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-07931

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 June 2000
Current Status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 28 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what the precise remit of the Clinical Standards Board for Scotland is and what is being done to ensure that guidelines from the Health Technology Board for Scotland and the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidance Network are being implemented by health boards.

The Clinical Standards Board for Scotland is a statutory body, established as a special health board in April 1999. Its role, in line with the Scottish Executive's commitment to quality, openness and public accountability, is to promote public confidence that the services provided by the NHS are safe and that they meet nationally agreed standards.

The Health Technology Board for Scotland was established as a special health board in April 2000 to provide boards and other decision-makers with advice on the clinical and cost-effectiveness of new and existing health technologies. Boards will be expected to justify any decision not to follow the advice of the new board; both in the public eye (the advice of the board will be public) and within clinical governance.

The Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) has published over 40 guidelines since it was formed in 1993. We are aware that these evidence-based national recommendations published by SIGN are translated by local practitioners into protocols which reflect particular local circumstances.

Question reference: S1W-07930

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 June 2000
Current Status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 28 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what safeguards are in place to ensure that the function of the Health Technology Board for Scotland is not to replicate decisions already communicated to it by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence.

The report of the Working Group on the Implementation of the Scottish Health Technology Centre, published on 17 November 1999, indicated that the Health Technology Board for Scotland and NICE would establish a close working relationship with reciprocal observer status at Management Board level and close links between core staff. Discussions between the two organisations have already taken place on the establishment of a system for exchanging information and avoiding duplication of work.

Question reference: S1W-07935

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 June 2000
Current Status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 28 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement in the answer to question S1O-1597 by Susan Deacon on 4 May 2000 that the Health Technology Board for Scotland will be "open and transparent", why there has been no announcement of the recent appointment of a director and when the board will have a location and address, a website and contact details.

I announced the names of the members of the Health Technology Board for Scotland on 18 May. At that time, arrangements on the appointment of the Director had still to be finalised. These have now been completed and the Director will take up post on 3 July. I will announce full details of this appointment shortly.

The board's Chairman is currently working with the Property Advisers to the Civil Estate (PACE) to secure accommodation for the board in Glasgow. From 3 July, the board will occupy temporary accommodation in the Beacon, 176 St Vincent Street, Glasgow G2 5SG. A website will be set up when the board's permanent staff are appointed.

Question reference: S1W-07932

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 14 June 2000
Current Status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 28 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive how candidates are selected for the Clinical Standards Board for Scotland, the Health Technology Board for Scotland and the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidance Network and how it ensures that the individuals sitting on these boards retain an objective and independent view.

The appointment of members to the boards of special health boards such as the Clinical Standards Board and the Health Technology Board, is made by me on behalf of Scottish Ministers. These appointments are made on merit by fair and open process and are subject to independent assessment by the Health Appointments Advisory Committee. Consideration is given to the balance of the boards and to the skills which individuals can contribute.

The Scottish Executive is committed to reviewing and modernising the system for making public appointments in Scotland and responses to a review on public appointments is currently being considered by Scottish Ministers.

The Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN), which was formed in 1993, is an independent network of clinicians and healthcare professionals and as such is not subject to the public appointments system. Patients and public views are represented on SIGN through the Scottish Association of Health Councils.

Question reference: S1W-04673

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 February 2000
Current Status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 26 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers Professor David Rowley to be an impartial and objective member of the Scottish Review team in relation to the funding position in Tayside University Hospitals NHS Trust, given his role as head of orthopaedics at Ninewells Hospital Dundee, non-executive member of the Tayside Health Board and chairman of Tayside Acute Services Review (phase 2).

Question reference: S1W-07538

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2000
Current Status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 26 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive what the remit, aims and objectives of "modernisation action teams" are.

Modernisation Action Teams were announced by the Secretary of State for Health, Alan Milburn, as part of England's modernisation plans for the NHS. I have announced plans to establish a Modernisation Board to drive forward the Executive's programme for modernising and improving the NHS in Scotland.

The board will provide advice to Ministers on the modernisation programme and the priorities for new investment, will champion success by identifying best practice and ensuring that it is shared across Scotland and ensure that national policy develops in response to local aspirations for service modernisation and vice versa.

Membership of the Modernisation Board will be drawn from the professions, from NHS staff, patients and management. It is expected that the board will meet monthly with the first meeting planned for July.

Question reference: S1W-07480

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sam Galbraith on 22 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive how a pass mark will be set for the Higher Still Higher maths paper given that the exam did not reflect the content of teaching.

Question reference: S1W-07479

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sam Galbraith on 22 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive why a statistics option was included in the Higher Still Higher maths examination when it had not been included in the curriculum.

Question reference: S1W-07478

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 01 June 2000
Current Status: Answered by Sam Galbraith on 22 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive why the Higher Still Higher maths examination did not reflect the work covered in schools.

Question reference: S1W-07565

Asked by: Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 02 June 2000
Current Status: Answered by Susan Deacon on 22 June 2000

To ask the Scottish Executive how many hospital and community dieticians there are in each health board area.

The latest information available centrally on numbers of dieticians employed in the NHS in Scotland is shown in the table.Dieticians employed in the NHS in Scotland by Health BoardHeadcount at 30 September 1999^p

	Number
Scotland	467
Argyll and Clyde	33
Ayrshire and Arran	44
Borders	15
Dumfries and Galloway	6
Fife	32
Forth Valley	30
Grampian	50
Greater Glasgow	90
Highland	13
Lanarkshire	34
Lothian	69
Orkney	2
Shetland	1
Tayside	45
Western Isles	3

^{p provisional
Source: National Manpower Statistics from payroll
ISD Scotland}