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The consultation on the draftregulations on the licensing of animal dealers has been completed and the responsesare being considered. As a result of these responses it will be necessary to makea number of changes to the draft regulations before they are presented to Parliament.We anticipate that these regulations will be laid before Parliament in theautumn.

The detailed informationrequested is currently being collated and I will write to the member as soon asthe information is available.

I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

As at 23 March 2007, Communities Scotland has been invoiced for604 completed jobs from Scottish Gas. This does not represent the number of installationsto date as invoices are not submitted until all associated work such as energy adviceand post installation inspections has been completed.

I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

Scottish Gas expects around 5,000 central heating systems tobe installed by the end of March. They expect to have completed the installationof 6,000 central heating systems by around mid-April.

We still expect that the national target of 12,000 installationsby the end of March will be achieved.

I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:

The latest information provided by Scottish Gas shows 4,017 centralheating systems having been installed as at 18 March.

I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-16363 on 18 May 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliamentswebsite, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-16363 on 18 May 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’swebsite the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

The eight minute target is an internationallyrecognised target based on medical research which demonstrates that the earlieran emergency ambulance can arrive at the scene of a cardiac arrest, the greaterthe chances are of saving that victims life.

There are numerous medical researchreports which demonstrate that the benefits of a priority based dispatch systemfar outweigh the risks associated with the first come, first served system whichwas in operation previously. References to some of these reports are listed in AnnexC of the NHS Executives Review of Ambulance Performance Standards Final Reportof Steering Group published in July 1996 (ref. no: HMN7:TSHJ 1996 f).

The National Audit Office, the Audit Committee of the Scottish Parliament and the Health Department all supported the 2002 decision of the ScottishAmbulance Service to implement priority based dispatch.

The survey referred to is an NHS StaffOpinion Survey in which all staff in NHSScotland are invited to participate andwhich was undertaken in 2006. It covers a wide range of issues such as communication,personal development, involvement in decisions and fairness and consistency of treatment.NHS boards are then explicitly required to incorporate feedback from the surveyinto their local Staff Governance action plan, which is developed in partnershipwith local representatives from trade unions and professional organisations andhelps to prioritise those issues that are most important to staff at a local level.

Staff governance, including action plans covering the findingsfrom local staff surveys, form a key part of the discussions I hold with boardchairs and chief executives during the public annual review meetings.

The Scottish Ambulance Service issubject to regular inspection of its functions and performance, as are all otherhealth boards across Scotland.

The Scottish Ambulance Service producesa Local Delivery Plan each year which is agreed with the Health Department and setsout the performance targets for the year. Progress against this plan is monitoredby the Health Department and is discussed by the Ambulance Service Board at itsmeetings throughout the year.

In addition, I chair an annual reviewmeeting with the ambulance service’s chairman and members of the management team.This meeting is held in public and is about supporting the ambulance service indelivering the functions and responsibilities delegated to it using a process whichenables the Health Department and Scottish ministers to determine how effectivelythese are being discharged.

The ambulance service is also subject to regular inspection bythe Health and Safety Executive and review by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland.