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The Executive and the Adventure Activities Licensing Authority have observer status on the Health and Safety Commission's Adventure Activities Industry Advisory Committee.

A vast amount of activity takes place at both national and local level with a view to providing the Scottish population with the information they need to help them become and stay healthy. At national level, the Health Education Board for Scotland undertakes a wide range of initiatives including, for example, the award winning "Big 3" (coronary heart disease, cancer and stroke) campaign for adults and the "Think About It" (smoking, drug misuse, alcohol misuse and sexual health) campaign for young people. This is complemented at local level by a broad variety of services offered by health board Health Promotion Departments ranging from the provision of leaflets/information/advice to the organising of exercise classes and healthy eating demonstrations. The Food Standards Agency provides advice on public health in connection with food standards and safety.

All three organisations make extensive use of their websites as a way of getting the message across.

We are committed to ensuring that older people have their say in the development of polices which affect them. Already through the work of the Care Development Group and the Chief Medical Officer's Expert Group on the Healthcare of Older People, older people have been able to present their views through a range of consultation methods such as newspaper advertisements, questionnaires, telephone surveys, public meetings and focus groups.

We have established an Older People's Unit within the Executive to take forward the development of an over-arching strategy for older people across the Executive and are in discussion with a range of older people's organisations about appropriate mechanisms for consultation and involvement. In some areas older people are already working in partnership with local authorities and other agencies in the planning and delivery of public services.

My department is in regular contact with the Department of Health on a number of issues, including workforce planning. The Scottish Integrated Workforce Planning Group (SIWPG) has identified a number of principles for effective workforce planning in NHSScotland. One of these principles is that the planning of services, driven by patient and service needs, should be integrated with workforce planning and planning for education and training. SIWPG has submitted its final report to the department, which makes a number of recommendations for establishing a robust infrastructure to enable the development of effective and comprehensive workforce planning. We will be announcing shortly the actions to be taken in response to the report.

The Scottish Executive is playing a full part in taking forward Agenda for Change - proposals for modernising the NHS pay system. These proposals aim to ensure that issues of equal pay for work of equal value are addressed and that all NHSScotland staff are rewarded fairly according to the work they do and the contribution they make.

There are already provisions in place within NHSScotland's Learning Together Strategy that promotes lifelong learning for all NHSScotland staff. This strategy provides a framework for all staff to strengthen and improve upon existing practices that provides them with an opportunity to develop and further their careers in the health service.

The Executive has observer status on the Health and Safety Commission's Adventure Activities Industry Advisory Committee which is serviced by and attended by the Health and Safety Executive.

Tackling health inequalities is the overarching aim of our public health strategy, as set out in the White Paper Towards a Healthier Scotland and Our National Health: A plan for action, a plan for change. Measures being taken to realise that aim include the network of Healthy Living Centres now being established, the Scottish Community Diet Project which works with low-income communities, a range of smoking, alcohol and drug misuse initiatives and the National Health Demonstration Projects in the priority areas of child health, sexual health, cancer and heart disease. Moreover, the Health Improvement Fund is investing an additional £100 million over four years in health improvement work.

As well as addressing lifestyles and particular health topics, the Executive - in conjunction with partner organisations in Scotland and the UK Government - is also working to address the poor life circumstances that can contribute to ill health. Health is at the heart of the Executive's approach to social justice and actions across the whole range of its programmes (for example, Social Inclusion Partnerships) is contributing to the fight to reduce health inequalities and improve the health and well-being of all Scots.

We have appointed a dedicated NHSScotland SVQ/Modern Apprenticeship secondee to encourage all staff to take up formal qualifications that are workplace based and assessed.

In addition to this, we have provided support funding for Return to Learn, a programme designed to widen the access to education and learning for all NHSScotland staff.

The Chief Medical Officer's Acute Services Review Report, published in May 1998, endorsed the development of ambulatory care and diagnostic centres (ACADs), in suitable settings. The report indicated that such centres could respond to both primary and acute secondary care needs. It is for local health service providers to determine the most suitable location for any such developments, taking into account existing services in the area and the particular needs of their local populations.