Chamber and committees

Comprehensive information on all the financial packages available to inward investors is not held centrally and to provide a detailed list would involve disproportionate costs. However, the number of companies that received Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) over £1 million total 72.Some of the companies have undertaken more than one project, and their total RSA payments over this period have exceeded £1 million. This information covers 1 April 1989 to 31 March 1999. Locate in Scotland's results for 1 April 1999 to 31 March 2000 will be published in June 2000.

Comprehensive information on all financial packages available to inward investors is not held centrally and to provide a detailed list would involve disproportionate costs. However, the following information on each of the companies specified shows total assistance given in RSA and Scottish Enterprise/Local Enterprise Company packages since 1 April 1989:

Levi Strauss	£2,063,579
Hyundai	Nil
Lite On	£1,767,737
Mitsubishi	£2,583,136
Continental Tyres	Nil
Caterpillar	Nil
Kvaerner	£4,038,800
Viasystems	Nil
National Semiconductor	£2,161,980
Wrangler	Nil
Volvo	£88,000

The figures shown, where appropriate, are net amounts following recovery of payments made.

The condition of the private sector stock will be shown by the next Scottish House Condition Survey.

The capital spending of authorities would remain public expenditure even if the requirement for local authorities to have the consent of Scottish Ministers to undertake capital spending were abolished. This would have to be reflected in public spending totals, which would not themselves change. In these circumstances, an adjustment to the assigned budget to reflect the changed treatment of local authority capital spending may be appropriate, and consequently there may be no net benefit to the Assigned Budget or, ultimately, local authority spending.

In our Programme for Government, we made a commitment to work across the Executive to promote modern government, of which one of the main themes would be customer-focused policy development and service delivery.

We will put the citizen at the centre through our commitment to inclusive policy-making, and civic participation in all its forms. The public can make a real contribution to better policies at both local and national level. We are encouraging that contribution through our support for the Scottish Civic Forum, through the £3 million Listening to Communities programme, through the £10 million Working for Communities programme and through the increasing use of the possibilities offered by the Internet.

We will also work across the public sector to deliver citizen-focused services that are provided in such a way as to meet the needs of the citizens, not the convenience of the service provider. In particular, we will seek to overcome obstacles to joined-up working through a variety of means, and will seek to involve and meet the needs of all different groups in society. For example, the First Minister announced on 30 March his decision that the Executive's target for delivery of 100% of its services online by 2008 was being brought forward to 2005. At a practical level, I recently announced the £25 million Modernising Government Fund, which is designed to help take forward projects involving the innovative provision of improved public services, and particularly encourages partnership working.

The Scottish Executive recognises and encourages the valuable contribution that the voluntary sector makes in raising funds for and in commissioning medical research. We are also committed to ensuring that our agencies, non-departmental public bodies and the NHSiS actively encourage and promote the work of the voluntary sector. As an example of this, the Chief Scientist's office is currently funding a small research project to the value of over £8,000 on enhancing the relationship between health voluntary organisations and the NHSiS.

The Scottish Executive has no plans, however, for the integration of the NHSiS with the voluntary sector in relation to medical research.

The delivery of benefits advice is an operational matter for the Benefits Agency, and is a reserved matter. However, we recognise the importance of the take-up of benefit and pension entitlement in the elimination of poverty in Scotland. We welcome current efforts to maximise take-up and are in regular contact with UK Government ministers and Departments on these and other matters.

Opportunities exist at every level in schools within the curriculum for the teaching of development education, including awareness of Third World development issues.

The Scottish Consultative Council on the Curriculum are working with the Department for International Development to produce resources and support materials on development education for teachers.

The information requested is not available centrally.

It is for health boards and NHS Trusts to plan and deliver services which meet the need of their local population. In doing so, they take account of the effectiveness of different healthcare interventions, including laser treatment.

The Scottish Executive is, of course, taking forward a range of measures to reduce the levels of smoking by people in Scotland. These include health education and promotion activities such as Smokeline; targeted help for groups such as pregnant women; and targeted smoking cessation services and nicotine replacement therapy, which is available free of charge to those least able to afford it.

The NHS in Scotland is committed to ensuring that the highest quality of care is provided to all patients. It is important that patients with chronic conditions such as epilepsy, who may be on long-term drug treatment, are regularly reviewed. The frequency of such reviews is a matter for the clinical judgement of the relevant consultant. Existing national clinical guidelines published by Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network in 1997 on The Diagnosis and Management of Epilepsy in Adults are scheduled for review this year.