Chamber and committees

Following the recent publication of the Performance Indicators report for the whole of the UK higher education sector, the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council are currently reviewing the figures, including those for non-completion, with a view to taking steps and will liaise with the Executive in this regard. A full copy of the Performance Indicators in Higher Education 1996-97, 1997-98 report is available through the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

It is the responsibility of health boards to assess local needs for patients with hepatitis C, and arrange provision of appropriate treatment and care services. Last year, the Scottish Office commissioned the Scottish Needs Assessment Programme to establish a working group to consider all aspects of Hepatitis C including epidemiology, prevention, investigations, and treatment, and to estimate future implications for the Scottish population and for service needs. This working group is expected to report early in 2000.

The Scottish Health Purchasing Information Centre (SHPIC) published a report on hepatitis C in September 1998. This report was updated to include recommendations on the use of combination treatment with interferon alfa and ribavirin and disseminated to the NHS in Scotland in February 1999. The working group set up under The Scottish Needs Assessment Programme will be further considering interferon alfa and ribavirin treatment. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence in England is also to consider the issue of antiviral combination treatment for hepatitis C early in 2000. The conclusions of these bodies will help to inform decisions about the provision of this treatment within the NHS in Scotland.

There are no plans at present to introduce national guidelines. It is for health boards to assess the local needs for patients with hepatitis C, and many health boards have developed local treatment guidelines and protocols.

The appraisal of the M74 Northern Extension carried out for the Strategic Roads Review indicated that the scheme would have negative effects on a range of environmental indicators, namely noise and vibration, water quality and drainage, ecology, visual impacts, heritage and landscape character. The appraisal indicated that 20 listed buildings would be adversely effected by the scheme.

The information contained in this report confirms the scale of the work that needs to be done in tackling poverty and social exclusion in Glasgow. In recent years, Glasgow has made tremendous strides - population decline has been halted, there is net job growth in the city and Glasgow has been voted third most desirable business location in Europe. The challenge is to ensure that all of Glasgow's citizens benefit from its economic development. There are no quick fixes to the cycle of disadvantage that includes unemployment, low skills and poverty, but through its participation in the Glasgow Alliance and its support for the city's Social Inclusion Partnerships, the Executive is committed to a long term programme of concerted action. This includes action to promote economic development, to tackle low educational achievement, to expand childcare, to address homelessness, drug misuse and poor health and a radical solution to Glasgow's acute housing problems. By joining up and delivering on these policies, we aim to create a framework within which all Glaswegians have a decent quality of life and the opportunity to prosper.

The Special Deprivation Payment is being treated as a special allowance outwith Grant Aided Expenditure; the resources are not hypothecated and are intended to apply for one year only, pending the completion of a joint review with CoSLA of the account taken of deprivation and poverty within the local government finance distribution formula.

The establishment of the Scottish Parliament has created an additional workload on the staff of the Executive. Around 170 additional members of staff have been recruited to assist with the general increase in workload including, but not specifically, written Parliamentary Questions.

The number of deaths in Scotland due to prostate cancer is set out below for the three most recent years for which information is available.

1996	743
1997	708
1998	677

We have no plans to contribute funds towards the refurbishment of Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery. Local authorities have a statutory duty to ensure that there is adequate provision of facilities for recreational, sporting, cultural and social activities for their residents, and are therefore responsible for the costs of operating and maintaining the museums and galleries which they own. Local authority museums and galleries are supported through the general revenue support grant allocations made by the Scottish Executive.