Chamber and committees

The Executive has no such plans at present.

Research programmes undertaken by scientists at Fisheries Research Services have been developed to identify the degree to which salmon and sea trout numbers have declined. These programmes include research cruises to determine the migration, feeding, growth and survival of salmon smolts during the early part of their marine life; trapping and marking of both salmon and sea trout smolts to estimate marine survival rates; electro-fishing surveys to determine juvenile population densities; and capture of salmon and sea trout soon after their entry to the sea to assess the impact of infestation by parasites.Declines in salmon and sea trout stocks in Scotland have been broadly similar except for in the west and north west of the country. In this area, the declines have been more marked than in the rest of the country, particularly in the case of sea trout. For this reason, a research programme based at Shieldaig has been initiated to examine the survival of sea trout smolts once they leave their native river, with particular emphasis being placed on investigating the interactions of sea lice between farmed and wild fish. Although these interactions are not fully understood, sea lice from fish farms, especially in enclosed sea lochs, may have led to a reduction in the marine survival of wild salmon and, in particular, sea trout. However, a number of other factors may have affected salmon and sea trout survival, including climate change, land-use change, increase in predators and diseases. The impact of infestation with sea lice relative to the other factors affecting marine survival is not yet known.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-12936 on 31 January 2001.

The information requested is set out in the following table. The funding includes the support provided both for construction and improvement of houses:

Year	£ million Rent	£ million Ownership	£ million Total
1994-95	42.669	13.485	56.154
1995-96	49.990	15.910	65.900
1996-97	39.310	14.999	54.309
1997-98	30.465	8.855	39.320
1998-99	27.386	8.540	35.926
1999-2000	34.598	6.783	41.381
Total	224.418	68.572	292.990

The number of new, affordable houses for rent and purchase that have been constructed with assistance from Scottish Homes in each local authority area from April 1996 to March 2000 is as follows:

Local Authority	Rent	Ownership	Total
Aberdeenshire	437	316	753
Angus	453	81	534
Argyll & Bute	386	128	514
City of Aberdeen	588	348	936
City of Dundee	448	288	736
City of Edinburgh	1,747	763	2,510
City of Glasgow	3,452	3,021	6,473
Clackmannanshire	78	57	135
Dumfries & Galloway	235	161	396
East Ayrshire	159	166	325
East Dunbartonshire	109	24	133
East Lothian	184	12	196
East Renfrewshire	241	241	482
Falkirk	260	268	528
Fife	929	410	1,339
Highland	401	278	679
Inverclyde	453	143	596
Midlothian	92	67	159
Moray	130	60	190
North Ayrshire	247	103	350
North Lanarkshire	760	844	1,604
Orkney Islands	93	90	183
Perth & Kinross	738	225	963
Renfrewshire	644	95	739
Shetland Islands	66	62	128
South Ayrshire	216	68	284
South Lanarkshire	365	403	768
Stirling	193	226	419
The Scottish Borders	302	148	450
West Dunbartonshire	481	219	700
West Lothian	347	199	546
Western Isles	67	12	79
Total	15,301	9,526	24,827

On 19 October 2000, The Committee on Proprietary Medicinal Products, part of the European Medicines Evaluation Agency, recommended that Capecitabine be granted a marketing authorisation for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer. This recommendation has to be approved by the European Commission before the product can be marketed.The UK took part in an international clinical trial of Capecitabine used in combination with another drug, for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer. This trial has now concluded and the results will inform decisions about Capecitabine's use in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer.

No. Discussions are currently taking place at a UK-level to establish the most effective way of ensuring regular supply of BCG vaccine in the UK in the future.

A report on the evaluation of the Rural Transport Funding Package will be published later this year, and copies will be made available in the Parliament's Reference Centre.

National Planning Policy Guideline 15: Rural Development was published in February 1999. It sets out how the statutory land use planning system can assist the rural areas of Scotland achieve sustainable development and was prepared in the light of concerns about how the planning system impacted on rural development. Research will be carried out by the end of 2003 to examine the effectiveness of NPPG 15. The research will indicate whether any revision of this recent guidance is necessary.

The information requested is not available centrally. Consultants treating patients will bowel cancer will be included under the specialty of general surgery.