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Patient satisfaction depends primarily on the quality of care they receive. The Executive has introduced a system of standards, including those for cleaning services and hospital food, designed to ensure that patients receive a high quality service throughout the NHS in Scotland. The Clinical Standards Board for Scotland will monitor the achievement of these standards, but surveys of patient or user views will continue to be important.The Patient Focus and Public Involvement framework, which I launched in December, indicated that the Executive will shortly be publishing guidance to the NHS on the use of surveys. This guidance will provide information on current practice identify key features of effective surveys and suggest ways the NHS can improve the value of surveys.

We are tackling these issues on a number of fronts, though not exclusively for people over 75.Last year we provided new resources, starting with £24 million in 2001-02 and rising to £48 million in 2003-04, to enable local authorities and their partners locally to develop more responsive home care services that would prevent older people being inappropriately admitted to hospital and support them better on discharge. In January, we published the report of the Chief Medical Officer's Expert Group on the Healthcare of Older People, entitled Adding Life to Years. We have since set up an implementation group to drive forward its recommendations and to monitor progress.On 5 March, we launched our Delayed Discharge Action Plan requiring local partners to deliver specific, targeted reductions in delayed discharges, underpinned by further new resources of £20 million in 2002-03.

We have no such targets at present.

Our second Programme for Government, Working Together for Scotland, promised that the Scottish Executive would have the capacity to conduct 90% of its low value, high volume procurement transactions electronically by the end of 2001. Since the introduction of a new finance system at the end of 2001, the Executive has had that capacity. The Executive, working in partnership with a range of other Scottish public sector bodies, is introducing an e-procurement service which will offer a single interface between public sector purchasers and their suppliers. The first transaction through the system was made by the First Minister at the Convention of the Highlands and Islands at Portree on 25 March 2002 at the launch of the service in The Highland Council. The Executive is currently in discussion with its major suppliers regarding their early adoption onto the system.The Executive's progress in the delivery of its services electronically is detailed in the Electronic Service Delivery Progress Report which was published on 16 November 2001 and is available on the Scottish Executive website and on the OpenScotland website at www.openscotland.gov.uk. The second Electronic Service Delivery Progress Report is currently being prepared and will be published shortly.

The Scottish Executive has made 1,294 Scottish Statutory Instruments (SSIs) since July 1999. Statistics are not compiled on how many of these amended existing statutory instruments.Where it is considered that a particular instrument could have an impact on business, whether requiring the completion of a form or not, a Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) is completed. Of the 1,294 total SSIs, over 70 have been subjected to this review and the resulting Final RIAs have been placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre.

The Scottish Executive has agreed to continue funding the Edinburgh Sheriff Court In-court Advice Project, including the mediation element of the project, for the next three years at a total cost of £213,000. I know this decision will be warmly welcomed by all those involved with the project and will bring stability and continuity. The project has proved to be an effective means of providing additional support to court users, helping them to understand the issues that brought them to court. It has also contributed to a more efficient use of court time and resources.I can also announce that the Phase 2 research report on the In-court Advice Project is published today.

Regulations which impact upon business, charities or the voluntary sector will be accompanied by a Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) and when finalised the RIA should be placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre, copied to the lead committee, subordinate legislative committee, Parliament legal advisors and the Improving Regulation in Scotland Unit as appropriate.

The Executive works to ensure that all regulations are necessary and proportionate, in particular for regulations which impact upon business, charities and the voluntary sector. The use of the Regulatory Impact Assessment and the Review Regulatory Impact Assessment should guarantee that regulations are proportionate, necessary and fit for purpose when they are introduced and remain so over time. To date, comments made to the Scottish Executive regarding regulations affecting business, charities and the voluntary sector seldom refer to any individual regulation for which the Executive has responsibility.

The Executive's policy is that all undisputed invoices should be paid promptly (i.e. within 30 days, unless a different payment period has been agreed). In 2000-01, the last full financial year for which figures are available, the Executive paid around 98% of all undisputed invoices promptly.

Significant progress has been made both in providing support to local authorities seeking to implement electronic government and developing partnership working.For example, the Executive in partnership with COSLA and local authorities, has established the Central Local 21st Century Government Forum which has a remit to support electronic service delivery across local authorities. Through the forum all councils are now working to produce documented 21st Century Government Action Plans which set each council priorities for electronic service delivery.The Executive has also established the Modernising Government Fund which aims to support local authorities and other public sector providers in developing new models of service delivery. The fund has already distributed £26 million in support of this development and more than £17 million was distributed to local authorities. Further bids for a second round of the fund are currently under consideration.The Executive has also been working with the wider Scottish public sector, including health and local government, to develop an e-procurement service which will be available to all Scottish public bodies, including all Scottish local authorities. One of the major benefits of adopting a common approach to e-procurement across the public sector is that the system will help facilitate partnership working (such as the use of common contracts) in a procurement context. Early adopters of the system are already working together in encouraging suppliers to join the system.The Executive is also demonstrating its commitment to effective partnership working through providing a statutory basis for community planning in the forthcoming Local Government Bill. The independent Community Planning Taskforce, which comprises a wide range of interests, is also working on the key issues surrounding effective partnership working.