- Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 26 January 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Susan Deacon on 9 February 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were diagnosed with (a) multiple sclerosis and (b) myalgic encephalomyelitis in (i) 1998, (ii) 1999 and (iii) 2000, broken down by health board.
Answer
The information is not available centrally in the form requested. However, information from samples of GP records in practices across Scotland whose population is nationally representative suggest the following numbers of patients with multiple sclerosis and chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) were seen by GPs in (i) 1998, (ii) 1999 and (iii) to September 2000 (the latest available statistics).
Estimated number of patients seen |
Year | Multiple Sclerosis | CFS/ME |
| Jan-Dec | Jan-Sep | Jan-Dec | Jan-Sep |
1998 | 5,900 | 5,200 | N/A | N/A |
1999 | 6,100 | 5,500 | 5,800 | 4,500 |
2000 | N/A | 5,300 | N/A | 5,900 |
Notes:
Because of changes in the codes used to gather the data it is not possible to provide information on CFS/ME prior to 1999. N/A - Information not available or not yet available.
- Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 05 January 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 30 January 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has for further involvement of private sector service providers in prisons.
Answer
I have now received the Scottish Prison Service Estates Review and have asked for some additional work to be undertaken. No decisions will be made on it, including the involvement of the private sector, until this follow-up work is completed and after the opportunity for informed public debate.
- Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 12 January 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 26 January 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive why question S1W-10593 lodged on 24 October 2000 has not been answered.
Answer
PQ S1W-10593 was answered today.
- Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 05 January 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 26 January 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average time taken to answer written parliamentary questions was in each month of 2000.
Answer
Information is not available in the form requested. However, the following table provides information on the time taken to answer written parliamentary questions in the first 9 months of 2000. This information is taken from the audits of written parliamentary questions which are available in the Parliament's Reference Centre. The next audit will cover written parliamentary questions lodged from October to December 2000 and will be published in the spring.
The monthly average of questions lodged in the period covered by the table was 708 and 55.1% were answered on time i.e. within 14 days (or within 21 days when they were lodged in a recess longer than four days). In 1999, the monthly average for the period from 1 July was around 450, and for the period from May 1999 46% were answered on time.NUMBER OF WRITTEN PARLIAMENTARY QUESTIONS ANSWERED ON TIME/LATE, BY MONTH | | WEEKS LATE | AT TIME OF THE AUDITS | |
| On time | 0 - 1 | 1 - 2 | 2 - 3 | 3 - 4 | 4 - 5 | > 5 | Total answered | Not answered | Grand Total |
MONTH | | | | | | | | | | |
January | 327 | 31 | 47 | 27 | 22 | 7 | 53 | 514 | 10 | 524 |
February | 427 | 47 | 59 | 24 | 24 | 22 | 96 | 699 | 15 | 714 |
March | 525 | 56 | 86 | 84 | 33 | 16 | 175 | 975 | 41 | 1016 |
April | 238 | 56 | 74 | 33 | 16 | 15 | 50 | 482 | 40 | 522 |
May | 468 | 135 | 103 | 53 | 38 | 66 | 34 | 897 | 83 | 980 |
June | 560 | 79 | 74 | 37 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 765 | 211 | 976 |
July | 290 | 35 | 55 | 28 | 19 | 26 | 32 | 485 | 18 | 503 |
August | 391 | 32 | 34 | 20 | 11 | 7 | 7 | 502 | 29 | 531 |
September | 285 | 47 | 64 | 36 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 443 | 162 | 605 |
Grand Total | 3511 | 518 | 596 | 342 | 189 | 159 | 447 | 5762 | 609 | 6371 |
% of Total | 55.1 | 8.1 | 9.4 | 5.4 | 2.9 | 2.5 | 7.0 | 90.4 | 9.6 | 100 |
This table reflects at the position as at 14 July and 14 October being the latest "due date" for PQs lodged on 30 June and 30 September 2000 respectively.
- Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 October 2000
-
Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 26 January 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-5715 by Susan Deacon on 26 April 2000, why it believes that the General Agreement on Trade in Services does not apply to services provided by central or local governments nor to services provided in the exercise of government authority.
Answer
International trade agreements such as GATS are a reserved matter; the Department of Trade and Industry take the lead. The General Agreement on Trade in Services ("GATS") excludes from its coverage any service supplied in the exercise of governmental authority. Such services are defined as those which are "supplied neither on a commercial basis, nor in competition with one or more service providers". This is interpreted as excluding public services provided by central and local government, such as healthcare, from the GATS since such services are clearly not supplied for profit nor do they compete with privately supplied services.
- Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 January 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 25 January 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that the Scottish Qualifications Authority staff who worked through the recent problems at that organisation will not lose any time off in lieu leave that they have built up during that period.
Answer
This is an operational issue for the Scottish Qualifications Authority. I have asked the Chair to reply to you and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre.
- Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 January 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 25 January 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive how many staff working days have been lost at the Scottish Qualifications Authority through stress-related illnesses in the past year.
Answer
This is an operational issue for the Scottish Qualifications Authority. I have asked the Chair to reply to you and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre.
- Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 January 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 25 January 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that the Scottish Qualifications Authority has sufficient numbers of adequately qualified markers available to deal with the examination scripts which will be submitted for the 2001 diet of examinations.
Answer
My answer to question S1W-12484 indicated that, following a review of remuneration, the SQA intends to increase fees for markers and other appointees in 2001 by 50%. The Executive will fund these increases in full, at a cost of approximately £3 million. SQA's progress in recruiting markers will be monitored closely by my officials and by the Ministerial Review Group.
- Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 January 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Henry McLeish on 25 January 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive why question S1W-10426 lodged on 18 October 2000 has not been answered.
Answer
Question S1W-10426 was answered today.
- Asked by: Linda Fabiani, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish National Party
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 January 2001
-
Current Status:
Answered by Jack McConnell on 25 January 2001
To ask the Scottish Executive what consultation it has undertaken with trade unions representing the staff at the Scottish Qualifications Authority over working conditions at that institution.
Answer
This is an operational issue for the Scottish Qualifications Authority. I have asked the Chair to reply to you and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre.