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I am pleased to report that good progress is being made, with 20 authorities having reached the agreed target in 2009-10, namely Aberdeen City, Angus, Argyll & Bute, Scottish Borders, Dumfries and Galloway, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, City of Edinburgh, Fife, Glasgow, Moray, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, Shetland, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, West Dunbartonshire and West Lothian. In 2009-10, test purchasing visits were carried out in 10.9% of tobacco retail premises, exceeding the national target of 10%.

I am pleased to report that good progress is being made, with 19 authorities having reached the agreed target in 2009-10, namely Aberdeenshire, Angus, Scottish Borders, Clackmannanshire, Dumfries and Galloway, East Dunbartonshire, Falkirk, Fife, Midlothian, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Orkney, Renfrewshire, Shetland, South Ayrshire, Stirling, West Dunbartonshire, Western Isles and west Lothian. In 2009-10, visits to provide advice and support were made to 25.1% of tobacco retailers, exceeding the national target of 20%.

The Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards in Scotland (SCOTSS) is expected to publish a report on the progress made under the Enhanced Tobacco Sales Enforcement Programme within the next couple of months. We will inform you when the report is available.

The WHO Night Noise Guidelines for Europe were published in 2009. They build on the earlier 1999 WHO Guidelines for community noise and aim to provide scientific advice to the member states for the development of future legislation and policy action in the assessment and control of night noise exposure.

The guidelines support the European Union Directive 2002/49/EC relating to the assessment and management of environmental noise (known as the END Directive). One of the obligations of the END is for member states to produce noise maps and data about night exposure from mid-2007. The Scottish Government has, in implementing the END, met all its obligations on time, including publishing Noise Action Plans which seek to manage noise on a prioritised basis.

I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

Responsibility for pharmacy services and, with it, the pharmacy budget will be transferred from the Scottish Prison Service to NHS boards as part of the National Programme for Prisoner Healthcare, scheduled to take place in autumn 2011.

I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

The SPS currently employs directly one pharmacist and no dispensing assistants. Substantive prison healthcare staff will be transferring to the NHS as part of the National Programme for Prisoner Healthcare, scheduled to take place in autumn 2011. Pharmacists and dispensing assistants employed by the contracted pharmacy service provider may also have TUPE rights on transfer of services to the NHS.

The Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine rail line noise assessments were undertaken prior to publication of the World Health Organization''s Night Noise Guidelines for Europe. However, mitigation threshold levels are in line with the World Health Organization''s Night Noise Guidelines for Europe.

I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

It has been agreed, in principle, that all current funding for healthcare provision in Scottish prisons will be transferred to NHS boards as part of the National Programme for Prisoner Healthcare, scheduled to take place in autumn 2011. The allocation of this funding, to each NHS board, is currently being reviewed as part of the National Programmes'' Financial Workstream.

I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

Prison healthcare staff in substantive posts will be transferring to the NHS as part of the National Programme for Prisoner Healthcare, scheduled to take place in autumn 2011.

Information in the Scottish Health Service Costs publication is mainly derived from financial and statistical data compiled by Scottish Health Boards.

Some of the larger NHS boards such as NHS Lothian and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, which have a significant impact on the national average cost, have changed their costing methodology since 2006 to better reflect the true, fully absorbed cost of providing radiology services. This change, while providing more accurate figures, means current figures are less comparable with earlier years.