Chamber and committees

In June 2008, we published Healthy Eating Active Living: An action plan to improve diet, increase physical activity and tackle obesity. This included a commitment to broaden out the pledge to provide free fruit to pregnant women and pre-school children using the model of market-led pregnancy cards from the major supermarkets, to encompass maternal and infant nutrition generally and not limited to specific models.

In September 2008, I announced support of £19 million of new money available to NHS health boards over the period 2008-11 to improve the nutrition of women of childbearing age, pregnant women and children under five in disadvantaged areas. The broad criteria within which NHS boards have been asked to work include increasing uptake of the healthy start scheme, to ensure that everyone who is eligible to claim vouchers to exchange for fresh fruit, vegetables, milk and infant formula does so; supporting work on increasing breastfeeding rates and investing in training for health professionals. Years one and two of that funding have already been allocated to NHS boards. Details of the allocation were outlined in CEL 36 (2008) Nutrition of women of childbearing age, pregnant women and children under five in disadvantaged areas, which can be found at:

http://www.sehd.scot.nhs.uk/mels/CEL2008_36.pdf.

The Scottish Government receives, and will continue to receive for 2009-10 and 2010-11, the data by local authority on the number of respite weeks provided for all age groups and by each category of overnight and daytime respite weeks. This is in relation to the concordat commitment of providing an additional 10,000 respite weeks. Both the Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) are monitoring the respite weeks provision.

The patient management system procurement has been very successful, and the prices achieved are substantially lower than indicated in the outline business case and the indicative prices provided during evaluation. The costs are (a) £20 million capital and (b) £24 million revenue over the 10 year contract.

The selected preferred bidder employs three staff in Scotland as they provide the patient administration system for NHS Lothian. Intersystems intend to employ 25-50 staff based in Scotland to support the patient management system. The process of filling senior posts is underway.

Support to local carers'' services is a matter for local authorities and health boards to determine on the basis of their local priorities.

Local authorities'' net revenue expenditure on support for carers, including respite care, in 2007-08 (latest figures available) was £117.034 million, compared with £100 million in 2006-07.

The Scottish Government has provided area health boards and the Scottish Ambulance Service with £9 million between 2008-11 to develop and implement Carer Information Strategies. We have provided local authorities with over £4 million as part of the local government settlement to provide an extra 10,000 respite weeks. We have provided over £400,000 to fund three Young Carer Festivals, which provide young carers from all over Scotland with a break from caring. We are funding three young carer initiatives this year through a £200,000 grant to a national carer organisation. We have funded other initiatives including three carer training pilots. The Scottish Government supports national carers organisations through grants made under section 10 of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968. Over the next three years we are committed to awards totalling nearly £100,000 to five organisations.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-28892 on 25 November 2009, which refers to the broadening out of our commitment to support pregnant women. The aim of the broader commitment is to allow health boards to put in place strategic measures to reach a much wider audience of women, and then deliver those through for example: interventions by health professionals related to nutrition, including breastfeeding and weaning; maternity units achieving Baby Friendly Initiative status, ensuring that everyone who is entitled to claim for Healthy Start vouchers which can be exchanged for fruit, vegetables, fresh milk or infant formula at registered retailers do so, and ensuring that all sectors with a contribution to make in this area, e.g. community groups, pre school and voluntary sector are fully involved.

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/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

The procurement process was carried out and was fully compliant with EU regulations. The patient management system procurement was managed using the competitive dialogue procedure, under which following an OJEU Notice and an initial selection process, the purchaser then enters into dialogue with potential bidders, to develop one or more suitable solutions for its requirements and on which the chosen bidders will be invited to tender. The programme is part of the gateway review process with one review already undertaken and a further review planned prior to completion of the contract.

The procurement process for the patient management system was comprehensive and involved 200 staff from five NHS health boards, NHS National Services Scotland and the Scottish Government. The NHS staff included doctors, nurses, health records officers, IT staff and operational managers. These staff were involved in functional, technical, legal and commercial meetings with the bidders.

There was no specific requirement for local employment in the contract awarded. However, the preferred supplier has indicated that they will employ an additional 25-50 staff based in Scotland to support the patient management system.

All bidders deemed capable, following the prequalification stage, of delivering a project of this size and importance are headquartered outwith Scotland. Brookfield Construction is a UK company, and while this project marks its first major construction project in Scotland, it has an excellent track record of healthcare delivery worldwide and has been actively looking to expand its presence north of the border.

Brookfield Construction as a business is not a volume builder and does not carry and have to support significant numbers of current employees throughout the UK. It will therefore have to employ the people to deliver the project. As a construction business, their focus is on delivering to their skills which are primarily healthcare and high rise. The new Southern General Hospital fits these skills perfectly. Brookfield will establish a business in Scotland on the back of this project and rather than resourcing it through existing staff, will send only its core team of 20 to 30 people who have all worked on the submission, and seek the rest of the resource locally.