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The report More Nurses, workingdifferently: A review of the UK nursing labour market in 2002 was published on Friday 19 September 2003 by the Royal College of Nursing. With reference to table2.5 in the report, the recruitment to the children and midwifery categories of pre-registrationnursing and midwifery education remains buoyant and applications per place exceeddemand. There are fewer applications per place for the mental health and learningdisabilities categories. The number of student places is determined by the needsof the NHSScotland through the Student Nurse Intake Planning process.

The Scottish Executive is currentlyestablishing a Mental Health Workforce Group to address the workforce implicationsof the major changes anticipated in mental health. This work will be key in determiningfuture student numbers in this area and will be backed by appropriate recruitmentactivity.

As a result of service redesign,closure of long-stay hospitals and the development of shared care involving socialservices and the voluntary sector, perceptions about the learning disability categoryof nursing may have been affected. The Scottish Executive, together with NHS Education forScotland and the Scottish Consortium for Learning Disability, has been working tomodernise the education and practice programmes in order to encourage recruitmentto this branch of nursing.

Additional help in areas of recruitmentwill be provided by Careers for Health which was launched at the NHSScotland HumanResources Conference on 16 May 2003.

The aims of Careers for Healthare to:

raise the profile of careersin the NHS;

act as a source of expertiseon all issues relating to careers guidance and support;

promote recruitment from a widerbase enabling health boards to gain access to the widest possible range of applicants,and

link health board personnel tokey stakeholders such as Careers Scotland and Job Centre Plus.

The Head of Learning and Careersfor Health was recruited over the summer and a work programme is currently beendevised. It is envisaged that a range of projects will be delivered to help addressthe issue of attracting individuals to careers in NHSScotland. Projects will includeconsideration of incentives, recruitment campaigns and retention initiatives.

There are a number of reasonswhy student nurses leave their course, including deciding that nursing is not forthem. The Scottish Executive Health Department (SEHD) is working with highereducation institutions to reduce the drop-out rate to an agreed level and to strengthenstudent support systems. As a result, institutions are reporting improved attritionrates for each of the three-year nurse education programmes.

We have also taken steps to addressattrition by improving the financial support available to students and the Nursingand Midwifery Student Bursary has increased by 21% since 1998. In addition, theSEHD and higher education institutions are also developing proposals for distancelearning and flexible access to courses to make sure that as many of our committedstudents as possible complete their training and go on to work in NHSScotland.

The Executive welcomes Pass Plusas a scheme which enables new drivers to gain additional experience and positivedriving skills that might otherwise take a long time to acquire. The scheme is administeredby the Driving Standards Agency, which chairs a board that promotes the scheme throughoutGreat Britain.

GP prescribing of portable oxygenwill be introduced on April 2004. The timing of its introduction is designed toensure that an effective means of supply and distribution will be in place to meetthe needs of all patients in Scotland who can benefit.

In the meantime, a study is tobe undertaken to consider the possible benefit to patients of alternative or additionalmethods of supply and distribution of portable oxygen. Additionally, considerationis to be given to the possible benefits of making conservation devices availableon the NHS in Scotland.

A wide range of policies arein place to promote and sustain the Borders economy and future economic development.Scottish Enterprise Borders is taking action in line with the direction and prioritiesset out in the Executive’s A Smart, Successful Scotland.The Borders Local Economic Forum allows co-ordinated delivery of local economicdevelopment activities.

The choice of uniform is a localdecision.

This information is not heldcentrally.

The information requested isavailable in paragraph 12, page 12, of Building strong, safe and attractivecommunities: Guidance for submissions, published in 2003, copies of which areavailable in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 28543)

The business case should be presentedin 2002 prices. It is for Waverley Railway Partnership to propose the approach toinflation in its business case.

The Scottish Executive is represented at official level on the Department for Transport Road MarkingsTechnical Working Party.