Chamber and committees

The draft Tenements (Scotland) Bill includes provisions that will help to maintain tenement buildings. The draft Bill introduces the tenement management scheme which should allow repairs to be carried out more easily and more often than under the present law. A definition of maintenance has also been provided in the draft Bill and the common law duty to maintain the support and shelter of the building has been restated in statutory form.

Small retail businesses benefit indirectly from public space CCTV systems, funded by the Executive, many of which are deployed in the vicinity of local shops and neighbourhood shopping parades.One of the Partnership Agreement commitments is to expand CCTV, in shopping and other areas, supporting businesses and others to reduce crime. How this commitment will be delivered is currently under consideration.Under the Fund to Develop Post Offices in Deprived Urban Areas we have allocated funding of £2 million, over the two year period 2003-04 and 2004-05, to improve the viability of post offices which provide socially important services and which are located in Scotland's 20% most deprived urban areas. The fund allows for capital improvements to the retail side of the business and will include improvements to security to deter violent and other crime. Projects already approved include the installation of CCTV, burglar alarms and security shutters.The Scottish Business Crime Centre - a partnership involving the Executive, Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland and leading retail, business and commerce organisations - has for a number of years provided advice and guidance on crime reduction and prevention to all sizes of businesses in all parts of the community.

The composition of the working group that will oversee the introduction of the Scotscorps scheme announced by the First Minister will be announced in due course.The views of appropriate voluntary sector interests will be sought as the working group develops its proposals in order to maximise both their engagement and potential benefit.

I made a policy commitment in October 2002 that small lightweight oxygen cylinders would be added to the Scottish Drug Tariff. We are currently working on the details of implementation, and intend to make ambulatory oxygen available on GP prescription by the end of the summer.

The treatment of lung disease sufferers is a matter for NHS boards to plan, in accordance with their assessment of local needs and circumstances and in consultation with interested parties including patients' groups and the voluntary sector.

Post offices, postal services and Royal Mail Group plc are reserved matters. The Scottish Executive's £2 million Fund to Develop Post Offices in Deprived Urban Areas was launched on 30 December 2002. It aims to contribute to the community regeneration of deprived urban areas by sustaining and improving post office branches, on the margins of viability, that provide socially important services and facilities. The Executive is also participating in Post Office-led discussions about development of the rural network.

What matters is identifying the most effective locations for meeting people's needs for access to public services. The Scottish Executive, as part of its 21st Century Government agenda, has developed and supported the delivery of public services through a range of channels including the internet and managed contact centres as well as face to face in offices and one-stop shops. The Executive is also exploring other platforms for information and service delivery, including interactive digital television, smartcards, public kiosks, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and WAP phones. Assisted access to public services remains an important aspect of improving public service delivery and the use of both Citizen's Advice Bureaux and Post Offices are being considered.The Executive's Modernising Government Fund has supported projects in Eddleston Post Office in the Scottish Borders setting up a community PC to allow local people to develop IT skills and access information and in Dumfries and Galloway to test information kiosks in various locations including rural post offices. It has also supported the Digital Highland Project where Highland Council is extending availability of services through a network of one-stop shops across its area and is extending the facility to carry out transactions with government electronically through rural Post Offices.At the same time, as a part of its digital inclusion strategy, the Executive's public internet access point initiative is creating over 1,000 new venues across Scotland where people can have cheap, easy access to the web and all its services - public, commercial and voluntary sector. Any public venue can apply - such as shops, pubs, community centres etc. Rural post offices have been actively encouraged to participate in the scheme - which provides eligible venues with computer hardware, software, and internet connectivity - all free of charge. The scheme therefore allows rural post offices to provide another valuable service to their customers. Nearly 600 new public internet access points are in operation now including 40 post offices. Potential applicants can obtain details of the scheme by calling 0845-270-1043 or on the web at www.scottishwebaccess.com.

As I made clear in both my statement last Wednesday and in my answer to Cathy Peattie's question last Thursday, we are considering the scope and timing of such legislation and we are determined to ensure that it will be as comprehensive and effective as possible.

This is a reserved matter but the Executive has liaised closely with the UK Government in supporting the bid to locate the European Maritime Safety Agency in Glasgow.

The information requested is given in the table:Scottish Applicants and Accepted Applicants to B3 Pharmacy in Scottish Universities, 1998-2002*

Data	Year
	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002
Applicants	535	465	502	540	640
Accepts	190	167	184	173	244

Source: Universities and Colleges Admissions Service.Note:*B3 Pharmacy was called B2 Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmacy in 2002.