Seòmar agus comataidhean

Staffing levels for fiscal offices are determined annually under a business planning process which relates resources to anticipated workload and the department's performance standards. The table below shows the current staff structure for the Glasgow and Strathkelvin Regional office, showing "whole time equivalent" numbers by main grade groups:

Senior civil service legal managers	5.0
Principal legal managers	17.1
Procurator Fiscal Deputes	45.9
Precognition Officers	31.0
Administration managers	14.0
Administration and other support staff	168.3

(a) In the Glasgow office there are currently two vacancies at depute level out of 46 funded posts. (b) In the Glasgow office there are no legal staff on short-term or temporary contracts.

Yes. The scale to which new entrants are invited was last set from 1 August 1999, and is £18,963 to £34,071. Using this scale, during the last recruitment round 25 new deputes were appointed, including several with appropriate experience in other legal organisations. Over two years 66 deputes have been recruited to fill posts throughout Scotland.

All pay scales are currently being reviewed in pay negotiations. The need to maintain pay scales which are sufficient to recruit, maintain and motivate staff is the key objective of the department in these negotiations.

The Scottish Ambulance Service is in the process of gathering evidence about how priority-based dispatch is working in England, and is on target to report to me in 2001.

We have lodged an appeal against a recent judgement by Lord Macfadyen. We do not consider it appropriate to comment further.

Following the launch of Smoking Kills in December 1998, an £8 million drive to stub out smoking was announced for Scotland. £5 million was allocated over three years, commencing 1999-2000, for health education activity focussing on young people. £3 million was allocated over three years to health boards for smoking cessation services and Nicotine Replacement Therapy to be targeted at areas of social deprivation.

Smoking cessation has also been identified as a priority for investment from the £26 million health promotion fund. Health boards will be able to provide more practical support through the NHS for those people who want to quit smoking.

A Smoking Cessation Service for Glasgow was launched on 8 March 2000 to provide a comprehensive network of smoking cessation services. The disadvantaged will be a priority group. The service is co-ordinated from the Eastbank Health Promotion Centre, Shettleston and offers easily accessible advice and support to smokers who want to quit.

We are committed to increasing the number of doctors working in the NHS in Scotland, particularly in the area of cancer treatment. That is why I have recently announced a package of additional investment in the workforce which includes provision for 10 extra consultant posts, eight of which will be in the specialties of radiology and histopathology, and 100 extra junior doctors.

The Executive also met last year with representatives of the Royal College of Radiologists to discuss workforce issues and, as a result of this meeting, increased the number of posts for doctors in higher specialist training in this specialty from 71 to 76. Further increases in trainee numbers will be considered in the future to improve the balance of supply and demand in the coming years.

The latest information supplied by ISD Scotland indicates that there is an adequate supply of qualified radiographers to fill current establishment posts, as at 30 April 1999 only 0.9% of whole time equivalent posts had been vacant for three months or more.

There are many aspects of child healthcare which lend themselves to the Managed Clinical Network approach. There is no Managed Clinical Networks in any paediatric service at the moment, although the national Managed Clinical Network in cleft lip and palate has a strong children's component. The Scottish Executive would always be interested in considering proposals from clinicians for the development of such networks.

I refer to the answer to question S1W-9142.

All genetically modified crops that are being grown in Scotland have been scientifically evaluated to assess their safety in relation to human health and the environment. This independent assessment, which is carried out by the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE), includes the identification of any characteristics of the GMO which have the potential to cause harm. All the crops to be grown in Scotland have satisfied the stringent ACRE risk assessment.

Scientific monitoring and inspection arrangements are in place at all sites where consent has been granted to release genetically modified material. This monitoring extends to the locality where the release has taken place and includes post-trial monitoring programmes.