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A regulatory impact assessment will be published alongside any proposed legislation put before the Scottish Parliament.

The Scottish Government does not disclose the source of legal advice and therefore how any such advice was paid for.

A regulatory impact assessment will be published alongside any proposed legislation put before the Scottish Parliament. Representatives of the alcohol industry, including the whisky industry, will be consulted on the development of an impact assessment.

The Scottish Government does not disclose the source of any legal advice.

The Scottish Government recognises the potential contribution that an information tool like the indicator of relative need (IoRN) can make in the planning and delivery of health and social care services in the community. This contribution may be at the level of the individual person assessed as requiring care or support for health and social care needs, and also at the organisational level through summary information for monitoring and for future planning. The version of the IoRN that is currently in use has been designed to support provision of services to older people. Further research and development will be required before its use can be extended to, for example, people with learning disabilities. Early consideration is being given to how best to engage with key stakeholders on whether such a development would be welcomed.

The Scottish Government is funding a project hosted by NHS Lothian that is investigating the use of health monies in self-directed support (SDS) packages, the learning from this will be shared across all health boards.

CoSLA is represented on the SDS reference group that I have established. Officials have contacted all local authorities and a number of organisations, including service providers, requesting to meet to discuss local obstacles to uptake, the national strategy and possible legislation.

The draft guidance has been jointly agreed by the Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (CoSLA). Local authorities will be asked to confirm by 1 December 2009 that their local arrangements for access to social care services and timescales for access to personal and nursing care services are compatible with the national definitions and standards set out in the finalised guidance. Joint arrangements will be established for the ongoing monitoring of the operation of the eligibility criteria, and waiting times, as monitoring information becomes available.

The Scottish Government will continue to work in partnership with CoSLA to ensure a transparent and consistent approach across Scotland for older people to access appropriate services.

The Scottish Government is committed to all individuals with an assessed social care need accessing a direct payment, if the individual chooses. The eligibility criteria does not impact on this.

Direct payments will continue to be a choice for individuals eligible for social support and the Scottish Government is working to increase the uptake nationally.

Direct payments from local authority budgets usually form the main component of an individual''s complete self-directed support package. Self-directed support encompasses direct payments as well as the other funding streams that an individual may be eligible for, such as disability living allowance or the independent living fund.