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The Task and Finish Group report provided to me and published by the Health and Sport Committee covered the issue of timescales for the new approach. The report set out that where the Patient and Clinician Engagement (PACE) step is invoked it would require a ‘pause’ in the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) process of less than three months, which the Task and Finish Group noted was quicker than the resubmission process following ‘not recommended’ advice. I asked Healthcare Improvement Scotland to implement this new approach as recommended in the report and this is therefore the timescale SMC are working to with regard to the PACE step. The first decisions from this new process are expected in autumn 2014.

Employers are responsible for the training and continuous learning of their employees.

There is guidance and tools available to all employers in the social services sector which supports the identification, level and quality of training required for their employees. This includes the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) Code of Practice, National Occupational Standards (NOS), Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF); and the Continuous Learning Framework (CLF).

Bodies such as the SSSC, Skills for Care and Development, the sector skills council for the social services sector, Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland (Care Inspectorate) and the Scottish Qualifications Authority amongst others, support employers in training their workforce.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-21953 on 21 July 2014. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

There are several different funding streams available to people undertaking education and training.

The Scottish Social Services Council has produced guidance on funding and support for training. The guidance provides information on sources of funding available to assist with the cost of undertaking qualifications.

If eligible, students can apply for a part-time fee grant from the Student Awards Agency for Scotland. The level of the tuition fee will be pro-rata on the number of Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework credits the student takes. To qualify for this funding, the student should have an individual income of £25,000 a year or less.

A new simplified higher education student support package as part of the Post 16 Education Reform Programme was introduced in 2013-14 for full time students undertaking a course of higher education.

The information requested is not collected and held centrally.

Scotland has 93 inhabited islands with a total population of over 103,000 people (latest 2011 Census day estimates). Our island communities are long-standing and much-valued parts of Scotland and that would continue in the event of independence. This is reflected in section 30 of the draft Scottish Independence Bill, which provides that the particular needs of island communities must be taken into account when the Scottish Government is carrying out its functions, and in the Government’s proposals in Empowering Scotland’s Island Communities published on 16 June.

Section 6 of the Scottish Government’s draft Scottish Independence Bill, which was published for consultation on 16 June 2014, provides that the territory of Scotland, in the event of independence, would continue to consist of all the land, islands, internal waters and territorial sea that form the territory of Scotland at present. This is in accordance with widely-accepted principles of international law.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-21856 on 15 July 2014. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

Question 558 in Scotland’s Future made it clear that, in the event of independence, Scotland’s territory will remain as it is now.

It is very important to fully involve carers in the discharge planning of the people they care for who are patients. The good practice which exists needs to be spread across Scotland and we will make sure that this happens.

The consultation on the carers’ legislation sets out our proposals to help ensure more consistent and sustainable support to improve outcomes for carers and young carers across Scotland. One of the key principles of the legislation, and of the regulations underpinning the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act 2014, is to ensure greater carer involvement in the shaping, planning, and delivery of services that carers and the people they care for use.

We are currently analysing the consultation responses to the carers’ legislation and will publish our response in Autumn 2014.