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: S2W-17853

Asked by: Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 July 2005
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 2 August 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how much a GP costs to employ compared to a nurse practitioner.

Question reference: S2W-17549

Asked by: Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 June 2005
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 1 August 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many deaths have been notified to the Skipton Fund from 29 August 2003 to date.

Question reference: S2W-17585

Asked by: Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Friday, 24 June 2005
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 1 August 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether, following Carers Week, it will estimate (a) how many cancer patients receive care at home, (b) how many carers supporting cancer patients remaining at home require support themselves and (c) any additional costs faced by cancer patients as a result of their treatment and care.

Modern cancer treatment means that many patients can be treated much closer to home and more cancer care is now being provided on an outpatient or day case basis. If there is no need for patients stay in hospital they will be allowed home.

Information is not available centrally on:

(a) the numbers of patients receiving care at home

(b) how many carers supporting cancer patients at home requiring support themselves

The Scottish Executive is supporting research being undertaken by the Cancer Care Research Centre, University of Stirling into Patient and Carer Experiences of cancer. It is anticipated that models for gathering patient and carer experiences will be developed for local and national use to inform policy makers and clinicians on involving patients and carers in developing service improvements.

Resources to support unpaid carers have risen from £5 million in 1999 – 2000 to £23 million this year. This investment is improving the quality of life for many carers and it is a matter for local authorities, NHS boards, the voluntary sector and carers to agree at a local level how best these resources are used.

Question reference: S2W-17858

Asked by: Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 July 2005
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 28 July 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what the long-term plan is for increasing the number of funded GP training places in the NHS.

Long term planning for the numberof GP training places is part of wider workforce planning arrangements. NHS Educationfor Scotland is allocated funds from the Scottish Executive to providetraining for GP registrars (GPRs) and other medical training. The number of fundedplaces for GPRs is currently at 280 following a recent uplift from 250.

New specialist training programmesfor general practice will be introduced as part of the Modernising Medical Careerstraining reforms. Work is underway across the UK to assess, develop and put theseprogrammes in place and that includes consideration in Scotland of thenumber and distribution of opportunities that will be made available for the newGP training programme.

Question reference: S2W-17837

Asked by: Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 July 2005
Current Status: Answered by Johann Lamont on 26 July 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the Scottish Building Standards Agency developing a new tool that will display an energy performance certificate on housing when local authorities and Communities Scotland use the National Home Energy Rating system.

I have asked Dr Paul Stollard,Chief Executive of the Scottish Building Standards Agency (SBSA), to answer. Hisresponse is as follows:

The National Home Energy Ratingmethodology (NHER) is neither publicly owned nor does it currently comply with thetechnical requirements of the EU Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings.For the purposes of directive implementation, it is not considered to be in thepublic interest to place total reliance in a methodology that is not in governmentownership. Should the NHER methodology become directive compliant, this could beused to produce an energy performance certificate and would be an acceptable alternativeto one generated by the Scottish Energy Rating Tool (SERT). SERT is currently underdevelopment and ways of converting existing NHER input data into SERT input datawill be investigated.

Question reference: S2W-17838

Asked by: Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 July 2005
Current Status: Answered by Johann Lamont on 26 July 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will respond to the suggestions from Energy Action Scotland (EAS) regarding the most practical way to ensure that Scotland’s housing is energy-efficient, as set out in EAS’s response to the Scottish Building Standards Agency’s circular on how Scotland will implement the EU directive on the energy performance of buildings.

Question reference: S2W-17550

Asked by: Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 June 2005
Current Status: Answered by Elish Angiolini on 21 July 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many deaths from hepatitis C were notified by NHS boards to the Procurator Fiscal prior to 29 August 2003, as required underDeath and the Procurator Fiscal, Crown Office, November 1998.

Information is not available for periods prior to April 2002.

An examination of the information recorded on the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service’s Case Management Database indicates that in the period from 1 April 2002 to 29 August 2003 procurators fiscal received notifications of 11 deaths where the cause of death included specific mention of hepatitis C. There were six other cases where the cause of death included hepatitis but the type was not specified. It is not possible to determine from the information held on the Case Management Database how many of those notifications were submitted by health boards.

Question reference: S2W-17440

Asked by: Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 June 2005
Current Status: Answered by Lewis Macdonald on 7 July 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-16835 by Rhona Brankin on 17 June 2005, whether any of the patients where clinical agreement has been reached with the receiving clinicians are unable to be transferred from the State Hospital due to suitable care and treatment arrangements being unavailable in the receiving NHS board area.

It is for the patient’s own health board to provide suitable care and treatment arrangements for a patient who is ready to be transferred out of the State Hospital. if no facilities are available within the board area then it is up to that board to consider other appropriate facilities outwith their area.

As at 30 June 2005, 46 out of the 227 patients within the State Hospital had been assessed by State Hospital clinicians as being ready for transfer to a less secure environment, subject to agreement with clinicians in the receiving health board area. For 27 of the 46 patients, clinical agreement had been reached with the receiving clinicians. Nineteen of these 27 patients have been waiting over three months for a transfer out of the State Hospital.

Question reference: S2W-17435

Asked by: Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 June 2005
Current Status: Answered by Rhona Brankin on 27 June 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether, after April 2006, all stoma patients will be able to choose between obtaining their appliances either through community pharmacy contractors or from a contracted appliance supplier.

Yes, all existing stoma patientswill be able to choose their appliance supplier route, provided their appliancecontinues to be clinically appropriate, meets the laid down service standards andthe supplier wishes to enter and accept the terms of the supply contract.

The Executive will ensure thatthis is the case through directions and comprehensive guidance to the service providers.

Perhaps I could usefully addthat the new arrangements are being designed to ensure that current availabilityof services will be maintained and duly enhanced. This means that there will beno reduction in the range of appliances available to patients and, importantly,that new patients will not be disadvantaged by comparison to the current arrangements.It also means that the existing suppliers of appliance will continue to have theopportunity to enter into arrangements to provide appliance services that meet nationallyagreed NHS standards, on which discussions with key stakeholders are currently takingplace.

Finally, I can advise that itis the Executive’s intention that the new arrangements will be subject to reviewafter their first year of operation.

Question reference: S2W-17337

Asked by: Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee East, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 June 2005
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 24 June 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive whether targets for urgent referral for treatment for cancer patients are being met across Scotland.

Meeting the December 2005 cancer waiting times target is a big challenge for the NHS. We have set a stretching target and recognise it will be difficult to meet.

A National Delivery Plan agreed with NHS boards will be published soon. This sets out additional actions that will be taken, aimed at achieving the 2005 waiting times target by the end of the year.

New waiting times standards for diagnostic tests announced on 21 June will also help drive down waiting times for cancer treatment.