Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-27669 on 8 October 2009. 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 Energy Assistance Package is a holistic approach to tackling fuel poverty that addresses both the home and householder, and includes services to maximise income, reduce fuel bills and improve energy efficiency. Stage 4 of the package offers a menu of enhanced physical measures to groups most likely to be fuel poor including central heating.

For Energy Assistance Package applicants who had completed Stage 4 by the end of August, the managing agent has indicated that it took an average of 86 days from initial contact with the Energy Saving Scotland advice centre to completed installation of measures. For legacy, central heating programme applicants who received an installation between 6 April and 31 August 2009, it had taken an average of 119 days from application to installation.

The average time for all installations under the central heating programme during 2008-09 was five months (151 days), compared to earlier years that had usually averaged around six months.

Following publication of the report, all NHS board chairs and chief executives were asked to review the content of the NHS QIS report and ensure the lessons learned were considered in the context of their own NHS board. This was followed up with visits by Scottish Government Health Directorates officials to all boards to review progress against implementation of the Healthcare Associated Infection (HAI) National Action Plan, introduced following the outbreak of Clostridium difficile at the Vale of Leven Hospital last year.

The Scottish Government Health Directorates has also agreed that NHS QIS undertake follow-up visits in December 2009 to assess the progress made by NHS Orkney, NHS Grampian and NHS Highland with implementation of the actions detailed in the report.

Whilst not directly linked to the NHS QIS report, the new Care Environment Inspectorate will be visiting every acute hospital at least once over the next three years and will also undertake unannounced inspections. Their focus will be to reduce the HAI risk to patients through a rigorous inspection framework that will specifically focus on providing assurance to the public, NHS boards and the Scottish Government that patients are as safe as possible from HAIs and their consequences; that HAI standards in NHS acute hospitals are high and that any HAI issues are being tackled effectively.

We have no plans to limit the number of GPs prescribing to patients in care homes.

Any GP of an individual practice in Scotland, where a patient has their name on the list, is required to prescribe for the patient as appropriate. Should it be deemed necessary for a patient to change practices, it would be for the appropriate health board to take action to ensure the patient is placed on another practice list.

The Scottish Government provides explanations for any underspend in our consolidated accounts. Non-departmental public bodies will do likewise in their own accounts.

The relevant provisional and final budget outturns are shown in the following table:

2006-07	Provisional	Final
	£000	£000
Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL)	25,365	25,389
Annual Managed Expenditure (AME)	4,448	4,072
	29,813	29,461
2007-08
DEL	27,368	27,368
AME	5,191	4,739
	32,558	32,107
2008-09
DEL	27,944	N/A1
AME	5,214	N/A1
	33,159	N/A1

Note: 1. Final figures will be published by HM Treasury in Public Expenditure Statistical Analysis (PESA) in July 2010.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-27339 on 30 September 2009. 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.

Chapter one of the Spending Review 2007 document published in November 2007 set out the use of the £874 million of end-year flexibility (EYF) across the three years as £300/400/174 million. The last published EYF balance in July 2009 was £670 million which will reduce by the agreed drawdown of £400 million and £174 million in 2009-10 and 2010-11 respectively to leave a balance of £96 million. HM Treasury has agreed that this balance and any subsequent EYF generated in 2009-10 can be drawn down to offset the reduction of £128.6 million in the Scottish Government''s capital budget in 2010-11.

In accordance with the terms of reference, I expect the inquiry to complete its work within one year of its set up date.

However, the inquiry chairman may seek an extension, if he considers it necessary. Any such request will be given due consideration.

All persons authorised to prescribe antimicrobial agents in healthcare settings, including care homes, are required to adhere to local antimicrobial prescribing policy.