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Information about the background to planning cancer services was outlined in the answer given to question S1W-19750.The linear accelerator (and related radiotherapy equipment) modernisation programme has been, and continues to be, developed by the Scottish Executive Health Department in consultation with Cancer Centre Directors and relevant staff drawn from across Scotland.Three new linear accelerators are installed at the Gartnavel Hospital site, giving a total of eight now available. Two further (additional) linear accelerators are to be purchased and installed there during 2002.Beyond that, the plans for further replacement and additional radiotherapy equipment will continue to be brought forward via the modernisation programme and within the context of the business planning process for the development of Phase 2 of the new West of Scotland Regional Cancer Centre at Gartnavel.

The West of Scotland Regional Cancer Advisory Group is chaired by Mr Tom Divers, Chief Executive NHS Greater Glasgow. The Regional Lead Clinician is Dr Harry Burns, Director of Public Health, NHS Greater Glasgow.There are more than 60 members drawn from across NHS Argyll and Clyde, NHS Ayrshire and Arran, NHS Forth Valley, NHS Greater Glasgow, NHS Lanarkshire, Managed Clinical Network leads, the voluntary sector, patient representation and representatives of regional services such as breast screening and cancer surveillance.There are three members from the Beatson Oncology Centre,Dr N Reed, Clinical DirectorProfessor J Cassidy, Academic OncologyMs C Hutchison, Consultant Nurse OncologistFull details of the membership of the North, South East and West of Scotland RCAGs will be placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre.Guidance on the role, structure and function of Regional Cancer Advisory Groups is set out in NHS HDL (2001) 71 issued on 13 September 2001. This is available online at .

Specialist services for all cancers continue to be provided by the Beatson Oncology Centre.

During 2002-03, two additional linear accelerators will be purchased and installed at the Beatson Oncology Centre, funded by the Scottish Executive's radiotherapy equipment modernisation programme. This will bring the total number of linear accelerators to 10, which is 3.9 per million population.

The information requested is not held centrally. NHS trust chief executives at the acute hospital trusts which host Scotland's cancer centres will be able to provide information locally - Grampian University Hospitals NHS Trust, Tayside University Hospitals NHS Trust, Lothian University Hospitals NHS Trust, North Glasgow University Hospitals NHS Trust and Highland Acute Trust. Contact details are available online at: .

Officials from the Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Department and the Student Awards Agency for Scotland meet regularly with officials at the Student Loans Company. Complete details of all meetings held between the department and the company over any particular two-year period could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.

I have not received any representations concerning difficulties in contacting the Student Loans Company. The company has specific performance targets on answering telephone calls and acknowledging and responding to complaints, its performance against which is recorded in the company's annual report. I am aware that callers to the Student Awards Agency for Scotland may sometimes refer to difficulties in contacting the company by telephone.

The Clyde Shipyards Task Force included Gordon Jackson MSP as chair of the Scottish Parliamentary Shipbuilding Group. The task force do not plan individual consultations in advance of publication of the report in the next few weeks.

The information requested is not held centrally.

The following table shows, by NHS board areas for the years 1994-98, the number of patients diagnosed with cancer and percentage of the population served by Scotland's five cancer centres. However, it should be noted that oncology services are provided through regional managed clinical networks which transcend NHS board boundaries.

Cancer centre area	Period of diagnosis	Number of cases	Percentage of population
Aberdeen (Grampian, Orkney and Shetland)	1994 1995 1996 1997 1998	2,607	0.45
		2,678	0.47
		2,579	0.45
		2,594	0.45
		2,668	0.47
Dundee (Tayside)	1994 1995 1996 1997 1998	2,028	0.51
		2,125	0.54
		2,231	0.57
		2,100	0.54
		2,140	0.55
Edinburgh (Lothian, Fife, Borders, Dumfries and Galloway)	1994 1995 1996 1997 1998	6,906	0.51
		6,990	0.51
		7,461	0.54
		7,037	0.51
		6,632	0.48
Glasgow (Argyll & Clyde, Ayrshire & Arran, Forth Valley, Glasgow and Lanarkshire)	1994 1995 1996 1997 1998	12,637	0.49
		12,522	0.49
		13,411	0.53
		12,983 12,550	0.51 0.49
Inverness (Highland, Orkney and Shetland)	1994 1995 1996 1997 1998	1,189	0.50
		1,141	0.48
		1,192	0.50
		1,312	0.55
		1,422	0.60

Notes: 1. 1998 is the most recent year for which complete cancer registration information is available.2. There are likely to be cross-boundary flows (for example of Dumfries & Galloway patients seen in Glasgow; Fife residents seen in Dundee) which have not been accounted for in these calculations.