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The Scottish Government expects the 2014-20 structural funds programmes to launch in early summer 2014. The Scottish Government has extended a number of projects into 2014, in particular employability projects where the third sector has a significant delivery role, to minimise any potential funding gaps. The Scottish Government will continue to monitor the situation and timescales closely to ensure that projects which will be expected to continue into the next programmes can continue to operate until the new programmes launch.

The Scottish Government has been working with partners for more than two years to develop strategic projects, schemes or programmes which could be supported from EU structural funds in 2014-20. The formal allocation of funding to these strategic interventions can begin when the programmes launch in summer 2014.

Funding for different interventions will start at different times, depending on the availability of match funding, the complexity of the proposal and the demand for a particular type of activity.

The programmes will have a mid-term review to determine whether the strategic interventions remain the best way to allocate the funding, and changes or further allocations may be made at this stage to ensure maximum uptake and impact of the funds.

The licensing, safety and efficacy of medicines is currently a reserved matter and is taken forward by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) on a UK-wide basis. Decisions on whether or not to prescribe a specific medicine are for the clinician in discussion with the patient. If a medicine has a marketing authorisation (license), then it can be prescribed.

Safety advice and updates on medicines are issued by the MHRA as required and the Scottish Government ensures that, where necessary, such advice is disseminated to health professionals in Scotland. Advice on side effects, benefits and risks of treatment and how to prescribe medicines are included in patient information leaflets, which are available in each pack of medicine, and summaries of product characteristics which are published on the MHRA website and updated as new information becomes available.

Information about the prescription of antidepressant medication can be found in the Medicines for Mental Health publication from September 2013: http://www.isdscotland.org/Publications/index.asp. In Scotland a total of 747,158 patients received treatment with an antidepressant in 2012-13.

Data on the total number of patients dispensed an antidepressant should be interpreted with great caution, it does not equate to people being treated for depression. This is because many drugs classified as antidepressants can also be used for conditions other than depression; including neuropathic pain, post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety disorders.

Information on numbers experiencing withdrawal symptoms and being treated for withdrawal symptoms from antidepressant medication is not held centrally.

People experiencing withdrawal from antidepressant medication would be expected to be under the care of a general practitioner or psychiatrist and any problems would be discussed and managed.

General practitioners and other clinicians prescribe according to the British National Formulary and report reactions to prescribed medication (including withdrawal symptoms) through the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Clinicians can access information about reactions to prescribed medication on the MHRA website:

http://www.mhra.gov.uk/#page=DynamicListMedicines.

Training modules for clinicians can also be accessed through this website.

Venlafaxine is prescribed by the NHS. Prescribing information for Venlafaxine in Scotland is published on ISD’s website in Medicines for Mental Health 2012-13 Publication found on the page for prescribing issues http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Prescribing-and-Medicines/Community-Dispensing/Prescribing-Issues/.

The information is in the data tables for antidepressants, and can be found on tab 6 – Approved Drug (Items).

Information about known-side effects of prescribed medication can be found on the website of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency www.mrha.gov.uk, and are also listed on the British National Formulary website.

On 2 October 2013, I informed local authorities that the Scottish Government was making £20 million available for the purpose of adding to Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) budgets. In recognition of the fact that some local authorities may already have already topped up their DHP allocation to the maximum permitted, I stated that the funding is aimed not only at enabling topping up of DHPs, but also in recognition of the financial pressures that have been placed upon authorities by the UK Government’s welfare reforms.

The £20 million allocated to local authorities in 2013-14 will be paid as general revenue grant funding. Councils have been advised that this funding is for the purpose of adding to their Discretionary Housing Payment budgets. However, the Scottish Government does not have the powers to direct councils to make payments in respect of Discretionary Housing Payments.

The Scottish Government recognises the valuable contribution made by Care and Repair Services in helping older and disabled people to live safely and independently at home and by reducing delays to hospital discharge.

We have not commissioned research in this area but a Social Return on Investment report in respect of Care and Repair West Lothian published in June 2013 showed a social return of £4.53 for every £1 invested.

There is no statutory requirement on health boards to contribute to the cost of local Care and Repair services. However Orkney Care and Repair and Midlothian Care and Repair, for example, received additional funding from the Older People's Change Fund to, respectively, extend their information and advice service and support piloting a small repairs service.