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In the current financial year, the Scottish Executive has committed revenue funding for hospital and community health services of £791.5 million to Greater Glasgow, 4.25% more than last year's general allocation. My recent announcement of allocations for 2000-01 confirms that Greater Glasgow will receive a further 5% increase in its general allocation next year.

I expect all NHS Trusts, including those in Glasgow, to manage effectively the resources they receive from Health Boards to provide health services.

My officials are working with the senior management of the Glasgow Trusts and Greater Glasgow Health Board to ensure that financial balance is achieved as soon as possible while continuing to provide high quality care.In preparing their plans I expect the Trusts to continue to provide high quality patient care and to take full account of their effects on staff.

In the current financial year, the Scottish Executive has committed revenue funding for hospital and community health services of £791.5 million to Greater Glasgow, 4.25% more than last year's general allocation. My recent announcement of allocations for 2000-01 confirms that Greater Glasgow will receive a further 5% increase in its general allocation next year.I expect all NHS Trusts, including those in Glasgow to manage effectively the resources they receive from Health Boards to provide health services.My officials are working with the senior management of the Glasgow Trusts and Greater Glasgow Health Board to ensure that financial balance is achieved as soon as possible while continuing to provide high quality care.

The study suggests that patients with coronary heart disease in the most severe deprivation categories waited about 3 weeks longer for routine cardiac surgery than did patients in the most affluent category. The main reason quoted was that those in the most affluent category were more likely to be classified as urgent cases.One of our key aims in the Programme for Government is to eliminate inequalities of treatment. The Coronary Heart Disease Task Force has been investigating the management of patients on the cardiac surgery waiting list. It has devised a common referral letter and a standard approach to the categorisation of those patients, based on clinical factors. Implementation of these initiatives, together with the establishment of a national waiting time for this priority area, will help ensure that time the key determinant for priority of treatment is clinical need.

Five forces were involved in the operation to police the Scotland against England football match on Saturday 13 November. The operation lasted from Friday 12 November through to Sunday 14 November and the costs incurred were:

£
Dumfries & Galloway Constabulary	6,500
Fife Constabulary	1,000
Lothian & Borders Police	20,000
Strathclyde Police	300,000
Tayside Police	2,500
Total	330,000

Approximately £60,000 will be recovered from the Scottish Football Association by Strathclyde Police, under the normal charges for the services of police officers at football matches. The balance will be met from forces' operational budgets for the current year.

The table below indicates the main reasons cited by higher education students, or presumed by their institution, for not continuing their education. Information is not available centrally on the cost of students leaving their course early. Comparable information about the further education sector is not available.

Table: Reasons given by students in Higher Education Institutions in Scotland for not continuing their education

1996-97	No.	1997-98	No.	1998-99	No.
Other personal reasons	2,752	Other personal reasons	2,085	Other personal reasons	2,173
Academic failure/left in bad standing/not permitted to progress	1,324	Other	2,061	Other	2,043
Other	827	Academic failure/left in bad standing/not permitted to progress	1,569	Academic failure/left in bad standing/not permitted to progress	1,586
Written off after a lapse of time	776	Unknown	961	Unknown	1,110
Unknown	776	Written off after a lapse of time	499	Health reasons	414
Health reasons	440	Health reasons	442	Written off after a lapse of time	315
Course result unknown	285	Financial reasons	328	Financial reasons	278
Financial reasons	282	Gone into employment	255	Course result unknown	272
Gone into employment	264	Course result unknown	101	Gone into employment	231
Death	50	Death	44	Death	35
Exclusion	15	Exclusion	23	Exclusion	19

Excludes those who successfully completed their course, those who continued into the next year, and those who transferred to another institution.

Following the recent publication of the Performance Indicators report for the whole of the UK higher education sector, the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council are currently reviewing the figures, including those for non-completion, with a view to taking steps and will liaise with the Executive in this regard. A full copy of the Performance Indicators in Higher Education 1996-97, 1997-98 report is available through the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

It is the responsibility of health boards to assess local needs for patients with hepatitis C, and arrange provision of appropriate treatment and care services. Last year, the Scottish Office commissioned the Scottish Needs Assessment Programme to establish a working group to consider all aspects of Hepatitis C including epidemiology, prevention, investigations, and treatment, and to estimate future implications for the Scottish population and for service needs. This working group is expected to report early in 2000.

The Scottish Health Purchasing Information Centre (SHPIC) published a report on hepatitis C in September 1998. This report was updated to include recommendations on the use of combination treatment with interferon alfa and ribavirin and disseminated to the NHS in Scotland in February 1999. The working group set up under The Scottish Needs Assessment Programme will be further considering interferon alfa and ribavirin treatment. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence in England is also to consider the issue of antiviral combination treatment for hepatitis C early in 2000. The conclusions of these bodies will help to inform decisions about the provision of this treatment within the NHS in Scotland.

There are no plans at present to introduce national guidelines. It is for health boards to assess the local needs for patients with hepatitis C, and many health boards have developed local treatment guidelines and protocols.

The appraisal of the M74 Northern Extension carried out for the Strategic Roads Review indicated that the scheme would have negative effects on a range of environmental indicators, namely noise and vibration, water quality and drainage, ecology, visual impacts, heritage and landscape character. The appraisal indicated that 20 listed buildings would be adversely effected by the scheme.