Chamber and committees

We intend to review all aspects of the support systems for pre-registration nursing students in Scotland, with any changes being introduced from autumn 2001.

Medical students are not given specific funding for childcare costs. However, many students will use the dependants and lone parents' grants to help cover these costs. Extra help is also available through the Access funds which are administered by the individual universities. Assistance can be provided at the discretion of the institutions and help with childcare costs can be given to eligible students.

Students who are on courses which have academic years longer than the standard 30 weeks are given additional assistance by the Students Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS).

The Executive has no specific plans to review the support arrangements for medical students. These arrangements are monitored on a routine basis by SAAS.

We intend to review all aspects of the support systems for pre-registration nursing students in Scotland, with any changes being introduced from Autumn 2001.

The Executive has no specific plans to review the financial support arrangements for medical students. These arrangements are monitored on a routine basis by the Students Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS). Students who are on courses which have academic years longer than the standard 30 weeks are already given additional assistance by SAAS. Extra help is also available through the Access funds which are administered by the individual universities. Assistance can be provided at the discretion of the institutions and help with childcare costs and other expenses can be given to eligible students.

A major project on the electronic transmission of prescriptions is being taken forward as part of the Scottish Care Information (SCI) programme which was announced on 21 April. The next key step will be to establish a proving site, which will test out the connections required between General Practice, community pharmacy and the Common Services Agency.

It is not for the Scottish Executive to ensure that organisations in receipt of European Funds fulfil their statutory or other obligations to their staff. Nevertheless, in view of the hiatus between the closure of existing Structural Fund programmes and the issue of grant awards under the new programmes, arrangements are in preparation to provide bridging finance for vulnerable projects in the voluntary sector which are at risk of serious financial difficulties during that period.

The table below details staffing figures for the Scottish Executive (including Executive Agencies and non-Ministerial Departments) by local authority area, and provides the ratio of staffing per 10,000 population in each area. The figures do not include staffing in other public service employers in Scotland.

Scottish Local Authorities	Population by local authority area (as at June 1998)	Scottish Executive staff by local authority area	Ratio of staffing per 10,000 population in each local authority area
Aberdeen City	213,070	501	24
Aberdeen-shire	226,260	387	17
Angus	110,070	104	9
Argyll & Bute	89,980	58	6
Clackmannan-shire	48,560	475	98
Dumfries & Galloway	147,300	263	18
Dundee City	146,690	117	8
East Ayrshire	121,300	136	11
East Dunbarton-shire	109,570	154	14
East Lothian	89,570	37	4
East Renfrewshire	87,980	0	0
City of Edinburgh	450,180	6882	153
Eilean Siar	27,940	34	12
Falkirk	144,110	369	26
Fife	348,900	114	3
Glasgow City	619,680	1605	26
Highland	208,300	412	20
Inverclyde	85,400	274	32
Midlothian	80,860	0	0
Moray	85,870	39	5
North Ayrshire	139,660	0	0
North Lanarkshire	326,720	630	19
Orkney Islands	19,550	57	29
Perth & Kinross	133,040	542	41
Renfrewshire	177,830	88	5
Scottish Borders	106,300	75	7
Shetland Islands	22,910	27	12
South Ayrshire	114,440	103	9
South Lanarkshire	306,860	155	5
Stirling	83,130	341	41
West Dunbarton-shire	94,880	48	5
West Lothian	153,090	55	4
Scotland	5,120,000	14,082	28

It is not possible for the Executive to break down its information on medical and nursing undergraduate courses by individual's choices of associated subjects. The detailed information as requested is not therefore available centrally. It may, however, be available from the individual universities and colleges.

The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission, as an executive Non-Departmental Public Body, is subject to the usual framework of control, accountability and review which applies to all such bodies.Comprehensive policy and financial management reviews take place at least once every five years, more frequently if necessary. It is planned that the first such review will be in 2004.In addition to these formal, comprehensive reviews, the Commission is also subject to ongoing monitoring by the Scottish Executive Justice Department.

Gingerbread Scotland applied unsuccessfully in the past three years for funding of between £13,383 and £37,450 under section 10(1) of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 to support their headquarters operations. Any future funding request will be considered on its merits.

The Scottish Executive is aware of public concern on landspreading of organic waste. This is why the Scottish Environment Protection Agency was asked to prepare the "Strategic Review of Organic Waste Spread on Land" in 1998. The Executive is currently considering the results of a public consultation on the recommendations of the SEPA report in parallel with a review of related exemptions contained in the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994. It is hoped to announce the results of the overall review by end of the year.

We strongly support in principle the proposal to establish a national training centre for swimming.