Parliamentary questions

Christine Grahame

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

1 Aug 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what powers have been given to the Convener of the Care Commission under the terms of the Scheme of Delegation.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The convener is appointed under Schedule 1 Section 6 of the Regulation of Care(Scotland) Act 2001 and is personally responsible to Scottish ministers for ensuring that the Care Commission’s policies are compatible with those of the Scottish ministers and for …

1 Aug 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what resources and guidelines it has given to local authorities in respect of the provision of support for any service provider subject to a complaint investigation by the Care Commission.

Answer · Tom McCabe: No such resources or guidelines have been provided to local authorities.

1 Aug 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what body was appointed as external auditor to the Care Commission and what role that body will take in the external review into the operational procedures of the commission.

Answer · Tom McCabe: Under the terms of the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000, the Auditor General is responsible for the external audit of the Care Commission. In addition to conducting the audit of the commission’s accounts,the Auditor General may initiate a…

1 Aug 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-29466 by Malcolm Chisholm on 14 October 2002, how much of the #36 million for the modernisation and improvement of general practitioner and dental services was allocated to dental services and for what purposes this allocation was made.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: £4,281,000has been allocated in the third tranche of funding to the following premises modernisation projects under this initiative, which wholly or in part involve dental services.<o:p></o:p><table class=MsoNormalTable border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpaddi…

1 Aug 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what remedies there are to patients who lose access to NHS dental services and are offered the option of purchasing dental services as private patients.

Answer · Tom McCabe: Patients who lose access to NHS dental services should contact their local NHS board or Primary Care NHS Trust for advice on where to find their nearest NHS dental services, including what NHS emergency dental services may be available in their area.Th…

1 Aug 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what statutory duties NHS boards have to provide NHS dental services.

Answer · Tom McCabe: Section 25 of the National HealthService (Scotland) Act 1978 places a duty on NHS boards to make, as respectstheir area, arrangements with dental practitioners under which any person for whoma dental practitioner undertakes in accordance with the arrangements…

1 Aug 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications have been made for salaried dentists in (a) 1999-2000, (b) 2000-01, (c) 2001-02, (d) 2002-03 and (e) 2003-04 to date and what percentage of these applications has been approved, broken down by NHS board area.

Answer · Tom McCabe: The number of substantive applications for salaried dentist posts are shown brokendown by area in the following table:<table class=MsoNormalTable border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 style='margin-left:5.4pt;border-collapse:collapse;border:none;mso-bor…

1 Aug 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether salaried dentists may be appointed when there is no provision of NHS dental services within reasonable access in the Scottish Borders.

Answer · Tom McCabe: When any NHS board or Primary Care NHS Trust considers that the existing general dental service provision is insufficient to meet the demands of the local population and no independent General Dental Practitioner is available to fill the gap, approval can be …

15 Jul 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many vacancies for NHS pharmacists have been filled by candidates from (a) within and (b) out with the NHS, expressed also as a percentage of the number of vacancies, in each year since 1999-2000, broken down by pharmacy grade and NHS board.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Information on the number ofvacancies for NHS pharmacists is not available centrally.

15 Jul 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to meet with the Association of Scottish Trust Chief Pharmacists.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Scottish Executive officials meet on a regular basis with representativesof the Association of Scottish Trust Chief Pharmacists.

15 Jul 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost has been of employing agency pharmacists in each year since 1999-2000, broken down by pharmacy grade and NHS board.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Information on the cost ofemploying agency pharmacists in each year is not available centrally.

15 Jul 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many agency pharmacists, expressed also as a percentage of the number of NHS pharmacy posts, were employed in each year since 1999-2000, broken down by pharmacy grade and NHS board.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Information on agency pharmacists and NHS pharmacy posts is not collected centrally. Centrally heldinformation on NHS pharmacists relates to staff employed only and does notcapture information on posts that are vacant.Information on NHSpharmacists empl…

15 Jul 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many unfilled vacancies for NHS pharmacists, expressed also as a percentage of the number of pharmacy posts, there have been in each year since 1999-2000, broken down by pharmacy grade and NHS board.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: Information on vacancies andposts for NHS pharmacists is not collected centrally. Centrally heldinformation on NHS pharmacists relates to staff employed only and excludes theposts that are vacant.Information on NHSpharmacists employed at 30 September e…

11 Jul 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S2W-767 by Mr Jim Wallace on 23 June 2003 and S1W-33014 by Ms Margaret Curran on 20 January 2003, what information it has on the percentage of part-time or seasonal work force that is unable to receive jobseekers' allowance owing to the application of …

Answer · Mary Mulligan: Jobseekers Allowance is a reserved matter for the UK Government and the Department for Work and Pensions. The Executive does not hold any information on the data requested.

9 Jul 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what powers it has to intervene on health grounds should Scottish Borders Housing Association fail to carry out a health risk assessment following the flooding at the Bannerfield Estate, Selkirk.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: I understand that the Department of Public Health at NHS Borders has already undertaken a health risk assessment in consultation with Scottish Borders Housing Association.NHS Borders has also been involved in public meetings on this issue and discussions w…

9 Jul 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what powers it has to intervene if there is insufficient accommodation to house decanted housing association tenants.

Answer · Mary Mulligan: The Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 provides Scottish ministers with various powers in relation to housing associations and these powers have been delegated to Communities Scotland. However, Communities Scotland has no landlord function and no specific power to o…

9 Jul 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what powers it has to intervene should a housing association fail in its obligations to its tenants.

Answer · Mary Mulligan: The Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 provides Scottish ministers with powers to intervene to address poor performance by housing associations. These powers have been delegated to Communities Scotland. Where a housing association's performance is poor and it is …

9 Jul 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether housing associations are required to have emergency and contingency plans in place for events such as flooding.

Answer · Mary Mulligan: The Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 provides Scottish ministers with the power to set standards for the performance of housing associations and other Registered Social Landlords. Performance Standards are developed and published jointly by Communities Scotland, t…

9 Jul 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Bellwin Scheme can be applied to meet costs incurred by Scottish Borders Housing Association as a consequence of flood damage to its properties.

Answer · Tavish Scott: The Bellwin Scheme would not be applied in these circumstances as it provides emergency payments to local authorities. Damage to Scottish Borders Housing Association property is recognised as an insurable cost, which Scottish Borders Housing Association shoul…

9 Jul 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any powers to provide resources to Scottish Borders Housing Association to assist with remedial action required to flood-damaged properties at the Bannerfield Estate, Selkirk.

Answer · Margaret Curran: I have asked Mr Bob Millar, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. His response is as follows:Through the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001, Communities Scotland has powers to provide resources through the Housing Association Grant (HAG) scheme to R…

7 Jul 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what budget has been allocated to the Active Scotland campaign; what role area tourist boards will play in promoting the campaign; what VisitScotland promotional material and other resources are being used and how the Executive will measure the campaign's cost effectiveness.

Answer · Frank McAveety: Although this is an operational matter for VisitScotland, I understand that a budget of £100,000 has been assigned to the 100% Scottish Summer Campaign that includes the Active Scotland Campaign. The promotion and the effectiveness of the campaign are entirel…

25 Jun 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-733 by Malcolm Chisholm on 23 June 2003, what steps will be taken to ensure that compliance with clear hand hygiene policies forms part of a systematic review by NHS trusts.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (NHS QIS) provided individual reports to all trusts and boards on their performance against the infection control standards, including compliance with hand hygiene, in January this year. The Health Department has written to tr…

25 Jun 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-732 by Malcolm Chisholm on 23 June 2003, what steps will be taken to establish a mechanism for monitoring improvements in staffing levels following the agreement between NHS employers and trade unions to introduce the minimum pay rate.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The agreement to introduce the minimum pay rate is between NHS employers and trade unions and it is for those parties to determine what monitoring arrangements should be put in place.I have asked the Management Side Chair of the Negotiating Group responsib…

25 Jun 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-735 by Malcolm Chisholm on 23 June 2003, what steps it will take to refer the drug cefuroxime to NHS Quality Improvement Scotland in order to commission research into the drug's effectiveness in the treatment of MRSA, ensure full investigation of its…

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: It would be inappropriate to refer cefuroxime to NHS Quality Improvement Scotland. Cefuroxime is not generally recommended as a treatment for MRSA, and its use in patients with MRSA would normally be avoided. An exception to this might be that a patient was s…