Chamber and committees

Budgeted social work expenditure on care of the elderly is given below. Final outturn figures were given in my response to your question S1W-4398, dated 22 February 2000. Data are only given for years since local government reorganisation in April 1996.Comparison between budgeted and final outturn expenditure on the elderly is not directly possible due to a number of differences in the classification of expenditure between the two returns to the Scottish Executive.Budgeted Social Work Expenditure¹ on Care for the Elderly - 1996-97, 1997-98 & 1998-99

Local Authority	1996-97 £ millions	1997-98 £ millions	1998-99 £ millions
Aberdeen City2	9.5	9.5	19.7
Aberdeenshire	8.2	8.3	8.8
Angus	11.0	11.9	12.5
Argyll and Bute	8.4	8.1	9.1
Clackmannanshire	3.0	4.0	4.7
Dumfries & Galloway	13.1	13.6	15.9
Dundee City	17.9	15.3	16.7
East Ayrshire	6.9	8.6	9.1
East Dunbartonshire	5.3	4.2	6.3
East Lothian	7.7	8.0	8.0
East Renfrewshire	4.0	4.8	5.2
Edinburgh	37.3	38.4	38.0
Eilean Siar	5.2	5.4	5.7
Falkirk	7.9	3.2	6.6
Fife	29.7	28.7	27.0
Glasgow	59.4	58.1	63.7
Highland	15.1	15.1	18.5
Inverclyde	5.7	6.1	7.7
Midlothian	6.5	6.4	6.2
Moray	3.7	3.9	4.2
North Ayrshire	9.9	8.7	9.8
North Lanarkshire	17.6	23.4	25.4
Orkney Islands	2.4	2.5	2.6
Perth and Kinross	10.0	10.5	10.4
Renfrewshire	10.0	13.9	14.7
Scottish Borders	8.2	8.9	8.3
Shetland Islands	2.6	4.1	3.9
South Ayrshire	7.8	9.2	10.0
South Lanarkshire	16.2	26.4	21.7
Stirling	1.5	4.3	6.8
West Dunbartonshire	10.9	10.9	9.2
West Lothian	12.2	12.1	12.1
Scotland Total	374.6	396.6	428.8

Source: As reported by Local Authorities on Provisional Outturn Budget Estimate (POBE) returns.

Notes:1. Figures are net expenditure excluding loan and leasing charges and Capital from Current Revenue (CFCR).2. In 1996-97 and 1997-98, part of Aberdeen City's expenditure on the elderly was entered outwith the elderly section of the POBE return. This accounts for the high increase in the council's budgeted expenditure for 1998-99.

In the debate on older people on 2 December 1999, I indicated that the Scottish Executive accepted the recommendation of the Royal Commission that there should be a National Care Commission "to monitor trends, including demography and spending, ensure transparency and accountability in the system, represent the interests of consumers and set national benchmarks". I proposed that the recommendation would be fulfilled in Scotland through the establishment of the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care.We intend that the Commission will be responsible for ensuring that all social care is provided to national standards. It will create a national database of care services and will be able to use this, together with demographic and resource data collected by the Scottish Executive, to advise on trends. It will have the power to investigate complaints about care services and report on them. It will advise on changes needed to the national care standards. It will also provide advice to those offering services on how to meet the standards and improve the service they provide.We are at present consulting on our proposal for the Commission.

The Scottish Executive has received no research proposals of a sufficiently high standard on cardiomyopathy recently and therefore does not directly fund research into heart muscle disease at present. However, we would be pleased to receive research applications on any of the three types of cardiomyopathy (dilated, restrictive and hypertrophic), especially as cardiovascular problems remain a priority of the Scottish Executive.We are aware of 129 research projects on cardiomyopathy which are currently taking place in the UK, five of which are taking place in Scotland. The results of the projects undertaken throughout the UK will inform the future direction of research and treatment of this disease.Details of all the UK projects are available from the National Research Register (NRR), a copy of which is in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe).

The report referred to was a publication of the UK Government, not the Scottish Executive. The Scottish Executive acknowledges that agriculture is facing major problems, and many sectors and people within it are facing real difficulties.

The latest, mid-1998, population estimates published by the Registrar General estimate net migration gain to the Scottish Borders of 360 in the year ending 30 June 1998. The Registrar General intends to publish mid-1999 population estimates, including estimates of migration, for Scotland and its administrative areas in April 2000.

In the Scottish Borders Enterprise area between 1996 and 1999, Locate in Scotland was involved in expansion projects by Mainetti and Viasystems.In the current financial year, the following projects which have been attracted to the Scottish Borders Enterprise area have been announced:

COMPANY	JOBS	DATE OF ANNOUNCEMENT
Mainetti	100	June 1999
Manpower	60	July 1999
Allflex	40	October 1999

Locate in Scotland does not produce estimated figures for individual areas.

Due to the way in which expenditure data are structured, it is difficult to identify exactly how much is spent on older people. There is an element of social work expenditure which cannot easily be allocated to individual client groups. In addition to "services for older people", local authorities record expenditure on "services for all community care client groups" and "social services management and support services"; a proportion of this expenditure will be on services for older people.

The tables below detail the net revenue expenditure by each local authority on (a) older people, (b) all community care client groups, and (c) social services management and support services as a percentage of total social work expenditure. Data are only given for the years 1996-97, 1997-98 and 1998-99 as comparable information is not available prior to April 1996 due to local government reorganisation.

Data for 1998-99 are from a different source than data for earlier years; the categories in table three are therefore slightly different. The apparent large increase between 1997-98 and 1998-99 is largely due to definitional differences.

Some of the variation between authorities may be due to accounting differences rather than differences in the provision of services.

Table 1 Net Revenue Expenditure on Social Work by Local Authorities 1996-7¹ (£ millions)

	Older People	All Community Care Client Groups	Social Services Management and Support Services	Total Social Work	% Older People	% All Community Care Client Groups	% Social Services Management and Support Services
Aberdeen City	6.7	12.7	8.6	52.1	12.9%	24.5%	16.6%
Aberdeenshire	4.5	14.7	5.1	37.8	11.8%	39.1%	13.6%
Angus	7.8	3.5	1.5	21.5	36.1%	16.4%	7.0%
Argyll & Bute2	4.5	2.9	3.6	17.8	25.3%	16.4%	20.1%
Clackmannanshire	1.4	3.3	1.0	9.1	14.9%	36.6%	10.9%
Dumfries and Galloway	4.9	7.5	5.9	26.9	18.1%	28.1%	21.9%
Dundee City	6.2	8.2	4.4	36.8	16.9%	22.4%	12.1%
East Ayrshire	4.5	5.2	4.6	22.8	19.7%	22.8%	20.1%
East Dunbartonshire	0.3	5.2	2.1	12.6	2.0%	41.4%	16.6%
East Lothian	2.6	5.5	2.4	17.6	14.6%	31.0%	13.7%
East Renfrewshire	1.3	4.1	1.5	10.9	11.8%	37.8%	13.9%
Edinburgh City	10.7	21.4	22.4	106.6	10.1%	20.0%	21.0%
Eilean Siar	3.5	3.2	0.3	9.0	38.9%	36.1%	3.4%
Falkirk	2.1	8.9	2.8	28.6	7.3%	31.0%	9.9%
Fife	13.1	21.3	7.6	69.7	18.9%	30.6%	10.9%
Glasgow City	25.4	46.7	30.8	197.2	12.9%	23.7%	15.6%
Highland	9.0	10.3	7.0	36.0	25.1%	28.7%	19.4%
Inverclyde	1.4	6.2	1.1	20.4	7.0%	30.5%	5.2%
Midlothian	1.9	5.1	1.9	15.8	12.1%	32.3%	11.9%
Moray	3.3	4.6	2.1	17.2	19.3%	26.5%	12.0%
North Ayrshire	2.2	7.5	6.9	24.8	8.8%	30.4%	27.9%
North Lanarkshire	14.7	9.8	13.8	56.6	26.0%	17.4%	24.4%
Orkney	1.3	1.5	0.4	5.2	26.0%	28.8%	8.4%
Perth & Kinross	7.1	1.6	3.2	21.2	33.5%	7.5%	15.2%
Renfrewshire	6.7	8.0	1.9	32.3	20.7%	24.8%	5.8%
Scottish Borders	6.3	3.9	1.9	19.6	31.9%	19.9%	9.4%
Shetland	1.7	1.9	1.0	7.1	24.1%	27.0%	13.9%
South Ayrshire	5.6	4.6	2.4	20.9	26.9%	22.0%	11.5%
South Lanarkshire	7.5	11.8	11.8	47.7	15.7%	24.8%	24.7%
Stirling	2.5	5.3	1.4	15.2	16.3%	34.6%	9.5%
West Dunbartonshire	6.9	4.7	0.7	22.7	30.1%	20.6%	3.2%
West Lothian	3.8	8.4	1.5	29.5	12.9%	28.4%	5.2%
Scotland	180.7	269.7	163.9	1,069.0	16.9%	25.2%	15.3%

Source: As reported by Local Authorities on Local Financial Returns (LFR3 Social Work)Notes:1. There have been definitional changes in the LFR3 form between 1996-97 and 1997-98 which may make comparisons difficult. In 1996-97 nursing homes were included in "Services for All Community Care Client Groups" and in 1997-98 they were allocated to individual client groups, including "Services for Older People". Additionally, supported accommodation and senior management and purchasing were included in "Services for Older People" in 1996-97 but not for 1997-98. 2. The Argyll & Bute figure for "Social Services Management and Support Services" is estimated.Table 2 Net Revenue Expenditure on Social Work by Local Authorities 1997/8^1,2 (£ millions)

	Older People	All Community Care Client Groups	Social Services Management and Support Services	Total Social Work	% Older People	% All Community Care Client Groups	% Social Services Management and Support Services
Aberdeen City	4.7	20.5	6.6	52.8	8.8%	38.9%	12.5%
Aberdeenshire	8.5	9.6	1.8	37.7	22.6%	25.4%	4.7%
Angus	7.3	4.9	1.1	22.0	33.2%	22.2%	4.9%
Argyll & Bute	5.8	3.1	4.3	22.8	25.5%	13.4%	18.8%
Clackmannanshire	1.2	3.8	0.5	9.8	12.0%	38.4%	5.3%
Dumfries and Galloway	8.2	6.8	2.7	30.8	26.6%	22.1%	8.8%
Dundee City	9.5	7.2	1.4	37.7	25.1%	19.0%	3.7%
East Ayrshire	5.6	4.8	3.9	23.1	24.0%	20.9%	16.9%
East Dunbartonshire	0.5	8.3	1.3	13.8	3.5%	59.8%	9.6%
East Lothian	4.4	4.1	3.1	19.2	23.0%	21.5%	15.9%
East Renfrewshire	3.3	3.0	0.9	12.7	25.8%	23.9%	7.1%
Edinburgh City	18.1	14.6	25.3	105.8	17.1%	13.8%	23.9%
Eilean Siar	3.4	3.3	0.4	9.3	36.1%	35.2%	4.8%
Falkirk	5.0	5.8	2.8	28.6	17.6%	20.2%	9.9%
Fife	16.3	18.9	6.6	68.3	23.9%	27.7%	9.7%
Glasgow City	43.3	23.0	38.7	185.8	23.3%	12.4%	20.8%
Highland	12.9	4.3	9.1	38.3	33.8%	11.2%	23.7%
Inverclyde	4.1	2.5	3.1	19.8	20.7%	12.8%	15.5%
Midlothian	3.6	4.0	1.3	16.6	22.0%	24.2%	8.0%
Moray	4.9	2.4	2.1	17.0	28.8%	14.2%	12.6%
North Ayrshire	5.3	4.7	6.9	25.9	20.5%	18.0%	26.5%
North Lanarkshire	16.4	10.6	13.9	58.4	28.1%	18.2%	23.8%
Orkney	1.6	1.5	0.6	5.6	28.8%	26.7%	10.2%
Perth & Kinross	6.7	2.9	3.5	22.3	30.2%	13.1%	15.7%
Renfrewshire	8.8	9.4	1.7	34.2	25.9%	27.7%	4.9%
Scottish Borders	5.9	4.0	2.9	20.1	29.2%	20.1%	14.3%
Shetland	1.2	3.0	1.0	7.8	15.7%	38.3%	13.1%
South Ayrshire	5.4	4.3	4.2	20.4	26.4%	21.1%	20.6%
South Lanarkshire	12.5	13.4	6.2	53.6	23.3%	25.1%	11.5%
Stirling	2.8	4.3	1.7	15.4	18.1%	28.1%	11.0%
West Dunbartonshire	6.2	4.4	-0.1	21.0	29.6%	21.2%	-0.4%
West Lothian	6.2	6.3	1.4	30.3	20.6%	20.9%	4.7%
Scotland	249.6	222.7	161.2	1,086.7	23.0%	20.5%	14.8%

Source: As reported by Local Authorities on Local Financial Returns (LFR3 Social Work)

Notes:

1. 1997-98 data are provisional and therefore are subject to change.

2. There have been definitional changes in the LFR3 form between 1996-97 and 1997-98 which may make comparisons difficult. In 1996-97 nursing homes were included in "Services for All Community Care Client Groups" and in 1997-98 they were allocated to individual client groups, including "Services for Older People" Additionally, supported accommodation and senior management and purchasing were included in "Services for Older People" in 1996-97 but not for 1997-98.

Table 3 Net Revenue Expenditure on Social Work by Local Authorities 1998-9¹ (£ millions)

	Older People	Unallocated Admin and Casework	Total Social Work	% Older People	% Unallocated Admin and Casework
Aberdeen City	19.2	7.6	53.7	35.8%	14.1%
Aberdeenshire	15.1	1.6	39.8	37.8%	4.0%
Angus	11.4	3.9	23.2	49.1%	16.9%
Argyll & Bute	8.8	0.4	18.6	47.3%	2.0%
Clackmannanshire	4.5	1.6	10.4	43.5%	15.1%
Dumfries and Galloway	13.7	3.5	32.4	42.3%	10.8%
Dundee City	16.6	-	40.3	41.2%	0.0%
East Ayrshire	9.1	7.5	23.8	38.3%	31.6%
East Dunbartonshire	6.4	2.4	15.5	41.2%	15.4%
East Lothian	8.5	2.0	19.3	44.0%	10.6%
East Renfrewshire	5.2	0.9	13.5	38.1%	6.7%
Edinburgh City	32.7	-	108.2	30.2%	0.0%
Eilean Siar	6.2	-	10.1	62.1%	0.0%
Falkirk	6.8	0.5	28.0	24.2%	-1.7%
Fife	27.7	11.3	69.4	39.9%	16.2%
Glasgow City	69.2	4.5	185.9	37.2%	2.4%
Highland	19.0	6.3	39.0	48.7%	16.2%
Inverclyde	9.5	0.4	20.7	46.1%	1.8%
Midlothian	6.1	-	17.0	35.5%	0.0%
Moray	6.5	1.8	18.2	36.0%	10.0%
North Ayrshire	10.7	1.8	26.3	40.7%	6.6%
North Lanarkshire	27.2	0.2	61.0	44.5%	0.4%
Orkney	2.7	0.7	5.5	49.4%	13.1%
Perth & Kinross	12.3	1.4	23.2	52.8%	5.8%
Renfrewshire	16.2	-	36.2	44.8%	0.0%
Scottish Borders	9.4	0.7	22.3	42.3%	3.0%
Shetland	3.8	-	7.8	49.2%	0.0%
South Ayrshire	14.0	-	22.9	61.2%	0.0%
South Lanarkshire	27.3	0.2	54.6	50.0%	0.3%
Stirling	6.0	2.3	16.8	35.5%	13.8%
West Dunbartonshire	10.3	-	23.7	43.5%	0.0%
West Lothian	13.0	-	31.6	41.1%	0.0%
Scotland	455.2	62.5	1,119.0	40.7%	5.6%

Source: As reported by Local Authorities on Provisional Outturn & Budget Estimate (POBE) Returns.

Notes:1. The 1998-99 figures are provisional outturn figures and come from a different source to the 1996-97 and 1997-98 figures, the apparent large increase between 1997-98 and 1998-99 in expenditure on older people is largely due to definitional differences.

Yes, applicants of age 57 and over will be considered for employment by the Scottish Parliament.

Many Borders textile companies, particularly those specialising in cashmere, achieved good sales growth last year. However, competitive pressures continue to grow in this sector and future prospects will therefore depend largely on companies positioning themselves most advantageously in the specialist markets in which they excel. Scottish Borders Enterprise is undertaking particular initiatives to help companies become more competitive and, with its recently launched website, is helping to market Borders textiles worldwide. Borders textiles companies also benefit from a broad range of support measures available from the Scottish Executive across Scotland.

The Scottish Executive provides funding for flu immunisation and issues guidance in accordance with medical advice on those who would most benefit from vaccination.The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation is the expert advisory group on vaccination and immunisation to the four UK Health Departments. Their expert advice determines the policy for the flu vaccination programme and that advice recommends that the vaccine is offered to over 75s and other specific vulnerable groups. They do not recommend vaccinating all over 65s. This advice is kept under regular review and is relayed to GPs annually before the time for them to commence flu immunisations.