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: S3W-21377

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 February 2009
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 6 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were tested negative for Clostridium difficile but subsequently died of the infection at (a) the Vale of Leven Hospital and (b) other hospitals in each year since 2007.

Question reference: S3W-21383

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 February 2009
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 6 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive whether all patients transferring between hospitals or entering hospitals from a community setting are routinely tested for healthcare associated infections and, if so, how this is carried out in each hospital.

There is currently no national routine testing of patients for healthcare associated infections when transferring between hospitals or on admission from the community. Boards do have screening protocols for those being admitted to certain specialties and these are determined locally.

The MRSA screening programme, currently being piloted, will provide direction on the phased national roll out of MRSA screening across NHS Scotland from April 2009. There is no routine test for Clostridium difficile. Patients are only tested when presenting with symptoms.

Question reference: S3W-21370

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 February 2009
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 6 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what the level of rough sleeping was for the last quarter for which information is available and how this compares with the (a) previous quarter and (b) same quarter in 2008.

Question reference: S3W-21380

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 February 2009
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 6 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-20033 by Nicola Sturgeon on 21 January 2009, whether it will collect and publish the information on which hospitals have reported the 078 strain of Clostridium difficile since 2007.

Question reference: S3W-21372

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 February 2009
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 6 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have registered as homeless in (a) Argyll and Bute and (b) West Dunbartonshire in the last quarter for which information is available.

The last quarter for which published data is available is January “ March 2008. There were 267 homelessness applications in Argyll and Bute during this quarter and 203 cases assessed as homeless. In West Dunbartonshire, 587 applications were made and 243 cases assessed as homeless during this quarter.

Data for the following two quarters (April to September 2008) is scheduled to be published on 17March 2009.

Question reference: S3W-21374

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 February 2009
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 6 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the economic downturn, what additional measures are being taken to prevent homelessness and rough sleeping.

Preventing homelessness is a key aspect of the four-point plan agreed between the Scottish Government and COSLA for moving towards the 2012 homelessness target. The Scottish Government and COSLA are developing joint guidance on preventing homelessness which will be published shortly. This will cover the wide range of circumstances from which people can become homeless and the actions which can be taken by local authorities and their partners to prevent this.

Section 11 of the Homelessness etc (Scotland) Act 2003 will come into force on 1 April 2009. This will require that landlords and creditors notify the relevant local authority when taking proceedings for possession or calling in a mortgage, allowing local authorities to be more informed about the risk of homelessness and take appropriate action.

The Scottish Government has also established a £35 million Homeowners Support Fund to assist those facing mortgage default. £3 million has been provided to fund in-court and other legal advice services, alongside £230,000 for Shelter''s Housing Law Service and an additional £1million for advice provided through Citizens Advice Bureaux. An advertising campaign to encourage use of the National Debtline has also been funded.

The Scottish Government has established the Debt Action Forum and a sub-group to consider whether there is adequate legal protection for home owners in Scotland at risk of repossession and what other non-legislative measures might be taken to help those in danger of losing their homes.

Question reference: S3W-21373

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 February 2009
Current Status: Answered by Alex Neil on 6 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were sleeping rough in (a ) Argyll and Bute and (b) West Dunbartonshire in the last quarter for which information is available.

Question reference: S3W-20799

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 February 2009
Current Status: Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 6 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive what the level is of community-acquired healthcare associated infections (HAI), in particular Clostridium difficile, and what the level was in each quarter since May 2007.

Question reference: S3W-20771

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 February 2009
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 5 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many debtor-led petitions for bankruptcy there were in the last quarter for which information is available and how this compares with the same quarter in the previous year.

Prior to 1 April 2008, debtors presented petitions for their own bankruptcy to the courts. Since 1 April 2008 those people who wish to make themselves bankrupt must apply directly to the Accountant in Bankruptcy by way of debtor application.

The following table shows the number of debtor petitions to the courts in the third quarter of 2007-08 and the number of debtor applications to the Accountant in Bankruptcy in the third quarter of 2008-09. The number of awards of bankruptcy as a result of debtor petitions or applications in the same periods are also shown.

There is no direct correlation between the petitions or applications for bankruptcy and those awarded in any particular period of time due to internal processes.

Debtor Petitions/Applications and Awards “ Third Quarter

	2007-08	2008-09
Debtor petitions to the courts	604	-
Debtor applications to AiB	-	3,245
Awards as a result of debtor petition/application	619	3,251

Note: Information on numbers of petitions supplied by the Scottish Court Service. Information on debtor applications and awards collated by the Accountant in Bankruptcy.

*No information is recorded on debtor petitions to the Court of Session “ the vast majority of debtor petitions would have been presented at a sheriff court.

No direct comparison can be made between the figures in the current year and figures reported on in previous years as the application process and criteria for award of bankruptcy are different.

The number of debtor applications and the increase in the number of awards in 2008-09 is associated to a new route into bankruptcy for those with Low Income, Low Assets (LILA) which was introduced on 1 April 2008.

Question reference: S3W-20772

Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 February 2009
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 5 March 2009

To ask the Scottish Executive how many creditor-led petitions for bankruptcy there were in the last quarter for which information is available and how this compares with the same quarter in the previous year.

Prior to 1 April 2008 petitions for bankruptcy were considered by both the sheriff courts and the Court of Session. Since 1 April 2008 it is no longer competent to raise a petition for bankruptcy in the Court of Session.

The information in the table below reports on petitions to the sheriff courts only. During the third quarter of 2007-08 some petitions will have been presented at the Court of Session however the data collated by the Court of Session cannot be broken down by source of petition for bankruptcy and can therefore not be included. Historically, significantly fewer petitions have been presented to the Court of Session than to sheriff courts.

Creditor-Led Petitions and Bankruptcy Awards “ Third Quarter

	2007-08	2008-09
Creditor-led petitions to sheriff courts	1,455	1,118
Awards of bankruptcy following creditor petition	823	616

Note: Information on numbers of petitions supplied by the Scottish Court Service. Information on awards of bankruptcy following creditors petition collated by the Accountant in Bankruptcy. Awards information includes awards following petition to the Court of Session in 2007-08.