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In the financial year 2006-07, net expenditure on NHS dental care per head in Orkney was £104^1,2 and in Scotland was £73^1,2.

Notes:

1. Expenditure on NHS hospital, community and family health dental services.

2. Includes specialties dental and oral surgery and medicine, and Allied Health Professionals (AHP) out-patient service provided by dental ancillary staff.

At 30 September 2007, there were 6.6 NHS dentists¹ per 10,000 population in Orkney and 5.7 NHS dentists^1. per 10,000 population in Scotland as a whole.

Note: 1. Head count of dentists working in the sectors of NHS general, community and hospital dental services (not the whole-time equivalent number, as information on the working hours of each dentist is not collected). A dentist may work in more than one sector of NHS dentistry.

Information on the percentage of people who visit a private dentist is not available centrally.

The specific information requested is not collected centrally. However, figures on the number and percentage of people aged 18 and over in Orkney and in Scotland who are registered with dentists under NHS general dental services arrangements are available and are published at http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/4680.html.

A number of grants and allowances have been introduced over the years to recruit and retain dentists within general dental services in Scotland, including Orkney. These are:

commitment payments

grants for new and existing vocational training practices

remote areas allowance

recruitment and retention allowance

practice allowances

reimbursement of practice expenses

deprived areas allowance.

In addition, the Scottish Dental Access Initiative, which was first introduced in 1997, provides grants for those dentists wishing to establish new or expand existing NHS dental practices. This scheme was revised in 2007 to provide for the purchase or relocation of current NHS dental practices and to include specialist orthodontic practices. The financial assistance available under this scheme has also been revised.

NHS boards are also able to appoint directly salaried dentists to fill gaps in provision.

All of the initiatives in place to recruit and retain dentists to general dental services in Scotland, including Orkney, will remain in place in 2008-09.

I meet regularly with all NHS chairs to discuss matters of importance to health and the NHS in Scotland, most recently on 28 January. Health officials are also in regular contact with NHS Highland about a range of matters. The Minister for Public Health also met with the senior team of NHS Highland on 21 August last year when she chaired the board''s annual review. The board''s performance on key national health targets including health improvement, efficiency, waiting times and cancer care were discussed.

Life expectancy figures are normally calculated for a three-year period, to provide large enough numbers to ensure accuracy.

The latest life expectancy estimates area as follows:

(i) Life expectancy at birth for males living in Orkney between 2004-06 was 76 years and for females it was 81 years.

(ii) Life expectancy at birth for males living in Scotland between 2004-06 was 74.6 years and for females it was 79.6 years.

These figures, along with life expectancy information for all council and NHS board areas, are available from the General Register Office for Scotland website through the following link:

http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/publications-and-data/life-expectancy/life-expectancy-for-administrative-areas-2004-2006/index.html.

VisitScotland is responsiblefor promoting Scotland to potential tourists. The marketing aimedat fishing, which focuses on thequality of the wonderful fishing experience that is available in Scotland, is not specifically aimed at particular regions butpromotes the whole of Scotland according to types of fishing, of which angling isone of the most popular.

VisitScotland hasdeveloped a website (www.visitscotland.com/fish)that provides information on where to fish, what to bring and when to come for thebest chance of success. There is also information on permit availability for nearlyall of the main lochs and rivers in Scotland; some of whichmay be booked online. The information is divided into types of fishing rather thanlocations but does provide a regional listing of quality accommodation for visitors,making it easier for them to visit and book. VisitScotland has also produced anannual brochure on angling in Scotland that is mailed to over 30,000 people on theirdatabase with an interest in fishing.

In March, April andMay this year, VisitScotland will be promoting the quality of Scotland’s angling and fishing industry with full-page advertisementsin several specialised fishing magazines.

The Scottish Government has forsome time recognised the concerns about declining sea trout catches on the westcoast. Through our agency, Fisheries Research Services, the Shieldaig Sea TroutProject was set up in 1998 to address these issues. The project operates in partnershipwith the Loch Torridon Area Management Group, part of the Scottish Government’sTripartite Working Group, to identify the causes of the decline in sea trout numberson the west coast. The causes are likely to be complex and multi-factorial. Theproject is currently developing and testing restoration techniques. Improvementsin marine survival have continued, and results from the Shieldaig Sea Trout Projectfor 2006-07 saw increased numbers of mature fish returning to spawn.