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: S1W-07727

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 07 June 2000
Current Status: Answered by Iain Gray on 30 August 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the Deputy Minister for Community Care's statement in the debate on drugs misuse on 20 January 2000 (col 385), what plans it has to propose a debate on alcohol misuse.

Question reference: S1W-08760

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 18 July 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 25 August 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-2130 by Sarah Boyack on 6 July 2000, whether the financing of the Borders railway line was discussed at the meeting with the Shadow Strategic Rail Authority on 26 June 2000 following the motion agreed by the Parliament on 1 June 2000 and whether any finance will be available from this source to reinstate the entire line from Edinburgh to Carlisle.

Question reference: S1W-07947

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 June 2000
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 25 August 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-4524 by Mr Jim Wallace on 2 March 2000, what figures it has for net outward migration from the Scottish Borders for each year from 1996 to date for the age groups 18-30, 31-45, 45-60, and over 60.

Estimates of net migration by age-group for the Scottish Borders consistent with the Registrar General's mid year estimates of population are given in the following table.

	Year ending 30 June
Age group	1996	1997	1998	1999
Under 18	40	110	150	110
18-30	-300	-340	-390	-390
31-45	150	240	280	330
46-60	200	230	220	210
60+	100	80	90	100
All ages	190	320	360	350

Notes: 1 A positive figure indicates net inward migration.

2 Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. Totals may not add due to rounding.

Question reference: S1W-08996

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 August 2000
Current Status: Answered by Jim Wallace on 23 August 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-5734 by Mr Jim Wallace on 24 July 2000, what effect the security requirements of the number of VIP visits to Edinburgh since 1 July 1999 have had on policing in the Scottish Borders.

Question reference: S1W-08995

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 August 2000
Current Status: Answered by Iain Gray on 23 August 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive when the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care will be established; who the members of the commission will be, and when the commission will be expected to report.

Subject to the necessary legislation obtaining Parliamentary approval, we expect the Commission to be established in October 2001. Appointments to the Commission will be made by Ministers in line with the public appointments procedures on the basis of open competition and will take account of the need for a balance of interests.

The details of our proposals for the Commission are contained in the Policy Position Paper The Way Forward for Care, which is available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe).

Question reference: S1W-08816

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 21 July 2000
Current Status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 21 August 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to its news release SE0028/2000 of 10 January 2000, why the criteria for diagnosing influen'a in Scotland differ from the criteria in England and Wales, given that the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation is UK-wide and that flu vaccines are purchased by the Department of Health in England and Wales on behalf of other UK health departments.

Question reference: S1W-08815

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 21 July 2000
Current Status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 21 August 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to its news release SE0028/2000 of 10 January 2000, what the criteria are for diagnosing influen'a in Scotland and how these differ from the criteria for diagnosing influen'a in England and Wales.

The press release was referring to differences between Scotland and England in methods of surveillance of the incidence of patients consulting general practitioners about "flu-like symptoms".

When a patient consults a general practitioner it cannot be determined immediately whether the "flu-like symptoms" are due to influenza or some other cause and it takes time for confirmatory tests to be carried out. Nevertheless, such consultations are counted in order to provide an immediate picture from week to week, so as to determine as early as possible whether numbers of cases are growing.

The surveillance scheme co-ordinated by the Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health counts "consultation for 'flu-like illness" whereas the English scheme counts "first consultation for 'flu-like illness". Despite this difference, reporting rates are classified using similar criteria. Because they are categorised in the same way in Scotland and England, influenza rates can legitimately be compared.

Question reference: S1W-08788

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 20 July 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sarah Boyack on 21 August 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the Scott Wilson Scottish Borders railway feasibility study (summary report), whether it will commission a supplementary report to address the potential impact on the tourist industry in the Borders if the entire line from Edinburgh to Carlisle were to be re-instated.

The Scottish Executive does not intend to commission a supplementary report on the potential impact on tourism of reopening the Borders railway. This issue was addressed in the full Borders railway feasibility study which concluded that full reinstatement of the line beyond central Borders would incur very high additional capital costs in return for capturing little additional demand. When analysing the impact on tourism of reopening the line, the report did not rule out the possible southerly extension of the line as a tourist attraction.

Question reference: S1W-08912

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 July 2000
Current Status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 17 August 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what applications were made to the New Opportunities Fund under the initiative "Living with Cancer", which applications were (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful and what the reasons were for decisions under both categories.

Question reference: S1W-08932

Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 July 2000
Current Status: Answered by Iain Gray on 17 August 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive when I will receive a reply to my letter of 22 March 2000 to the Deputy Minister for Health and Community Care regarding my proposed Al'heimer's and Dementia Care Bill.