By John Knox BBC Scotland political reporter

Deputy Health Minister Lewis Macdonald let the fact slip out during an obscure committee meeting on Tuesday afternoon.

Word quickly spread round the building and by question time on Thursday, it was the talk of the steamie, the committee room where MSPs are packed in like drying kippers while the chamber roof is being repaired.

Free personal care was a hot political topic at Holyrood this week

"Confusion, a breach of trust, an appalling indictment, vulnerable old folk not getting the care parliament said they should have."

The charges fell like a flailing handbag on First Minister Jack McConnell's head.

He managed to keep his head though and told councils they had no excuse.

"If they make an assessment that care is required they should then deliver that care and deliver it free," he said.

Funding had been agreed and there was no shortfall.

Free personal care is one of the so-called "flagship" policies of the executive and the parliament.

It's been in operation now for three years.

We learnt this week that 50,000 people in Scotland benefit - 8,900 of them in care homes and 40,900 in their own homes.

Waiting lists

It means a payment of up to �145 a week for all people over 65 who need help with dressing, washing or eating.

The Scottish National Party's Shona Robison exposed the fact that Dundee City Council was operating a 90-day waiting period between an assessment and a care package being in place, because of a shortage of funds.

It then emerged that 14 other councils up and down Scotland had some sort of waiting list.

The explanation, according to Mr Macdonald, is that it takes time to assemble a care package, for example to employ the home helps or carers needed.

But delays, he said, should be no longer than six weeks.

The executive is providing �147m a year towards the total cost of �200m, the rest is accounted for by existing budgets for care which was provided before "free personal care" came into effect.

Scottish Enterprise's restructuring plans stirred political interest

The councils and the opposition parties remain sceptical that the full costs of the policy are, in fact, being met by the executive.

But in any case, no-one is suggesting that this week's hiccup means the policy is in doubt.

In fact there are signs of a renewed interest in free personal care south of the border with the publication of the Wanless report.

The main announcement in parliament this week has been on the future of the development agency Scottish Enterprise.

It's being allowed to draw down �30m from next year's budget to plug a gap in this year's account as the agency sets about a major restructuring.

Enterprise Minister Nicol Stephen told MSPs: "Scottish Enterprise invests and will continue to invest over �500m per year in Scotland's economic future."

Tram line

He made it clear that the Business Gateway scheme would continue for firms setting up in Scotland, as would the promotion of the country abroad. But the training arm, Careers Scotland, will be restructured and hived off next year. The unions fear 100 job losses.

On Wednesday MSPs passed the bill which will allow the Edinburgh tram line system to be built.

It will cost �420m and will run from Leith to the city centre and then on to the airport.

The Scottish Executive has agreed to contribute the bulk of the �375m cost.

But the final go-ahead will be given by Edinburgh City Council after a full business case has been submitted in the summer.

MSPs spent much of the afternoon debating such details as the speed the tram will be allowed to travel along certain sections of the line, whether there should be a stop for the Western General Hospital and what the noise regulations should be.

The SNP was defeated on scrapping road tolls for the Tay Bridge

Heated debate at the end of a 27-month parliamentary process was not, most MSPs agreed, the best way of planning a tram system.

The leader of Edinburgh City Council, Donald Anderson, said the parliamentary delay had cost the council nearly �40m in lost time for the project.

On Thursday morning the SNP led debates on bridge tolls and the Scottish success at the Commonwealth Games.

Its motion calling for bridge tolls on the Tay Bridge to be scrapped was defeated by 63 votes to 48.

But during the debate on the games, everyone agreed that Scotland's tally of 29 medals in Melbourne had been a wonderful achievement and it boosted Glasgow's chance of staging the games in 2014.

Schools shake-up

On Thursday afternoon there was a debate on the school curriculum.

Education Minister Peter Peacock said he wanted to see a more flexible choice of subjects in school.

And, as expected, he came in for much criticism over the plan to merge history in the junior years with other subjects.

In the committee rooms, Planning Minister Johann Lamont spent many hours taking MSPs through her proposed planning bill.

And in the environment committee, Deputy Environment Minister Rhona Brankin did a similar detailed job with stage two amendments to the Animal Welfare Bill.

This week the executive also announced its own climate change target. It will try to achieve a 2.7 million tonne reduction in carbon emissions by 2010.

The roof of the main chamber has yet to be fixed

Finally, this being the end of term, it's time to sum up the parliament's achievements. And indeed they have not been many.

The last three months have been domination by just two events.

The Dunfermline by-election and the consequent debate over the future of the Forth Road Bridge - no decision - and the collapsing beam in the parliament's own debating chamber.

On Friday the engineers Ove Arup briefed MSPs on exactly how they intend to fix the roof.

Must do better

There will be a temporary fix over the Easter break and then a more permanent solution in the summer.

Meanwhile, MSPs will continue to use committee room two for at least the first week of the next session.

Perhaps over the Easter holidays, MSPs will take advantage of a little free personal care, and promise themselves to do better next term.