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-10726

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 October 2000
Current Status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 1 December 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive how consumers can be assured that food labelled "organic" is free from additives.

I am advised by the Food Standards Agency Scotland that all food is subject to The Food Labelling Regulations 1996. In addition to this, the labelling of "organic" foods is further detailed in EC legislation 2092/91 - Organic Production of Agricultural Products and Indications referring thereto of Organic Products and Foodstuffs. Consumers can therefore be assured whether or not "organic" food is additive free by reading the label.

Question reference: S1W-10750

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 30 October 2000
Current Status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 1 December 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-8124 by Susan Deacon on 25 October 2000 and the figures published in table 8.5:1 of the Scottish Health Statistics published by the Registrar General for Scotland which shows an increase from 48 in 1997 to 67 in 1998, what is being done to address the 40% increase in accidental deaths of children under 15.

Scottish Health Statistics 1999, published in February this year, indicates that the number of such deaths declined from 67 in 1998 to 47 in 1999. This underlines that, where numbers are relatively small, there can be a degree of volatility from one year to the next. Over the 1990s the trend has been encouragingly downwards, although the Executive is not complacent about the picture presented by these figures as the following examples illustrate:

Schoolchildren are a particular target audience for fire safety messages and Scottish fire brigades have developed a number of educational packages. The Executive has funded an interactive website for primary schools.

On 1 March, the Scottish Executive and UK Government announced targets for road accident casualty reductions in the period to 2010 including a 40% reduction in the number of fatal and serious casualties and a 50% reduction in those involving children. These targets are underpinned by a Great Britain-wide strategy Tomorrow's Roads - Safer for Everyone. The Executive also provides funding to the Scottish Road Safety Campaign to develop road safety education resources and publicity measures, many of which are aimed at children.

Copies of Tomorrow's Roads - Safer for Everyone and the Scottish Road Safety Campaign's Annual Report are held in the Parliament's Reference Centre.

Question reference: S1O-02606

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 November 2000
Current Status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 30 November 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive why parents are not offered a choice between separate injections of measles, mumps and rubella vaccines and the combined MMR vaccination.

Question reference: S1W-10910

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 03 November 2000
Current Status: Answered by Jack McConnell on 30 November 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to introduce or encourage the establishment of specialist refuge centres for under 16s who have run away from home, as provided for in the Children (Scotland) Act 1995.

Question reference: S1W-11191

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 November 2000
Current Status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 30 November 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive how many nurses, doctors, consultants and GPs have been recruited each year since 1997.

Information on the number of nurses, doctors, consultants and GP's who have been recruited each year since 1997 is contained in the following table:Headcount as at 30 September

	Number			% Increase
	1997	1998	1999	1997-98	1998-99
Nurses and Midwives ¹	41,414	41,359	41,759	-0.1%	1.0%
Hospital/Community Consultants ²	2,853	2,903	3,023	1.8%	4.1%
GP's ^{3 p}	3,942	4,026	4,073	2.1%	1.2%

^{p provisional
Notes:
1. Comprises qualified nursing and midwifery staff only. Excludes unqualified nursing and midwifery staff, nurses' teachers, nurses in training and students on '1992' courses
2. Includes honorary appointments.
3. As at 1 October. Comprises principles, assistants, GP registrars, associates and salaried doctors under the Practice Staff Scheme.}

Question reference: S1W-11189

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 November 2000
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 30 November 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what is being done to increase the rate of diagnosis of autism in children at the earliest possible age.

Question reference: S1W-11192

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 November 2000
Current Status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 30 November 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider the appointment of an official to the NHS Management Executive to represent the professions allied to medicine.

Question reference: S1W-10789

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 October 2000
Current Status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 30 November 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether additional funding will be allocated to Scotland's Dental Schools to ensure that verifiable courses are available to general dental practitioners to fulfil their continuing professional development obligations.

Question reference: S1W-03882

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 21 January 2000
Current Status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 29 November 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to charge for GP or hospital visits.

Question reference: S1W-11255

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 November 2000
Current Status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 29 November 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether measures are in place to ensure that all doctors practising in Scotland have undergone training and education equivalent to the standards in Scotland's medical schools.

Regulation of the medical profession is a reserved matter. All doctors practising in the UK must be registered with the General Medical Council (GMC) which sets the standard for education and training by medical schools in the UK. Doctors coming to the UK from outwith the European Economic Area (EEA) are required to pass the GMC's Professional and Linguistic Assessment Board (PLAB) test, which assesses both their language skills and their clinical skills before being registered.Under the terms of European Community legislation, doctors from within the EEA are entitled to register in other member states. Minimum standards of training for both basic and specialist qualifications are laid down in the legislation.