Chamber and committees

All NHS/localauthority partnerships have submitted joint action plans detailing initiativesto eliminate delayed discharges over the agreed six week discharge planningperiod and all delays in short-stay specialties by April 2008. £30 million isbeing allocated to partnerships this year to achieve this.

Great progresshas been made in reducing the number of people inappropriately delayed inhospital. The latest census, taken in July shows a reduction of 80% in thenumber of delays over six weeks, since these figures peaked in October 2001.

The issues are underconsideration and the government will consult shortly on extending permitted developmentrights to micro-renewable equipment.

I received the finalreport of the NHSScotland Resource Allocation Committee (NRAC) from the Chair, DrKaren Facey, on 4 September 2007. I am currently studying the report and itsrecommendations carefully, and am sending it to the Convener of the Health and SportCommittee and asking that committee to let me have its views by the end of November.I am also sending the report to the chairs and chief executives of healthboards.

If it is subsequentlydecided to make any adjustments in health boards’ relative funding these would bephased in over a number of years as has been the practice under both the SHARE andArbuthnott formulae and no health board would receive less funding than it doesat present.

I refer the memberto the answer to question S3O-707 on 27 September 2007. The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growthhas written to Treasury to establish whether there are any circumstances other thantransfer, where funding to redeem council housing debt could be made available.The answer is availableby accessing the following link; http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-07/sor0927-02.htm#Col2212.

The implementation of Agendafor Change has taken longer than had been anticipated but the volume and complexityof the task of assessing pay for over 140,000 plus staff should not be underestimated.In addition, it was agreed in partnership that the assessment process put in placeshould be very deliberate and robust, which includes checking outcomes at locallevel to ensure consistency and then reviewing them at national level to ensurethat the job evaluation system is being correctly applied. There was and remainsa consensus of view across the health service that key to the successful deliveryof Agenda for Change pay was consistency and accuracy of assessment, rather thanspeed of process.

Normally, staff would have togo through both the local and national checking processes before they could be assimilatedto the new pay bands. However, in order to help conclude implementation of Agendafor Change, in March of this year it was agreed in partnership that staff couldassimilate after the local process was completed, with the national process carriedout with retrospective effect.

The national review process continuesat a significant pace, and I am pleased to say that we are close to completing themovement of staff to the new pay bands. In this respect, the great efforts thathealth boards and the trades unions have put in should be acknowledged.

In terms of NHSScotland as awhole, there are approximately 6,000 postholders still awaiting national review.In the case of NHS Tayside, 929 postholders have been reviewed recently, and thereports on these will be sent to NHS Tayside within the next seven to 10 days. Thisleaves a total of 98 postholders awaiting national review, and this will take placeover the coming weeks.

We recognise thata number of areas of the building are lit by less efficient tungsten filamentlamps. Replacing these lamps will contribute towards our three year energyreduction target, which is currently on course to be achieved. A start has beenmade on identifying practical options for replacing lamps in a number of areas.In 2008 a full study will be undertaken to identify where it will be costeffective and feasible to replace lamps with energy saving ones.