Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S1W-5333.

It is for health boards, working with NHS Trusts and other partners, to determine the number of hospital beds required to meet assessed need in their respective areas, taking account of local circumstances.

The report of the Expert Advisory Group on Infertility Services in Scotland provides a robust evidence base for the management and delivery of infertility services in Scotland. Implementation of the report's recommendations will bring about equity of access to services and treatment. The report has been issued to all health boards and NHS Trusts in Scotland who have been asked to work towards implementation of the report as resources permit. At the same time health boards and NHS Trusts have been asked to bear in mind their existing clinical priorities which are cancer, coronary heart disease/stroke and mental health.

I intend to review progress towards implementation early in 2001.

It is for health boards, working with NHS Trusts and other partners, to determine the number of hospital beds required to meet assessed need in their respective areas, taking account of local circumstances.The Scottish Executive supports a number of national initiatives, including clinical audits that regularly review the changing requirements for general and specialised beds, and the distribution of comparative information on actual bed use, to inform assessments of local need.

National Planning Policy Guideline 8 on Town Centres and Retailing requires statutory development plans to provide a policy framework to support and enhance the vitality and viability of city, town and district centres.

Proposals such as improvements in the local transportation system will be for Strathclyde Passenger Transport to address in conjunction with Glasgow City Council.

The monitoring of accidents on these routes is the responsibility of the local authority. However, accident information has been collected as part of the report A comparative evaluation of Greenways and Conventional Bus Lanes, which was published on 19 May.

In general, and taking no account of relative traffic volumes, the Greenway appears safer than the conventional bus corridor particularly in respect of pedestrians, cyclists and bus accidents.

There are no current plans to develop a national strategy for osteoporosis. It is for local health boards to determine the services which are required to meet the needs of their local population within available resources. Guidance to help health boards devise their strategies was issued by the Health Department in 1997, in the form of a Scottish Needs Assessment Programme (SNAP) report on osteoporosis. This gave the conclusions of a group of experts drawn from within the NHS on the current situation in Scotland, a review of recent research, and options for the prevention, detection and management of osteoporosis.

The only measures known to prevent the development of osteoporosis are weight-bearing exercise, the reduction of alcohol consumption to moderate levels, the reduction of tobacco consumption and a balanced diet with a higher consumption of calcium and vitamin D and lowered consumption of sodium, protein and caffeine. These are measures which are actively promoted by the Executive, because they reduce the risks of developing many other conditions as well as osteoporosis.

Police forces do not normally collect statistical information on accidents. The exception is road accidents that involve personal injury. Road Accidents Scotland 1998, published by the Scottish Executive and available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre, describes how the information may be collected.

The 5-14 Environmental Studies curriculum guidelines cover modern studies through the outcome "People and Society".

Thereafter, the range of options available to pupils to continue studies in almost all subjects is the responsibility of schools and education authorities and the individual choice of the pupil will depend on the options available.