Questions and answers

Question reference: S2W-17887

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 July 2005
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 4 August 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average cost of a (a) National Health Service prescription and (b) private prescription was in each year since 1979.

The following table showsthe National Health Service Prescription charges levied from patients since1979 and the average net ingredient cost of a prescription item since 1979.

Information on the averagecost of private prescriptions is not held centrally. The level of fees that the pharmacist charges fordispensing private prescriptions is not regulated by any body or organisation;it is a private transaction between the pharmacist and their customer. Therefore, the costs incurred are set by the individualpharmacy or pharmacy chain.

NationalHealth Service Prescription charges and Average Net Ingredient cost per dispensed prescription¹

Year ending 31 March	Cost of NHS Prescription £	Average Net²Ingredient Cost (£)	Year ending 31 March	Cost of NHS Prescription £	Average Net² Ingredient Cost (£)
1979	0.45	2.11	1993	4.25	6.76
1980	0.70	2.53	1994	4.75	7.09
1981	1.00	2.91	1995	5.25	7.55
1982	1.30	3.22	1996	5.50	7.98
1983	1.40	3.55	1997	5.65	8.42
1984	1.60	3.75	1998	5.80	8.91
1985	2.00	3.94	1999	5.90	9.26
1986	2.20	4.22	2000	6.00	10.11
1987	2.40	4.49	2001	6.10	10.13
1988	2.60	4.60	2002	6.20	10.60
1989	2.80	5.05	2003	6.30	11.12
1990	3.05	5.39	2004	6.40	11.62
1991	3.40	5.79	2005	6.50	11.50
1992	3.75	6.21

Notes:

1.Data for 1978-79 to 1995-96 are taken from Table 7.4 of Scottish HealthStatistics, published by ISD Scotland; data from 1996 on are from ScottishHealth Statistics, published on the ISD website.

2. Net ingredient cost is the gross cost of medicines minusany discount obtained by dispensing contractors from their suppliers.

3. Thefigures exclude the dispensing fee paid to the dispensing contractor.

Question reference: S2W-17885

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 July 2005
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 4 August 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive which drugs are blacklisted from NHS prescriptions; why each drug was blacklisted, and when each drug was blacklisted.

Over 3,300 products are blacklistedand these are now set out in Schedule 1 to the Directions as to the Drugs,Medicines or Other Substances which may, or may not, be Ordered for Patients inthe Provision of Primary Medical Services under a General Medical ServicesContract. A copy has been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib.number 37094).

Drugs are blacklisted takinginto account whether there are other products which meet clinical needs equallyeffectively or, for certain borderline substances such as foodstuffs andtoiletries, whether or not they have demonstrated a therapeutic value.

The blacklist wasestablished in 1985 and, except for 1996, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2004 and 2005 thusfar, additions have been made in each year since.

Question reference: S2W-17872

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 July 2005
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 4 August 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of MRSA there were in each hospital in each of the last five years for which statistics are available.

A national mandatoryhealthcare associated infection surveillance system was introduced in 2001 tomonitor MRSA bacteraemias (blood infections). The surveillance is operated byHealth Protection Scotland (HPS) and it produces quarterly reports about theincidence (per thousand bed days) of blood borne MRSA. In the current HPSlaboratory reporting system, rates are based on data from reporting laboratoriesand not for individual hospitals: one laboratory may therefore be reportinginformation for several hospitals.

From January 2005 a newsystem for reporting was introduced in Scotland and this has resulted in more accurate and completereporting of MRSA bacteraemias. Overallthe Scottish picture remains one of stability, with no significant increase inMRSA.

Data on the above areavailable at:

http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/scieh/infectious/hai/MRSA_Scot.htm

Question reference: S2W-17883

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 July 2005
Current Status: Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 4 August 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average length of time was that a homeless household in temporary accommodation had to wait before being made an offer of a permanent home in (a) 1997 and (b) 2004, broken down by local authority area.

The Accounts Commissioncollected information for 2002-03 on the total number of households placed intemporary accommodation during the year by local authorities carrying out theirduties under the homelessness legislation, and the average length of stay. Thisinformation has been used for Key Performance Indicator 6 for housing and ispublished on the Audit Scotland website at:http://www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/pi2003/compendium/service/index.htm.Indicator 6 was changed for 2003-04 and data on average length of stay intemporary accommodation are no longer collected centrally.The Scottish Executive alsopublishes data on the number of households in temporary accommodation as at theend of each quarter. The most recent figures are available on-line in thepublications section of the housing statistics branch reference site http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/housing/hsbref.This provides a snapshot at a particular point in time, unlike the AccountsCommission performance indicator which represents numbers placed in temporaryaccommodation over a period of time.

Temporary accommodationprovided under Section 29 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 is that which is used by local authoritieswhen carrying out their duty to provide accommodation to people who apply ashomeless while their applications are being assessed, until a final decisionhas been made on their application. This duty to provide accommodationcontinues during the process of review if one is requested. Where theauthority’s decision is that it has a duty to provide permanent accommodation,the duty to provide temporary accommodation continues until the duty to providepermanent accommodation is discharged.

Temporary accommodation mayalso be provided under section 31 of the 1987 Act, where a household withchildren is assessed as being intentionally homeless. In these cases temporaryaccommodation must be provided for a period which gives the household areasonable opportunity to secure their own accommodation.

Local authorities usedifferent types of housing in order to provide temporary accommodation; such asfurnished and unfurnished flats, hostels and B&Bs.

Question reference: S2W-17664

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 June 2005
Current Status: Answered by Andy Kerr on 4 August 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of (a) gonorrhoea, (b) syphilis, (c) chlamydia and (b) thrush have been diagnosed in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board.

The information requested isshown in the following tables. Table 1 shows information on number of cases ofgonorrhoea, syphilis and chlamydia based on laboratory reports by NHS board oftesting in the last five years. Table 2 shows estimated number of contacts andincidence contacts for Candidal Vulvovagitis and other Urogenital Candiasis(thrush), based on Practice Team Information (PTI). This information is basedon a sample of General Practitioners which is not of sufficient size to allowfor a breakdown by NHS board.

Table 1

Laboratory Reports ofSelected Sexually Transmitted Infections by NHS Board¹, 2000-2004.

Genital chlamydia

NHS Board	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
Argyll and Clyde	375	522	832	1,011	1,134
Ayrshire and Arran	275	356	813	888	887
Borders	51	51	48	189	259
Dumfries and Galloway	282	328	408	386	502
Fife	512	524	858	1,002	1,199
Forth Valley	354	442	373	595	608
Grampian	1,160	1,235	1,348	1,427	1,800
Greater Glasgow	1,689	2,406	2,295	3,102	3,487
Highland	500	531	626	630	788
Lanarkshire	400	728	890	885	982
Lothian	1,206	2,432	2,742	2,971	3,016
Orkney	10	41	45	55	51
Shetland	8	24	33	41	50
Tayside	822	953	1,069	1,189	1,281
Western Isles	0	0	3	9	25
Unspecified	0	56	0	0	0
Scotland	7,644	10,629	12,383	14,380	16,069

Gonorrhoea

NHS Board	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
Argyll and Clyde	36	39	47	24	41
Ayrshire and Arran	10	21	31	16	10
Borders	0	0	7	1	5
Dumfries and Galloway	40	21	13	26	27
Fife	35	28	9	33	27
Forth Valley	41	33	18	31	30
Grampian	92	82	74	78	69
Greater Glasgow	266	264	239	247	309
Highland	33	43	33	13	36
Lanarkshire	45	46	31	31	27
Lothian	194	184	254	282	220
Orkney	1	0	0	2	0
Shetland	0	0	0	0	0
Tayside	51	55	64	35	44
Western Isles	0	0	0	1	0
Unspecified	0	0	0	0	0
Scotland	844	816	820	820	845

Infectious Syphilis

NHS Board	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
Argyll and Clyde	n/a	1	3	3	1
Ayrshire & Arran	n/a	0	1	0	0
Borders	n/a	0	0	0	0
Dumfries and Galloway	n/a	0	0	0	0
Fife	n/a	3	1	0	0
Forth Valley	n/a	1	0	0	2
Grampian	n/a	n/a	n/a	6	8
Greater Glasgow	n/a	8	24	39	78
Highland	n/a	0	0	0	0
Lanarkshire	n/a	0	0	4	7
Lothian	n/a	n/a	14	15	84
Orkney	n/a	0	0	0	0
Shetland	n/a	0	0	0	0
Tayside	n/a	0	0	3	6
Western Isles	n/a	0	0	0	0
Unspecified	n/a	0	0	2	0
Scotland		13	43	72	186

Notes:

1. NHS Board refers to theboard in which the patient was sampled for testing, rather than the NHS boardof residence.

Source: Health Protection Scotland –July 2005

Table 2

Candidal Vulvovagitis andOther Urogenital Candidiasis

Estimated Contacts¹,incidence and rates per 1000 population for Scotland^2,3; yearsending March 2000-2004

	Gender	Year Ending	Estimated contacts for Scotland⁴	Contact rate per 1000 population	Estimated number of incidence contacts for Scotland⁴	Incidence rate per 1000 population
GP Only¹	Male	March 2000	5,150	1.90	4,850	1.79
		March 2001	4,500	1.66	3,950	1.47
		March 2002	4,900	1.80	4,300	1.59
		March 2003	5,000	1.89	4,500	1.71
		March 2004	4,150	1.57	3,800	1.45
	Female	March 2000	32,150	11.44	28,450	10.13
		March 2001	26,050	9.30	23,550	8.42
		March 2002	23,800	8.51	21,450	7.66
		March 2003	21,550	7.96	19,350	7.15
		March 2004	19,300	7.15	17,550	6.51
Full PTI¹	Male	March 2004	4,250	1.62	3,900	1.49
	Female	March 2004	20,450	7.58	18,350	6.81

Source: Practice TeamInformation (PTI).

Ref: IR2005-01972.

Notes: Read codes used todefine this condition are AB21., AB22. and all read codes under these.

1. Prior to April 2003 datawere collected only from GPs (Continuous Morbidity Recording (CMR)). From 1 April 2003 Datacollection was extended to encompass patient contacts with practice nurses,district nurses and health visitors (Practice Team Information (PTI).

2. Based on 52, 60, 67, 64and 45 practices which collected and submitted GP-only data, years ending 2000to 2004 respectively.

3. Based on 45 practiceswhich collected and submitted PTI data (which includes information from GPs,practice nurses, district nurses and health visitors) for year ending March2004.

4. Figures have been roundedto the nearest 50.

Question reference: S2W-18130

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 July 2005
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 4 August 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how much it will spend on indoor (a) bought and (b) hired plants in 2005-06.

Question reference: S2W-17943

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 July 2005
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 3 August 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what the share of the estimated cost of crimes by drug users was of crimes committed by the most offending 10% of offenders in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Question reference: S2W-17942

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 18 July 2005
Current Status: Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 3 August 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated cost of the crimes of (a) shoplifting, (b) domestic burglary, (c) non-domestic burglary, (d) theft from motor vehicle, (e) robbery, (f) fraud, (g) theft of motor vehicle, (h) stranger & acquaintance violence, (i) muggings, (j) murder, (k) culpable homicide and (l) death caused by driving that have taken place when motivated by drug use has been in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Question reference: S2W-17807

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 11 July 2005
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 3 August 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many public sector IT projects costing over £1 million have been completed in each year since 1999.

The Scottish Executive does not hold a central register of all public sector IT projects and therefore could only provide the information requested at disproportionate cost.This answer covers IT projects approved by the Scottish Executive Information Systems Steering Group.

There were 10 such projects completed as detailed.

IT Projects costing over £1 million completed since 1999
Financial Year:	1999-00	2000-01	2001-02	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05
Number:	2	1	2	1	2	2

Question reference: S2W-17809

Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
Date lodged: Monday, 11 July 2005
Current Status: Answered by Tom McCabe on 3 August 2005

To ask the Scottish Executive how many public sector IT projects budgeted to cost over £1 million are currently in progress.

Chamber and committees