Parliamentary questions
Christine Grahame
3,532 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
4 Jul 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many cyclist casualties have been treated by the NHS in each of the last five years in each NHS board area.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Cyclist casualties could be treatedin a number of health care settings e.g. GP practices; hospital accident and emergencydepartments or as hospital admissions.</p><p>It is not possible to identifycyclist casualties in GP practices or accident and emergency de…
4 Jul 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide comparative details of emergency admission rates to Borders General Hospital for the five-year period prior to the introduction of NHS 24 and in the years since its introduction.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: NHS 24 was introduced to NHSBorders in April 2004.</p><p>The requested information ispresented in the following table.</p><p>Emergency Admissions to BordersGeneral Hospital and Crude Admission Rates by Year of Discharge, Years Ending 31March 2000-06</p><table…
4 Jul 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients had their operations cancelled (a) twice, (b) three times, (c) four times and (d) more than four times in each year since 1997, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The specific information requestedis not available centrally.</p><p>Limited information is availablecentrally on the number of in-patient/day case episodes where operations/procedureswere not carried out following admission.</p><p>A table of information, and …
4 Jul 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the temporary staffing costs were in respect of (a) doctors, (b) nurses, (c) other healthcare professionals, (d) managers and (e) administrative staff in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: Information on the temporarystaffing costs in respect of four of the five groups listed above is notcollected centrally; however separate costs are available for nursing staff(both agency and bank) and we can provide an overall total for the cost ofemploying …
27 Jun 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether additional funding will be made available to local authorities for enforcement purposes when the legal age for purchase of cigarettes is raised from 16 to 18 and, if so, how much will be made available.
Answer · Shona Robison: The need to make additional specificresources available to local authorities to enforce tobacco sales will be consideredunder the current spending review.</p>
27 Jun 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what additional funding will be put in place for smoking cessation services when the legal age for purchase of cigarettes is raised from 16 to 18 and whether this funding will be ring-fenced for underage smokers.
Answer · Shona Robison: NHS Smoking Cessation Serviceshave received additional funding of £2 million this year bringing total fundingto a record £11 million. Young people are already a priority group for cessationservices and I expect boards to use part of the additional funding to …
27 Jun 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether funding allocated for smoking cessation services is ring-fenced for underage smokers.
Answer · Shona Robison: Funding for smoking cessationservices is not currently ring fenced for specific priority groups such as youngpeople. It is for NHS boards to assess needs locally and respond to the demand forcessation services for priority groups accordingly.</p>
27 Jun 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what funding has been allocated for smoking cessation services in the current financial year, broken down by NHS board area.
Answer · Shona Robison: The allocation or smoking cessationservices in 2007-08 were as follows:</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td width=163 valign=top> <p> </p> </td> <td width=55 valign=top> <p align=center>£000</p> </td> </tr> </t…
27 Jun 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what funding is available for the Young Scot scheme and how it is distributed.
Answer · Adam Ingram: Young Scot receives£750,000 per annum from the Scottish Executive. As the National Youth InformationAgency for Scotland they take forward a range of projects and initiatives to provideyoung people across Scotland with information and other services to help th…
27 Jun 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities have issued Young Scot cards and how many are currently in circulation, expressed also as a percentage of each local authority’s secondary school population.
Answer · John Swinney: There are approximately337,000 Young Scot branded cards in circulation throughout all 32 of Scotland’s local authorities.</p><p>These are a mixtureof the original non smart cards (issued prior to April 2006) and the replacementNational Entitlement Card (smart…
26 Jun 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many children under the age of 16 were recorded by the relevant health and social service authorities as having (a) attempted and (b) committed suicide in each year since 1999 and what proportion of those lived in the top 10 most deprived areas, as defined by the Scottish Index of Mul…
Answer · Shona Robison: (a) The information requestedin part (a) is not held centrally. In children it is difficult to establish trueintent. Therefore it may be incorrect to attempt to derive numbers of “attemptedsuicide”.</p><p>We have however provided datafor hospital discharges f…
26 Jun 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of people who have committed suicide or died as a result of self-inflicted wounds or injuries were recorded by their GP as having a known mental health issue prior to their death, in each year since 1999 broken down by NHS board area.
Answer · Jim Mather: Theinformation requested is not held centrally.</p><p>The National Confidential Inquiryinto Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illness contains information onwhether people accessed mental health services prior to committing suicide but thiswill not c…
26 Jun 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average suicide rate was per capita in the top 10 council wards with the lowest levels of deprivation, as defined by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation, in each year since 1999.
Answer · Jim Mather: The information requested isnot available. The Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation has not been producedat ward level.</p>
26 Jun 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average suicide rate was per capita in the top 10 council wards with the worst levels of deprivation, as defined by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation, in each year since 1999.
Answer · Jim Mather: The information requested isnot available. The Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation has not been producedat ward level.</p>
26 Jun 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people over the age of 60 have died as a result of suicide or by self-inflicted wounds in each year since 1999, also expressed as a percentage of the total number of suicides and broken down by (a) gender and (b) geographical area.
Answer · Jim Mather: In presenting statistics on suicidesit is conventional to combine deaths classified as intentional self-harm (suicides)with those classified as events of undetermined intent. This is because the majorityof the latter are likely to have been suicides. The foll…
26 Jun 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the amount of unclaimed council tax benefit in each year since 1999, also broken down by local authority area.
Answer · John Swinney: Council tax benefit isadministered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Estimates of theamount of unclaimed council tax benefit are only available at a Great Britainlevel, and not at a Scotland or local authority level. The DWP’s latest estimateof t…
26 Jun 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the number of people (a) entitled to and (b) who claimed council tax benefit and what amount was paid in each year since 1999, also broken down by local authority area.
Answer · John Swinney: (a) This information is not heldcentrally.</p><p>(b) This information is in thefollowing table:</p><p>Council Tax Benefit Expenditureand Recipients by Local Authority</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <tr> <td rowspan=2 valign=top> <p> </…
25 Jun 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to consult the families of disabled children and other representative groups on the use of any funding for disabled children allocated under the Barnett formula.
Answer · Adam Ingram: All funding eligiblefor allocation to Scottish budgets by way of budget consequentials is held centrally.It is then allocated by the Scottish Government in light of all competing pressuresand the Government’s priorities.</p><p>The Scottish Governmentis fully …
25 Jun 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the announcement by HM Treasury of £340 million support for disabled children in England from 2008 to 2011, whether disabled children in Scotland will benefit from an equivalent sum allocated under the Barnett formula.
Answer · Adam Ingram: Consequential fundingis agreed biannually and is dependent on confirmation from HM Treasury that anyadditional funding announced by departments is new money and has not been reallocatedfrom existing resources. Where consequential funding is received, it is he…
22 Jun 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-967 by Stewart Stevenson on 22 June 2007, whether it will commission research into the connection between weight and sleep disorders.
Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The future economic andsocial research programme for transport within Scotland, which includes roadsafety, is currently being developed and is expected to be finalised bySeptember. No other studies into this matter are currently under consideration.</p>
21 Jun 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what level of public funding has been allocated for wind farm developments in each year since 1999.
Answer · Jim Mather: None. Support for windenergy is delivered through the Renewables Obligation (Scotland),the costs of which are met by consumers through their electricity bills.</p>
21 Jun 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what reports commissioned by the previous administration into extending the Borders railway beyond Tweedbank it has been able to access.
Answer · Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Executiveprior to May 2007 has not commissioned any reports into extending the Borders railwaybeyond Tweedbank.</p>
21 Jun 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what funding has been allocated for domestic micro-hydroelectric schemes in each year since 1999.
Answer · Jim Mather: The Scottish Communityand Householder Renewables Initiative has provided funding for the installationof six domestic micro-hydro schemes since its launch in 2002, with a total of £22,507being allocated.</p>
21 Jun 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what funding is available for domestic micro-hydroelectric schemes.
Answer · Jim Mather: The Scottish Communityand Householder Renewables Initiative provides grant funding for the installationof domestic micro-hydro schemes. Householders can obtain a grant of 30% of the installedcost, up to a maximum of £4,000.</p><p>Householders in Scotland are …
21 Jun 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what reports it will commission on the cumulative impact of small to medium wind farm developments.
Answer · Jim Mather: The recentlypublished <i>Scottish Planning Policy 6: Renewable Energy (SPP6</i>) stipulatesthat prospective developers must adequately address the cumulative impact of theirproposal. It also requires that Planning Authorities take account of projects thathave…
19 Jun 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what funding will be allocated for the provision of independent advice and support services by NHS boards in partnership with local citizens advice bureaux, broken down by board.
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Governmenthas made it clear to NHS boards that it expects them to provide this service forthe benefit of patients. The funding of the local service is a matter for each NHSboard and information on it is not held centrally.</p>
19 Jun 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many public service workers given special leave with pay and serving with the Territorial Army or reserves have subsequently been recorded as suffering either physical or mental health problems as a result of their service activities.
Answer · Shona Robison: This informationis not held centrally. We continue our discussions the Ministry of Defence andNHS boards to develop new models of service delivery for veterans.</p><p>Currentarrangements include assessment and out-patient service for those members of the rese…
19 Jun 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients who are now, or were formerly, members of the British armed forces are being treated in hospitals in Scotland for mental health problems related to post-traumatic stress or combat fatigue.
Answer · Shona Robison: This informationis not centrally held. Work continues with the Ministry of Defence and NHS boardsto improve access tostructured care and support that better reflects needs for serving and former servicepersonnel.</p><p>Assessment and outpatient services are i…
19 Jun 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many of its staff are currently on special leave with pay and serving with the Territorial Army or reserves, broken down by directorate.
Answer · John Swinney: There arecurrently no Scottish Executive staff on special leave for the purpose ofTerritorial Army or reservist duty with or without pay.</p>
19 Jun 2007 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-792 by Nicola Sturgeon on 18 June 2007, how many NHS staff currently on special leave with pay and serving with the Territorial Army or reserves have been away from work for (a) one to three weeks, (b) one to three months, (c) six to nine months and …
Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The information requestedis not held centrally.</p>