continue and develop under the new special health board being created to provide an overarching education and training body for health care staff.

The Scottish Executive Health Department has recognised the crucial importance of ongoing education for all staff in NHSScotland through its strategy for education, training and lifelong learning entitled Learning Together.The Strategy for Nursing and Midwifery in Scotland, Caring for Scotland, published in March 2001 reinforces this through specific actions on meeting the provision of support and opportunities for nurses and midwives in meeting their CPD needs and requirements.

The funding of individual colleges of further education is a matter for the Scottish Further Education Funding Council. The council has been in detailed discussion with the college on the preparation of its financial recovery plan, which is now expected to be incorporated into the college's management action plan by the end of July 2001. Implementation will be a matter for agreement between the council and the college.

It would not be appropriate for ministers to be involved in such a local issue.

In Scotland, the introduction of neonatal hearing screening will be taken forward in two steps. The first involves the establishment of two pathfinder sites with screening beginning in these areas by April 2002 Thereafter, the screening programme will be rolled out across Scotland from April 2003.

A review of the implications of implementing a phased neonatal hearing screening programme was placed on the SHOW website on 27 June and is available on the SHOW website at www.show.scot.nhs.uk.

The International Adult Literacy Survey suggested that 23% of adults in Scotland may have low literacy and numeracy skills.On 2 July I published the Adult Literacy Team's report, Adult Literacy and Numeracy in Scotland. I am now considering the report's 21 key recommendations.The Scottish Executive has already committed £22.5 million over the next three years to the task of raising literacy and numeracy levels. £18.5 million of this will be channelled through local authorities to community learning strategy learning partnerships to raise to around 80,000 the number of Scottish learners who will be assisted over the next three years.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-16321.

Latest published figures in Government Expenditure and Revenue in Scotland 1998-99 suggest that Scotland had a deficit of £4.9 billion, excluding North Sea revenues, in 1998-99. In the same year, the UK Government's fiscal position, excluding North Sea revenues, was broadly in balance.

We are currently discussing with local authority representatives school building needs in order to clarify the level of need for improvement, and establish strategic priorities for future funding.

The Scottish Executive is fully committed to the promotion of breastfeeding, which is uniformly accepted as the best form of nutrition for infants.The provisions and restrictions on information, including advertising, relating to infant formula and follow-on formula by manufacturers and distributors are controlled in the UK by the Infant Formula and Follow-on Formula Regulations 1995 (as amended). The Food Standards Agency, Scotland is responsible for advising the Scottish Executive in relation to these regulations. I am advised by the agency that these regulations embrace the principles of the World Health Organisation Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes 1981.