Parliamentary questions

Christine Grahame

3,532 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

15 Dec 2004 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will introduce its proposed animal welfare legislation.

Answer · Lewis Macdonald: Following our consultation on proposals to revise existing animal welfare legislation, issued earlier this year, we intend to introduce legislation during the course of this Parliament.

13 Dec 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many GP practices were certified as training practices in each year since 1999.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The following numbers of GP practices were accredited as training practices in each of the relevant years:<table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <tr> <td> 1999 </td> <td> 282 </td> </tr> <tr> <td> 2000 </td> <td> 2…

8 Dec 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to sub-divide the children's hearing system following Phase 2 of the review of the system.

Answer · Euan Robson: The objective of the review is to develop and improve the children’s hearings system while respecting its fundamental principles, one of which is a single system for dealing with children who offend or who are in need of care and protection.

8 Dec 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it is evaluating morale among members of children's panels and whether it will consider publishing any such evaluation.

Answer · Euan Robson: The Scottish Executive liaises closely with all partners within the children’s hearings system on an on-going basis in order to identify and address issues of concern. In 2002 independent research was undertaken to identify reasons why panel members re…

8 Dec 2004 · Written Question

Answer · Euan Robson: The information requested is given in a table Children's Panel Member Turnover, 1999-2000 – 2003-04, which has been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 34684).

8 Dec 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when Phase 2 of the review of the children"s hearing system will begin.

Answer · Euan Robson: Shortly. Proposals for Phase 2 are being considered in the light of the issues raised by Phase 1 which include how to ensure the system delivers positive outcomes for all children referred through interagency working, how to engage better with parents and hig…

8 Dec 2004 · Written Question

Answer · Euan Robson: Apart from Grant Aided support to the local authorities for social work the Scottish Executive allocated specific financial resources as follows:<table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <tr> <td> Budget </td> <td> <p align=ce…

8 Dec 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children's panel areas operated below their target membership level in (a) 1999-2000, (b) 2000-01, (c) 2001-02, (d) 2002-03 and (e) 2003-04, broken down by local authority area and showing the percentage shortfall.

Answer · Euan Robson: Children’s Panel Advisory Committees monitor panel member availability on an on-going basis. Target membership figures are not meaningful, as the number of panel members required in a local authority area at any time depends on the number of hearings called a…

29 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider extending the central heating installation programme to people who are currently ineligible but have a partial or faulty central heating system where it can be demonstrated that there is risk of harm to the occupants.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: If a central heating system is at risk of harm to the occupants, it should be condemned by a suitably qualified engineer. If it has been condemned, it has to be determined if the central heating system can be repaired. Only if the central heating system is ir…

29 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-12173 by Mr Andy Kerr on 23 November 2004, what research projects are being carried out to monitor and evaluate the central heating installation programme; when these projects will report, and whether their reports will be made public.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: We have published annual reports for the central heating programme and warm deal for 2001-02 and 2002-03, copies of which are available in the Parliament’sReference Centre (Bib. numbers 26024 and 34624). The annual report for 2003-04 is due to be published in…

25 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-11102 by Mr Andy Kerr on 19 November 2004, how many patients died within 28 days of discharge, broken down by age group, in (a) 1999, (b) 2000, (c) 2001, (d) 2002 and (e) 2003.

Answer · Andy Kerr: The following tables show the number of patients who died within 28 days of discharge, broken down by age group, in the years 1999 to 2003 inclusive:Deaths Within 28 Days of Discharge from a Surgical Specialty in a Scottish Hospital; 1999-2003<tabl…

23 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many people under 60 receive the disability living allowance and how much it would cost to include such people in the central heating installation programme.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Disability Living Allowance is a matter for the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP). According to the DWP statistics, as of the end of May 2004 there were approximately 176,100 people under 60 in Scotland in receipt of the Disability Living Allowance. The c…

23 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-9672 by Mrs Mary Mulligan on 17 June 2004, whether it still plans to make an announcement in respect of future spending plans and whether, when considering such plans, it has considered extending the free central heating installation programme to peo…

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Ministers have not yet takendecisions on the shape or role of future fuel poverty programmes beyond 2006. Wewill consult the Scottish Executive Fuel Poverty Forum and other interested parties on anyproposals before they are announced.

16 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive

Answer · Tom McCabe: The information available on staff who have been employed on temporary contracts in the Scottish Executive core departments each year since 1999, broken down by length of time spent on a temporary contract is shown in the tables below. Due to the restructurin…

16 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time staff have been employed in each of its departments in each year since 1999 and how many such staff have been employed on temporary contracts in each such year, shown also as a percentage of total staff.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The information available on the number of (a) full-time and (b) part-time staff employed by the Scottish Executive in each of its core departments in each year since 1999 and the number and percentage of such staff employed on temporary contracts in each suc…

16 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the announcement by the Minister for Communities on 4 November 2004 regarding his correspondence with the power companies on fuel charges for pensioners, which companies have responded and what the responses were.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Two of the three fuel supply companies have requested meetings and these will be held in the near future.

16 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-11607 by Malcolm Chisholm on 10 November 2004 and to the statement to the Communities Committee by the Minister for Communities that “the rate of fuel poverty was halved between 1996 and 2002 but there has been further progress since then” (Official …

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: In fact the level of fuel poverty was more than halved between 1996 and 2002 according to the Scottish House Condition Survey. Further progress has been made since then in the context of the Warm Deal and the central heating programme.

16 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive where documents for the period 1979 to 1987 pertaining to contaminated blood products used in transfusions that resulted in haemophiliacs becoming HIV-infected are located and whether these documents are subject to public interest immunity and, if so, what the reasons are and, if not, how…

Answer · Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive holds some documents relevant to this issue and some documents will have been held by the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service and by NHS boards.As such, any requests for documentation should be addressed to the relevant o…

10 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what policies and measures it has in place to promote the local procurement of food by schools, hospitals and care homes.

Answer · Tom McCabe: It is Executive policy that purchasers should take account of healthy eatingobjectives when awarding contracts for food and catering services. By focussingon high quality, traditional and seasonal produce, we can help Scottish foodsuppliers compete for public…

10 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what studies it is undertaking in order to reduce the rate of excess winter deaths to the levels achieved in Finland and Denmark, given that excess winter mortality in Scotland as a percentage increase over non-winter deaths is 16% in comparison with 10% in Finland and 12% in Denmark.

Answer · Andy Kerr: No study in these specific terms is currently being undertaken. However, the Executive has commissioned a number of research projects to monitor and evaluate the central heating programme, including its impact on health.In the UK mortality increases in…

2 Nov 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will provide a substantive answer to question S2W-10241, lodged on 2 September 2004, regarding the business case for the Waverley railway project, in light of comments made by David Quarmby of the Strategic Rail Authority in The Scotsman on 2 November 2004 that the business case l…

Answer · Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive continues to consider the Waverley Railway’s outline business case and the implications of the current delay in the parliamentary process.

27 Oct 2004 · SPCB Written Question

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether legal advice given to parliamentary committees can now be made public, or will be made public, under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

Answer · Robert Brown: The release of legal advicegiven to a committee is a matter for that committee. Legal advice falls withinan exemption under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and requestsfor disclosure of such advice will be considered accordingly.

27 Oct 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of assault have been reported to the Care Commission in each year since its inception, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: The Care Commission operates a complaints procedure approved by Scottish ministers under the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001. It does not separately identify complaints alleging assaults.It would be for the police to investigate cases of physica…

27 Oct 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many recorded assaults there have been on care workers in residential care homes in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority area.

Answer · Rhona Brankin: This information is not held centrally.

26 Oct 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-11345 by Johann Lamont on 18 October 2004, how many households lived in fuel poverty in each of the last five years, broken down by household type and local authority area.

Answer · Johann Lamont: According to the Scottish House Condition Survey 1996, 738,000 households lived in fuel poverty which made up approximately 35% of the total population. The Scottish House Condition Survey 2002 showed that 286,000 households lived in fuel poverty, approximate…