Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S2W-08151

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 May 2004
Current Status: Answered by Ross Finnie on 24 May 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-6845 by Allan Wilson on 29 April 2004, whether it will review the eligibility criteria for the exemption scheme in respect of circumstances where an applicant is debarred from the scheme unless the premises had relief from water charges as at 31 March 1999 and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

Question reference: S2W-08134

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 May 2004
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Curran on 24 May 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-1778 by Ms Margaret Curran on 19 August 2003, what Communities Scotland's investment in real terms will be in 2004-05 and what investment is projected for 2005-06.

I have asked Angiolina Foster,Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

The amount of planned investment by Communities Scotland in 2004-05 will be £264 million, with £182 million invested in urban housing, £65 million in rural housing and the remainder not attributed to a single distinct geographical area. In addition, a further £20 million has also been set aside to be available to respond to any immediate requirements emerging from the affordable housing review.

The investment programme for2005-06 will be agreed in late 2004/early 2005.

Question reference: S2W-08131

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 May 2004
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Curran on 24 May 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has concerns about the operation of a points system for applications for housing by housing associations.

I have asked Ms Angiolina Foster,Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

The Housing (Scotland) Act1987 establishes statutory requirements in relation to the allocation of housesby Registered Social Landlords. Landlords are required to give reasonable preferencein allocations to the statutory categories of priority need.

There is a range of acceptableapproaches that landlords can take in order to achieve this; a points based systemfor housing applications is one of these. A landlord is free to adopt its preferredsystem as long as it can demonstrate that it is complying with the requirementsof the legislation and the performance standards published jointly by CommunitiesScotland, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and the Scottish Federationof Housing Associations.

Question reference: S2W-08158

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 May 2004
Current Status: Answered by Hugh Henry on 24 May 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what concerns it has that services to methadone patients, particularly in Glasgow and Edinburgh, may be withdrawn partly or wholly due to a dispute by GPs over payments for such treatment and what action it will take to address any such concerns.

Negotiations are taking placeacross Scotland between NHS boards and GPs on the provision and fundingof enhanced services (including services for drug misusers) under the new GeneralMedical Services contract. We are monitoring the position, but we do not believethat it would be appropriate to intervene in local negotiations at this point.

Our understanding is that agreementhas been reached between health authorities and GPs in Glasgow for aone year period, and that a review will be undertaken during that period of howservices for drug misusers will operate beyond then. Transitional arrangements arebeing put in place in Lothian to cater for patients from GP practices which havedecided to opt out of providing services for drug misusers.

The new contract incorporatesa Patient Service Guarantee, which will ensure that patients will receive at leastthe range of services they currently receive, although these may not necessarilybe delivered in the same way. The new contract is being supported by an unprecedented33% increase in investment in primary care services, which will see spending ongeneral medical services rise to £575 million in 2005-06. The Executive has alsoinvested an additional £34 million over the three years 2001-02 to 2003-04 in improvingdrug treatment and rehabilitation services.

Question reference: S2W-08159

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 May 2004
Current Status: Answered by Hugh Henry on 24 May 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of GP practices in each NHS board area prescribe methadone.

The table shows the number and percentage of all GP Practices, by NHS bard, that prescribed methadone (all formulations) in December 2003.

Number and Percentage of GP Practices Prescribing Methadone

NHS Board	December 2003
NHS Board	Methadone	Total	%
Argyll and Clyde	62	102	60.78
Ayrshire and Arran	8	62	12.90
Borders	10	24	41.67
Dumfries and Galloway	16	37	43.24
Fife	51	63	80.95
Forth Valley	22	63	34.92
Grampian	61	88	69.32
Greater Glasgow	166	221	75.11
Highland	29	75	38.67
Lanarkshire	92	110	83.64
Lothian	116	141	82.27
Orkney	0	15	0.00
Shetland	2	10	20.00
Tayside	57	72	79.17
Western Isles	0	14	0.00
All NHS Boards	692	1097	63.08

The table does not present the full picture of methadone prescribing services across Scotland, since specialist drug services also prescribe methadone, both in community and residential settings.

Question reference: S2W-08135

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 May 2004
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Curran on 24 May 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-3112 by Ms Margaret Curran on 21 October 2003, how the #57 million for rural affordable housing was distributed, broken down by local authority area.

I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

In 2003-04, the planned investment for rural affordable housing by local authority was broken down as follows:

	£ Million
Aberdeenshire	7.622
Angus	2.177
Argyll and Bute	4.138
Dumfries and Galloway	5.215
East Ayrshire	1.339
Fife	3.094
Highland	10.678
Moray	1.639
North Ayrshire	0.025
Orkney	1.746
Perth and Kinross	3.589
Shetland	0.900
South Ayrshire	3.933
South Lanarkshire	3.723
Stirling	2.238
The Scottish Borders	3.266
Western Isles	2.199

Note:

Planned expenditure figures are used in this table as year-end expenditure reconciliation is ongoing. Figures exclude social and environmental grants provided in rural areas.

Question reference: S2W-08067

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 May 2004
Current Status: Answered by Margaret Curran on 19 May 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has regarding policies in other European nations with regard to local people purchasing or renting rural properties in their local area and how such information may be used to inform its policy-making processes.

Through the Land Reform (Scotland) Act2003 the Executive has promoted sustainable development throughout rural Scotland, diversityin land ownership and the involvement of local communities in decisions that affecttheir futures. The proposals in the act were informed by studies of current practicesin relation to land ownership in a number of European member states, and by responsesto consultation from outwith Scotland.

The Executive will continue tomonitor practices in other countries when developing its future land reform policies.It does not routinely collect information on European practice in relation to morespecific and detailed aspects of buying and renting land and property.

Question reference: S2W-08012

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 May 2004
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 18 May 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what assistance will be given to claimants in completing the forms for application to the Skipton Trust.

Question reference: S2W-08011

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 May 2004
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 18 May 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive how the Skipton Trust will be configured and who will be appointed as its trustees and by what selection process.

Question reference: S2W-08014

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 May 2004
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 18 May 2004

To ask the Scottish Executive what process will be established for representation at appeals when a claim is rejected by the Skipton Trust and whether assistance will be provided with such representation and, if so, what form this will take.