Christine Grahame

25 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-8994 by Mr Tom McCabe on 24 June 2004, which NHS boards applied for approval for schemes to assist eligible patients with travel expenses in order to access primary NHS dental treatment and, of these, how many applications were successful in (a) 1999…

Answer · Tom McCabe: No NHS boards have applied to the Executive in the years indicated seeking approval to put in place arrangements to assist patients with travel expenses to access primary care NHS dental services.</p><p>NHS boards are aware that they can apply, under section …

24 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting period was for summary cases in each sheriff court district in each of the last five years.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-8941 on 23 June 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/weba…

23 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many nursing vacancies there have been in each of the last five years and, of these, how many were vacant for more than three months, broken down by NHS board and expressed as a percentage of the nursing staff complement of each board.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Information on vacancies in NHSScotlandis published on the Scottish Health Statistics website under Workforce Statistics,at <a href="http://www.isdscotland.org/workforce">www.isdscotland.org/workforce</a>.Information on vacancies for nursing staff is publishe…

23 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many crimes of indecency were reported in each of the last five years, broken down by police force area and, of these, how many were successfully prosecuted in each year.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Information on crimes reported to (as opposed to recorded by) the police is not available centrally. Information on crimes of indecency recorded by the police broken down by police force area is published for each year in table 4A of the relevant statistical …

23 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of all victims of sexual assault in each of the last five years was children.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The statistics available centrally on crimes of sexual assault recorded by the police do not enable the age of the victim to be identified.</p>

23 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many settlements in, or out of, court have been made, subsequent to legal action being taken against a hospital, in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Theinformation required is not held centrally by the Health Department.</p>

23 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the expenditure per mile was on roads maintenance in each of the last three years, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Nicol Stephen: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-7615 on 4 May 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webap…

23 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many problem drug users were registered in each of the last three years, broken down by NHS board.

Answer · Hugh Henry: There is no central register of drug users in Scotland. However, the Scottish Drug Misuse Database collects information on drug users at the point of their coming into contact with drug treatment services. This information can be found at <ahref="http://www.d…

23 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many police officers are expected to retire in the next (a) three and (b) five years.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The estimated numbers of policeofficers expected to retire in the next three years (2004-05 to 2006-07) andfive years (2004-05 to 2008-09) are 1,420 and 2,530 respectively. These estimatesexclude any retirements on the grounds of ill-health.</p>

23 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many police officers there were per 1000 of the population in each of the last five years, broken down by police force area.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The information requested is shown in the following table.</p><p>Number of Police Officers Per 1,000 Population</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td rowspan=2> <p>Force</p> </td> <td colspan=5> <p align=center>As at 31 …

23 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the net expenditure on public libraries was in each of the last three years, broken down by local authority.

Answer · Frank McAveety: Net expenditure on library service for 2001-02 and 2002-03, and estimated expenditure for 2003-04, is show, by local authority, in the table below:</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3 width=501> <thead> <tr> <td> <p>Council</p> </td> <td>…

23 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many criminal cases were called for trial in each of the last three years and how many cases were adjourned, broken down by sheriff court district.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The available information isgiven in the following tables:</p><p>Sheriff Court - Solemn Criminal Cases</p><table class=MsoNormalTable border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td> <p align=center>Called for Trial</p> </td> <td> <p align…

23 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) domestic and (b) overseas tourists have visited Scotland in each of the last three years, broken down by tourist board area.

Answer · Frank McAveety: The number of domestic and overseas visitors to each of the area tourist board (ATB) areas in Scotland in the last three years for which data is available is as follows:</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=3> <thead> <tr> <td> <p> </p> </td> …

23 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many drug offences were committed in each of the last five years, broken down by sheriff court district.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The information available centrally on drug offences recorded by the police relates to unitary authorities. Information for each of the last five years is given in the following table:</p><p>Drug Crimes Recorded by the Police by Council Area, Scotland, 1999 t…

23 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-8837 by Cathy Jamieson on 18 June 2004, how many people were convicted of drink-driving in (a) 1999-2000, (b) 2000-01 and (c) 2001-02.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The information requested, which is available for calendar years, is given in table 19 of statistical bulletin <i>Criminal Proceedings in Scottish Courts, 2002</i> published by the Scottish Executive in February 2004. A copy of the bulletin is available in th…

23 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many consultant posts are currently vacant and, of these, how many have been vacant for more than six months, broken down by NHS board and expressed as a percentage of the complement of each hospital.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Information on the number of consultant vacancies is collected via an annual medical and dental census. This is currently accurate to 30 September 2003. </p><p>Number of Consultant Vacancies (Total and those Over Six Months) by NHS Board (at 30 September 2003…

23 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much capital debt is owed by each local authority, expressed as also per capita.

Answer · Tavish Scott: The information requested is given in table 10 of the Scottish Local Government Financial Statistics 2002-03 published by The Scottish Executive in 2004, a copy of which is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 32947).</p>

23 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many planned admissions for in-patient and day-case treatment have been cancelled in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board area.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: There are many reasons why planned admissions to hospital for inpatient and day case treatment may be cancelled, such as the absence of key staff on sick leave and/or an unexpected short term increase in the number of emergency admissions. When a patient’s ad…

22 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-12626 by Susan Deacon on 2 February 2001, which NHS boards have followed the family friendly policy guidance launched on 26 January 2001 and how often that guidance is reviewed in response to changes in national trends.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Family Friendly PartnershipInformation Network guideline includes around 24 individual policies which NHSboards are expected to meet or exceed over time. While all NHS boards are followingthe guidance, they have different perceived needs and are at differ…

18 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to the statement in paragraph 5.3 of Final Consensus Statement of the Royal College of Physicians' Consensus Conference on Hepatitis C that &#147;if we do not invest adequately now, we will not be able to afford the consequences of failing to tackle this epidemic&#148…

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-9189 on 1 July 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at <ahref="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webap…

18 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to paragraph 5.1 of Final Consensus Statement of the Royal College of Physicians' Consensus Conference on Hepatitis C, what measures it is taking, and are planned, to reduce non-attendance at hepatitis C virus services (HCV), enhance referral to HCV services, improve data …

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: These are issues, which are being considered in the context of the action plan, to which the answer given to question S2W-9189 on 2 July 2004 refers. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility…

18 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to paragraph 5.2 of Final Consensus Statement of the Royal College of Physicians' Consensus Conference on Hepatitis C, what economic analysis it has undertaken in order to inform resource allocation decisions in relation to the treatment and prevention of hepatitis C over …

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health (SCIEH) has been commissioned to carry out work to provide robust estimates of the total number of persons living with Hepatitis C – both diagnosed and undiagnosed – in Scotland. This includes estimat…

18 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many hepatitis C patients there have been in (a) Scotland as a whole and (b) each NHS board area in (i) 1999-2000, (ii) 2000-01, (iii) 2001-02, (iv) 2002-03, (v) 2003-04 and (vi) 2004-05 to date.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The latest available figures are for the year ended 31 December 2003, and are set out in the table below.</p><p>Persons in Scotland Reported to be Hepatitis C Antibody-Positive; Number and Rate/100000 Population* by NHS Board and Year of Earliest Positive Spe…

18 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to paragraph 4.4 of Final Consensus Statement of the Royal College of Physicians' Consensus Conference on Hepatitis C, what its response is in respect of the call for new drug therapies.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The regulation and safety of medicines is reserved and is the responsibility of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MRHA), or, for certain types of drugs, the European Medicines Agency (EMEA).</p><p>The MRHA has advised that any new drug …

18 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to paragraph 3.6 of Final Consensus Statement of the Royal College of Physicians' Consensus Conference on Hepatitis C, how many outreach clinics there are for patients with hepatitis C, broken down by NHS board area.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: This information is not available centrally.</p>

18 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to paragraph 3.3 of Final Consensus Statement of the Royal College of Physicians' Consensus Conference on Hepatitis C, what measures are being taken to encourage patient involvement, given that half of those referred do not attend clinics.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: This is an issue which is being considered in the context of the action plan to which the answer given to question S2W-9189 on 1 July 2004 refers. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility fo…

18 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the key messages of Final Consensus Statement of the Royal College of Physicians' Consensus Conference on Hepatitis C, which patient groups currently have access to treatment for hepatitis C infection and which do not and what the reasons are for any difference in such …

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The guidance available to NHSScotland on which patient groups have access to treatment for Hepatitis C can be found at: </p><p><ahref="http://www.nhshealthquality.org/nhsqis/qis_Publications3.jsp?pContentID=1187&p_applic=CCC&p_service=Content.show&">http://ww…

18 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the key messages of Final Consensus Statement of the Royal College of Physicians' Consensus Conference on Hepatitis C, what resources have been allocated to improving the (a) prevention of hepatitis C and (b) delivery of care to patients with hepatitis C in (i) 1999-200…

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: As recommended in the <i>Report of the HIV Health Promotion Strategy Review Group</i>, published in January 2001, the Executive extended the earmarked HIV prevention funding provided annually to NHS Boards to include other bloodborne viruses, particularly Hep…

18 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the first key message of Final Consensus Statement of the Royal College of Physicians' Consensus Conference on Hepatitis C that &#147;the hepatitis C epidemic is a public health crisis&#148;.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive agrees with the <i>Final Consensus Statement that Hepatitis C</i> poses a significant and growing problem. Vigorous, concerted action is needed to address the challenges it presents in relation to both prevention and treatmentand care. Already, …

16 Jun 2004 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive with reference to The State of the Nation 2004 - An assessment of the state of the UK's infrastructure by the Institution of Civil Engineers, what measures are being taken to ensure avoidance of development on flood plains and whether it considers such measures sufficient and, if not, wha…

Answer · Mary Mulligan: In February we published <i>Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) 7: Planning and Flooding</i>. SPP 7 states that new development should not take place if it would be at significant risk of flooding, or if it would increase the probability of flooding elsewhere. Thi…