- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 October 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 11 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is a specific civil servant responsible for delivering target 8 of the Finance and Public Services chapter of its draft budget 2004-05.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-3676 on 11 November 2003. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 October 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Elish Angiolini on 5 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive when the Solicitor General will reply to my letter of 9 September 2003 regarding my constituent Mrs A Buchan of Fraserburgh.
Answer
The Lord Advocatereplied to the member’s letter on 17 October 2003.
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 October 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 3 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to ensure that patients with macular degeneration eye conditions have the same access to the newer “dynamic” treatments for this condition, regardless of which part of Scotland they live in.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to S2W-3331 on 3 November 2003.
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 October 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 3 November 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive why my constituent Mr R Ritchie, Peterhead, has been asked to pay over #1,000 before the NHS in his area will give him dynamic therapy for his occult form of macular degeneration and whether this charge is consistent with the aim of ensuring that patients throughout Scotland enjoy equal access to the same free treatments.
Answer
While I am unable to commenton any individual case, I expect that where a treatment has been recommended byNHS Quality Improvement Scotland and clinical need can be demonstrated then itshould be provided.
The National Institute forClinical Excellence (NICE) recently recommended photodynamic therapy (PDT) forage-related macular degeneration (ARMD) in some circumstances. NICE hasrecommended the use of PDT for a group of people with “wet” ARMD who have aconfirmed diagnosis of classic subfoveal choroidal neovascularisation (CNV),with no sign of occult CNV. Individuals should also have at least 6/60 vision.
Consideration was not givento the use of PDT in occult CNV associated with wet ARMD as at the time thephotosensitising agent used in the therapy was not licensed for this condition.
NHSQuality Improvement Scotland (NQIS) has stated that this advice is as valid forScotland as it is for England and Wales. NHSScotland takes account of advice and evidencefrom NHS Quality Improvement Scotland and provides funding to ensure thatrecommended drugs or treatments are made available to meet clinical need.
The NHSQIS advice can befound at the NHSQIS website, www.nhshealthquality.org
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 October 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 30 October 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will take forward the suggestion of closed areas for conserving cod stocks in the North Sea, proposed by Scottish fishermen, to the EU Fisheries Council in December 2003.
Answer
The Scottish Executive will consider all reasonablearguments for securing cod recovery, especially those that have been developedwith or by fishermen themselves. We will aim to promote a balanced package of effectiveand equitable measures. Its precise content will depend on the progress ofprior negotiations in Council working groups.
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 30 September 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 28 October 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive when the Minister for Transport will respond to my letter dated 26 August 2003 regarding flooding problems at Stirling Village, Peterhead.
Answer
I replied to your letter on 3 October 2003.
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 15 September 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Mary Mulligan on 27 October 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the effectiveness of its policy to encourage site sharing for base stations by mobile telecommunications operators.
Answer
The Scottish Executive gathers information on applications for planning permission fortelecommunications development on a quarterly basis. This does not, however,record mast or site sharing carried out under permitted development rights as,in such cases, no planning application is required.
The following tables showthe questions the Executive poses on mast and site sharing and the results. Thefigures are for each quarter from July 2001 to March 2003. The figures shownare a percentage of the applications determined drawn from 31 planning authorities’returns. The totals do not include the City of Glasgow Council, who declinedto provide information on individual applications for telecommunicationsdevelopment.
Question 1: Does thedevelopment result in mast /site sharing?
| Period | Yes | No |
| July–Sept 2001 | 36% | 64% |
| Oct–Dec 2001 | 32% | 68% |
| | 24% | 76% |
| April–June 2002 | 18% | 82% |
| July–Sept 2002 | 21% | 79% |
| Oct–Dec 2002 | 21% | 79% |
| Jan–Mar 2003 | 25% | 75% |
Question 2: Does thedevelopment provide potential for mast/site sharing?
| Period | Yes | No |
| July–Sept 2001 | 63% | 37% |
| Oct–Dec 2001 | 71% | 29% |
| Jan–Mar 2002 | 55% | 45% |
| April–June 2002 | 49% | 51% |
| July–Sept 2002 | 46% | 54% |
| Oct–Dec 2002 | 48% | 52% |
| Jan–Mar 2003 | 59% | 41% |
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 October 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 21 October 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive when the Minister for Education and Young People will reply to my letter of 22 August 2003 regarding fee waivers for training courses.
Answer
Your letter to the Ministerfor Education and Young People was passed to me for response. My reply wasissued on 29 September 2003.
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 03 September 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 9 October 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients are registered to receive NHS general dental care in each NHS board area, broken down by age group.
Answer
The information requested is shown in the following table.
Number of Patients Registered with an NHS General Dental Practitioner; 30 June 2003
| NHS Board Area | Patient Age Group |
| 0-2 | 3-5 | 6-12 | 13-17 | 18-24 | 25-34 | 35-44 | 45-54 | 55-64 | 65-74 | 75+ | Total |
| Ayrshire and Arran | 4,628 | 8,305 | 24,323 | 17,539 | 17,497 | 25,620 | 33,307 | 28,149 | 23,227 | 15,388 | 9,218 | 207,201 |
| Borders | 1,047 | 2,260 | 6,418 | 4,710 | 4,291 | 6,883 | 10,365 | 8,931 | 8,042 | 5,918 | 3,712 | 62,577 |
| Argyll and Clyde | 4,382 | 9,173 | 27,139 | 18,961 | 18,856 | 28,416 | 38,100 | 29,693 | 23,093 | 15,311 | 8,477 | 221,601 |
| Fife | 3,982 | 7,932 | 22,141 | 15,366 | 15,752 | 24,267 | 32,713 | 26,646 | 20,964 | 12,784 | 7,691 | 190,238 |
| Greater Glasgow | 10,939 | 21,131 | 59,958 | 38,902 | 43,724 | 73,023 | 87,238 | 62,541 | 43,584 | 30,105 | 18,636 | 489,781 |
| Highland | 1,991 | 4,563 | 13,174 | 9,047 | 6,883 | 8,443 | 12,207 | 10,320 | 8,260 | 5,533 | 2,971 | 83,392 |
| Lanarkshire | 5,157 | 12,390 | 35,280 | 22,881 | 24,560 | 39,478 | 48,891 | 36,133 | 26,279 | 16,431 | 8,292 | 275,772 |
| Grampian | 4,370 | 11,142 | 31,908 | 21,551 | 21,490 | 32,036 | 40,847 | 34,314 | 23,267 | 13,131 | 6,420 | 240,476 |
| Orkney | 24 | 148 | 545 | 214 | 346 | 777 | 1,207 | 1,083 | 732 | 420 | 189 | 5,685 |
| Lothian | 9,823 | 19,239 | 52,382 | 32,803 | 35,108 | 63,904 | 75,579 | 55,774 | 41,130 | 26,860 | 15,215 | 427,817 |
| Tayside | 4,154 | 9,474 | 27,582 | 18,158 | 18,255 | 28,259 | 38,005 | 31,998 | 25,993 | 17,872 | 10,384 | 230,134 |
| Forth Valley | 3,314 | 7,080 | 19,896 | 12,478 | 13,328 | 19,970 | 25,928 | 20,083 | 15,053 | 9,109 | 4,838 | 151,077 |
| Western Isles | 139 | 314 | 712 | 545 | 850 | 1,578 | 2,098 | 1,907 | 1,541 | 1,068 | 553 | 11,305 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 1,124 | 3,084 | 9,231 | 6,360 | 5,225 | 7,565 | 10,645 | 8,909 | 8,071 | 5,578 | 3,451 | 69,243 |
| Shetland | 293 | 504 | 966 | 567 | 610 | 1,459 | 1,942 | 1,741 | 1,200 | 512 | 259 | 10,053 |
| Scotland | 55,367 | 116,739 | 331,655 | 220,082 | 226,775 | 361,678 | 459,072 | 358,222 | 270,436 | 176020 | 100,306 | 2,676,352 |
Source: MIDAS (Management Informationand Dental Accounting System).
- Asked by: Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banff and Buchan, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 23 September 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 7 October 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS staff have contracted hepatitis C (a) during the course of their work and (b) in total in each year for which figures are available, broken down by staff group.
Answer
The Scottish Centre for Infectionand Environmental Health (SCIEH) carries out national surveillance of health careworkers who have been occupationally exposed to blood-borne viruses. Statisticshave been collected since 1997 and during that time no known cases of health careworkers contacting hepatitis C during the course of their work have been recorded.The SCIEH are also satisfied that no known cases of health care workers contractinghepatitis C during the course of their work have occurred since 1989, when the virusbecame known.
