Chamber and committees

As I said in my response to S3W-9292, we have indicated that we propose to publish responses to the First Minister’s letter about the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. We will do so once these have been collated, and within three months.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-7948 on 8 January 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

The Scottish Government''s Internal Audit Division works to Government Internal Audit Standards (GIAS) drawn up by HM Treasury in consultation with UK Departments, including the devolved administrations. That is set out in the Internal Audit section of the Scottish Public Finance Manual. The GIAS standards draw heavily on the standards set by the Institute of Internal Auditors “ UK and Ireland, which forms part of the global Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) who set the International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing. Our internal auditors work closely with the IIA and the Treasury in the development, revision and application of the relevant standards, and as our primary training route is towards IIA qualifications, our audit staff are required to comply with the standards.

With regard to the implementation of revisions to external audit standards, that is primarily a matter for the Auditor General for Scotland.

Guidance has been issued to all public bodies in Scotland which explains how the principles of fair trade and ethical trading can be supported in public procurement, for example by working with suppliers after contracts have been awarded. Guidance has also been issued to all public bodies in Scotland on how to incorporate social issues into public procurement.

The Scottish Government has issued guidance on fair and ethical trading to public sector buyers. Suppliers to the Scottish public sector are expected to maintain high standards of business and professional conduct e.g. in relation to legislative requirements on the environment, equal opportunities, race relations, health and safety, employment and taxation. Where bidders fail to comply with relevant legal obligations they can be excluded from competition on grounds of their unsuitability.

We have no plans to introduce polyclinics in Scotland. The Better Health, Better Care Action Plan, published in December 2007, sets out our objectives to improve access in primary care settings in Scotland.

We are working with the existing model of general practice and the wider primary care team, including community pharmacy led services, to deliver these objectives in a way that is appropriate to Scotland''s needs.

Architecture and Design Scotland has a national responsibility to carry out design review, generally on projects of strategic significance, and this is set out in Scottish Planning Policy 20.

It is for local authorities to determine the need for local design review panels and their scope and remit. The definition of what constitutes a local design review panel is thus open to interpretation. Currently, Glasgow City Council has a formal local design review panel which draws upon independent external expertise: City of Edinburgh Council has an internal design surgery, Scottish Borders Council has an internal peer review panel, and Dundee City Council has a design review panel for work specific to its waterfront regeneration project.

The Scottish Police Services Authority has been allocated grant-in-aid of £83.6 million in 2008-09. It has also been given a provisional allocation of £84.2 million in 2009-10 and £84.7 million in 2010-11 but these figures should be considered to be indicative only at this stage. The figures provided exclude provision for police information and communication technology services as the transfer amount from police local authority funding has yet to be determined.

I refer to the member to the answer to question S3W-12165 on 30 April 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

I met Mrs Elizabeth Buggins last month, along with Chris Rudge, in his new role as National Clinical Director for Transplantation in England. The meeting gave me an opportunity to express my commitment to the implementation for Scotland of all the recommendations in the taskforce''s first report.

In order to ensure good communications, we agreed that Mr Rudge would, in his new role, attend meeting of the Scottish Transplant Group, since I have asked that group to take responsibility for implementation of the recommendations in Scotland. We also agreed to strengthen Scottish representation on the Taskforce through the appointment of a clinician, and a consultant in accident and emergency medicine at Ninewells Hospital, Dundee, has now been appointed.

I indicated my personal support for opting out, but also my recognition of the complex issues it raises and the need for a change of this sort to be supported by evidence of its effectiveness. Mrs Buggins suggested that, while the taskforce was due to produce an interim report in the summer, a slightly longer timetable might prove necessary in order to produce a more finished document. I expressed support for that approach.