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There is no requirement under the Inquiries Act 2005 for a minister to seek the approval of the Parliament when determining the remit and chairing of a public inquiry.

Under section 6 of the act, however, a minister who proposes to cause an inquiry to be held, or who has already done so, must as soon as is reasonably practicable make an oral or written statement to that effect to the relevant Parliament

The statement must state:

(a) who is to be, or has been, appointed as chairman of the inquiry;

(b) whether the Minister has appointed, or proposes to appoint, any other members to the inquiry panel, and if so how many;

(c) what are to be, or are, the inquiry''s terms of reference.

Since the Inquiries Act 2005 was passed, an inquiry was set up in March 2008 to look into the fingerprints in the Shirley McKie case, under the chairmanship of Lord Justice Campbell. Another inquiry was announced in April this year which will consider cases where patients have contracted hepatitis C, under the chairmanship of Lady Cosgrove.

Scottish Ministers have also jointly set up an inquiry in conjunction with the Department of Work and Pensions to investigate the explosion at the ICL Stockline factory under the chairmanship of the Lord Justice Clerk, Lord Gill.

The independent review team issued an advert for a call for evidence to the local press on 8 July 2008.

My officials were briefed by the Independent Review Team (IRT) and Health Protection Scotland (HPS) on 31 July 2008. They received Draft Reports from the IRT and HPS on 1 August 2008. The formal report was received on 4 August 2008 and published on 7 August 2008.

On 18 June 2008, I announced in the Parliament an independent review of procedures in place at the Vale of Leven Hospital over the period December 2007 to 1 June 2008, in response to information that 55 patients had developed Clostridium difficile Associated Disease (CDAD), 18 of whom had died.

The Independent Review Team (IRT) met and was briefed on 26 June 2008 with a remit to report by 31 July 2008. The IRT requested and reviewed all relevant documentation regarding cases of CDAD at the Vale of Leven Hospital over the six month time-frame and the circumstances contributing to these cases. The IRT visited the Vale of Leven Hospital on five occasions and interviewed a wide range of staff from the hospital and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. An open invitation was made through the local press for patients and their families to submit written and oral evidence to the review and meetings were held with representatives from 10 families.

Full details of the process followed by the IRT are set out in the report, Independent Review of Clostridium difficile Associated Disease at the Vale of Leven Hospital from December 2007 to June 2008, which was published on 7 August 2008.

Of the 55 patients at the Vale of Leven Hospital, 18 patients died either as a direct result of Clostridium difficile Associated Disease (CDAD) or had C. difficile recorded on the death certificate as contributory factor to their death. Further analysis of the death rate is required and is on-going as part of a separate exercise being undertaken by the board and Health Protection Scotland. Full details of the outbreak will be produced by the Outbreak Control Team in due course.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde are in the process of implementing the recommendations arising from the Independent Review of Clostridium Difficile Associated Disease at the Vale of Leven Hospital. I understand that the board has already undertaken a review of the infection control structure, management and leadership arrangements.

To be confident that all of the actions are taken forward and have the desired outcomes, I have already asked, as recommended by the independent review team, that they review the actions taken by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde in six months time. The report will be made public.

Since the formation of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde in April 2006, the board has looked closely at how to best integrate services across the whole board area, including management and infection control systems, to bring about benefits such as unified procedures and structures, improved communications, and the sharing of best practice.

This work has culminated in the board merging its Clyde acute operational and administrative functions into the board''s Acute Services Division on 1 July 2008, and the establishment of new infection control arrangements across the whole board area, also on 1 July 2008.

National policy on faecal management is included in Health Protection Scotland model policies on Standard Infection Control Precautions and Transmission Based Precautions. Guidance is also included in the NHSScotland Code of Practice for the Local Management of Hygiene and Healthcare Associated Infection.

We have no plans to do so. The structure and content of the report was determined by the independent review team.