Parliamentary questions

Elaine Murray

2,411 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

13 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Good Practice Statement on ME-CFS and guidance to NHS boards make recommendations regarding the referral of patients with severe and complex symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome to tertiary hospital services including admission.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Good Practice Statement is based on the principle that all treatment should be collaborative and tailored to the needs of the individual patient. It recognises that general practitioners may well need to make referrals to designated clinical serv…

13 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Good Practice Statement on ME-CFS and guidance to NHS boards make recommendations on sending patients for out-of-area treatment where a board is unable to provide the recommended treatment locally.

Answer · Nicola Sturgeon: The Good Practice Statement contains an example of a generic care pathway that includes appropriate referral to a specialist clinic or treatment centre, without reference to NHS board boundaries.</p> <p >The Statement and its accompanying documents can be f…

10 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many of its employees were unable to get to work between 29 November and 8 December 2010.

Answer · John Swinney: The number of Scottish Executive staff working in core directorates, who were unable to get to work between 29 November and 8 December 2010 was as follows:</p> <table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 > <tr > <td valign=top > <p align=left >Date</…

7 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the results of inspections of individual fish farms by Marine Scotland relating to sea louse infections and fish escapes are publicly available.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The results of individual inspections are not routinely published, although they are and have been made available where requested under the terms of freedom of information legislation. A publication plan, which would see the outcomes of routine and enhanced i…

7 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many inspections of fish farms by Marine Scotland relating to sea louse infections and fish escapes have been made since 1 April 2010.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Sea lice inspections “ 136, containment inspections “ 216.</p>

7 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many inspections of fish farms by Marine Scotland relating to sea louse infections and fish escapes were made in 2009-10.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Sea lice inspections “ 284, containment inspections “ 501.</p>

7 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on making it a requirement for non-efficacious treatments of sea lice and the mortality of farmed fish due to sea louse infection to be reported to Marine Scotland, as recommended by the Healthier Fish Working Group to the Ministerial Group on Aquaculture at its meeti…

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-38160 on 16 December 2010. 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/Apps2/Busin…

7 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on making it a requirement for all operators in the marine environment to enter into Farm Management Agreements, as recommended by the Healthier Fish Working Group to the Ministerial Group on Aquaculture at its meeting of 22 June 2010.

7 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Fish Health Inspectorate has commenced unannounced visits to fish farms, as recommended by the Healthier Fish Working Group to the Ministerial Group on Aquaculture at its meeting of 22 June 2010.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Healthier Fish Working Group was established by the Scottish Government in order that it could make recommendations to the Ministerial Group on Aquaculture (MGA), which it did in June of this year. Officials have been considering the recommendations and I…

2 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the adequacy of participation in deer management groups.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government takes the view that collaboration and participation in deer management groups is the most effective way to deliver sustainable deer management. We recognise, however, that attendance and practical engagement within deer management grou…

2 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the average levels of attendance at deer management group meetings was in the last two calendar years, expressed as a percentage of estate owners or their representatives who are members of these groups.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: Scottish Natural Heritage does not collect systematic data on deer management group membership or attendance. An attempt to assess attendance was carried out for the year 2009-10. This assessment indicates that 63% of landowners who are members of a deer mana…

2 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that a properly functioning network of deer management groups is vital to delivering sustainable deer management.

Answer · Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government takes the view that collaboration and participation in deer management groups is the most effective way to deliver sustainable deer management. This applies to most of the red deer range in the uplands. In the lowlands where roe deer p…

2 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive when it will respond to the report on its consultation on permitted development rights for microgeneration technologies on non-domestic buildings.

Answer · Keith Brown: The draft proposed secondary legislation was notified to the European Commission under the Technical Standards Directive (98/34/EC) on 17 November, setting out the permitted development rights we intend to introduce. The proposals can be viewed on the Europea…

2 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the £24.4 million in the Zero Waste budget in 2010-11, as noted in Table 11.06 of Scotland’s Spending Plans and Draft Budget 2011-12, will be allocated to local authority projects to assist them in achieving municipal waste targets in 2011.

Answer · Richard Lochhead: The £24.4 million budget for Zero Waste includes support for a number of programmes, including work to develop markets for recyclate use; waste prevention and minimisation; re-use and recycling awareness; support for community recycling groups; and support fo…

2 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is considering the closure of any prisons as part of the reduction in the budget of the Scottish Prison Service and, if so, which prisons are being considered and what consultation will take place before any decisions are made.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:</p> <p >No decisions have been made regarding the closure of any prison within the Scottish Prison Service estate. The SPS is considering a…

2 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will reduce the capital spending budget of the Scottish Prison Service from £136.8 million in 2010-11 to £47.5 million in 2011-12, as noted in Table 10.12 of Scotland’s Spending Plans and Draft Budget 2011-12.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:</p> <p >The Scottish Prison Service capital budget for 2010-2011 reflects the expected high level of spending on prison projects in the current y…

2 Dec 2010 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how it will reduce the current expenditure budget of the Scottish Prison Service from 333.1 million in 2010-11 to 318.0 million in 2011-12, as noted in Table 10.12 of Scotland’s Spending Plans and Draft Budget 2011-12.

Answer · Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:</p> <p >In 2011-12, the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) will transfer responsibility for the health and care of prisoners in custody in Scotland to…