Chamber and committees

The information requested isgiven in the table Deaths from cancer,by parliamentary constituency, 1999-2005 a copy of which is available in the Scottish ParliamentInformation Centre (Bib. number 41644).

As requested, the table presentsthe absolute numbers of deaths from cancer. However, because the population of Scotlandis ageing, these may give a false impression of trends in the risk of dying fromcancer. To aid interpretation, a table giving age-standardised rates, which takeaccount of changes in the age structure of the population, has also been provided.

The information requested isgiven in the table Mortality rates forskin cancer, by parliamentary constituency,1995-2005 a copy of which is availablein the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 41643).

I have obtained the figures shownbelow from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS).

Number of Students Applying forand being Accepted for Entry in 2005

Subject	Applications	Accepted Applicants
Law	8,153	1,536
Medicine	9,467	937
Engineering	13,677	2,653
Veterinary Studies*	1,847	255

Note: *Veterinary and agriculturalstudies and related, at the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow.

The number of applications andacceptances in Accountancy is not being made available separately by UCAS.

A copy of a table Applicationsand Acceptances through UCAS to Scottish Higher Education Institution bysocio economic group has been placed in the Scottish Parliament InformationCentre (Bib. number 41697). That table contains a breakdown by socio-economic groupof all applications and acceptances to Scottish Higher ducation Institutions byinstitution and year.

The IPPC Regulations are designedto tackle a range of potential pollution problems which can result from pig andpoultry farming and which may have an adverse impact on the environment, human healthor both. Although the regulations will impose additional costs on the industry,they should help to promote and secure the positive environmental reputation whichis essential for the future of Scottish farming.

It is for every Scottishpublic authority to adopt its own system for monitoring requests it receives forinformation. It is for each public authority to determine what information canmost effectively be recorded, and there is no requirement to monitor requestsin any particular way, for example by reference to any particular circumstanceof the requester. Further the Executive is not party to the detailed informationheld by any other public authority as a result of that authority’s monitoringsystem. It is therefore not possible for the Executive to answer this question.

The evidence on the leachingof nitrate to groundwater as a result of the spreading of manure is summarised inAnnex B of the Executive’s consultation paper on proposed amendments to the ActionProgramme for Nitrate Vulnerable Zones, issued on 16 November.

The Executive has a broad rangeof interventions in place which ensure that individuals are offered access to treatmentat each stage in the criminal justice system. The range includes arrest referralschemes, mandatory drug treatment for arrestees, diversion from prosecution, pilotingof drug treatment and testing as a condition of bail, drug treatment as a conditionof probation order, Drug Treatment and Testing Orders, drug treatment throughoutprisons sentences and upon release from prison through the Throughcare addictionservice. In addition, the Glasgow and Fife Drug Courts focus specifically on offendersdriven by addiction and the 218 centre in Glasgow provides services for women offenders.The aim of this wide-ranging strategy is to reduce levels of addiction and to reduceor eliminate associated levels of crime.

We have put in place a rangeof measures to enable local agencies to address antisocial behaviour (ASB) drivenby addiction. For example:

We are providing £2 million fundingbetween 2006 and 2008 to three local authorities for Breaking the Cycle projects,testing intensive supervision and intervention models aimed at encouraging behaviouralchange in the small number of families, many of whom have addiction problems, whoare responsible for much of the most serious ASB in each community.

We have provided the police withpowers under the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 to disperse groupsengaged in persistent ASB, including street drinking, and to close premises beingused as drug or drinking dens.

We are supporting local authorityproposals to introduce byelaws prohibiting drinking of alcohol in designated publicplaces under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.

These measures are in additionto the £120 million funding which is supporting local authorities between 2004 and2008 to develop a full range of ASB services appropriate to local circumstances.We require local authorities to show how local action to tackle ASB is co-ordinatedwith that to tackle alcohol and drug addictions.

Health Protection Scotland publishedthe latest figures on MRSA bacteraemia (blood infection) rates on 16 January 2007. A copyof this report is available from: http://www.documents.hps.scot.nhs.uk/hai/sshaip/publications/mrsa-quarterly-reports/jan-2003-to-sept-2006.pdf

Hospital specific informationis not held centrally.

MRSA bacteraemia rates have remainedstable in Scotland as a whole since national mandatory reporting began in2003.

As part of our drive to improvesurveillance, compulsory reporting of all Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemias (whichincludes MSSA and MRSA) was introduced in July 2006. As expected, this has increasedreporting of MSSA infections (which was previously voluntary), but this will enablemore effective targeting of measures to reduce these infections.

Wide-ranging measures to addresshealthcare associated infection (HAI), set in place by the HAI Task Force, includea national campaign to raise awareness amongst NHS staff, patients, visitors andthe public of the benefits of improved hand hygiene to public health. localhealth board co-ordinators are being appointed to help implement and monitor compliancein hospitals. Additional training courses for NHS staff, and robust monitoring of the standards of cleaning in Scotland’s hospitals are also part of the Task Force’s DeliveryPlan.

The environmental risks frommanure spreading are related to several factors, such as the quantity and the timingof the application, but not to whether it is annual. Evidence on the possible adverseeffects of the spreading of manure is summarised in Annex B of the Executive’s consultationpaper on proposed amendments to the Action Programme for Nitrate Vulnerable Zones,issued on 16 November.