Chamber and committees

The information requested isshown in the following table. It should be noted (a) that ISD Scotland does notcollect information on the specific reasons why dentists cease to provide NHS generaldental services and (b) that ISD Scotland would expect a “drop-out” rate of dentiststo be observed over any period through retirals, resignations, etc.

Number of Dentists who have StoppedProviding NHS General Dental Services since the Publication of An Action Planfor Improving Oral Health and Modernising NHS Dental Services in Scotland (17March 2005)^1,2,3; by NHS Board Area

NHS board	No. of Dentists
Argyll and Clyde	15
Ayrshire and Arran	10
Borders	-
Dumfries and Galloway	4
Fife	14
Forth Valley	16
Grampian	14
Greater Glasgow	45
Highland	8
Lanarkshire	28
Lothian	36
Orkney	3
Shetland	1
Tayside	17
Western Isles	-
Scotland1,2,3,4	130

Source: MIDAS (ManagementInformation and Dental Accounting System). Data extracted on 26 May 2006.

Notes:

1. The number of non-salaried and salaried NHS general dentalservice principals who terminated all list numbers in one NHS board area in theperiod 17 March 2005 to 31 March 2006.

2. Some NHS general dental service principals may haveterminated all list numbers in one NHS board area, but still provide NHS serviceselsewhere in Scotland.

3. NHS general dental service principals may cease providing NHS services on a temporary basis.

4. NHS general dental practitioners(GDPs) enter into an arrangement with their local NHS board. A GDP may have morethan one arrangement with an NHS board if he/she has more than one practice,and an arrangement with more than one NHS board if he/she practises in more thanone NHS board area. As a result, the sum of the number of dentists in each NHS boardarea exceeds the number of dentists practising in Scotland.

The information requested isshown in the following table.

Number of Dentists who haveStarted Providing NHS General Dental Services since the Publication of An ActionPlan for Improving Oral Health and Modernising NHS Dental Services in Scotland(17 March 2005) ^1,2,3; by NHS Board Area

NHS Board	No. of Dentists
Argyll and Clyde	35
Ayrshire and Arran	11
Borders	5
Dumfries and Galloway	4
Fife	10
Forth Valley	25
Grampian	20
Greater Glasgow	52
Highland	16
Lanarkshire	26
Lothian	26
Orkney	6
Shetland	1
Tayside	18
Western Isles	2
Scotland1,2,3,4	176

Source: MIDAS (ManagementInformation and Dental Accounting System). Data extracted on 26 May 2006.

Notes:

1. The number of non-salaried and salaried NHS general dentalservice principals who were not active atany point in the year prior to 17 March 2005 in one NHS board area and who openedat least one list number in the corresponding NHS board in the period 17 March 2005to 31 March 2006.

2. Some NHS general dental service principals may havebeen providing NHS services in another NHS board area in the year prior to 17 March 2005.

3. NHS general dental service principals may cease providing NHS services on a temporary basis.

4. NHS general dental practitioners(GDPs) enter into an arrangement with their local NHS board. A GDP may have morethan one arrangement with an NHS board if he/she has more than one practice,and an arrangement with more than one NHS board if he/she practises in more thanone NHS board area. As a result, the sum of the number of dentists in each NHS boardarea exceeds the number of dentists practising in Scotland.

The report prepared for the Scottish Executive by KPMG, which is available on the Executive’s website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Business-Industry/Enterprise/16858/KPMGreport,gives a full and detailed explanation of the reasons for Scottish Enterprise’s2005-6 overspend.

A decision will be made oncethe Strategic Transport Projects Review is completed.

Transport Scotland hasthe operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more informationif required.

The vast majority of supportservices to business are provided through the Enterprise Networks. Since 2002,there has been an ongoing programme of simplification of the support offered tobusiness throughout Scotland.

Scottish Enterprise, in2002, had approximately 1,500 support products it could offer to business. Arationalisation programme saw this reduced to 800 by 2004. Since then, the Chief Executive’s “Agenda for Change” has seen further reductions and by 1 April 2006, thenumber had been reduced to 126. It is expected by the end of this year, thatthere will be 71 support products on offer from Scottish Enterprise. Similarly,between 2002 and 2004, Highlands and Islands Enterprise undertook an intensive reviewof its products and processes, delivering a substantial reduction in productnumbers and streamlining the process for smaller grant applications. This hasresulted in a reduction in the time taken to process applications for up to£25,000 from 40 days to under 12 days.

In addition, followingrecommendations from a departmental review of business support, the Executive iscurrently reviewing the support offered to business through a variety of grantschemes. The aim is to simplify the support mechanisms available and improvethe efficiency and effectiveness of direct grant support.

The Scottish Executive andits agencies will adopt best practices from the Better Regulation Action Plan whichwas launched by the Chancellor in May 2005.

In addition, in Scotland, weare promoting the Better Regulation Agenda by making sure all new legislationis subject to a Regulatory Impact assessment to minimise burdens on business; byengaging with Department of Trade and Industry and Better Regulation Executiveofficials on setting up Local Better Regulation Offices in Scotland; by feedingthe views of Scottish business to the Penalties Review and the Review ofImplementation of EU Legislation led by Professor Macrory and Neil Davidson QCrespectively; by maximising the opportunitiesto use public sector procurement as an economic development tool and making thecurrent system easier for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to accessand utilise; by ensuring that the benefitsfrom streamlining bureaucracy and improved arrangements for regulation,inspection, audit and complaints handling are shared between the publicand private sectors and finally, throughour industry-led Regulatory Review Group, by focussing on those areas of mostconcern to industry and where our joint intervention can make a realdifference.

The Local Government FinanceReview Committee is independent of the Scottish Executive and the detailedcontent of their considerations is a matter for the committee.

Data on the number of VATregistrations and de-registrations are releasedannually by the Small Business Service, an agency of the Department for Tradeand Industry. These figures are used to monitor the number of businessstart-ups and closures in the UK. Analysis is carried out to track these businessesand calculate survival rates.

The following table showsthe percentage of businesses in Scotland that were started between 1999 and 2004, and werestill in operation in 2004:

	Year Established
	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
% remaining in operation	52.2	59.5	68.5	79.1	91.1

Source:Small Business Service Analytical Unit, DTI.

Please note that these figuresdo not account for all Scottish business activity as only companies with aturnover above the VAT threshold are required to register.

The £200 million of publicmoney pledged by the Chancellor will be distributed by UK Sport acrossthe Olympic and Paralympic sports over the seven year period to the Games inLondon in 2012. For the period 2006-09, UK Sport has allocated anadditional £65.3 million across these sports of which £458,000 will go toathletics. This funding is for UK/GB level athletes with the aim of achievingsuccess in Beijing and London. Athletes from all home nations who meet the criteriaare eligible to receive support from this funding, but there is no set amount reservedfor Scottish athletes. Therefore, it is not possible to disaggregate how muchwould be spent specifically on Scottish athletes or in Scotland.

The remainder of the £200million will be phased in over the four year period up to and including the2012 Games subject to the sports meeting designated performance targets.

Scottish Enterprise didnot suggest the abolition of the 12 local enterprise companies.