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The Scottish Government does not collect this type of operational data. It is for the Scottish Ambulance Service to categorise calls, or re-categorise as necessary, according to the best and most up to date clinical information available. This has always been the case and will not change following the recently announced settlement on rest breaks.

This is a matter for the Scottish Ambulance Service. The information is not held centrally.

Emergency (999) calls to the Scottish Ambulance Service are categorised as A, B and C.

The national response time target for category A calls (life threatening) across mainland Scotland is that 75% of all incidents should be reached within eight minutes.

The national response time target for category B calls (serious but not life threatening) across mainland Scotland is that 95% of all incidents should be reached within 14, 19 or 21 minutes depending on population density.

The remaining calls (neither life threatening nor serious) are described as category C. Where an ambulance response is required that will generally attend within one hour. Many category C calls do not require an ambulance to attend, patients might be transferred to NHS 24, offered advice or referred to alternative pathways of care.

It is planned that the posts will be filled within 18 months. However, recruitment activity is already underway and it is anticipated that a large proportion of the staff should be in place more quickly than that.

This will be an operational matter for the Scottish Ambulance Service. However, a programme board is being established to ensure a smooth implementation of the new arrangements. Current ambulance policy commits the service to ensuring that patients receive the most appropriate treatment. This is delivered by paramedics and other appropriately trained clinical staff and this mix of provision is likely to be reflected in the recruitment plan.

It is anticipated the annual cost of the recently announced longer term agreement will be in the region of £5 million. The transitional arrangements from 17 January 2012 to the end of June 2012 are anticipated to cost £1.875 million at most. Although the quicker staff move to their new working arrangements, the less that sum will be.

The Scottish Ambulance Service has advised that overtime payments covering hours worked between April and December 2011 total £6,218,303. Overtime is generally paid one month in arrears so overtime incurred in December is paid in January.

The information requested is not held centrally.

The Scottish Suicide Information Database (ScotSID) Report published on 20 December 2011, holds information on Place of Suicidal Act with categories such as Private Dwelling, Street or Highway, and Method of Suicide, including the category Jumping or Falling from a High Place. However it does not name any specific locations, such as the Erskine Bridge.

The second phase of ScotSID’s development involves working with the Procurator Fiscal to provide more extensive information on an individual’s circumstances of death, and common suicide locations may at some point be considered for future inclusion.

The ScotSID Report can be accessed at: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Public-Health/Publications/2011-12-20/2011-12-20-Suicide-Report.pdf.

Breathing Space Funding is as follows:

2010-11

£1,043,000 total funding received:

£825,000 Scottish Government funding allocation for Breathing Space

£218,000 NHS 24 funding (internal allocation).

2011-12

£1,178,152 total funding received

£825,000 Scottish Government funding

£353,152 NHS 24 funding (internal allocation)

Funding has not been allocated yet for 2012-13.

The provision of HIV prevention services are a matter for local NHS boards. The role of government is to ensure that our policy priorities of fewer new blood-borne virus infections and fewer STIs are achieved, and that individual are not adversely affected by any local commissioning decision.

NHS Grampian has informed us that there has been no gap in the provision of HIV prevention services since 1 December 2011, and they have continued to undertake a range of prevention activities. We will continue to monitor this closely.