- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 June 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Allan Wilson on 28 June 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to The State of the Nation 2004 - An assessment of the state of the UK's infrastructure by the Institution of Civil Engineers, whether it has any plans to create a flood-risk map for the whole of Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) already holds indicative flood-risk maps for the Scottish mainland; copies of these are available for inspection at SEPA’s offices. SEPA also supplied copies of the maps to planning authorities in 1997.
Last October I announced additional funding to enable SEPA to commission second generation flood-risk maps for the whole of Scotland. These updated maps will benefit from the latest available techniques, thereby allowing further refinement of indicative flood-risk areas.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 16 June 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Allan Wilson on 28 June 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to The State of the Nation 2004 - An assessment of the state of the UK's infrastructure by the Institution of Civil Engineers, what steps it has taken to identify cost-effective measures to protect existing properties from flooding.
Answer
It is for local authorities to identify cost effective measures to protect properties in their areas from flooding. However, the National Technical Advisory Group on Flooding Issues, established by the Executive last autumn, is developing improved national guidance on flood-risk management for publication later this year. This guidance will help local authorities in meeting the Executive’s long standing requirement for grant aid, that flood prevention schemes demonstrate value for money.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 June 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 25 June 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the Smoking Epidemic paragraph on page 11 of the Public Health Institute for Scotland's Two Year Report January 2001 - March 2003, whether the promised “atlas showing estimated smoking prevalence and smoking related mortality rates at post code sector, local authority, parliamentary constituency and NHS board level”, due for completion in autumn 2003, has been published; if so, where it can be accessed and, if not, when it will be published.
Answer
It had been intended that smokingprevalence estimates for the Smoking Atlas of Scotland would be producedfor the Public Health Institute for Scotland, now part of NHS Health Scotland, usingdata from the Scottish Health Surveys of 1995 and 1998 applied to the Scottish populationcensus 2001. However, because the prevalence of smoking has declined considerablysince 1998 and even more so since 1995, an atlas based on these figures would beinaccurate. It has therefore been agreed that the Atlas should be based on the 2003Scottish Health Survey data, which are unlikely to be available for analysis untilearly 2005. As a result the Smoking Atlas of Scotland will not now be availableuntil summer 2005.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 April 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 25 June 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the Royal National Institute of the Blind's report, Unseen: Neglect, isolation and household poverty amongst older people with sight loss, what steps will be taken to increase the number of rehabilitation officers for blind and partially-sighted people.
Answer
I refer the member to the answergiven to question S2W-7896 given on 12 May 2004. Allanswers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website,the search facility for which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 June 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Margaret Curran on 24 June 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are currently (a) on waiting lists for housing and (b) homeless, broken down by local authority area.
Answer
The latest available data on waiting lists for each local authority are published in Table 13 in the Scottish Executive Statistical Bulletin (Housing Series)
Housing Trends in Scotland: Quarter ending 31 March 2003. This table shows snapshot figures for applicants on housing lists as at 31 March 2003, as well as changes to the lists during 2002-03. The publication can be accessed online through the Scottish Executive housing statistics branch website. Data for 2003-04 will be published in the next quarterly trends bulletin: this is due to be published on 10 August 2004 and will be available via the housing statistics branch website at
www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/housing/hsbref.
The latest data on numbers of applicants assessed as homeless under the homelessness legislation by local authority are published in Table 11 in the Scottish Executive Statistical Bulletin Operation of the Homeless Persons Legislation in Scotland National and Local Authority Analyses 2002-03. This table shows the number assessed as homeless during 2002-03 (the data are not collected in a format which provides a snapshot figure of the number of homeless applicants at any one point in time). The publication is also available on the Scottish Executive housing statistics branch website. Data for 2003-04 are due to be published in August 2004.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 08 June 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 24 June 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive when the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) will consider its position on Zevalin; how long thereafter guidance will be issued on its use, and whether Zevalin, which has a UK and European Commission licence, can be prescribed by NHS Lothian or NHS Borders without first being assessed by the SMC.
Answer
The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has advised that the manufacturer of this product has not yet submitted a new product submission form to allow them to consider it and make a recommendation.
Any new medicine can legally be prescribed once it has a licence if it is thought to be the most suitable treatment for an individual patient, unless it is the subject of a direction given by Scottish ministers under Section 17N(6) of the Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Act 2004. However, NHSScotland is expected to await the advice from the SMC before making a new medicine routinely available.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 14 June 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 24 June 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive in how many practices NHS dental treatment has ceased to be provided in (a) 2001-02, (b) 2002-03, (c) 2003-04 and (d) 2004-05 to date, broken down by NHS board area.
Answer
The information is provided in the table below. Dental practices that ceased providing NHS general dental services for a temporary period only may be included in these figures. For comparison the number of practices in Scotland that have commenced providing NHS general dental services in the same period are also provided.
Number of NHS General Dental Practices in Scotland that Ceased Providing NHS Services1, Year Ending March
| NHS Board Area | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-052 |
| Ayrshire and Arran | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Borders | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Argyll and Clyde | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Fife | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Greater Glasgow | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Highland | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Lanarkshire | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Grampian | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Orkney | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lothian | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| Tayside | 1 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
| Forth Valley | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Western Isles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Shetland | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Scotland | 19 | 18 | 22 | 6 |
Source: MIDAS (Management Information and Dental Accounting System).
Notes:
1. Some NHS general dental practices may cease providing NHS services permanently, while some may do so only temporarily. Figures may change, depending on when confirmation is received that a dentist has joined or left a dental list or when such data are collected.
2. Incomplete (data are available for the period 1 April to 15 June 2004 only).
Number of NHS General Dental Practices in Scotland that Commenced Providing NHS Services1, Year Ending March
| NHS Board Area | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-052 |
| Ayrshire and Arran | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Borders | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Argyll and Clyde | 0 | 2 | 8 | 0 |
| Fife | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Greater Glasgow | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| Highland | 3 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
| Lanarkshire | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Grampian | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| Orkney | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Lothian | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Tayside | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| Forth Valley | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Western Isles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Shetland | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Scotland | 19 | 24 | 31 | 1 |
Source: MIDAS (Management Information and Dental Accounting System).
Notes:
1. Some NHS general dental practices may cease providing NHS services permanently, while some may do so only temporarily. Figures may change, depending on when confirmation is received that a dentist has joined or left a dental list or when such data are collected.
2. Incomplete (data are available for the period 1 April to 15 June 2004 only).
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 14 June 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 24 June 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive which dental practices in the Borders area (a) provide NHS dental treatment and (b) have vacancies for new patients.
Answer
This information is not held centrally. NHS Lothian, which administers aspects of family health services on behalf of NHS Borders, will hold information on those dentists who have joined the dental list of NHS Borders in order to provide NHS general dental services. NHS Lothian may also hold information on those dentists accepting new NHS patients.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 14 June 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 24 June 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what its statutory obligations are in respect of the delivery of dental provision on the NHS.
Answer
It is a duty of the Scottish ministers to secure the provision of general dental services in accordance with Part II of the NHS (Scotland) Act 1978.
It is a duty, under section 25 of the NHS (Scotland) Act 1978, of every health board, in accordance with regulations, to make as respect their area arrangements with dental practitioners under which any person for whom a dental practitioner undertakes in accordance with the arrangements to provide dental treatment and appliances shall receive such treatment and appliances.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 14 June 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 24 June 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what concerns it has that the only NHS dental practice in Eyemouth has intimated that it will be withdrawing from the NHS at the end of May 2004 and simultaneously reducing its patient list from 2,000 to 1,000 and whether any funding will be made available to those people, for example on benefits or low wages who may be required to travel considerable distances to access dental treatment.
Answer
I regret the effect of the actions of this practice on availability of NHS dental services
NHS boards can apply to the Scottish ministers for approval of schemes to assist eligible patients with travel expenses to access primary care NHS dental treatment. The funding for such schemes comes from within the board’s unified budget.
