Chamber and committees

We are currently working with the NHS in Scotland to establish national maximum waiting times, to be delivered from March 2001, in the key clinical specialties of heart disease, cancer and mental health. In addition, the introduction of instant appointment booking systems, the establishment of additional one-stop clinics and the re-design of services to improve the patient pathway, will tackle inequity and reduce waiting times.

It is a matter for Glasgow City Council to determine its own spending priorities. The Council's expenditure guideline for 2000-01 has increased by 2.8% or £28 million to £1,053 million and its Aggregate External Finance has increased by 2.9% or £23 million to £830 million.

Rent arrears management is the responsibility of individual local authorities. Once the current study into rent arrears management being carried out by the Accounts Commission and Scottish Homes is completed, the Executive will consider whether further guidance to councils needs to be issued.

It is primarily a matter for health boards and their Trusts to plan and deliver services to meet the needs of their populations. The Scottish Executive has, however, been working closely with Greater Glasgow Health Board and its partner Trusts on an ambitious programme to modernise and improve acute hospital services across the city. At its board meeting on 21 March, I understand that the health board will consider a package of proposals for the future of acute services in Glasgow prior to public consultation. Any decisions will then be taken following an interactive process involving the full range of interested parties.

The Eglinton Review made four main recommendations in its final report, of which one dealt with a method of funding the Councils of Voluntary Service. The recommendations are:

• to re-focus the activity of the CVS to promote and support capacity building in the community;
• to develop a shared funding approach which brings together the Scottish Executive with a range of key agencies;
• to re-organise along community planning boundaries on a federal or confederal basis;
• to develop a training programme for staff and volunteer managers.

We are currently analysing the responses to our consultation on the review and are considering our response.The Scottish Executive will be taking forward discussions on the proposed shared funding approach. Our first priority is to fill the gap sites that exist in the CVS network. We are currently exploring this with CVS Scotland.

The Beattie Committee report, Implementing Inclusiveness - Realising Potential and the Opportunities and Choices consultation document addressed the problems of those young people, predominantly male, who experience uncertain transitions in the immediate post-school period. I will be announcing the Executive's policy response to both these documents within the next few weeks.

My statement to Parliament on 10 February made clear that we will support those authorities that are committed to developing a charging scheme, by providing, on a case by case basis, matching financial support to help meet their research and development costs. I shall announce the detail later in the year.

Advice is contained in the practice note Rent Arrears Management published by The Scottish Office in March 1994. The Accounts Commission and Scottish Homes are jointly carrying out a study into rent arrears management in local authorities and in housing associations. The study is due to report in early summer.

I understand that Railtrack is currently working with Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive to assess options for providing a rail link to Glasgow Airport. A rail link to Edinburgh airport has also been examined a number of times.A total of £18.3 million has been made available by the Executive for the Freight Facilities Grant scheme in Scotland over the next three years. This scheme provides capital grants to assist companies to take freight off the roads and on to rail and inland waterways. To date the Executive has received no applications or notes of interest for grants for rail freight links to airports.

The option of transfer to community ownership involves extensive consultation and provision of advice to tenants as well as option appraisals and stock condition surveys. Outturn expenditure on these activities in 1997-98 and 1998-99 was £101,000 and £2,201,000 respectively. In 1999 up to £33 million was earmarked over the period 1999-2002 for possible transfer feasibility and option appraisals, including consultation with nearly 500,000 tenants.