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The Scottish Government secures continuous improvement in the performance of functions by all public service organisations, including executive agencies and the Scottish Government itself using best value arrangements.

Continuous improvement seeks to balance quality and cost considerations, and is achieved with regard to economy, efficiency, effectiveness, the equal opportunities arrangements, and sustainable development.

The Scottish Government does not require executive agencies to gain certification to any formal quality management standard and therefore does not hold such data centrally. Such information could only be gathered at disproportionate cost.

Ensuring quality and continuous improvement across a broad range of activities is assured via accountable officer duties, one of which is to ensure that arrangements have been made to secure best value.

The Scottish Government was the first government department to gain recognition as an Investor in People (IIP), in its entirety, in 1997. The latest post recognition review in August 2007 confirmed Scottish Government status as an Investor in People for a further three years to August 2010.

The Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 (the 2009 Act) requires the lead local authority for each local plan district to produce a Local Flood Risk Management Plan (LFRMP) for the purposes of supplementing the District Flood Risk Management Plan (DFRMP) that will be produced by (Scottish Environment Protection Agency) SEPA. The LFRMP provides an opportunity for lead local authorities to determine and report the priorities they identify for their local plan district, as well as set out how they would implement any measures they consider necessary to mitigate flood risk.

Between two and three years after finalising a LFRMP, the lead local authority must publish an interim report on the progress that has been made towards implementing the measures identified in the plan. A final report on progress towards implementation must be made between five and six years after the plan is finalised.

The deadline for finalising the first LFRMPs is six months after the first DFRMP is approved in December 2015 so the deadline for finalising the LFRMPs will be mid 2016. This means that local authorities will have to produce their first interim report between 2018 and 2019. In the meantime, local authorities should continue to produce biennial reports until such time as section 70 of the 2009 Act, which repeals the Flood Prevention (Scotland) Act 1961, is commenced.

Local authorities should continue to produce biennial reports until such time as section 70 of the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009, which repeals the Flood Prevention (Scotland) Act 1961, is commenced.

We expect to receive the Scottish Law Commission''s report on Land Registration, part of its seventh programme of law reform, by the end of the year. A draft Land Registration (Scotland) Bill, a proposed replacement for much of the existing Land Registration (Scotland) Act 1979, will be appended to the report.

The answer is complex. There are four reasons why anti-depressant prescribing can rise. Firstly, more people may be anxious or depressed at a level which would meet the guidance for prescribing of anti-depressants. Secondly, more people may present to their GP, perhaps because of the reduction in stigma or increasing public understanding of mental health issues. Thirdly, prescribing practice may change “ including the use of higher dosages in some cases. Finally, the range of illnesses for which anti-depressants are used may increase over time.

Our Health Efficiency Access Target (HEAT) is to reduce the annual rate of increase of defined daily dose per capita of anti-depressants to zero by 2009-10, and put in place the required support framework to achieve a 10% reduction in future years.

The General Teaching Council for Scotland carry out a survey of the employment status of teachers in their post probation year each October. The Council now also conducts a follow-up survey each April. The results of the latest follow up survey from April 2009 were published on 3 June 2009.

To date, the Scottish Government has committed to invest over £13 million in the CashBack for Communities programme which includes diversionary and participatory projects for young people across Scotland.

£3 million of this investment was allocated to YouthLink Scotland. Funding distributed through the YouthLink local youth project grant scheme is recorded by local authority rather than parliamentary constituency. The following organisations in East Ayrshire received funding in the 2009 phase:

Drongan Health Initiative	£21,976.00
The Zone Project/Bellsbank Adventure Playground Ltd	£15,912.00
East Ayrshire Community Safety Partnership	£6,185.45
Four Connections Youth Group	£3,235.00
Galston Youth Forum	£8,695.50
Cumnock Mini/Midi Rugby Club	£5,500.00
Cumnock Landward Community Association	£7,816.05
Volunteer Centre East Ayrshire	£8,600.00
Kilmaurs Community Association	£2,580.00
Extreme Valley Riders	£1,500.00
Total	£82,000.00

 

A further £1 million has been allocated to YouthLink for a second grant programme which is currently open for applications.

In addition, the Scottish Football Association (SFA) are using CashBack funding to deliver a programme of diversionary football activities in East Ayrshire including Midnight Leagues (eight venues in 2008 and three venues in 2009) and Street Football (11 venues in 2008 and 22 in 2009) which were allocated a combined total of £8,800 for 2008-09.

East Ayrshire also hosts the South West School of Football, which is based at Cumnock Academy and has been allocated £18,200 in 2008-09. A total of £6,675 has been allocated to the Soccer One programme in East Ayrshire, in which nine schools are participating. CashBack funding has also enabled SFA football development officers to work with East Ayrshire Council''s New Sporting Futures team to increase existing successful activities. They have also collaborated to develop a pilot street football project called Killie Icon, which offers talented players the chance to win a full week''s training with Kilmarnock Football Club.

Scottish Rugby are investing £7,082 of CashBack funding in a range of diversionary school and club rugby activities in East Ayrshire. Between August 2008 and April 2009, nine Street Rugby sessions took place and 2,212 primary and secondary pupils participated in school-based rugby activities. The local development officer, apprentices and community coaches are working together to ensure that there are sustainable opportunities for young people to pursue an interest in rugby long-term. Two young people who participated in Street Rugby sessions in Cumnock went on to join Cumnock RFC.

Basketballscotland is working to promote basketball participation across Scotland through the deployment of four regional co-ordinators funded by CashBack, including one in west Scotland which will benefit young people in the East Ayrshire area.

The second culture strand of CashBack was announced in March 2009. The Creative Identities Project is an 18-month programme of creative learning activities, targeting young carers in particular but open to all young people. East Ayrshire is included in the West Central Programme Plan, which will be led by Glasgow-based partners Tramway and Glasgow Film Theatre. They have been allocated a total of £343,600 to deliver projects across the region.

The equalities impact assessment was published in March and can be accessed here:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/People/Equality/18507/EQIADetails/Q/Id/241.

The Scottish Fuel Poverty Forum has established an Equalities Working Group which will meet shortly to discuss equalities issues. The group will be chaired by Age Concern and Help the Aged in Scotland and will have a range of representative members including the Scottish Disability Equality Forum and Inclusion Scotland.

Service developments since February 2003 include the employment of a CFS/ME nurse specialist in NHS Fife and the development of a CFS/ME assessment clinic in NHS Lothian. A programme for people with CFS/ME has also been developed by the Centre for Integrative Care at the Homeopathic Hospital, Glasgow. We are funding an evaluation of that programme to help promote its dissemination.

In order to encourage further progress in the development of services, we commissioned the Scottish Public Health Network (SPHN) to undertake a needs assessment for CFS/ME, and last month it issued a draft for consultation. It contains recommendations on a proposed model of care for Scotland, including the development of a Managed Clinical Network approach to ME-CFS (to use the Network''s preferred terminology).

In tandem with the needs assessment, we have also provided Action for ME with funding to produce a first edition of a Good Practice Statement on ME-CFS. This is intended to help general practitioners with the management of ME-CFS until such time as the evidence base allows the development of a clinical guideline by the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network.