 To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the latest reports on waiting times to access support services that allow older people to live independently at home. We are aware that there are a number of areas that are experiencing difficulty providing suitable care in the community. We recently allocated £5 million additional funding for 2014-15 to the health boards that face the most significant pressures on delayed discharges. That funding will enable them to accelerate progress towards sustainable change, drive down delayed discharge numbers and enhance rehabilitation services and community care capacity. I thank the cabinet secretary for that response and recognise that he recognises that there is still work to be done. The Scottish Government states on its website that in order to achieve its 2020 vision for the NHS, there will be a focus on supported self-management. However, we have learned that some people are waiting for up to 36 weeks for rehabilitation services that the Scottish Government is aiming to deliver within four weeks by the end of 2016. Patients cannot begin their self-management without such intervention. Professor Paul Knight of the British Geo-Reaction Society of course stated that to make an intervention worthwhile and effective, you need to reach the individual as early as you can make it. Does the cabinet secretary agree that the Government is failing in its attempts to ensure that elderly but failed people can live more independently? No, Presiding Officer, we are putting a record amount of resources into this whole area, but let me say that I recognise that there are some parts of the country where there are pressures, particularly in, say, for example, parts of five, parts of Glasgow and elsewhere. We are working with the respective health boards and the respective local authorities to address those issues. Indeed, we are working with COSLA. We have recently commissioned with COSLA a follow-up report to the review of residential care to look at care at home services because we both reckon that some of the problems associated with residential care are also similar to the challenges and problems that are faced in parts of the care at home sector. I recognise the review that you mentioned, but will the cabinet secretary commit to a full review of the provision of rehabilitation services across the country and consider bringing forward his target from 2016 to get a real grip on that problem? As part of the report commissioned jointly by COSLA and ourselves, it will be looking at rehabilitation services as part of that review because very clearly care at home services is an important element of rehabilitation. I absolutely agree with Mr Hume about our concerns in those areas where there are pressures, but working with COSLA, the local authorities and the health boards and with the additional money that we have put in, we are actually doing everything that we possibly can to substantially reduce the waiting time where it is far too long. The cabinet secretary will be aware that there is a lack of funding to provide support and rehabilitation services due to cuts in council budgets. That has led to bed blocking in many areas with the NHS struggling to cope. He will also be aware of issues regarding inadequate care when it is available with 15-minute or less care visits. While we welcome the additional funding, it is a drop in the ocean of need. Will he now agree with us that we need a comprehensive beverage-style review of the NHS to make sure that there is adequate care available for older people to live independently and securely in our communities? The beverage report was not to review, but it was a plan. It is a plan that we are going to produce for 2020, building in our 2020 vision. At the core of that vision is treating people as much as possible at home or in the community in a homely setting. As the member knows, I have held discussions with other parties, including representatives from the Labour Party, and offered them the opportunity to come up with their ideas on the 2020 plan. To date, I have heard nothing from the Labour Party. The report, combined with the crisis in social care, means that more and more people are stuck in hospital when they should be living independently at home. Why do the figures released today and the standard of care services continue to deteriorate under his stewardship? As usual, Mr Finlay does not get confused by the facts. The reality is that the average stay in hospital today is at a record low, so, by definition, people cannot be generally stuck in hospital. Now, there is a problem with delayed discharges, but we have significantly reduced delayed discharges as this Government was in power. In fact, we have now got, amongst the lowest—not the lowest, but amongst the lowest—if you look at it historically, a level of delayed discharges in Scotland. There are still challenges to get to where we want to be. Indeed, if we were able to get delayed discharges to the level that we want them to be—which we intend to do over the next two or three years—that will release £100 million additional resources for investment in other priorities, either in the community or in the hospital sector. However, Mr Finlay should recognise the challenges that we face as a result of the massive cuts in our budget made by the Westminster Tory Government that he is in cahoots with to get a no vote. 2. Rob Gibson Thank you, Presiding Officer. To ask the Scottish Government what it considers the economic impact will be of Royal Mail's decision to bring forward rural postbox collection times. Postal services are a vital lifeline for many of Scotland's businesses and communities, particularly in some of the nation's more remote rural areas. Many businesses depend on the timely uplift of mail from postboxes, which is why it is worrying to learn of Royal Mail's plans to bring forward collection times for many postboxes. Rob Gibson I thank the minister for his answer, but I have some information that Royal Mail has also been discussing. Further cuts in rural services by making postal collections every second day. I wonder if the minister could find out if that is true and if this is another example of undermining the universal postal service. We would be very concerned if there were further diminuitions to the service, especially those in rural areas, who already enjoy a lower service than before, as Mr Gibson has rightly highlighted. I will therefore, as he requests, make inquiries by writing to the Royal Mail on the particular point that the member raises. However, it seems self-evident that we in this chamber do not have any power or control over those matters because the Royal Mail is not accountable directly to this body. We are not therefore able to give vent and support to the wishes of the people of Scotland, 72 per cent of whom opposes the privatisation of the Royal Mail. We are powerless to prevent that, unless and until we have the power and the choice to determine those matters in this place. I thank the minister for that answer. If an independent Scotland is able to gain public ownership of the Royal Mail, will that restore postal services to both rural and urban addresses to a level that does not disadvantage those communities and businesses in the future? I think that that would be for the first Parliament in independent Scotland to determine. However, I do believe that any Government in a Scottish Parliament elected and accountable to the people for those matters would have a stronger desire and wish to ensure that a fairer service is provided to all our customers by a Scottish Royal Mail. I have to ask the Scottish Government what precautions it is taking to reduce the threat of the Ebola virus. Since the start of the outbreak in western Africa, we have been working closely with Health Protection Scotland to minimise the risk of Ebola to help protection Scotland routinely monitor global disease outbreaks and the risk from Ebola is currently assessed as very low. No cases have been reported in Scotland or elsewhere in the UK. Scotland has well-developed procedures in place to respond to this type of situation. The NHS in Scotland safely managed a case of viral hemorrhagic fever in a patient in Glasgow in 2012, and our recent experience during the Commonwealth Games further strengthened those procedures. As a result, we are better placed than many other parts of the UK to respond to suspected cases of Ebola virus. However, given the situation in western Africa, a number of additional steps are being taken. We are lazing with other Governments across the UK to ensure a co-ordinated response, particularly in managing suspected cases. Updated guidance has been provided to UK border agency staff, who may encounter travellers returning from western Africa, and Health Protection Scotland is producing a poster that will be displayed in hospital in airports and ports advising travellers on precautions against Ebola should they be travelling to an affected area. Professional guidance has been updated and revised, and GPs and other healthcare workers throughout Scotland have been notified to be extra vigilant when dealing with patients who have recently travelled to the affected areas. In the last fortnight, we have asked all NHS boards across Scotland to confirm that they have arrangements in place to deal with any suspected cases of Ebola, and all have provided assurances that they are prepared. Finally, a short-life working group has been established, which will bring together relevant Scottish agencies, including the Scottish Government, to consider if anything more needs to be done. I am personally meeting with Health Protection Scotland next week to discuss this further, and I am confident that the risk to the people of Scotland remains very low, and the NHS stands ready to respond to any suspected cases of Ebola. I thank the minister for that very comprehensive answer. I would ask, has the issue been discussed at Cabinet, although I suspect that I know the answer, what discussion has taken place between the World Health Organization and the Scottish Government about the risks? What is the Government view on the use of the experimental drug, Z-Map, if I pronounced it correctly, should a treatment for Ebola be required in Scotland and has any evaluation of Z-Map being made by sign should that drug be required? I can confirm to remember that the issue of Ebola was discussed at the Cabinet today, and the Scottish Government continues, through Health Protection Scotland, to laze with the other international parties, including the World Health Organization, around the state of preparedness that we require. Of course, the World Health Organization has declared it a public health emergency of international concern, and we are responding to it on that particular basis. The member raised the issue about the experimental vaccine. Although there are no vaccines against Ebola at this particular point, the World Health Organization is considering the possible use of this particular drug for patients who have contracted Ebola. We will continue to laze with the World Health Organization and to operate on the advice that it provides us on the matter. However, it would be a matter that has to consider a number of very detailed and complex ethical issues because of the experimental nature of this drug. Once the World Health Organization has come to a decision on that, we will consider what any further matters have to be put in place here in Scotland. Where would people be treated if a case or cases of Ebola were to be found in Scotland, and would any special measures be taken to protect medical and hospital staff if cases of Ebola were to be discovered in Scotland? We have already specialist protocols to deal with any type of significant contagious disease. As I mentioned in my open response, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde dealt with a case of crimine congo viral hemorrhagic fever in 2012, in which the protocol that was used for dealing with those types of illnesses was utilised. That particular patient was dealt with in the Brownlee hospital unit, which is a special unit for contagious diseases. We have protocols in place for dealing with patients who potentially could have a disease such as Ebola. We have the facilities in place in order to deal with any patients who may require treatment. We also have arrangements in place to ensure that there is proper protection for our medical staff who may be treating patients who have such a condition. As I mentioned, in the checks that we have made with our health boards, they have all confirmed that they have sufficient personal protection equipment in place to deal with any patients who may be suspected of having Ebola. Thank you. That ends topical questions. We now move to the next item of business, which is a debate on motion number 10769, in the name of John Swin, an economic opportunity for independence, and I will give a few moments for people to change their seats.