Chamber and committees

The Scottish rail network and its rolling stock fleet experienced performance difficulties due to the sustained extreme low temperatures and high snowfall.

At regular rail performance meetings between Transport Scotland and the rail industry, seasonal preparedness is discussed. During 2010, ScotRail and Network Rail both outlined their plans for tackling the rolling stock and the points systems issues.

The recent severe winter weather resulted in the rail industry in Scotland adopting Network Rail''s Key Route strategy. This was introduced to ensure core passenger and critical freight routes on the rail network remained open with agreed amendments to the timetable and frequency. Regrettably, this did mean that in prioritising some routes the rail industry was unable to offer other routes.

£2.5 million was included in the 2007-08 local government finance settlement for enforcing the smoke-free laws. This funding, which has been maintained, was included as part of the general block grant and it is a matter for individual local authorities to allocate the total resources available to them on the basis of local needs and priorities.

The funding allocations to support area data sharing partnerships is set out in the following table:

Partnership	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	Total
Ayrshire and Arran	£59,210	£150,000	£50,000	£259,210
Borders	£125,000	£142,550	£50,000	£317,550
Dumfries and Galloway	£124,000	£150,000	£50,000	£324,000
Fife	£112,500	£150,000	£50,000	£312,000
Forth Valley	£141,000	£143,373	£50,000	£334,373
Greater Glasgow and Clyde	£150,000	£290,000	£100,000	£540,000
Highland	£147,750	£143,708	£50,000	£341,458
Lanarkshire	£150,000	£150,000	£50,000	£350,000
Lothian	£50,000	£150,000	£50,000	£250,000
Orkney	£145,200	£150,000	£50,000	£345,200
Grampian	£74,150	£139,073	£50,000	£263,223
Shetland	£96,800	£150,000	£50,000	£296,800
Tayside	£164,000	£185,000	£50,000	£399,000
Western Isles	£50,000	£135,129	£50,000	£235,129

 

In 2006-07 and 2007-08, funding to support area data sharing partnerships was provided as part of the ring-fenced Efficient Government Fund. From 2008-09, a small residual sum for area data sharing partnerships to fund the post of a data sharing manager, continued to be paid out as specific allocation.

This change in the funding arrangements for 2008-09 was part of the package of measures that accompanied the concordat and the greater financial freedoms resulting from the new partnership between the Scottish Government and local government.

No dedicated funding was provided to data sharing partnerships in 2009-10 and 2010-11 and none will be provided in 2011-12

Article 81 of European Directive 2001/83 requires the maintenance of appropriate and continued supply of medicinal products by marketing authorisation holders and distributors so that the needs of patients are met. Article 81 has been implemented into UK medicines legislation through the Medicines for Human Use (Marketing Authorisations etc) Regulations 1994 (Statutory Instrument 1994/3144, as amended) and The Medicines for Human Use (Manufacturing, Wholesale Dealing and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2005 (Statutory Instrument 2005/2789).

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) investigate all reports of suspected breaches of medicines legislation, including matters relating to Article 81. To date no breaches of Article 81 have been established.

The MHRA has in place a targeted programme of inspections aimed at ensuring that those who jeopardise patient care comply with their duties on supply.

This information has been provided by the MHRA.

A letter was issued on 14 December 2010 to NHSScotland boards from the Scottish Government, advising on the approach to be taken where staff were unable to attend work during recent adverse weather conditions.

This letter advised as follows:

I expect that you will be applying your board''s Adverse Weather Policy as usual where your staff have been unable to get to work. However, I would urge you to ensure that staff are not penalised for being genuinely unable to attend their place of work due to recent unprecedented travel disruption in certain parts of the country.

I am well aware that many staff make enormous efforts to attend their work despite the atrocious conditions. However, there will be circumstances where, despite their best efforts, staff will be unable to overcome the challenges posed by travel disruption. In these extreme circumstances I would expect you to avoid penalising staff by, for example, utilising their annual leave to cover the period of absence..

The evaluation of NHS Tayside''s Quit 4 U project is still ongoing and a final report is due in spring 2012. Agreement was reached with the Scottish Government, NHS Health Scotland and NHS Tayside to fund Quit 4 U as a national pilot project with robust evaluation arrangements in place, to enable learning from it to be fed into policy/practice elsewhere in Scotland if appropriate. Any continuation of the initiative beyond the pilot period is a matter for NHS Tayside.

The annual cost of NHS Tayside''s Quit 4 U pilot project is as follows:

	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12
Project Support Costs
Scottish Government	£50,000	£182,000
NHS Health Scotland		£19,500	£25,500
NHS Tayside		£37,000	£74,000
Evaluation Costs
NHS Health Scotland		£40,500	£27,000	£67,500
Total	£50,000	£279,000	£126,500	£67,500

 

The monies for 2010-11, which are in local authorities'' baselines, allow local authorities to put in place support to enforce the smoke-free legislation and is specifically put towards the cost of enforcement officers who ensure compliance with the law. These officers are responsible for taking action against those managers and owners of premises, as well as individuals, who do not comply with the smoke-free legislation. However, the officers also offer support and assistance to businesses to ensure they comply with the legislation.

It is the responsibility of each local authority to allocate the resources available to it on the basis of local needs and priorities.