Scottish Parliament e-Brief
Issue 135, 14th October 2002
SECTION 1 - BUSINESS THIS WEEK
Parliament begins its October recess this week. Business resumes in the week commencing Monday 28th October 2002.
SECTION 2 - NEWS
MANUFACTURING STEERING GROUP
RECONVENES
The recently re-convened Scottish Manufacturing Steering Group
has held its first meeting.
Chaired by Dr Chris Masters, the group has been asked by Minister for Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Iain Gray to:
Manufacturing contributes a fifth of GDP in Scotland. There are almost 270,000 employee jobs (13% of the workforce), with an estimated further 150,000 indirect employee jobs in manufacturing.
Until recently, manufacturing focused on the process of production. Today, it is more about creating than making. Manufacturing integrates R&D, design, supply, production, software, services, distribution, delivery and aftercare.
The Scottish Manufacturing Steering Group was set up by the former Enterprise Minister, Henry McLeish, in 1999 to advise the Scottish Executive on how best to support Scottish manufacturing. The 27 members included manufacturers, business organisations, trade unions and representatives from the higher education sector. It last met in 2000 following the launch of its report, Created in Scotland.
Created in Scotland lists over 50 initiatives covering: business environment; knowledge and technology; science base and its commercialisation; skills and people; and images and attitudes. Progress has already been made on almost all of these initiatives, with some already having been achieved or completed.
CALL FOR POSITIVE THINKING ON
ORGAN DONATION
Deputy Health Minister Mary Mulligan has appealed for more Scots
to think positively about organ donation, discuss their wishes
with their loved ones and carry an organ donor card.
She made her plea at a ceremony on Sunday to mark the 10th anniversary of the Scottish Liver Transplant Unit in Edinburgh, which to date has carried out nearly 450 transplants and has gained an international reputation for its work.
Around 6,000 people across the UK need an organ transplant each year but only around 2,800 transplants are carried out as the number of people donating organs in recent years has fallen and is continuing to fall.
Prior to the opening of the Scottish Liver Transplant Unit in 1992, any Scottish patients who required liver transplantation had to travel to England (usually Birmingham) for their care.
As part of the organ retrieval arrangements in Scotland, the Unit's transplant team is also responsible for the retrieval of any livers which become available for transplantation. This means travelling anywhere in the country at any time of the day or night.
Consultation on the Scottish Transplant Group's Organ Donation Strategy for Scotland closed at the beginning of this month. The Group will consider the responses, and the way ahead, at its next meeting.
SECTION 3 - NOTES ON THIS WEEK’S CHAMBER BUSINESS
Parliament is in recess.
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