Seòmar agus comataidhean

I wrote to the Chairman of SLARC on 10 December 2008 giving my response to the recommendations contained within the report and I will be bringing forward regulations shortly. The report and my response are available on the Scottish Government website.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-18143 on 4 December 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

In December 2000, Our National Health: A plan for action, a plan for change announced that by 2005, the maximum wait from urgent referral to treatment for all cancers will be two months. Quarterly performance information showing progress against the 62-day urgent referral to treatment target, broken down by NHS board and cancer type is published from October 2004 on the Scottish Government website www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Health/health/cancer/waiting-times.

The number of patients reported within data submissions has increased (coverage) over time and guidance has been revised to reflect issues with definitions and guidance highlighted by NHS boards. This makes direct comparisons in quarterly performance difficult.

Prior to 2003 cancer waiting times statistics included only breast cancer; in April 2003 colorectal cancers were added; July 2003 ovarian cancer; July 2004 lung cancers; January 2005 melanoma; April 2005 lymphoma cancer, and in July 2005 head and neck, upper GI, and urology cancers. From January 2007 submissions were received for all nine cancer services for all NHS boards.

Information on the business rates paid by individual businesses is not held centrally. The information available relates to the business rates paid on non-domestic properties. Some of these will be owned by businesses, but others will be in the public sector. Further, while from 1 April 2009, 100% relief will be available under the Small Business Bonus Scheme for individual ratepayers with non-domestic properties of which the combined rateable value is £8,000 or less, a significant number of non-domestic properties will have their business rates reduced to zero as a result of other rates reliefs.

Information for 2008-09 will be available shortly on the number of non-domestic properties which have been awarded relief under the scheme, using information provided routinely by local authorities in regular statistical returns. Using this information, it may be possible to make an estimate of the number of non-domestic properties that will pay no business rates from April 2009 as a result of the scheme.

Information on the number of businesses which will have benefited from the Small Business Bonus Scheme in 2008-09 in the form requested is not held centrally. However, information will be available in due course on the number of business properties which have been awarded relief under the scheme, using information provided routinely by local authorities in regular statistical returns.

Helping Scots cope with the impact of high fuel bills and tackling fuel poverty forms part of our six point programme aimed at reducing the impact of the global financial crisis. The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing announced last week that we are investing a further £10 million to provide more central heating systems this year.

We have also announced our intention that from April 2009 our fuel poverty programmes will for the first time, help tackle fuel poverty amongst families on income support with children under five or with disabled children under 16 beyond basic insulation measures.

We will set out the detail of the inclusion of families in future fuel poverty programmes in due course, along with the eligibility criteria and anticipated numbers who will benefit.

This is an issue for the forthcoming review of the National Waste Plan. In particular, we will consider what more can be done to provide advice to business on minimising waste and improvements to data on commercial and industrial waste to encourage investment in recycling plants. Also whether any further voluntary or legislative steps can be taken to increase recycling of business waste.

In the meantime, I have issued a consultation on potential waste legislation, for inclusion in the Climate Change Bill, which includes a number of innovative proposals on how to increase recycling rates in Scotland including the provision of more recycling facilities at work and in public places.

While immigration is currently a reserved issue, the Scottish Government has worked closely with the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) since its inception and ministers provided views on the proposed methodology and work plan early in the process. Alongside UKBA, officials facilitated a session for employers in Glasgow and undertook visits to Scottish employers. Along with Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Government officials promoted the MAC''s work with a view to raising awareness amongst business networks and encouraging employers to engage with the process. This employer engagement has been reflected in the MAC''s report.

We received representations from the Asian restaurant industry about its ability to recruit skilled chefs from the subcontinent. As immigration is currently reserved to the UK Government, these were conveyed to the Home Secretary. We also encouraged representatives to engage with the Migration Advisory Committee, which they did. Skilled chefs were included on the Shortage Occupation list produced last month.

The Scottish Government has no estimates of the likely impact on levels of skilled immigration to Scotland of the change to a points-based immigration system. Immigration is currently reserved and the Home Office noted in its Regulatory Impact Assessment, which accompanied the introduction of the UK points-based immigration system, that it is very difficult to accurately predict the exact impact of the new system on the numbers and types of people who might come to Scotland to work.