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The NHS in Scotland is working to ensure delivery of a number of nationalwaiting times targets for the benefit of patients. These national targets are publishedon the Acute Hospital Care website, which is operated by NHS National ServicesScotland’s Information Services Division. The website can be accessed at: www.isdscotland.org/waiting_times.

The website is updatedregularly and statistics on performance against all the national waiting times targetsare shown on the website, with the exception of the target that every patient shouldhave access to a GP, nurse or other health care professional within 48 hours. Forthe years 2005-06 and 2006-07, NHS boards reported that some 99% of practices demonstratedcompliance with requirements for this target, compared with 97% in 2004-05.

We are supportingNHS boards as they work towards abolishing availability status codes and introducingnew arrangements for measuring waiting times, so that all patients waiting for afirst out-patient appointment with a consultant or for hospital inpatient or daycase treatment come within the scope of national targets from the beginning of nextyear.

Consideration is currentlybeing given to ways in which waiting times targets can be turned into legally bindingwaiting times guarantees and so make them more meaningful to patients. We will consultwidely on this in due course.

NHS Glasgow and Clydehave, following extensive consultation, developed a strategy for the future deliveryof health care services for the area covered by that board. This service strategyinvolves the replacement of a number of existing facilities which are not consideredappropriate for the delivery of health care services in the 21st Century and theVictoria Hospital falls into that category.

Not only are modelsof care vastly different to those practised when the Victoria Hospital was built but the use of modern materialsand methods of construction result in buildings which frequently differ in appearanceto those being replaced. Indeed we should expect and welcome change to the physicalappearance of healthcare buildings as we place increasing emphasis on environmentswhich are supportive of the recovery process and of the staff who work in our hospitals.

The building currentlyunder construction to replace the Victoria Hospital will be very different in appearance but what is criticalis that it delivers the appropriate range of healthcare facilities in an appropriateenvironment. I am confident that the new building will deliver these clinical servicesfrom a building which has been designed to the highest standards.

This informationis not held centrally.

This informationis not held centrally but with the individual local authorities.

Prior to finalisingthe service specification for the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services contract, theformer administration undertook a consultation exercise in 2004-05 that sought viewson a range of issues, including“further changes to timetables and services which may benefit users”.

In considering the responses to that consultation exerciseI understand that the previous administration concluded that enhancements to thewinter timetable for Ardrossan to Brodick should be included in the final servicespecification. As a consequence, an additional return sailing on the route duringthe winter was added to the service specification included in the tender documentationfor the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services issued in December 2006.

In addition, in responseto requests from the local community, CalMac Ferries Ltd announced on 4 October 2007 that they will continue to provide a double vessel servicefor the summer timetable. Taken together these will provide enhanced summer andwinter timetables.

There is nodefinition, in statute, of “lifeline ferry service”. However, the previousadministration noted that, in subsidising ferry services, its objective was “toensure the provision of a suitable standard of transport connection, in termsof quality, frequency and capacity, to island (or, in some cases, remotepeninsular) communities which would otherwise suffer social and economicdisadvantage”. I would not dissent from that definition.

I understand thatCalMac Ferries has accepted a block booking for a tanker on its 7am sailing fromArdrossan to Brodick on every weekday throughout the winter, returning on the 11amsailing each day. This should provide sufficient capacity to meet Arran’s needsfor gas oil, derv and kerosene over the winter months and should not have any impacton other ferry users. In terms of petrol supplies, I understand that there is currentlya significant stock of petrol held on the island. However, top-ups can be delivered,as required, using CalMac’s winter service between Tarbert on the mainland and Lochranzaon Arran.

The Clyde and HebridesFerry Services Public Service Contract requires CalMac Ferries Ltd to submit regularreports on performance (including reliability and punctuality) to the Scottish Government,to make summary information available to those attending the half-yearly consultationmeetings to be facilitated by the Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership (HITRANS)and to publish the summary information in their annual report. CalMac Ferries willalso display monthly information on punctuality and reliability on each of theirroutes in the port offices and vessels as part of their Customer Services Undertaking.

CalMac FerriesLtd has provided the following figures relating to the year ending 31 August2007:

(a) sailingscancelled but excluded from the route’s reliability figures – 113

(b) sailingscancelled and included in the route’s reliability figures – 2

(c) sailingsdelayed but excluded from the route’s punctuality figures – 425

(d) sailingsdelayed and included in the route’s punctuality figures – 174.

The sailingswhich are excluded from the reliability and punctuality figures are those wherea legitimate “relief event” prevented or delayed the sailing. Relief eventsrelate to factors that are beyond the operator’s control, such as adverseweather.

The Public ServiceContract between the Scottish ministers and CalMac Ferries Ltd for the deliveryof the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services includes a PerformanceRegime which penalises the operator if it does not operate services to the prescribedtimetables. However, the contract recognises that there will be situations wherecancellations or delays will be unavoidable or where they may be justified becauseof particular circumstances that can arise. In such cases, the penalty system isnot triggered. These circumstances are described as “Performance Relief Events”and include “Relief Events”, “Lifeline Service Relief” and “Upgrade Relief Events”.

The list ofperformance relief events is extensive and includes, for example, adverse weatherand tidal conditions, safety factors beyond the operator’s control and the holdingback of a sailing to await the arrival of a late running public transport servicethat is scheduled to connect with the sailing. However, it is intended that thestatistics that will be collected on punctuality and reliability will show boththe actual performance and the performance after the application of theperformance relief events.