Chamber and committees

We are phasing in regulation by the Care Commission of the wide range of services defined in the act. The implementation of the new registration and inspection framework set in place by the act, including application of the national care standards, is an operational matter for the Care Commission. Implementation of the Scottish Social Services Council's requirements under the act will also be phased. They have already published codes of practice and conduct and phased registration of the workforce will begin in April 2003. Ministers and their officials meet regularly with the commission and the council to discuss their progress with the performance targets set out in their respective corporate plans.

The generic clinical standards of NHS Quality Improvement (previously the Clinical Standards Board for Scotland) require all NHS services to identify the needs of carers in line with the National Strategy for Carers. All NHS services should meet clinical standards, and the report of the board's second review of the implementation of these standards will be published in May.

The Executive is committed to an accessible public transport system and we will work with public transport providers and others to improve access to services and facilities across Scotland. We have established the Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland to advise ministers on a wide range of accessible transport issues.

The Executive's recently published strategy Life Through Learning; Learning Through Life has a key goal of ensuring that everyone has the chance to learn, irrespective of their personal circumstances. Our policy on widening access to further education aims to break down barriers faced by all groups including carers. Our aim is to ensure that social prejudice plays no part in who gets to benefit from further education. We have delegated to the Scottish Further Education Funding Council (SFEFC) the duty to secure adequate and efficient provision of further education in Scotland. We expect SFEFC to allocate budgets to individual colleges, and offer other support and guidance, in a way that takes account of that duty. Community Learning and Development Partnerships, including of course voluntary sector organisations, also play a crucial role in widening access into learning.

Employment policy is reserved to the UK Government through the Department for Work and Pensions, and Jobcentre Plus.

National and local health promotion activities and initiatives aim to improve the health of everyone in the community. Programmes cover a wide range of topics including diet, exercise, smoking cessation, oral health, mental health and well-being. Services provided by NHS Board Health Promotion Units may benefit carers themselves directly or indirectly through provision of services for the cared for person.Health promotion is the responsibility of NHS boards who should be approached directly for information about their plans and strategies for carers' health.

Transport authorities are responsible for making and administering concessionary travel schemes under section 94(4) of the Transport Act 1985. The powers within the act are discretionary and it is for individual authorities to determine what eligible categories will qualify under their concessionary travel scheme, and what level of concession should be given to groups, such as carers/companions.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-30808 on 12 November 2002. 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 information requested is not held centrally. Only certain patients with a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis are likely to benefit from treatment with beta interferon and patients' eligibility for this treatment depends on the clinical judgement of the specialist concerned.The UK-wide risk-sharing scheme for beta interferon and glatiramer acetate allows such treatments to be prescribed on the NHS to patients who meet criteria set out by the Association of British Neurologists (ABN). The guidance which explained the scheme, Health Department Letter (2002) 6, which is available from the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 20653), estimated that the total number of patients in Scotland who fall within the ABN guidelines might be in the range 1,300 to 1,560. These figures do not take into account patients already receiving treatment with beta interferon or glatiramer acetate.

I refer the member to the answer I gave to S1W-30808 on 12 November 2002. 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 Executive is fully committed to the UK-wide risk-sharing scheme for which funding has been made available through NHS boards' aggregate financial allocations. NHS boards, in conjunction with their designated consultant neurologists with a special interest in multiple sclerosis, should establish suitable arrangements for dealing with and funding continuing treatment. The Scottish Executive Health Department is working closely with the MS Society, MS Trust and Association of British Neurologists to ensure that those patients who are eligible to participate in the scheme are informed accurately about these arrangements.