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Ambulance Service activity is published annually in the Information Services Division (ISD) Scotland Cost Book and this can be found at:

http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Finance/Costs/

As part of their Patient Transport Service Improvement Programme - which includes investment in new technology, training and staff development - the Scottish Ambulance Service expect that staff numbers are likely to reduce by around 60 and the Patient Transport Service fleet will reduce by around 33 vehicles. All of the staff reductions will be secured by retirement, leavers or redeployment within the service.

I expect the Scottish Ambulance Service to ensure they deliver a consistent, high quality patient transport service for patients, and a service that is demand responsive and person centred. Any efficiencies that are secured through the better use of technology, improved planning and enhanced co-ordination will be reinvested in front-line care.

In 2011-12, 11 people left NHS Health Scotland via voluntary redundancy and 6 via early retirement, which they applied for via the open voluntary redundancy scheme.

In 2012-13, 4 people left NHS Health Scotland via voluntary redundancy.

Two clinicians working in Scotland have reported adverse incidents about transvaginal mesh products to the Incident Reporting and Investigation Centre of Health Facilities Scotland, which is part of NHS National Services Scotland.

No information is held on the number of clinicians in Scotland who have reported adverse incidents or concerns about transvaginal meshes to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority.

Officials are in regular contact with colleagues in the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA’s) about a range of issues including transvaginal meshes. This topic has been the subject of discussions at the MHRA’s Committee on the Safety of Devices, committee papers are available from the following website:

http://www.mhra.gov.uk/Committees/Devices/index.htm

In addition to discussions within the last month, there was also discussion in November 2012 when the University of York Health Economics Consortium produced its report on Summaries of the Safety/Adverse Effects of Vaginal Tapes/Slings/Meshes for Stress Urinary Incontinence and Prolapse which is available at the following web-site:

http://www.mhra.gov.uk/Safetyinformation/Generalsafetyinformationandadvice/Product-specificinformationandadvice/Product-specificinformationandadvice%E2%80%93M%E2%80%93T/Vaginalmeshforpelvicorganprolapse/

Neither the Scottish Government nor the Care Inspectorate collects information on numbers of foster carers broken down by local authority area.

The Scottish Government does not set the level of payments to either kinship carers or foster carers. Payments are the responsibility of local authorities. However, the Scottish Government recognises that financial support needs to be more consistent, if it is to be fair and is currently reviewing financial support to kinship carers with an aim to publish its findings by autumn 2013.

Scottish Ministers encourage and welcome all forms of communication with them, including from board members and staff of public bodies. Public body board members are required to act, at all times with integrity and propriety, in accordance with the Ethical Standards in Public Life etc. (Scotland) Act 2000. The Scottish Government expects public body staff to adhere to the same principles. This is made clear in the public bodies’ guidance on the Scottish Government website.

The Scottish Government has announced £7.9 million of funding for advice services to deal with the impact of welfare reform.

On 25 April 2013 it was announced that the Scottish Legal Aid Board would distribute £5.1 million of Scottish Government funding as part of a single programme also incorporating £2.35 million funding from the Money Advice Service. The Scottish Government funded elements of this programme are expected to open for applications on 13 May 2013, when full details of the criteria will be published.

In addition, we have allocated £2.5 million to Citizens Advice Scotland up to March 2015 and have invested £300,000 in a number of other projects in 2012-13.

Barnett consequentials accrue to the Scottish Block as a whole and it is for Scottish Ministers to decide how to allocate the total resources available to them across devolved spending programmes.

The Scottish Government received £3.4 million in Barnett consequentials over 2013-14 and 2014-15 as a result of additional UK spending on advisory services, which adds to the total budget available to the Scottish Government in these years.