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The Health Education Board for Scotland (HEBS), which is funded wholly by the Scottish Executive, works closely with the Executive in the development of its many and wide ranging activities, including those covering mental health.

The promotion of mental health is a core aim of HEBS work. In consequence, the board, working in partnership as appropriate with relevant agencies such as the Scottish Association for Mental Health, the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the Health and Safety Executive, incorporates the topic into all its programmes.

Information on the total number of operations cancelled in Glasgow Hospitals in the last year is not available centrally.

Details of planned admissions to hospitals which are cancelled are published annually in the NHS in Scotland Annual Report and in the Scottish Health Statistics.

The level of grant Glasgow City Council will receive from the Scottish Executive for 2001-02 has yet to be determined. I expect to announce the provisional local government settlement for that year in December. The assumption used by the council in its forward-looking strategy can only be speculative at this stage.

All health boards have or are developing a register of patients with diabetes. Work is continuing in all areas to ensure that all patients with diabetes are included. The Scottish Executive is supporting a range of initiatives in diabetes including work to support and encourage integrated care. A pilot project is underway to support the central collation of data about diabetes.

This information is not held centrally.

The Scottish Labour Market Intelligence Unit is being established to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of information which informs decisions and actions in the labour market. One of the roles of the new Unit will be to ensure that information and intelligence is available to employers to predict movement, trends and demands.

The needs of small and medium-sized enterprises are integral to the Executive's education and training policies. Through the enterprise network, priority is given to support for learning and skills development in SMEs. National Training Organisations have a duty to assess SME skills and training needs, and to influence education and training provision to ensure that these needs are met. The new Investors in People standard launched in April this year is designed to make the IiP process more accessible to small organisations. One of the key functions of the Scottish University for Industry - learndirect scotland - will be to assist businesses of all sizes access learning opportunities, in the right place, at the right time, and at the right cost.

General Practitioners (GPs) do not specialise in the sense that hospital doctors do. For information on the training of GPs in the area of mental health, I refer to my answer to question S1W-8024

The Scottish Executive is determined to improve both the range and quality of information provided to the business community, and to increase electronic access where appropriate. For example, we are currently working with Scottish Enterprise to improve the consistency and quality of support provided to small businesses in the SEn area, and this will include an enhanced web-based information system. I hope to announce details shortly.

The content of vocational training for general practitioners (GPs) in the UK is a matter for the Joint Committee on Postgraduate Training for General Practice (JCPTGP). The JCPTGP works in close collaboration with the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) to set high quality standards in the training of GPs. During their training vocational trainees will spend time learning about mental health. We would expect all GPs to keep up to date with current practice in a key clinical priority such as mental health as part of their Continuing Professional Development (CPD).