-  Asked by:     Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
 
                                        - 
                                            Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 July 2004
                                        
 
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                                        Current Status:
                                            Answered by   Malcolm Chisholm on 29 July 2004
                                    
 
                                
                            
To ask the Scottish Executive what regulation there is of healthy volunteers participating in human clinical trials of non-pharmaceutical substances at Inveresk research laboratories.
                                
Answer
                                    Such trials are regulated under UK health and safety law.
                         
                        
                            
                                
                                
                                        -  Asked by:     Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
 
                                        - 
                                            Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 July 2004
                                        
 
                                    - 
                                        Current Status:
                                            Answered by   Malcolm Chisholm on 29 July 2004
                                    
 
                                
                            
To ask the Scottish Executive what information is publicly available about the ethical oversight of healthy volunteers participating in human clinical trials of non-pharmaceutical substances at Inveresk research laboratories.
                                
Answer
                                    This information is not held centrally.
                         
                        
                            
                                
                                
                                        -  Asked by:     Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
 
                                        - 
                                            Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 July 2004
                                        
 
                                    - 
                                        Current Status:
                                            Answered by   Malcolm Chisholm on 29 July 2004
                                    
 
                                
                            
To ask the Scottish Executive whether a register of interests of the members of the Edinburgh Independent Ethics Committee for Medical Research is available and, if not, whether it will be made available.
                                
Answer
                                    This information is not held centrally.
                         
                        
                            
                                
                                
                                        -  Asked by:     Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
 
                                        - 
                                            Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 July 2004
                                        
 
                                    - 
                                        Current Status:
                                            Answered by   Malcolm Chisholm on 29 July 2004
                                    
 
                                
                            
To ask the Scottish Executive, for each clinical trial of non-pharmaceutical substances involving human volunteers approved or reviewed by the Edinburgh Independent Ethics Committee for Medical Research at Inveresk, what substance was involved, how many volunteers participated and what the trial entailed.
                                
Answer
                                    The Edinburgh Independent Ethics Committee is a private committee. The information requested is not held centrally.
                         
                        
                            
                                
                                
                                        -  Asked by:     Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
 
                                        - 
                                            Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 July 2004
                                        
 
                                    - 
                                        Current Status:
                                            Answered by   Malcolm Chisholm on 29 July 2004
                                    
 
                                
                            
To ask the Scottish Executive whether consideration of applications to carry out human clinical trials on healthy volunteers at Inveresk research laboratories should be considered by an ethical committee other than the Edinburgh Independent Ethics Committee for Medical Research.
                                
Answer
                                    Any committee recognised to cover the same type (type (i) recognition) and geographical area could be asked to consider applications for ethical review from Inveresk research laboratories.
                         
                        
                            
                                
                                
                                        -  Asked by:     Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
 
                                        - 
                                            Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 July 2004
                                        
 
                                    - 
                                        Current Status:
                                            Answered by   Malcolm Chisholm on 29 July 2004
                                    
 
                                
                            
To ask the Scottish Executive what information is publicly available about the regulation of healthy volunteers participating in human clinical trials of non-pharmaceutical substances at Inveresk research laboratories.
                                
Answer
                                    Inveresk research laboratories is a private company. Any information should be sought from them.
                         
                        
                            
                                
                                
                                        -  Asked by:     Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
 
                                        - 
                                            Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 July 2004
                                        
 
                                    - 
                                        Current Status:
                                            Answered by   Malcolm Chisholm on 29 July 2004
                                    
 
                                
                            
To ask the Scottish Executive whether healthy volunteers participating in human clinical trials of non-pharmaceutical substances at Inveresk research laboratories receive full information regarding their treatment.
                                
Answer
                                    Such information is not available to the Scottish Executive. Inveresk is a private company.
                         
                        
                            
                                
                                
                                        -  Asked by:     Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
 
                                        - 
                                            Date lodged: Tuesday, 06 July 2004
                                        
 
                                    - 
                                        Current Status:
                                            Answered by   Malcolm Chisholm on 29 July 2004
                                    
 
                                
                            
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is any conflict of interest in respect of consideration of applications to carry out human clinical trials on healthy volunteers at Inveresk research laboratories by the Edinburgh Independent Ethics Committee for Medical Research.
                                
Answer
                                    Schedule 2 of the Regulations requires ethics committees to make standing orders and to adopt standard operating procedures, subject to approval by the United Kingdom Ethics Committee Authority. Standard operating procedures would normally include issues such as conduct of meetings, membership requirements includingdeclaration of interest and conflict of interest.
I refer to my replies to S2W-9594 and S2W-9595 given on 29 July in which I stated that the Edinburgh Independent Ethics Committee have until 1 May 2005 to comply with Schedule 2 of The Medicines for Human Use (Clinical trials) Regulations 2004 (S. I. 2004, No. 1031).
 
                         
                        
                            
                                
                                
                                        -  Asked by:     Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
 
                                        - 
                                            Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 June 2004
                                        
 
                                    - 
                                        Current Status:
                                            Answered by   Allan Wilson on 21 July 2004
                                    
 
                                
                            
To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to make commencement orders in respect of the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 and which sections will come into force first.
                                
Answer
                                    As I made clear during parliamentary consideration of the act, commencement of this important legislation will not be unnecessarily delayed. My intention is that the act should be commenced later this year. It is likely that the provisions in part 3 of the act (Protection of Wildlife) will be the first to come into force.
                         
                        
                            
                                
                                
                                        -  Asked by:     Mark Ruskell, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Green Party
 
                                        - 
                                            Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 June 2004
                                        
 
                                    - 
                                        Current Status:
                                            Answered by   Cathy Jamieson on 1 July 2004
                                    
 
                                
                            
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it anticipates any problems arising from the operation of the TETRA police telecommunication system.
                                
Answer
                                    The operation and maintenance of the Airwave network is a matter for the service provider O2. Scottish police forces and the Scottish Executive have been working closely with O2 with the aim of achieving a smooth migration from existing systems to Airwave.
In planning for the introduction of Airwave, Scottish forces have benefited from sharing information with those forces in England and Wales already using the service. This information has been used at both national and local levels to assist forces in preparing for Airwave.